Criminal topic 6 - effects on imprisonment Flashcards
Background - imprisonment summary
- a form of punishment based on operant conditioning
- undesirable behaviour is reduced by the application of unpleasant stimuli
- the threat of going back to prison acts as negative reinforcement
- However, recidivism rates suggest that imprisonment is not effective at reducing reoffending
Background - Walker and Farrington
- effectiveness of different punishments on recidivism by following 2069 male offenders after they had been released
- sentences - prison, probation or fine - impact reoffending of the number of previous convictions dictating the punishment more effective
Results: - Those with no previous convictions were most effective
- probation is most effective with one to four previous convictions
- those with five convictions the type of punishment did not affect recidivism rates
Background - Theory of planned behaviour
- can explain criminal behaviour - suggesting that it’s rational
- offenders’ intention to commit crime based on attitudes towards behaviour and perceived control
Background - Gillis and Nafekh
aim: effect community-based employment scheme has on recidivism rates
sample: 2 groups of federal offenders - those who had completed the employment programme and those that are unemployed
- offenders matched on gender, risk level, sentence length, emotional orientation, etc
Method - analysed data from Canada’s offender management system - 23,525 individuals released between 1998 - 2005 (95% males)
Results:
- experimental group less likely to return to custody with a new offence
- 70% of the experimental group remained out of prison compared to 55% of control
- median return time was 37 months for experimental compared to 11 months for the control
Key research - Haney - aim, sample, procedure
aim: the psychological effects of being assigned to the role of prison guard or prisoner in a fake prison
Sample: volunteer, male, $15 a day for study on ‘prison life’
24 pts, informed to be at home on Sunday when experiment would begin
Procedure:
Fake prison set up in basement of Stanford university. Prisoners were unexpectedly arrested from their homes and on entry went through a delousing process and were given a uniform and ID number
- referred to by prison number, allowed three meals a day, three supervised toilet trips a day.
- Guards given prion uniform, clubs, whistle and reflective sunglasses
- Zimbardo took the role of prison superintendent
Key research - Haney - findings of the prisoners
- adopted prisoner-like behaviour
- talked about prison issues
- told ‘tales’ about each other to the guards
- took prison rules seriously and even sided with the guards when a prisoner didn’t obey the rules - pathological prisoner syndrome
Key research - Haney - findings of the guards
- adopted roles quickly and easily - within hours some started to harass prisoners
- behaved in a brutal and sadistic manner and enjoying it - prisoners were tormented
- as prisoners became more submissive, the guards became more aggressive and had greater obedience over prisoners
- Prisoners were dependent on guards, so made up stories about others - pathology of power
- stopped after six days, meant to be 14 days - 5 prisoners had to be released early
Key research - Haney - Loss of identity
- individualism reduced by uniforms and numbers to guards, observers and themselves de - individualised
finding - introduced to the priest, some prisoners introduced by number rather than name
Key research - Haney - arbitrary control
- guards exercised power over prisoners - decisions on reward and punishment were unpredictable - leading to submissive behaviour and learned helplessness from prisoners
finding - prisoner smiling at a joke may be punished, but at another time not smiling might be punished
Key research - Haney - dependency and emasculation
- network of dependency created. prisoners’ uniforms with a lack of underwear made them move in feminist ways and provoked insults
finding - prisoners had to publicly request to go to the toilet - escorted handcuffed and blindfolded
Key research - Haney - evaluation
Strengths:
- high ecological validity - reacted to the situation as though it was real
- stereotypically more male than female
- real-life implications - how prisons are organised and run
Weaknesses:
- participants understood the reality of the experiment
- no protection from harm, right to withdraw and informed consent
- low ecological validity - doesn’t reflect normal uniform, or the actions and brutality of the guards
- sampling bias - white middle-class males - ethnocentrism - unclear how non - westernised prison systems work
Debates:
interaction of free will vs determinism
interaction of individual and situational
Application - restorative justice summary
- Victims or family meet with the offender and discuss the impact of the crime on them
- offenders are encouraged to accept responsibility and begin the process of reparation
- may increase victim empathy, allows victims to have a voice and offenders see the impact of their crime
Application - 6 principles of restorative justice
- restoration
- voluntarism
- neutrality
- safety
- accessibility
- respect
Application - Types of restorative justice
- Victim-offender medication - the opportunity to meet offender in a safe setting
- group conferencing - between offenders and the community
Can be implemented as part of the sentence or pre-trial diversion for first-time offenders
Application - Sherman and Strang
Aim: test the effectiveness of restorative justice
Method: reviewed 36 studies that investigated the differences in recidivism rates between those who had Restorative Justice and those who didn’t
Results: significant reduction in reoffending in violence and property crimes
