DEALING WITH OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR - CUSTODIAL SENTENCING Flashcards
whats is custodial sentencing
involves a convicted offender spending time in a prison or another closed institutiont e.g young offenders institute
what ar ethe four mainr easons for custodial sentening
deterrence
incapacitation
retribution
rehabilitation
what is the idea behind deterrence
the unpleasant prison xp is designed to put off the individual/ society from engaging in offending behaviour
what two levels does deterrence work on
general deterrence
individual deterrence
what is general detterenece
aims to send a broad message to mebers of a socity that crime wont be tolerated
what is individual deterrence
should prevent individual from repeating the same offencences in light of their experience
deterrence is based on what idea
behaviourist idea of conditionig through vicarious punishemnt
what is incapacitation
when offender is taken out of society to prevent ehm offedning as a means of protecting the public
what is hte need for incapacitation dependent on
severity of offence and nature of offender
give a contetual example of the need for incapacitation
individuals in society need more protection from serial murderer
than
elderly perosn who refuses to pay council tax
what is retribution
society is enacting revenge for the offence by making the offender suffer
in terms of retribution - socuety makes the offender suffer , how should the level of suffering be
proportionate to the seriousness of the offence
retribution is based on the bibilicl notion of
an eye for an eye
that the offender in some way shoudl pay for their actions
in terms of retibutionhow is prison seen
best possible option
alternaitves to prison are criticised as soft options
what is rehabilitation
seeing main objective of prison to reform not to purely punish
when released prisoners should be better adjusted and ready to take their plce bakc in society
rehabilitation - what 3 things should prison provide
opps to develop skills and traingin
access treatment programmes e.g for drug addiciton
give offender chance to reflect on offence
what are the sever psychological affect sassociate dwith serving time in prison
stress and depression
institutionalisation
prisonisation
outlien stress and depression
suicide rates higher in prisons than in general popluations + incidents of self mutilation and self harm
stress prison xp increases risk of developing psych disorders following release
outline institutionalisation
relates to
having adapted to norms of and routines of prison life
inmates may become so accustomed to these they’re no longer able to function on the outside
outline prisonisation
refers to way offenders are socialised into adopting an inmate code
behaviour considered unacceptable in outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside walls of instution
recidivism
a tendency to relapse into a previous condiiton or mode of behaviour
e.g reoffending
what do recidivism rates in ex prisoners tell us
to what extent prison acts as an effective deterent
uk minsitry of justice reports proven figures within
one year of release
what does proven mean
perosn been caught
in recent years uks receedivism rate been around
45%
reoffending rates vary with what 4 things
time period after release
age of offender
crime comitted
country
the us , usa , denamrk reguraly record offending rates in excess of
60%
what are norway reofeending rates
as low as 20%
why is norway reoffending figure significant
less empahsis on incarceration
greater emphasis on rehabilitaiton and skills development
than elsewhere
school for crime - limtation
A limitation of custodial sentencing is that offenders may learn to become better offenders.
Alongside legitimate skills offenders may acquire during their time in prison
they may also undergo a more dubious educatinon as part of theri sentence
inccarceration with , long term inmates may also give the younger/short-term inmates an opportunity to learn the ‘tricks of the trade’.
They may also acquire criminal contacts whilst in prison that they may follow up once their released
. This form of education may undermine the attempts to rehabilitate prisoners and could actually make re-offending more likely
strength - traing and treatmetn
streght = provides opportunities for traing and treatmetn
an obj of imprisonment is rehabilitaion- offender may become better people during their time in prison and their imporved character may mean they may be able to lead a crime free life when back in society
many offeders access eduationa nd trainign whilst in prison increases the possiblity they will find employment upon release
the vera institute of justicec claims offenders who take part in college education programmes are 43% less likely to reoffend follwoign release and that prisons who ofer these programmes report fewer incidents of violence
this suggests prison may be a worthwhile experience assuming offenders are able to access these programmes
limitation - negatvoe psychological effect on prisoners
bartol suggested that for many offenders imprisonment can be brutal , demeaning an genrally devastating
according to ministry of justice 119 people k word themselves in england and wales in 2016
whihc was a an increase of 32% on previous year
most at risk are young single men during the first 24 hours of confinement
study conducted by prison reform trust found 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis
this supprots the view that opressive prison regimes may be detrimental to psychological health which could impact on rehabilitaiton
however this doesnt tell us about prisoners xp psychotic symptoms before incarceration so we cant be sure if the data tell us facts
