Dealing with offending behaviour: Custodial sentencing Flashcards
Aims of custodial sentencing
Custodial sentencing involves a convicted offender spending time in prison or another closed institution e.g. young offender’s institute or psychiatric hospital.
there are four main reasons for doing this:
- deterrence
- incapacitation
- retribution
- rehabilitation
Deterrence
the unpleasant prison experience is designed to put off the individual and society at large from engaging in offending behaviour. General deterrence aims to send a broad message to a society that that crime will not be tolerated. Individual deterrence should prevent the individual from repeating the same offences. This view is based on the behaviourist idea of conditioning through vicarious reinforcement.
Incapacitation
the offender is taken out of society to prevent them reoffending as a means of protecting the public. The need for incapacitation depends on the severity of the offence and nature of the offender.
Retribution
society is enacting revenge for the offence by making the offender suffer. The level of suffering should be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence.
Rehabilitation
upon release, offenders should leave prison better adjusted and ready to take their place back in society. Prison should provide opportunities to develop skills and training or access to treatment programmes. Should also give the offender the chance to reflect on their offence.
Psychological effects of custodial sentences
Stress and depression
Institutionalisation
Prisonisation
Stress and depression
suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population, as are the incidents of self-harm. The stress of the prison experience also increases the risk of developing psychological disorders following release.
Institutionalisation
having adapted to the norms and routines of prison life, inmates may become so accustomed to these that they are no longer able to function on the outside.
Prisonisation
refers to the way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’. Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside the walls of the institution.
The problem of recidivism
Recidivism refers to reoffending. Recidivism rates in ex-prisoners tell us to what extent prison acts as an effective deterrent.
In recent years recidivism rates within one year of release are 45%. Reoffending rates vary with time period of release, age of offender, crime committed and country. The US, Australia and Denmark regularly record rates in excess of 60%. In Norway rates may be as low as 20%. This is significant as Norway places less emphasis of incarceration and more emphasis on rehabilitation and skills development.
Evaluation of custodial sentencing (brief)
strength - training and treatment
weakness - negative psychological effects
weakness - learn to be better offenders
strength of custodial sentencing
a strength of custodial sentencing is that it provides opportunity for training and treatment. One objective of prison is rehabilitation. Many prisoners access education and training whilst in prison increasing the possibility of finding employment upon release. The Vera Institute of Justice claims that offenders who take part in college education programmes are 43% less likely to reoffend following release, and that the prisons who offer these programmes report fewer incidents of violence. This suggests prison may be a worthwhile experience assuming offenders are able to access these programmes.
weaknesses of custodial sentencing
custodial sentencing has a negative psychological effect on prisoners. According to Ministry of Justice a record 119 people killed themselves in prisons in England and Wales in 2016 – an increase of 29 on the previous year. A study collected by the Prison Reform Trust (2014) found that 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis. This supports the view that oppressive prison regimes may be detrimental to psychological health which could impact on rehabilitation. However, the figures in the Prison Reform Trust do not include the number of inmates who were experiencing psychotic symptoms before they were incarcerated. Many of those convicted may have pre-existing psychological difficulties at the time they were convicted and this may explain their offending behaviour in the first place. This suggests there may be confounding variables that influence the link between prison and its psychological effects.
offenders may learn to become better offenders. Alongside the legitimate skills that offenders may acquire during their time in prison, they may also undergo a more dubious education. Incarceration with long term offenders may give younger inmates the opportunity to learn the tricks of the trade from more experienced prisoners. Offenders may also acquire criminal contacts whilst in prison that they may follow up when they are released. This form of ‘education’ may undermine attempts to rehabilitate prisoners and consequently make reoffending more likely.
