Custodial Sentencing

Question 1

What are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing?

Answer 1

• Deterrence
• Incapacitation
• Retribution
• Rehabilitation

Question 2

What is Deterrence?

Answer 2

• Unpleasant experience of prison puts off society from engaging in offending behaviour
• general deterrence aims to send a broad message to society that crime won’t be tolerated
• Individual deterrence should prevent individuals from repeating same offences

Question 3

What is Incapacitation?

Answer 3

• Offender removed from society in order to protect the public
• depends upon severity of offence and nature of the offender

Question 4

What is Retribution?

Answer 4

• Society enacts revenge by making the offender suffer
• suffering should be proportionate to the crime committed

Question 5

What is Rehabilitation?

Answer 5

• Main point of prison is to reform, offenders should leave prison better adjusted and ready to take part in society

Question 6

What are the Psychological effects of custodial sentencing?

Answer 6

• Stress and Depression: suicide rates are considerably higher in prison then outside, also more incidents of self-harm and developing psychological disorders
• Institutionalisation: having adapted to norms and routines of prison life and inmates and so unable to function on the outside
• Prisonisation: the way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’ that is unacceptable in the outside world

Question 7

What is the problem if recidivism?

Answer 7

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