Custodial Sentencing Flashcards
What does custodial sentencing involve
A convicted offender spending time in prison/another closed institution eg young offenders institute/psychiatric hospital
Four aims of custodial sentencing and how to remember
Deterrence, incapacitation, retribution and rehabilitation
Dogs in red ribbons
How does prison act as a deterrent
Unpleasant prison experience designed to put off the individual (or society) from engaging in offending behaviour
What is general deterrence
Aims to send broad message to members of given society that crime will not be tolerated
What is individual deterrence
Should prevent the individual from repeating the same crime considering their experience
What approach is deterrence based on
Behaviourist idea of conditioning through punishment
What is incapacitation
Offender taken out of society to prevent reoffending as a means of protecting the public
What is retribution
Demonstrating to society and victims family that offender has paid for their crimes, punishment must be proportional to seriousness of crime
-many see prison as best possible option in this sense and alternatives often criticised as soft options
What is rehabilitation
Prisons should provide opportunities for offenders to reform
-upon release, offender should leave prison better adjusted and ready to take their place back in society
-prison should provide educational opportunities, addiction treatment programmes and reflection
What are three negative effects of prison
-stress and depression (suicide and self harm rates considerably higher than general pop, stress of prison experience increases risk of psychological disturbance following release)
-institutionalisation (having adapted to norms and routines of prison life inmates may be so accustomed to these that they are no longer able to function outside)
-prisonisation (prisoners socialised into adopting ‘inmate code’, behaviours that may be considered unacceptable in outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside walls of institution)
Expand on limitation that many factors can influence effectiveness of custodial sentencing
-addictions/mental health problems/length of sentence/dif regimes in each prison can all affect how psychologically challenging prison experience is
-difficult to make generalisations about negative effects of custodial sentencing that apply to every prison/prisoner
Expand on strength that there is evidence to support link between rehabilitation and reduction in reoffending
-Vera Institute of Justice claims offenders who take part in college education programmes are 43% less likely to reoffend following release and prisons that offer these programmes report fewer incidents of violence
-if prisoners have access to rehabilitation facilities it can be a beneficial experience for the individual and reduce recidivism which also benefits society
Expand on limitation that rehabilitation not always possible and prisons overcrowded
-UK in prison crisis with overcrowding and lack of funding
-unlikely that rehabilitation programmes such as training and counselling will be available
-overcrowding may lead to increase in negative effects experienced by offenders
-therefore alternative ways of dealing with offender behaviour must be explored to reduce this strain
Expand on limitation that prisoners may learn techniques for committing crimes whilst in prison
-incarceration with hardened criminals may give younger inmates the opportunity to learn the trick of the trade from more experienced offenders
-undermines attempts at rehabilitation and may make reoffending more likely
-reduced effectiveness of custodial sentencing in dealing with offender behaviour
