effects of imprisonment Flashcards
what is restorative justice?
encourages offender to reflect on what they have done
what did prison used to be? (16th-17th century)
used to be a place where people would wait for trial and punishment
everyone was imprisoned together
very poor conditions
what was prison like in the 18th century? what did John Howard do?
prisoners were put to work for colonies
Howard insisted on reforms:
1) paid staff
2) outside inspections
3) proper diet
4) men and women should be separate
5) other necessities
what was the prison system like in the 19th century?
imprisonment had been replaced by capital punishment for most serious cases
more prisons were built
abolition of hard labour - prisons should be productive, not harmful
what was prison like in the 20th century
young people should be separate
first open prison should be built
what are the UN standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners?
no discrimination
necessary to respect religious beliefs and moral precepts of group which prisoner belongs to
food
exercise
medical care
connection with the outside world
what is the prison service mission statement?
her majesty’s prison service serves the public by keeping those in custody committed by the courts
what happens in prison?
induction and assessment
rehab, education programmes, work
resettlement
what is the effect of overcrowding
anecdotal evidence suggests that overcrowding causes an increase in reoffending
can produce psychological and physiological stress
suicide in prison
new entrants have heightened risk
average suicide rate in UK is about 2 per week
prison vs community
- deaths dues to illness and homicide significantly lower in prison
- deaths due to suicide significantly higher in prison
Towl 1996 - strategies to help with prisoner suicide
- reduce numbers of remand prisoners and those with mental illness
- try to avoid negative consequences for prisoners who report suicidal thoughts
- enable staff to identify and assist prisoners withs suicidal feelings
Buckstel and Kilman (1980) - review of 90 experimental studies
Found:
- methodological flaws
- crowding, phase of sentence and peer groups impact on personal functioning
- deterioration results from poor adaption to surroundings
- benign, passive and dependent personalities often adjust well
- intdeterminant sentencing leads to adjustment problems
indeterminant sentencing
- time served can be extended
what are the 8 central environmental concerns of prison inmates?
1) privacy
2) safety
3) structure
4) support
5) emotional feedback
6) social stimulation
7) activity
8) freedom
what did Wooldredge (1999) find?
found that inmates who were depressed, anxious, stressed had greater concerns with:
safety, support, social stimulation, activity
why is recidivism so high?
lack of financial resources
political climate
effective treatments have only been developed recently
what were Redondo et al’s (2002) findings?
meta analysis of studies of the effectiveness of prison and community treatment programmes:
- differential in reoffending was 22% between the treated and untreated offenders
- best outcomes for educational programmes and CBT
- programmes in the community more effective than in prisons
- sex offending programmes had greater effects than programmes for other crimes
argument that “nothing works”
treatments carried out by prison guards = unsuccessful
treatment by psychologists = successful
what did Smith, Goggin and Gendreau (2002) find?
- recidivism was not lower when prison terms were given or when longer terms were served
- lack of impact on recidivism applies to juveniles, women and other minority groups just as much as men
- little evidence to suggest that longer sentences may be associated with increased recidivism
what is a therapeutic prison
institutional environment which encourages their development as members of an effective community
