dealing with offending behaviour

Question 1

what is custodial sentencing?

Answer 1

when an offender is found guilty in court and as punishment must spend time in a prison/ juvy/ psychiatric hospital

Question 2

what are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing?

Answer 2

deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation

Question 3

define deterrence

Answer 3

to put off both society and individuals from committing crimes

Question 4

define incapacitation

Answer 4

to protect the public from the criminal

Question 5

define retribution

Answer 5

following the ‘eye-for-an-eye’ philosophy but ensuring that the punishment is in accordance to the severity and type of crime committed

Question 6

define rehabilitation

Answer 6

opportunities for training and treatment further reduce the rates of recidivism through addressing the distal cause of offending

Question 7

what are the effects of custodial sentencing?

Answer 7

include stress, depression, instutionalisation and prisonisation

Question 8

explain the effect of institutionalisation in prisoners

Answer 8

particular problem because the monotonous and constant rhythm of prison may impair the offender’s ability to adjust to normal life beyond the prison walls - can be seen by Zimbardo’s prison study

Question 9

explain the effect of depression in prisoners

Answer 9

7.5% of women and 6.3% of men in prison suffer from depression
Dooley (1930) studied suicide risk in prison and found an association between suicide and guilt

Question 10

explain the effect of prisonisation on prisoners

Answer 10

prisoners are socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’ where antisocial behaviour may be encouraged or rewarded

Question 11

recidivism rates

Answer 11

• The Ministry of Justice in 2013 states that 57% of the UK offenders will reoffend within a year of release
• In 2007, 14 prisons in England and Wales recorded reoffending rates of over 70%. This means that along with the US, the UK has some of the highest recidivism rates in the world

Question 12

negative effects on mental health in prison

Answer 12

Crighton and Towl (2008) found an increased number of suicides due to factors such as overcrowding, low staff-to-offender ratio, lack of access to medical services and exercise, increased risk of physical assault, settling in a new environment

Question 13

evaluations of custodial sentencing

Answer 13

• prison effects people in different ways so the extent of the effects depend upon the person, length of prison sentence, prior experience and type of prison - is not universally effective method of dealing with types of offending behaviour
  + prisoners are surrounded by opportunities for learning and training e.g. CBT schemes to reduce effects of sex offenders’ minimalisation will reduce recidivism rates, violent offenders can partake in anger management schemes, token economy systems, restorative justice programmes etc

Question 14

explain how behaviour modification works

Answer 14

features token economies
which are systems based upon operant conditioning principles and reinforcement
reinforcement increases the likelihood of a desired behaviour being repeated
every time a desired behaviour is carried out they receive a token which acts as a secondary reinforcer because its value can be swapped for a privilege/ primary reinforcer
through positive reinforcement, the offender is more likely to repeat these desirable behaviours because they are motivated by achieving the same reward each time

Question 15

examples of rewards of a token economy

Answer 15

exercise time outside the prison grounds
access to TV
conjugal visits (USA)

Question 16

How did Basset and Blanchard (1977) study token economies?

Answer 16

said that the benefits of a token economy are lost when not applied consistently

Question 17

effectiveness of token economies

Answer 17

Hobbs and Holt (1976) studied 125 criminal male juveniles in Alabama and found that across 14 months, there was a significant increase in desirable behaviours for the majority of the boys - suggests that token economies can be used to improve the running of prisons by decreasing the violence and conflicts within a setting

Question 18

explain Rice’s research (1960)

Answer 18

examined the outcomes from 92 prisoners on a token economy in a maximum-security psychiatric hospital and found two things.
1. That if it was effective for an individual, then it continued to be so while in the institution
2. The success shown within the institution had no influence on the offender’s outcomes once released
This seems to suggest that it works for certain individuals only, and only for a short term
It also means the programme had no rehabilitative benefits.

Question 19

evaluations of token economies

Answer 19

• may only be effective in the prison as once the offender is released the rewards for good behaviour no longer exist
• may only lead to superficial change in behaviour, not tackling the root cause of criminal behaviour

Question 20

define anger management

Answer 20

a therapeutic programme that involves identifying the signs that trigger anger as well as learning techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way = to recognise and manage anger

Question 21

explain Novaco’s study (1975)

Answer 21

focuses on identifying and dealing with the
emotions which precede anger, as opposed to preventing anger in the first place (which is an
unlikely outcome for many). This is an ‘eclectic’ approach in the sense that offenders are taught
skills from a variety of different approaches in psychology, such as communication skills (social)
and ‘positive self-talk’ (cognitive).

Question 22

what are the three stages of anger management?

Answer 22

cognitive preparation
skills acquisition
application practise

Question 23

explain cognitive preparation

Answer 23

Offenders reflect on past experiences and consider the typical pattern of their anger
They identify triggers and the way they interpreted the event at the time
The therapist gets them to redefine the situation

Question 24

explain skill acquisition

Answer 24

Aim is be in control of the situation
Cognitive: new coping skills and techniques learned e.g. positive self-talk such as ‘stop and think’ and counting to encourage calmness
Physiological: relaxation techniques learned
Behavioural: assertiveness training can help deal with issue constructively, not violently

Question 25

explain application practise

Answer 25

Offenders practise their skills in a carefully monitored environment
Role-play a variety of scenarios to practise new skills to control anger
Done in controlled environment
Requires commitment from the offender – they must see each scenario as real
The therapist must provide positive reinforcement

Question 26

evaluations of anger management therapy

Answer 26

+ comparison with behaviour modification - attempts to address the thought processes that underlie offending behaviour and showed permanent behavioural change and lower recidivism rates
- Blackburn (1993) showed that it has a noticeable effect short-term but little evidence to support long-term effect as application is reliant upon artificial role-play showing low external validity
- expensive and requires commitment as well as highly trained professionals who are used to dealing with violent offenders - may be difficult if prisoners are uncooperative and apathetic
+ incorporates behavioural theories and skills from a variety of psychological approaches e.g. cognitive preparation focuses on the cognitive basis of aggression, application practise focuses on the behaviourist principles of operant conditioning and reinforcement - suggests that anger management recognises the variety of different triggers and bases of aggressive behaviours

Question 27

what is restorative justice?

Answer 27

a relatively new type of intervention with offenders. The aim is to make the offender realise the implications of their actions for the victims and to improve their relationships with the victims and community by repairing the harm they have caused. This method also addresses some of the needs of the victim.

Question 28

explain what Braithwaite (2004) found

Answer 28

restorative justice (RJ) programmes take on a different
perspective/emphasis compared to the other three methods. RJ places emphasis on ‘giving the
survivor a voice’ and showing the offender the emotional consequences of their behaviour. The
focus is placed upon positive outcomes, and mediated discussions between the offender and
‘survivor’ (victim) do not need to occur within traditional courtroom settings.
In order for the offender to show remorse for their actions, apologies can be made and they can
also pay for any damages to the survivor’s property or fix it themselves. The guidelines as to
what survivors, offenders and mediators are advised to do are set by the Restorative Justice
Council.
The effectiveness of RJ schemes was demonstrated by Latimer et al (2005), who found that RJ
was significantly more effective than traditional nonrestorative approaches in terms of 5
increasing victim and offender satisfaction, restitution compliance and reducing recidivism

Question 29

explain Miers et al’s research (2001)

Answer 29

examined the extent to which victims felt happy with restorative justice programmes
the majority of the victims were happy with the outcome, although some were cynical about the offenders’ sincerity and their motivation taking part i.e. doing it to reduce their sentence
some found it made uncomfortable feelings resurface and some victims found it intimidating

Question 30

explain Sherman and Strang’s meta-analysis (2007)

Answer 30

• Sherman and Strang’s (2007) meta-analysis concluded that in no way can RJ be more harmful than the traditional justice system
• It is at least equally as effective as the traditional justice system in all cases
• In most cases (especially with more serious offences and with adult offenders) it is significantly more effective than the traditional justice system at lowering recidivism rates as well as lowering rates of PTSD in the victims.

Question 31

evaluations of RJ

Answer 31

• naive approach to dealing with offending behaviour as it assumes that the offender and survivor will always show remorse when participating which may not be the case - offenders may seek a shorter prison sentence or rewards whereas survivors may want revenge so it may only be useful in theory
• in cases of domestic abuse or violence this is not useful due to the power imbalance present in many domestic abuse cases which means it may be traumatic and distressing for the survivor so it has limited utility
  + flexible and easy to implement - it can be modified for different systems and people and encourages conflict resolution rather than violence and aggression as the offender is made aware of the consequences of their actions