dealing with offending behaviour- forensic psychology

Question 1

what are the aims of custodial sentencing

Answer 1

involves convicted offender spending time in prison or close institution
deterrence-unpleasant prison experience designed to put off individual from engaging in offending behaviour, works on two levels- general deterrence aims to send broad message to members of given society that crime will not be tolerated and individual deterrence should prevent individual from repeating same offences in light of experience- based on e=behaviourist idea of conditioning through vicarious punishment
incapacitation-offender taken out of society to prevent them reoffending means protecting public, need depend upon severity of offence and nature of offender, individuals in society will require more protection from a serial murderer or rapist than elderly person refuses pay council tax
retribution-society enacting revenge for offence making offender suffer and level of suffering should be proportionate to seriousness of offence, based on biblical notion of eye for eye that offender should pay for actions, prison best possible option and alternatives to prison criticised as soft options
rehabilitation-see main objective as not being purely to punish but to reform, release offenders leave prison better adjusted and ready take their place back in society, prison should provide opportunities to develop skills and training or to acess treatment programmes as well as give offender chance to reflect on offence

Question 2

what are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing

Answer 2

stress and depression-suicide rates higher in prison than in general pop incidents of self mutilation and self harm, stress of prison experience also increases risk of developing psychological disorders following release
institutionalisation-adapted norms and routines of prison life inmates may become accustomed to these that they are no longer able to function on the outside
prisonisation-refers way which prisoners socialised into adopting an inmate code, behaviour considered unacceptable in outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside walls of institution

Question 3

what is the problem of receidivism

Answer 3

refers to reoffending, recidivism rates in ex prisoners tell us to what extent prison acts as effective deterrent
difficult obtain clear figures for redivism rates- depends whether looking at reoffending within year of release or longer period
ministry of justice reports proven figures within one year of release
UK figure has been about 45%
reoffending rates vary with time period after release age of offender crime committed and country
US austrailia and denmark record rates in excess of 60% in norway rates may be lowe 20%
norway- less emphasis on incarceration and greater emphasis on rehabilitation and skills development than elsewhere

Question 4

what are psychological effects (cutodial sentencing)

Answer 4

negative psychological effect on prisoners
bartol-imprisonment can be brutal demeaning and devastating
ministry of justice record of 119 people killed themselves in prisons i england and wales 2016 increase of 29 on previous year
equates to average suicide of one every three days almost nine times higher than in the general pop
most at risk young single men during first 24hrs of confinment
study conducted prison reform trust found 25% women and 15% men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis
supports view oppressive prison regimes detrimental to psychological health which could impact on rehabilitation

figures in prison reform trust dont include number of inamtes who experiencing psychotic symptoms before incarcerated
many of those convucted may haev pre existing psychological and emotional difficulties at time convicted
importation model argues prisoners import some of their psychological problems so dont know if this is proble with the prison regime such as trauma of being locked away regardless of what prison is like
confounding varibales that influence the link between prison and psychological efects

Question 5

what is training and treatment (cutodial sentencing)

Answer 5

provides opportunity for training and treatment
objective imprisonment is rehabilitation offender may becoe better people during time in prison and improved character means they may be able to lead crime free life when back in society
many offenders access education and training while in prison increasing possibility they will find employment upon release
vera institute of justice claims that offenders who take part in college education programmes are 43% less likely to reoffend following release and that prisons who offer these programmes report fewer incidents of violence
suggest prison may be worthwhile experience assuming offenders are able to access these programmes

Question 6

what is school for crime (custodial sentencing)

Answer 6

offenders may learn to become better offenders
legitimate skills offenders acquire during time in prison, undergo dubious education as part of sentence
incaraceraton with olong term offenders may give younger inmates in particular the opportunity to learn tricks of the trade from more experienced prisoners
offenders acquire criminal contacts whilst in prison that they may follow up when released
form of education undermine attempts rehabilitate prisoners and may make reoffending more liekly

Question 7

what is the purpose of prison (custodial sentencing)

Answer 7

recent survey found nearly half of respondents saw primary purpose of prison as being to punish offender for wrongdoing
many saw current prison regimes as too soft akin to holiday camp that wouldnt deter existing or would be offenders

similar number respondents held view that prisons main emphasis should be on reofrm and rehabilitation that prison should provide access to training and treatment so that offenders can be efectively reintegrated back into society
overcrowding and lack of funding were seen as barriers to these

Question 8

what are behaviourist principles

Answer 8

all human behaviour learned
should be possible to encourage unlearning of behaviour
behaviour modification programmes designed with aim of reinforcing obedient behaviour in offenders whilst punishing disobedience in hope former continues latter dies out

Question 9

what is token economy

Answer 9

based on operant conditioning
desirbale behaviour may include avoiding confrontation following prison rules keeping ones cell orderly
prisoners given token each time perform desirbale behaviour
behaviours and rewards would be made clear to prisoners before programme implemented
emphasised non compliance or disobedience may result in tokens being withheld or removed
tokens not rewarding in themselves but derive their value from association with reward and thus are called secondary reinforcers
tokens mught be exchanged for phone call to loved one time in the gym or exercise yard extra cigs or food

Question 10

what is designing and using a token economy

Answer 10

operationalise target behaviours-target behaviour operationalised by breaking down into component parts eg. target behaviour may not improved interaction with other prison inmates broken down into not touching another prisoner as you pass them speaking politely to others, units of behaviour should be objective and measurable and agreed with prison sttagg and inmates in advance
scoring system-staff and prisoners made aware scoring system an dhow much each behaviour is worth, behaviours hierarchal in sense that some regarded as more demanding than others receive greater rewards, may award tokes directly whereas others may award points which are then converted to tokens, recommendation is that reinforcements should outnumber punsihments by ratio of 4:1
train staff-prison staff given full training in order implement token economy system successfully, training involve several hours for number of weeks, aims standardise procedures so all prison staff rewrding the same behaviours in the same way, staff also record when they have awarded tokens to progress of individuals prisoners can be assessed

Question 11

what are long term effects

Answer 11

behaviour modification produce short term effects, long term effectiveness less certain
cohen and filipczak demonstrated how token economy group showed more desirbale behaviour than control group within adult prison, researchers noted that offenders who took part in programme less likely to have reffended two years later, after three yers rates of recifivism went back to refelcting national statistics
suggests behavour modification delay recidivism littel overall impact in longer term

Question 12

what is the reward of conjugal visit

Answer 12

scheduled period prison inmate permitted psend several hours in private with visitor usually his or her legal spuse
parties engage in sexual intercourse
basis for allowing such visits preserve family bonds and increase chances of success for prisoners eventual return ot life after release from prison
not currently permitted in UK but permitted in others including america
research in america shows visits reduce incidences of sexual and physical violence in prisons within states that allow them

Question 13

what is research support (behaviour modification)

Answer 13

evidence to support
hobbs and holt- introduced token economoy programme with two groups of young offenders across three behavioural units
observed significant difference in positive behaviour compared to non token economy group
field found token economy prgramme used with young people with behavioural problems was effective although still number of young people who didnt respond
later youths placed on special programme where rewards were more immediate and more frequent and results more positive
suggest token economy works

success depends on consistent approach from prison staff
bassett and blanchard found benefits were lost if staff applied techniques inconsistently
due to factors such as lack of appropriate staff training or high staff turnover
suggests behaviour mod schemes must ensure full and consistent staff pps if they are to work

Question 14

what is easy to implement (behaviour mod)

Answer 14

straightforward to set up custody
appeal of behaviour mod rests upon the ease with whcih it can be administered
no need for specialist professional to be involved as there would be for other forms of treatment such as anger management
token economy can be designed and implemented by virtually anyone in any institution
cost efective and easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement have been established
suggests behaviour mod techniques can be established in most prisons and accessed by most prisons

Question 15

what is little rehabilitative value

Answer 15

may not affect long term behaviour
blackbum-little rehabilitative value and any positive changes in behaviour that may occur whilst offender is in prison quickly be lost when released
cognitive based treatments more likely to lead to permanent behavioural change
treatments require offender understand cause of offending and take responsibility for own rehabilitation
offenders fairly easily play along with token economy access rewards produces little change in overall chaaracter
token economy discontinued offended may quickly regress back to former behaviour

Question 16

what is ethical issues

Answer 16

associated with decreased conflict within penal institutions adn more successful management of prison pop
reduce pressure and stress on prison stagg in what can be hostile and difficult environment

described behaviour mod as manipulative and dehumanising
pps in scheme is obligatory rather than optional and human rights campaigners argue withdrawl of priviledges such as exercise and contact with loved ones is unethical

Question 17

what is cognitive behaviour therapy

Answer 17

novaco-cognitive factors trigger emotional arousal generally precedes aggressive acts
some people anger quick to surface especialy in situations perceived to be anxiety inducing or threatening
behaviourist terms-becoming anger reinforced by individuals feelings control in situation, anger management programmes form cbt, indivifual tuaght how recognise cognitive factors trigger their anger and loss of control and encouraged develop techniques bring about conflict resolution without need violence

Question 18

what are the three stages

Answer 18

cognitive preparation-requires offender reflect past experience consider typical pattern of anger, offender learns identify situations act as triggers to anger, therapists role make this clear
skills acquisition-offenders intro range techniquess and skills help deal anger provoking situations more rationally and effective: cognitive positive self talk encourage calmness, behavioural asseritveness training in how to communicate more effectively become automatic response if paractised regularly, physiological deal with physical reactions anger such as using relaxation training or meditation aim to control emotions rather being controlled by them
application practice-offenders given opportunity practise skills carefully controlled environment, role play likely involve offender and therapist reenacting scenarios may have escalted feelings of anger and acts of violence in past, requires committment from offender, must see each scenario as real, requires bravery from therapist whose job to wind up the offender to access progress, offender deals successfully with role play given positive reinforcement by therapist

Question 19

what is positive outcome with young offenders

Answer 19

keen-studied progress made with young offedners aged 17 and 21 took part nationally recognised anger management programme, devised in 1992 and updated 1995, national anger management packaged developed engladn and wales prison service, course comprises eight two hour sessions, first seven over three week period with last session a month afterwards and content broadly follows three stages
initial issues in terms of offenders not taking course seriously and individuals forgetting routines such as requirement bring diary, final outcomes positive, offenders reported increased awareness of anger management difficulties and increased capacity to exercise self control

Question 20

what is better than behaviour mod (anger management)

Answer 20

benefits outlast those of behaviour mod
tries to tackle one of causes of offending- cognitive process triger anger and offedning behaviour
alternative treatments such as behaviour mod deal only with surface behaviour and not processes that drive such behaviour,
experience anger management give offedners insight into cause of criminality and allow to self discover ways of managing themselves outside prison setting
suggests anger management more likely than behaviour mod to lead to permanent behavioural change

follow up studies dont support
blackburn-anger management may have noticeable effect on conduct of offenders in short term little vidence reduces recidivism in long term because the application phase treatment relies on role play might not properly reflect possibel triggers present in real world situation
any progress made in therapy count for little when compared to busy centre pub on sat night
suggests may not reduce reoffedning

Question 21

what are individual differences (anger management)

Answer 21

success depend individual factors
howells-invesitgation with austrailian offenders, found pp in anger management programme little overall impact when compared to control group who received no treatmnet, not true for all offenders in treatment programme
progress made with offenders who showerd intsense levels of anger before programme
offenders open to change and highly motivated from outset experienced similar gains
syggests may only benefit offeenders who fit certain profile

Question 22

what is expensive (anger management)

Answer 22

expensive option
expensive run require services highly trained specialists used dealing with violent offenders
prisons not have resources fund such programmes
success based on commitment those who pp may be problem if prisoners uncooperative and apathetic
change takes time and likely to add expense of delivering effective programmes
suggests not going to work in most prisons

Question 23

what is anger and offending (anger management)

Answer 23

suggests straightforward causal relationship between anger and offending
anger assumed to be important antecedent offedning in that it produces emoitonal state necessary commit crime

assumption may be false
loza and loza-fanous found no differences in levels of anger between offedners classed as violent and those classed as non violent
suggested anger management prgrammes misguided as they provide offenders with justification for behaviour

Question 24

what is changing the emphasis

Answer 24

person vconvicted criminal offene would regarded committed crime against state
restorative justice programmes switch emphasis from needs o fstate to needs of individual victim
method of treatment seeks to be healing process
braithwaite- crime hurts justice should heal, restorative justice less about retribution and more about reparation
aims seek to focus on two thing the victim of the crime and their recovery and the offender and their recovery or rehabilitation process

Question 25

what are they key features of the programme

Answer 25

trained mediator supervises the meeting
non coutroom setting where offenders voluntarily meet with survivors
can be face to face meeting or conducted remotely via video link
survivor given opportunity confront offender and explain how incident affected them, enables offender comprehend consequences of actions including emtional distress
there is active rather than passive involvement of all parties in process wherever possible
focus is on posotive outcomes for both survivors and offedners
other relevant community members have role in process such as neighbours friends family members, may wish explain effects of the crime

Question 26

what is sentencing and restitution

Answer 26

restorative justice occur pre trial
function alongside prison sentence or alternative to prison or incentive to reduce length of sentence
restitution een as monetary payment by offender to survivor for harm resulting from offence, offender may make financial restitution to survivor reflect psychological damage cause or actual physical damage in case of break in
involve offender repairing damaged property themselves
idea of restitution can be more emotional sense, offender can support healing process by repairing and rebuilding survivors condifence or self esteem

Question 27

what is restorative justice council

Answer 27

independent body whose role establish clear standards for use of restorative judtice and support survivors and specialist professionals in the field
advocates use of restorative practice beyond dealong with crime, can be used in preventing and managing conflict in areas including schools childrens services workplaces hospitals and communities

Question 28

what are the needs of the survivor (restorative justice)

Answer 28

positive outcomes
restorative justice council reported results major seven year research project, headline figures: 85% survivors reported satisfaction with process meeting their offedner face to face and 78% would recommend to other, 60% survivors felt process made them feel better about incident enabling feel closure and move on, 2% said made them feel worse
suggests achieves some of its aims helping survivors of crime cope with aftermath of incident

not all research positive
wood and suzuki resotative processes not survivor focused as often reported
researchers restorative justice processes become distorted such as when survivors of crime used as way of helping rehabilitate offednders rather than helping themselves
suggests needs of survivor be seen as secondary to need to rehabilitate offenders

Question 29

what is recidivism (restorative justice)

Answer 29

lead to deecrease rates of reoffending
meta analysis ten studies strang-compared offenders experiences face to face resotative justice schemes those experiences custodial sentencing, reduction larger in offenders convicted of ciolent crimes than crimes against property
review of 24 published studies by bain lowered recidivism rates with adult offendders when using one to one contact rather than general community involvement
suggests positive impact on reoffending

Question 30

what is abusing the system (restorative justice)

Answer 30

offenders abuse system
hinge of offenders intentions being honourable must be taking part because they regret the hurt caused and want to make amends
van gijseghem offenders using restorative justice for all kinds of reasons avoiding punishment playing down thier faults even taking pride in relationship with survivor using direct contact
explain why not all offenders benefit from restorative justice and go on to reoffend

Question 31

what is domestic violence

Answer 31

permitted in cases of domestic violence, national police chiefs council doesnt support its use in this context
liebman main concern is that the power imbalance between abuser and abused puts pressure on survivors who may fear the worst if they dont go along with their partner or ex partners suggestions during mediation

others argue pre trial meditation in domestic violence cases produces positive results for survivors
sen suggest resorative approaches useful in cases of intimate partner violence where couple chosen to remain together as they can adress harm caused and plan for the future