Custodial Sentencing

Question 1

what is custodial sentencing

Answer 1

• Dealing with offending behaviour, including:
• The aims of custodial sentencing
• The psychological effects of custodial sentencing
• Recidivism
• Custodial sentencing is when an offender is found guilty in court and as punishment spends time in a prison.

Question 2

what are the aims of custodial sentencing

Answer 2

• deterrence
• retribution
• confinement
• rehabilitation

Question 3

what is the aim, deterrence (AO1)

Answer 3

• the idea that prison should stop reoffending.
• Operates on behaviourist principles of operant conditioning- prisoners will learn that crime is punished and therefore they will not want to commit a crime again.

Question 4

what is the A03 - Evidence against Deterrence

Answer 4

• Recidivism- reoffending- can be used to measure whether the aim has been met or not.
• The Uk and the USA have the highest reoffending rates in the world. Latest figures suggest that globally recidivism is as high as 57%, but much higher in many places.
• These official statistics show that DETERRENCE is not an AIM that is FULFILLED through custodial sentencing.
• Prison is not working as a deterrent

Question 5

what is the aim, retribution (AO1)

Answer 5

• focuses on the feelings of the victim(s), their family/friends.
• It is the idea that if the offender has ‘hurt’ someone else, they should pay for their actions in some way.
• The deprivations that the prisoner experiences are seen as a necessary punishment for their actions.

Question 6

what is the aim, confinement (AO1)

Answer 6

Once confined, the prisoner is unable to commit other crimes, and they no longer pose a danger to society.

Question 7

what is the aim, rehabilitation (AO1)

Answer 7

Counselling and educational programmes are offered within prison to try to decrease the chances that the prisoner will reoffend.

Question 8

what is the A03 - Rehabilitation or “College of Crime”?

Answer 8

• The idea that prison serves to rehabilitate is questionable as it is seen as a potential source of information on how to commit crimes with more skill.
• It has even been named the ‘College of Crime’ by some psychologists.
• Prisoners are able to mix closely with criminals who are much more skilled and much further into their criminal career, and learn from them.
• This means that it possibly has the opposite effect to rehabilitation.

Question 9

what are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing (AO1)

Answer 9

• Stress and Depression
• much higher in prison than in the general population, as are self harm and suicide.
• Sykes believes this is due to the five deprivations prisoners experience- personal autonomy, liberty, heterosexual relationships, goods and services and safety.
• Institutionalisation
• Prisoners become so accustomed to the strict and structured life in prison that they are unable to function without it upon release.
• They have become institutionalised- reliant upon the institution whose norms and values they have adopted to survive.

Question 10

what is the AO1 recidivism

Answer 10

• Statistics published by the ministry of justice in 2013 suggest that 57% of prisoners go on to re-offend.
• In some British prisons in the last ten years, reoffending rates have been over 70%.
• The Uk and the USA have the highest reoffending rates in the world.
• Norway has the lowest recidivism rate in the world. Its prison system is very different, focusing on rehabilitation and skills development to stop recidivism. –> Many view it as not punitive enough.

Question 11

what is the A03- Recidivism and Mental Health

Answer 11

• Coid et al (2007) found that the mental health of prisoners had a direct effect on recidivism rates.
• Offenders in the UK who received treatment for their mental health problems whilst in prison were 60 percent less likely to reoffend than untreated prison inmates.

Question 12

what is the A03- Recidivism and Institutionalisation (+ve)

Answer 12

• Malott and Fromader (2010) conducted a survey with 102 Australian male offenders asking how they felt about release from prison and what they felt would reduce likelihood of recidivism.
• They found that the offenders felt unsupported upon release and said that a greater level of resources, treatment and support services would help reduce their recidivism.
• This supports the idea that offenders can feel institutionalised and that by reoffending they re-enter an environment that is organised for them rather than an unsupported outside environment.

Question 13

what is the A03- Further Support

Answer 13

• Hollin (1992) reported that prison became ‘home’ to some prisoners.
• The fact that they received three meals a day together with a bed and companionship was preferable to them compared to what they had to deal with outside of prison (nowhere to live, no job opportunities, feeling lonely and isolated).
• This study validates the claim that institutionalisation is a psychological effect of incarceration, and also that it leads to recidivism.