FP - Dealing with offending behaviour: Custodial sentencing and recidivism

Question 1

What is a custodial sentence?

Answer 1

One where the court requires an offender to be held in prison or some other closed community like a psychiatric hospital.

Question 2

What are the aims of custodial sentencing?

Answer 2

Incapacitation - to protect the public.
To punish an offender and prevent recidivism.
To deter others (deterrence).
Retribution - to atone from wrongdoing.
To rehabilitate offenders.

Question 3

Explain incapacitation as an aim of custodial sentencing

Answer 3

The offender is taken out of society to prevent them from reoffending in order to protect the public, especially from those who may not be capable of controlling their behaviour.

Question 4

Explain punishing the offender and preventing recidivism as an aim of custodial sentencing

Answer 4

Behaviourist approach to dealing with offending behaviour.

The principle is that punishment decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. Punishment or the threat of punishment may not work, but it is believed by many people to be the reason why most people don’t commit crimes.

Question 5

Explain deterrence as an aim of custodial sentencing

Answer 5

The unpleasant prison experience is designed to put off the individual (individual deterrence), and society at large (general deterrence), from engaging in offending behaviour. Individual deterrence is based on punishment from operant conditioning and general deterrence is based on vicarious punishment from SLT.

Question 6

Explain retribution as an aim of custodial sentencing

Answer 6

Society is enacting revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer, and this should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime. The victim/family ten feel a sense of justice being done.

Question 7

Explain rehabilitation as an aim of custodial sentencing

Answer 7

The offender can be reformed and made into a better person through some form of education (skills or training) or therapy. They should leave prison better adjusted and ready to take their place back in society.

Question 8

What are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing?

8

Answer 8

Stress and depression (including self-harm and suicide)
Institutionalisation
Prisonisation
Overcrowding and lack of privacy
Deindividuation
Effects on the family
Labelling
Positive effects

Question 9

Explain stress and depression (including self-harm and suicide) as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing

Answer 9

Depression can be explained in terms of hopelessness. Offenders entering prison may initially feel quite anxious about the whole new and frightening environment, hopeless about their future and lacking in control (helplessness). Abramson et al. (1989) suggest that depression is caused by both helplessness and hopelessness.

Depression may be expressed in terms of self-harm. The Howard league for prison reform reported 10000 incidents of self-harm in 2008, though self-harm may also be explained in terms of conformity - Newton (1980) reported that it was a way of becoming part of inmate culture.

Finally, suicide is also an outcome of depression, The greatest risk group is single young men in the first 24h of imprisonment.

Question 10

Explain prisonisation as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing

Answer 10

This refers to the way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code.’ Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded within the prison. Prison acts as school for crime and reinforces a criminal lifestyle and criminal norms. This leads to high recidivism rates with approximately 70% of young offenders re-offending within 2 years.

Question 11

Explain overcrowding and a lack of privacy as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing

Answer 11

The growing prison population in the UK has not been matched by an increase in the number of prisons. Recent data suggests that 25% of prisoners are in overcrowded accommodation, for example two people occupying a cell for one (Ministry of Justice, 2012). This has an inevitable effect on the psychological state of prisoners.

A classic study by Calhoun (1962) with rats showed that overcrowding led to increased aggression as well as hypersexuality, stress and increased physical illness.

Question 12

Explain deindividuation as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing

Answer 12

The SPE (Zimbardo et al., 1973) illustrates how prison and guard uniforms may lead to a loss of individual identity (deindividuation) which is associated with increased aggression and treating people in inhuman ways.

Question 13

Explain effects on the family as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing

Answer 13

Children with a mother or father in prison are deeply affected financially and psychologically, and the reverse is true. Parents in prison may feel guilt and also separation anxiety (Glover, 2009).

Question 14

Explain labelling as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing

Answer 14

Being labelled as an ex-convict leads to a loss of social contacts and reduced employability. These affect recidivism rates.

Question 15

Explain positive effects as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing

Answer 15

Resulting from opportunities, treatment, rehabilitation, remorse etc.

Question 16

Deindividuation

Answer 16

A psychological state in which individuals have lowered levels of self-evaluation (e.g. when in a crowd or under the influence of alcohol) and decreased concerns about evaluation by others.

Question 17

Recidivism

Answer 17

This is when a person reoffends after receiving some form of punishment for previous offences.