ways of dealing with offending behaviour: custodial sentancing Flashcards
what does custodial sentancing involve
a convicted offender spending time in prison or closed insitution. Depends on type and severity of crime, impact on victim, previous offending.
What are the 4 main aims for custodial sentancing
deterrence
incapacitation
retribution
rehabilitation
what is the role of deterrence in custodial sentancing (2 types)
individual detterence - the unpleasant prison experience should put off the individual from reoffending
general deterrence - sends a broad message to members of a given society that crime will not be tolerated.
what is the role of incapacitation in sentancing (example)
takes the offender out of society as a means of protecting the public. Need for incapacitation depends on severity of crime and nature. Eg. individuals need more protection from a serial murderer, than an elderly person refusing to pay tax.
what is the role of retribution in reoffending
society is enacting revenge for the offence by making offender suffer. Suffering should be proportionate to seriousness of offence. ‘eye for an eye’ offender should pay in some way for their actions
what is role of rehabilitation in sentancing
prison can help reform offenders, upon release they should leave prison better adjusted and be ready to take their place back in society. Should be opportunities to develop skills and training
what are the 3 psychological effects of sentancing
stress and depression
insitutionalisation
prisonisation
Why can custodial sentancing increase rates of depression
the stress of prison experience can increase the risk of developing psychological disorders following release
what is insitutionalisation
inmates become accustomed to the norms and routines of prsion life that they are no longer able to function on outside, for example forget how to cook for themselves
what is prisonisation
prisoners become socialised adopting an ‘inmate code’. behaviour thought as unacceptable in society may be acceptable and rewarded inside the prison.
how are recidivism rates useful
can tell us to what extent prison acts as an effective detterence.
what are the recidivism rates for UK, US and Norway
UK -reoffending has fallen in recent years from 45% to 25-30%
america - as high as 60%
Norway - low as 20% - thought to be very focused on rehabillitation
One limitation of custodial sentancing is the negative psychological effects, explain this.
Bartol suggested that sentancing can be brutal, demeaning and devastating. Ministry of justice reported 119 people killed them selves in prison in england in 2016, a 32% increase from previous year.study by prison reform trust found 25% of women and 15% of men were reported as having symptoms of psychosis. Suggests that prison can result in the onset of a mental health problem in inmates not previously suffering, and can exaggerate preexisting mental health issues.
Outline a study that can demonstrates the negative psychological effects prison can have on inmates
study by Zimbardo demonstrated how quickly prisoners conformed to their assigned role becoming helpess and apathetic. Both guard + prisoners experienced deindivduation - loss of identitiy and self awareness.
what is a limitation of zimbardo study
lacks ecological validity - all pps knew they were in an experiment and some aspects that occur in a real prison, did not occur due to ethical reasons eg. beating. So possible pps were displaying demand characteristics. They took on a specific role behaviour because it was what they were asked to do.
