Custodial sentencing

Question 1

State the 4 aims of sending offenders to prisons:

Answer 1

Rehabilitation

Deterrence

Retribution

Incapacitation

Question 2

Define deterrance:

Answer 2

Unpleasant prison experience designed to put people off engaging in offending behaviour.
General –> message to public crime ≠ tolerated.

Individual –> prevent individual from offending based on their experience

Question 3

Define incapacitation:

Answer 3

Individual removed from society to repvent reoffending + protect public.

Explains why more violent crimes = custodial sentencing.

Question 4

Define retribution:

Answer 4

Society enacting revenge for the crime + make offender suffer

Question 5

Define rehabilitation:

Answer 5

Prisons should reform individuals + reppare them for life outside prisons

Providing them opportunities to develop skills/trianing + reflect on crime + receive addiction treatment

Question 6

What is recidivism?

Answer 6

Reoffending after conviction

Ministry of Justice research (2013) = 57% of UK offenders will reoffend within a year of release

2007, 14 prisons reported reoffending rate of 70% over 5 years

UK + US = some of highest rates of recidivism.

Question 7

What are the effects of prisons?

Answer 7

Stress + depression

Evidenced by higher rates of self harm + psychological disturbance (psychosis) among (ex)prisoners

prison reform trust: 25% males 15% females reported psychosis in prison.

Prevent rehabilitation

Question 8

Define instituationalisation:

Answer 8

Prisoner becomes accustomed to norms in prison .: struggle to function outside

Question 9

Define prisonisation:

Answer 9

Prisoners can be socialised into adopting ‘inmate code’ + behaviours that would be unacceptable outisde many be encouraged + rewarded inside.

Question 10

What are the issues of recidivsm?

Answer 10

Difficult to obtain clear figure for recidivism rates

Yukhnenko et al (2019): reoffedning rates within 1 year = 45% based on Ministry of Justice figures.

Question 11

Evaluation of custodial sentencing:

Psychological effects.

Answer 11

-ve effect on prisoners.

Bartol (1995): suggested that imprisonment = ‘brutal, demeaning + generally devasting’

119 💀 in prison –> increase of 32% from previous year.

9x higher than normal pop

Most at risk = young single men

Prison reform trust study.

Suggests oppressive prison regimes = detrimental to psychological health.

Question 12

COUNTERPOINT:

Answer 12

Figures in Prison reform trust study do not include number of inmates already experiencing psychotic symptoms b4 incarceration.

Many = pre-existing psychological + emotional difficultes at time they were convicted

Importation model = prisoners may import some psychological problems

Suggests there are confounding variables between prison + psychological effects.

Question 13

Evaluation of custodial sentencing:

Training + treatment

Answer 13

Strength.
Objective of imprisonment = rehabilitation.
Offenders may become better people during time in prison.
–> able to lead crime free life in society.

Access education –> find employment after release.

Shirely (2019) = claims offedners who take part in college programmes 43% less likely to reoffend following release
–> prisons who offer this = fewer incidents of violence

–> Norway 20% recidivism rate

Question 14

School for crime?

Answer 14

Offenders learn to become better offenders

May undergo more dubious ‘education’ as part of their sentence.

Incarceration with long-time offenders = younger inmates given opportunity to learn from more experienced prisoners

Acquire criminal contacts

Undermines attemots to rehabilitate prisoners –> make reoffending more likely.