DEALING WITH OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR: CUSTODIAL SENTENCING Flashcards
what is custodial sentencing?
when the offender is punished by serving time in prison (incarceration) or some in other place
what are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing?
deterrence
incapacitation
retribution
rehabilitation
what is deterrence?
seeing or experiencing the negative consequence means that the offending behaviour should be avoided in the future
what is incapacitation
sending someone to prison removes the offender from society, putting the offender out of society
what is retribution?
society exacts revenge for unacceptable conduct
what is rehabilitation?
objective of prison as not being purely to punish, but to reform through access to development of skills.
what are some psychological effects of custodial sentencing?
- There is a higher incidence of mental illnesses such as depression, self harm and suicide
- Zimbardo’s prison study demonstrating the psychological effects of imprisonment
- Suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population
what is labelling?
it also leads to loss of social contacts, reduced employability, all effecting recidivism rates.
what is recidivism?
Refers to reoffending
what percent of offenders will reoffend within a year of release?
57%
what country in Europe has the lowest reoffending rates and why?
Norway.
there prisons are very different as they focus more on rehabilitation and skills development.
what is institutionalisation?
- Adopting to the norms and routines of prison life, prisoners can no longer operate outside of prison
- Leads to lack of autonomy, conformity to roles and a dependency culture
what is prisonisation?
- This is the process of accepting the culture and social life of prison society
- Prisoners are socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’ behaviour which is unacceptable on the outside is encouraged and/or rewarded on the inside.
what are some positive psychological effects of custodial sentencing?
opportunities, treatment, rehabilitation, remorse.
AO3: how is ‘it leads to rehabilitation’ a strength to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one strength to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it leads to rehabilitation. This is because there can be opportunities in prison to help reform to a crime free life through education and opportunities. For example, there are treatment programmes such as anger management schemes to help reduce recidivism. Therefore, this means that if prisoners are able to access these programmes, their prison stay may be a worthwhile experience.
AO3: how is ‘serious psychological effects’ a limitation to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one limitation to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it can lead to serious psychological effects. For example, Bartol (1995) found that suicide rates among offenders are 15 times higher than those in the general population, and that a recent study found 25% of women and 15% of men report symptoms of psychosis. Therefore, this suggests that custodial sentencing is not effective in rehabilitating the individual, particularly those who are psychologically vulnerable.
AO3: how is ‘prisons are universities for crime’ a limitation to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one limitation to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that prisons have been criticized for being universities for crime. This is because, being incarcerated with hardened criminals may give younger inmates the opportunity to ‘learn’ from more experienced offenders. Therefore, this may undermine attempts to rehabilitate prisoners, making reoffending more likely.
AO3: how is ‘there are other alternatives for custodial sentencing’ a limitation to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one limitation to custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that there are other ways of dealing such as restorative justice programmes. This is where a criminal pays back the victim in some way and this leads to the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and collaboration. This benefits both the offender and victim as it allows the victims to receive closure about why they were targeted and put the crime behind them, and it allows the offenders to develop an understanding in how their actions affect others. Therefore, compared to custodial sentencing, this theory benefits everyone involved in the crime.
