dealing with OB Flashcards
aims and psych effects of custodial sentencing, recidivism
what is custodial sentencing
a decision make from court that punishment for crime should involve time being in custody/prison (incarceration) or in some other closed therapeutic+/educational institution (learn about B) eg a psych hospital
what are the 4 purposes of custodial sentencing
deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation
what is deterrence (purpose of CS)
unpleasant prison exp > put off individuals from OB
2 levels
general: aims to send a BROAD MESSAGE to soc that crime will not be tolerated
individual: preventing individuals from repeating same offences in light of their exp
based on behaviourist ideas of conditioning- vicarious reinforcement
what is incapacitation (purpose of CS)
taking offender out of society to prevent reoffending as a form of PROTECTION to the public, the need for this will depend on the severity of the offence/nature of offender
what is retribution (purpose of CS)
where soc takes “revenge” for offence by making offender suffer, level of suffering should be proportional to seriousness of offence, any alts to prison seen by many as a soft alt
what is rehabilitation (purpose of CS)
prison as a way for offender to be able to reform so when released they should be better adjusted within soc
opportunity to partake in training and develop skills or access to treatment programmes for eg addiction and anger and give them a chance to reflect on their offence
what are the 3 psych effects of CS
stress and depression
institutionalisation
prisonisation
what is stress and depression as a psych effects of cs
there are high levels of suicide, self mutilation and self harm more than in the normal pop
incr likelihood of developing psych disorders following release
what is institutionalisation as a psych effect of cs
once adapted to norms and routines of prison E, inmates may not be able to adjust to the function in outside world
what is prisonisation as a psych effect of cs
prisoners are socialised in adapting to “inmate code” B is considered unacceptable in soc but may be rewarded and encouraged within prison
what is recidivism
reoffending, a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of B
eg when a convicted offender repeatedly reoffends, a recidivist is one how has a persistent pattern of criminal reoffending
recidivism rates tell us to what extent prison acts an effective deterrent
approx 45% but difficult to measure
20% in norway which focuses on rehab and skills development
what could reoffending be a result of …. (4 things)
age of offender (young may stop offending)
type of offence committed
time of release date (whats happening att)
country
limitation of cs: curt bartol prison E is brutal, demeaning and devastating, a record of…
119 people kts in prisons in england and wales in 2016, an increase in 29 people (32%) from 2015, 1 every 3 days, 9x higher than gen pop, most at risk are young single men during first 24hrs of confinement (>panic), a study by prison reform trust found that 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis.
although this data doesnt take into account inmates who experienced psychotic symptoms before being incarcerated. the importation model argues that prisoners may import some psych issues, therefore it is difficult to establish whether prisoners may import or trauma of exp prison > symp
therefore the oppressive prison regime may be detrimental to psych to psych health which could impact rehab, however there may be confounding variables that could influence the link between prison and psych effects
strength of CS: practical application eg rehab
provides opportunity enabling offenders to improve their character and lead a crime free life upon release.
often offenders have the opp to take part in education and training whilst in prison incr the possibility they will find employment upon release, it was found that offenders who take part in college education are 43% less likely to reoffend following release
therefore prison could be worthwhile for offenders if they are offered the opportunity to taking part in various forms of training and treatment
limitation of CS: a risk of cs is offenders could learn to become … (school of crime)
learn to become better offenders, incarceration with lt offenders may provide younger inmates the opportunity to learn “tricks of the trade” from more experienced prisoners.
there is also the risk of criminal contacts being established that may be used upon release.
therefore this form of education could risk the increase of reoffending B rather than using prisons to offer rehab
s/l of SC: purpose of prison inc cp
onepoll found that 47% of responders saw the primary purpose of prison regimes as being “too soft” which does not deter existing or potential offenders
although 40% of respondents held the view that the main purpose of prisons is to reform and rehabilitate and prison should provide access to training and treatment so offenders can be effectively reintegrated back into soc
cp: one issue is overcrowding and lack of funding which decreased the opportunity for r+r and t+t to take place
therefore prison can be an opp for offenders to improve and reform their B using rehab however there is a lack of funding and too many offenders to cater for all to have this opp, resulting in the risk of prisoners not improving on their B
what is behaviour modification
an app of the behaviourist approach to treatment (eg management of offender is penal institutions) (all B is learned therefore can unlearn)
inc principles of OC
general aim to replace undesirable B with more desirable ones through selective use of +/- reinforcement ie token econ (reinforce obedient b and punish disobedient
apply token econ to Bmod
desirable B may inc avoiding confrontation, following prison rules, keeping cell clean
then offenders are given a token each time they perform a desirable B
do not apply or disobedient then token will be withheld or withdrawn as punishment
token are secondary reinforcers are get their value from association with reward/not direct, tokens can be exchanged for eg phone call with loved one, gym, cigarettes, food which are primary reinforcers as direct reward
what are the 3 things needed when designing and using a token econ for bmod
operationalising target Bs
scoring system
training staff
what is operationalising target Bs for token econ as bmod
break b down into components that needs to be objective, measureable and agreed with prison staff and inmates in advance.
eg desirable b is improved interaction with inmates so operationalised = speaking politely to others, not touching another prisoner as you pass them
what is a scoring system as a component of token econ for bmod
prisoners and staff need to be aware of how much each b is worth
Bs are hierarchical as some are more demanding than others eg get a greater reward so eg awards more token
could be points towards tokens or tokens directly
what is training staff for token econ for bmod
staff should be given full training to implement tokecon successfully, eg several hours for several weeks, aiming to standardise the procedures so that all staff are rewarding the same Bs in the same way.
staff should record when they reward tokens so the process of individuals can be assessed
strength of bmod: research support from 2 studies, hobbs and holt and then field
hobbs and holt- introduced tokecon with groups of young offenders across 3 behavioural units and another for control
findings suggested a signif diff in positive B compared to non tokecon group
then field found with young offenders it was mainly successful however there were several young people who did not respond, they were then placed on a special programme where rewards became more immediate and frequent and the results became more successful.
therefore both studies support that tokecons are successful for bmod in custody
limitation of bmod: number of prison staff, basset and blanchard found any …
benefits were lost if staff applied the techniques inconsistently. it was suggested this was because of a lack of relevant staff training and a high staff turnover
therefore bmod systems must ensure all staff are consistently engaging in the programme for such to work
strength of bmod: it is relatively easy to set up as there is no need for …
specialist professionals unlike for eg anger management, wmt econ systems can be designed and implemented by anyone in any institution.
they are also cost effective and easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement are established
therefore bmod techniques can be established in most prisons > accessed by most prisoners
limitation of bmod: it doesnt really affect lt B as there is “little …
rehabilitative value” and any +changes in B may occur whilst in prison but may be quickly lost when released.
eg cog based treatment eg anger management may be more likely to lead to permanent B change , focuses offender on understanding cause of offending and take responsibility, may go along with rewards but not actually permanently change B
therefore 1 lim with te is that once offenders leave prison they may go back to their ob
s/l of bmod: ethics
s- can decrease conflict and allow for more successful management of prison pop > staff has less stress
but can dehumanise offenders because scheme is compulsory, removal of tokens and “privileges eg exercise and contact with loved ones is unethical
therefore evidence suggests bmod programmes can reduce prison staff stress but it can be seen as unethical for the offenders who have to oblige to the programme to receive rewards
what is anger management
a form of therapy which involves identifying the signs that trigger anger
