Dealing with offending behaviour Flashcards
1
Q
Describe the aims of custodial sentencing
A
- Deterrence - General (to send a message to the general public of a zero tolerance), and individual - to prevent the offender from carrying out the crime again.
- Incapacitation - take them out of society to protect the public.
- Retribution - Society’s revenge for the offender’s acts.
- Rehabilitation - e.g. treatment, life skills, opportunities to work following prison.
2
Q
Describe the psychological effects of custodial sentencing
A
- Stress and depression - higher suicide rates, self mutilation and self harm.
- Institutionalisation - Adapted to prison norms, cannot function on the outside.
- Prisonization - Adopting the ‘inmate code’ - unacceptable behaviour on the outside.
3
Q
Strengths of custodial sentencing
A
- Training and treatment - strength - provides opportunity for training and treatment. Offenders who access and take part in education programmed are 43% less likely to reoffend, and these prisoners have fewer incidents of violence. Suggests prison may be a worthwhile experience, assuming offenders are able to access these programmes.
4
Q
Limitations of custodial sentencing
A
- School for crime - limitation - offenders may learn to become better offenders. Young offenders can learn criminal acts from more experienced prisoners and acquire criminal contacts. This ‘education’ undermines attempts to rehabilitate prisoners and consequently make reoffending more likely.
- Psychological effects - limitaton - negative psychological effect on prisoners. Prison is demeaning, suicide is 9 times higher than the norm. 25% women and 15% men report symptoms of psychosis. Oppressive prison regimes may be deterimental to psychological health which can impact rehabilitation. HOWEVER, Offenders may have had pre-existing psychological difficulties (importation) - suggests there may be confounding variables that influence the link between prison and its psychological effects.
5
Q
Describe behaviour modification in custody as a way of dealing with offending behaviour
A
According to the behaviourist approach, all behaviour is learned, and this approach suggests that it can be unlearned as well.
Operant conditioning is used by awarding tokens (secondary reinforcers) as reinforcement for good behaviour which are associated with rewards like food, extra yard time etc. (primary reinforcers). Tokens or rewards can also be retracted as punishment.
- Operationalise target behaviours to be made objective and measurable.
- Scoring system, some behaviours should be worth more than others, staff and inmates should be made aware of the worth of each behaviour, and there should be more rewards than punishment. (4:1)
- Train staff - standardise procedures and training, and record prisoner’s progress.
6
Q
Strengths of behaviour modification in custody
A
- Research support - strength - token economy programmes in young offender institutes showed significant increases in postiive behaviours compared to non-token economy group. Some young people did not respond - but a specialised programme with more frequent and immediate rewards provided more positive results. HOWEVER, the benefits are lost with inconsistent techniques due to poor staff training or high staff turnover, which suggests behaviour modification schemes must ensure full and consistent staff participation if they are to work.
- Easy to implement - strenght - relatively straightforward to set up. No specialist professionals needed, can be run by any prison staff (once trained), cost-effective. Can be established in most prisons and accessed by most prisoners.
7
Q
Limitations of behaviour modification in custody
A
- Little rehablilitative value - limitation - may not affect long term behaviour. Other treatments e.g. anger management, are more likely to lead to permanent change. Also, prisoners can play along to access the reward, but after discontinuing, an offender can quickly regress back to their former behaviour.
8
Q
Describe the use cognitive behaviour therapy in anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour
A
Raymond Novaco (1975) suggests that cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal that precedes aggressive acts.
- Cognitive Preparation - Requires offenders to recognise triggers and dissolve irrational interpretations of different scenarios.
- Skills Acquisition -
1. Cognitive - Positive self-talk to encourage calmness.
2. Behavioural - Assertiveness training in how to communicate more effectively which will become an automatic response if practised regularly.
3. Physiological - Deal with the physical reaction to anger such as using relaxation training or meditation. - Application Practice - Offenders can practise their skills in a carefully controlled environment. If the offender deals successfully then they are given positive reinforcement by the therapist.
9
Q
Strengths of anger management
A
- Benefits may outlast those of behaviour modification. Unlike BM, AM tries to tackle the causes of offending, that are the cognitive processes that trigger anger. BM processes only deal with surface level behaviour and not the processes that drive behaviour. Suggests AM is more likely to induce a permanent change in behaviour than BM. HOWEVER, follow up studies of anger management do not generally support this assumption. Ronald Blackburn pointed out that while AM may exhibit noticeable differences in the short term, little evidence that it reduces recidivism in the long term, because the role play may not reflect a real world situation and all the possible triggers present.
10
Q
Limitations of anger management
A
- Individual Differences - Kevin Howells found that there was no overall benefit when compared to a control group with no treatment. However, there was significant progress for those offenders who had high pre-prison anger levels and were open to change and highly motivated. Suggests AM may only benefit offenders who fit a certain profile.
- Expensive - Highly trained specialists need to be used to dealing with violent offenders.Prisons may not be able to fund AM programmes for this reason. In addition, the success is based on the commitment of its participants, which can be a problem if prisoners are uncooperative and apathetic, suggesting effective AM programmes are probably not going to work in most prisons.
11
Q
Outline key features of restorative justice
A
Crime is seen as against an individual, and not against the state. It offers a healing process for the offender and the survivor.
- Trained mediator
- Face-to-face, or remote
- Active involvement from all parties
- May involve community
- Survivors can confront offenders and explain how the incident affected them.
12
Q
Who are the Restorative Justice Council?
A
Monitors standards of RJ, supports survivors, promotes wider use for conflict (e.g. schools, workplace).
13
Q
Strengths of Restorative Justice
A
- Needs of the survivor - strength - evidence suggests positive outcomes. 85% of survivors say they are satisfied, 60% felt closure, and 2% felt worse. Suggests restorative justice achieves some of its aims, helping survivors of crime cope with the aftermath of the incident. HOWEVER, survivors may be used to help reabilitate offenders. Suggests the needs of the survivor in restorative justice may be seen as secondary to the need to rehabilitate the offender.
- Recidivism - strength - RJ seems to lead to a decrease in recidivism (reoffending). Offenders who experienced RJ were less likely to reoffend, compared to a custodial sentencing control group. A meta analysis showed that recidivism rates were lowered in adult offenders when 1:1 contact was used, over community involvement.
14
Q
Limitations of Restorative Justice
A
- Abusing the system - limitation - offenders may abuse system. Offenders may use RJ to avoid punishment, playing down theur faults, or taking pride in their relationship wiht the survivors. All depends on their honour and apparent intentions that they regret the hurt they caused.
