aims of custodial sentencing & psychological effects

Question 1

Define custodial sentencing.

Answer 1

Involves a convicted offender serving time in prison, a secure institution (e.g., young offenders institute), or a psychiatric hospital.

Question 2

Name the four aims of custodial sentencing.

Answer 2

Deterrence.
Incapacitation.
Retribution.
Rehabilitation.

Question 3

Define the two types of deterrence in custodial sentencing.

Answer 3

General Deterrence: Uses imprisonment as a warning to dissuade people from committing crimes.
Individual Deterrence: Utilizes imprisonment as punishment to deter individuals from reoffending.

Question 4

Define incapacitation.

Answer 4

Protects the public by physically removing offenders from society to prevent them from causing harm.

Question 5

Define retribution.

Answer 5

Society punishes offenders by depriving them of their home, privileges, and luxuries, akin to seeking revenge for the committed crime.

Question 6

Define rehabilitation.

Answer 6

Provides offenders with a space for reflection and opportunities to develop skills or undergo therapy to prepare for reintegration into society upon release. Examples include addiction or anger therapy.

Question 7

Name three psychological effects of custodial sentencing.

Answer 7

Stress & depression.
Institutionalisation.
Prisonisation.

Question 8

Explain the impact of stress & depression as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing.

Answer 8

Suicide, self-mutilation and self-harm rates are considerably higher in prison compared to the general population. Schnittker et al. (2012) found that incarceration is linked to mood disorders including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.

Question 9

Explain the impact of institutionalisation as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing.

Answer 9

Offenders struggle to see/how they will adjust to life back on the outside, where the routines, people and systems are completely different to prison life. This can lead to stress and depression.

Question 10

Explain the impact of prisonisation as a psychological effect of custodial sentencing.

Answer 10

As a prisoner gradually becomes accustomed to the lack of a free society, the deprivation of essential human rights, they become assimilated with the other inmates and their way of life, including subscribing to the ‘inmate code’.

Question 11

Evaluate custodial sentencing - give evidence that custodial sentencing is not effective.

Answer 11

Yukhnenko et al. (2019) reports that, based on Ministry of Justice figures, 45% of offenders reoffend with one year of release in the UK
This might be because custodial sentencing gives offenders an opportunity to be around other, more experienced offenders and learn ‘tricks of the trade’
This means that, in application, custodial sentencing might not be as effective as hoped and may in turn, increase the rates of recidivism

Question 12

Evaluate custodial sentencing - outline research supporting rehabilitation.

Answer 12

Yukhnenko et al. (2019) also report that the US, Australia and Denmark often have recidivism rates in excess of 60%, whilst rates of recidivism in Norway can be as low as 20%
They suggest that in places like Norway, the recidivism rate may be low because there is less focus on incarceration, and bigger emphasis on skill development and rehabilitation, supporting one aim of custodial sentencing

Question 13

Evaluate custodial sentencing - outline research showing the importance of rehabilitation.

Answer 13

Shirley (2019) reports that prisoners who access college level education whilst incarcerated are 43% less likely to reoffend once released.
This shows the importance of the rehabilitation element to custodial sentencing as a way to provide skills to people to better their lives once they have served their sentence.

Question 14

Consider the issue of cause and effect in custodial sentencing.

Answer 14

Difficult to show causality with regards to mental health problems and prison.
It has been estimated that 70% of the prison population have a mental health condition of some sort, although it is difficult to tell if they have suffered from it previously or if it developed in prison, so data is somewhat flawed.
It is important as it would help researchers to ascertain how serious the psychological effects of imprisonment are.G

Question 15

Outline a study that shows the issue of cause and effect in custodial sentencing.

Answer 15

Zimbardo (1971) Stanford prison experiment.
It was the prisoners who suffered the long term effects of the imprisonments, not the guards. Argues that it is the prison that causes the psychological effects.
However, ptps were not real prisoners as they had not committed a crime, which would limit the ecological validity of the results in the application to real life prisons.
However, Abu Grabe was a real-life prison and showed the same results as Zimbardo’s experiment.

Question 16

Give evidence to support the psychological effects of custodial sentencing.

Answer 16

Bartol (1995).
Suggested imprisonment was brutal, where suicide rates are 15 times higher than in the general population. Also 25% of women and 15% of men suffer psychological disorders triggers in prison. Suggesting custodial sentencing is not as effective as rehabilitation, particularly not for the vulnerable.
The Prison Reform Trust (2014): 25% of women and 15% of men reported experiencing symptoms of psychosis whilst in prison (e.g., schizophrenia).

Question 17

Suggest the potential issue with making generalisations on the effects of custodial sentencing.

Answer 17

Individual differences.
Prisons run on different regimes so this could affect the experience.
The lengths of time in prison effects the inmate, as well as the number of times previously incarcerated.
Finally, those convicted could have underlying mental illnesses and emotional difficulties.
So it is difficult to make general conclusions for every prisoner in every prison.

Question 18

Discuss the problem of recidivism.

Answer 18

Recidivism refers to reoffending. Stats produced by the Ministry of justice in 2013 suggest 57% of UK offenders go on to reoffend a year after release.
In 2007 prisons in the UK reported that up to 70% reoffended.
Although rates vary, the UK and US have some of the highest levels of recidivism in the world. This is contrasted to Norway where their rates are less than half of the UK.
The Norwegian prisons emphasise rehabilitation more than the UK and skill development and are more open. However, some criticise them for being the soft option and dont punish inmates.