Custodial sentencing Flashcards
What is custodial sentencing?
Punishment consisting of mandatory custody of the convict, either in prison or another institution
What are the 4 main reasons for custodial sentencing?
- Deterrence
- Incapacitation
- Retribution
- Rehabilitation
What is deterrence?
An unpleasant experience which is designed to put individuals off committing a crime again.
What does general deterrence aim to do?
To send a broad message to members of a given society that crime will not be tolerated
What is the purpose of individual deterrence?
To prevent the individual from repeating the same crime
What is individual deterrence based on?
The behaviourist principle of punishment
What is incapacitation?
The offender being taken out of society as a means of protecting the public
What is incapacitation dependent on?
The severity of the offence
E.g society needs protecting from murderers but not the elderly’s dangerous driving
What is retribution?
Society is enacting revenge and the level of suffering should be proportionate to the crime
What is retribution based on?
The idea of an eye for an eye
What is rehabilitation?
Many see prison as not just a punishment but an opportunity to reform offenders
How does rehabilitation benefit the prisoners?
They will be better adjusted to deal with society and develop skills through training programmes
What are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing?
Stress/psychological difficulties
Depression
Suicide - rates are higher in prisons than general population
Institutionalisation - hard to adapt to a normal society
Prisonisation - adopt behaviours and inmate code acceptable in prison but not in a normal society
What is recidivism?
the rate of reoffending
What did Bartol (1995) suggest?
That imprisonment can be ‘brutal, demeaning and generally devastating’.
In the last 20 years suicide rates are 15x higher than in normal population
What did the Prison Reform Trust (2014) find?
25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis.
Prison regimes may trigger psychological disorders.
Suggests that custodial sentencing is not effective in rehabilitating the individual particularly those psychologically vulnerable
What opportunities for treatment and training does custodial sentencing provide?
- Rehabilitation works on the theory that incarcerated people become better and this means that they are able to live a crime free life on release
- Prisoners get qualifications to gain employment when they leave
- Take part in anger management schemes
- Take part in social skills workshops
What is a limitation of the prisons providing treatment and training?
They may not have the resources to provide for the programmes and the benefits of such are not conclusive
Why might incarceration of younger inmates with older inmates be a problem?
The younger inmates may learn how to commit crimes and learn the tricks of the trade
Make reoffending more likely
What did Davies and Raymond (2000) find?
That the government tends to exaggerate the benefits of prison in a bid to appear tough on crime
In reality they do little to deter or rehabilitate offenders.
What alternatives to custodial sentencing are there?
Community service
Restorative justice
