Dealing with offending behaviour: Custodial sentencing

Question 1

Outline Custodial sentencing

Answer 1

Involves a convicted offender spending time in prison / closed institution such as young offenders institute or psychiatric hospital

Question 2

4 main reasons for Custodial sentencing

Answer 2

1. Deterrence
2. Incapacitation
3. Retribution
4. Rehabilitation

Question 3

1.Outline deterence as a reason for custodial sentencing

Answer 3

• General Deterrence-where imprisonment is designed to warn ppl from commiting crime
• Individual Deterrence- where imprisonment is designed as a punishment to deter people from reoffending

Question 4

2.Outline Incapacitation as a reason for custodial sentencing

Answer 4

The offender is taken out of society to prevent them from reoffending as a means of protecting the public

Question 5

3.Outline Retribution as a reason for custodial sentencing

Answer 5

Society enacts revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer, punishing the offender by removing them from their home, privileges & any luxeries they may.
Its based on biblical notion ‘an eye for an eye’ that offenders should pay for their actions

Question 6

4.Outline Rehabilitation as a reason for custodial sentencing

Answer 6

Rehabilitation offers the offender a space for reflection & develop skills to better prepare them for integrating back into society when they are released,
prison provides opportunities to access treatment programmes like drug therapy/ anger therapy

Question 7

The psychological effects of custodial sentencing

Answer 7

• Stress & depression
• Institutionalisation
• Prisonisation

Question 8

stress & depression

Outline how stress & depression is a psychological effect

Answer 8

Suicide rates , self mutilation & self harm rates are higher in prison compared to general population.

Question 9

Institutionalisation

Outline institutionalisation as a psychological effect

Answer 9

By adapting to norms & routines of prison life, offenders may become so aaccustomed to them, they may struggle to adjust to life on the outside

Question 10

Prisonisation

Outline Prisonisation as a psychological effect

Answer 10

refers to the way prisoners are socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’. Behaviour that is considered unacceptable in outside world may be encouraged & rewarded inside prison

inmate code- rules & values that have developed among prisoners

Question 11

The problem of recidivism

Answer 11

Recidivism refers to reoffending
statistics produced by ministry of justice suggest that 57% of UK offenders will reoffend within a year of release
Us & UK have highest rate of recidivism IN CONTRAST Norway has lowest
Reoffending rates in Norway are lowest in Europe & less than 1/2 in UK
Norwegian penal institutions are more ‘open’ & greater emphasis is placed on rehabilitation & skill development than in UK
but may criticse norwegian approach seeing it as a ‘soft option’ that doesnt punish offender properly

Question 12

A03

Evidence supporting Psychological effects-Bartol

strength

Answer 12

Bartol- For many offenders, prison is brutal & demeaning, in last 20 years suicide rates of offenders were 15 times higher than general population
Most at risk, single young men during first 24hrs at confinement
Prison reform trust-25% women, 15% men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis
suggests CS not effective in rehabilitating people, particularly the psychologically vulnerable

Question 13

A03

Individual differences in prison

Limitation

Answer 13

Although prison is challenging experience it does not mean all offenders react in same way , different prisons have diff regimes, thus all have wide variations in experience, most convicted may have pre-existing psychological & emotional difficulties at the time they were convicted thus difficult to make generalisations that apply to every prisoner & prison