Forensic Psych Flashcards
1
Q
Offender profiling:
A
Building up a picture of a criminal based upon evidence from the crime scene/s, also known as typology.
2
Q
Top-down criminal profiling:
A
Coming up with the big picture and then finding evidence to support it.
3
Q
Bottom-up criminal profiling:
A
Finding little pieces of information and using it to build the picture.
4
Q
Who came up with the theory of ‘organised’ and ‘disorganised’ killers?
A
Hazelwood and Douglas (1980)
5
Q
Organised offender qualities:
A
-Lead an orderly life and will kill after experiencing a critical event in their life.
-Planning and control. This can be seen if they have brought
restraints to the scene and a weapon.
-Often leaving few clues.
-More likely to use a verbal approach with victims, talking them into a car or venerable position.
-Likely to be of high or
above average intelligence, socially & sexually competent
-Likely to be employed.
-May be married and have children
6
Q
Disorganised offender qualities:
A
-Likely to have committed the crime in the heat of the moment.
-No pre-planning or thought, this will be shown by they use of items already at the scene.
-They may have left blood, semen, fingerprints and the murder weapon behind.
-Lower IQ ,impulsive and socially
incompetent, tending to live alone having a history of sexual dysfunction and failed relationships.
-Tend to be unskilled workers or unemployed.
-Often live relativity close to the murder site.
7
Q
4 Main stages to the construction of an FBI profile:
A
- Data assimilation- reviews evidence
- Crime scene classification- organised or dis
- Crime reconstruction- hypothesise the sequence of events.
- Profile generation- create a hypotheses related to all aspects of the offender and their life.
8
Q
Douglas’s explanation for a mixture of offender types at a crime scene:
A
-More than one offender
-An escalation of situation
-Actions of victim forcing a change in approach.
9
Q
Criticism of Hazelwood and Douglas’ offender types-
Limited sample:
A
- Original sample was very limited, 36 US killers, 25 of them were the rarest type, a serial killer ( killed more than 3 people) Canter also points out that data self report, which is not very reliable.
10
Q
Criticism of Hazelwood and Douglas’ offender types-
Limited explanation:
A
- Only a very limited range of crimes are suitable for this type of profiling, ie repeated successful murders whom have no direct connection to the victims.
11
Q
Criticism of Hazelwood and Douglas’ offender types-
Alison et al (2002)
A
The personality theory element is outdated and not inline with modern theories of personality, modern theories recognise the role of environmental factors and personal development and can better explain altering behaviour such as Duffy’s move from raping and ditching
to raping and killing. Showing profiling needs to be updated as frequently they come to lack validity due to the static nature of the profiling system.
12
Q
Criticism of Hazelwood and Douglas’ offender types-
Canter et al (2004)
A
After review 100 murders
supported the organised category yet found that the disorganised was not supported, being far to diverse than allowed for a single category.
13
Q
Support of Hazelwood and Douglas’ offender types-
A
This system is widely used and found to be effective.
14
Q
Criticism of Hazelwood and Douglas’ offender types-
Holmes (1989)
A
The categories have been redefined by other researchers to be more precise, Visionary, Mission, hedonistic and Power/control types of killers.
15
Q
Criticism of Hazelwood and Douglas’ offender types-
Keppel & Walter (1999)
A
Argue that we need to focus up the motivation of the killers to understand who they are and to apprehend them.
16
Q
Investigative psychology:
A
An attempt to use psychological theory with statistics to create
a suitable profile for the offender based upon there actions which are matched against an existing database of statistical information which a baseline for comparison. This
enables the police to recognise if a series of events are connected in some way.
17
Q
Interpersonal coherence:
A
Dwyer (2001) said a key part is the way the offender behaves/ how they interact with the victims. It may be reflected in how they interact with others in
normal everyday life.
18
Q
Crime mapping:
A
Rossmo (1997) showed that by collecting the information about abduction sites, murder sites and dump sites, you could map an area of activity. This enables you to work out the operating area.
19
Q
Modus operandi:
A
Defining the way in which they
work and carrying things out, often as they have been successful previously or the way they work in an area that they know and can use their familiarity with to their advantage.
20
Q
Canter’s circle theory (1993) :
A
Suggests that there are 2 sorts of serial killers/ rapist in this case:
The Marauder – who operates in closer proximity to their own home.
The Commuter – who travels to the area to engage in there crime, often traveling some distance. .
21
Q
Bottom-up support-
Canter and Heritage (1990):
A
66 case reviews, using content analysis program called
“Smallest space analysis” which identified correlations across the data on the behavioural
patterns of the offenders. This established that there are common characteristics, such as the use of impersonal language and lack of reaction to the suffer of the victim. This helps the police to understand the mind set of serial killers and thus to catch them quicker, supporting the bottom up theory by adding another piece to the jigsaw puzzle.
22
Q
Bottom-up support-
Ludrigan and Canter (2001)
A
Supports geographical profiling:
Looked at 120 USA murder cases, revealing the behaviour to be consistent with the two categories. Showing the “centre of gravity” effect which is caused by their home base when looking at pick up and dump sites.
23
Q
Bottom-up criticism-
Copson et al (1995):
A
found that despite it being deemed “ useful” in 83 % of cases it was in fact only
responsible for the correct identification in just 3% of those cases!
24
Q
Crime:
A
An act committed in violation of the law where the consequence of conviction by a court is punishment, especially where the punishment is a serious one such as imprisonment.
25
Official statistics:
Figures based on the numbers of crimes that are reported and recorded by the police which are often used by the government to inform crime prevention strategies.
26
Victim survey:
A questionnaire that asks a sample of poeple which crimes have been committed against them over a fixed period of time and whether or not they have been reported to the police.
27
Offender survey:
A self-report measure that requires people to record the number and types of crime they have committed over a specified period.
28
Evaluation of measuring crime:
Official statistics:
Criticised as unreliable in that they significantly underestimate the true extent of crime. Suggested only 25% of crime is reported. The other 75% make up the 'dark figure of crime'. Policing priorities may distort figures.
29
Evaluation of measuring crime:
Victim surveys:
More likely to include details of crimes that were not reported to the police and so are thought to have a greater degree of accuracy than official stats. 2006 stats showed a 2% decrease in crime from the previous year but British Crime Survey showed a 3% increase. Victims mays misremember an event as happening in the past year when it did not, which may distort figures.
30
Evaluation of measuring crime:
Offender surveys:
The main strength over alternative methods is that they provide insight into how many people are responsible for offences. Although responses may be unreliable. Targeted nature of the survey means that certain types of crime are overrepresented.
31
Evaluation of measuring crime:
Politics of measuring crime:
Political parties in opposition focus on measures that make the government look bad by suggesting that crime is increasing whereas the party in power will say crime is falling.
32
Atavistic form:
A biological approach to offending that attributed criminal activity to the fact that offenders are genetic throwbacks or a primitive sub-species ill-suited to conforming to the rules of modern society. Distinguishable by facial and cranial characeristics.
33
Atavistic charateristics:
-Narrow, sloping brow
-Strong, prominent jaw
-High cheekbones
-Facial asymmetry
-Dark skin
-Extra toes, nipples or fingers
Murders:
-Bloodshot eyes
-Curly hair
-Long ears
Sexual deviants:
-Glinting eyes
-Swollen lips
-Projecting ears
Fraudsters
-Thin lips
34
Lombroso (1876), Atavistic form:
Meticulously examined the facial and cranial features of hundreds of Italian convicts, both living and dead, and proposed that the atavistic form was associated with physical anomalies which were key indicators of criminality. Examined skulls of 383 dead criminals and 3839 living ones. Concluded 40% of criminal acts could be accounted for by atavistic characteristics.
35
Lombroso atavistic form evaluation:
Contribution to criminology-
Hailed the 'father of modern criminology'. Credited as shifting the emphasis in crime research away from a moralistic discourse towards a more scientific and credible real. Heralded the beginning of criminal profiling.
36
Lombroso atavistic form evaluation:
Scientific racism-
DeLisi (2012) drew attention to the distinct racial undertones within Lombroso's work. Many features that he described as atavistic are most likely found in people of African descent.
37
Lombroso atavistic form evaluation:
Contradictory evidence:
Goring (1913) set out to establish whether there were any physical or mental abnormalities among the criminal classes. After conducting a comparison between 3000 criminals and 3000 non-criminals he concluded that there was no evidence of a group with specific facial/cranial characteristics.
38
Lombroso atavistic form evaluation:
Poor control-
He did not use a control group. Had he done so, the significant differences in atavistic form that Lombroso reported may have dissappeared.
39
Genetics:
Genes consist of DNA strands. DNA produces 'instructions' for general physical features of an organism and also specific physical features. These may impact on psychological features. Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring.
40
Neural explanation:
Any explanation of behaviour in terms of (dys)functions of the brain and nervous system. This includes the activity of brain structures such as the hypothalamus, and neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.
41
Importance of genes shown in twin studies- Lange (1930):
Investigated 13 identical and 17 non-identical twins where one of the twins in each pair had served time in prison. Lange found that 10 of the MZ twins but only 2 of the DZ twins has a co-twin who was also in prison. Concluded genes must play a part.
42
Tiihonen et al (2014) candidate genes:
Abnormalities on two genes that may be associated with violent crime- MAOA gene and CHD13. Individuals with this high risk combination were 13x more likely to have a history of violent behaviour.
43
Diathesis-stress model on criminality:
If genetics do influence offending, it seems likely that this is at least partly moderated by the effects of the environment. A tendency to criminal behaviour may come about through the combination of genetic predisposition and biological or psychological trigger.
44
What condition has neural studies found is in many convicted criminals ?
APD- antisocial personality disorder
45
Neural explanations: Prefrontal cortex-
Raine has conducted many studies into the APD brain, reporting that there are several dozen brain imaging studies demonstrating that individuals with antisocial personalities have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex, the part that regulates emotional behaviour. Raine (2000) also found an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter.
46
Neural explanations: Mirror neurons-
Criminals with APD can experience empathy but they do so more sporadically. Keysers et al (2011) found that only when criminals were asked to empathise did their empathy reaction activate. This suggests that APD individuals are not totally without empathy, but may have a neural switch that can be turned on and off.
47
Neural explanations evaluation:
Problems with twins studies-
Lange's research was poorly controlled and judgements related to zygosity (whether twins pairs were MZ or DZ) were based on appearance rather than DNA testing- lacks validity. Small sample size and twins are an unusual sample in themselves and may not represent the rest of the population. Twins reared in the same environment is a major confounding variable as concordance rates may be due to shared learning experiences rather than genetics.
48
Neural explanations evaluation:
Support for diathesis-stress model of crime-
Mednick et al (1984) study of over 13,000 Danish adoptees was conducted. Researchers defined criminal behaviour as being in possession of at least one court conviction. When neither the biological nor adoptive parents had convictions, the % of adoptees that did was 13.5%. This rose to 20% when either biological parent had convictions and 24.5% when both adopted and biological parents had convictions.
49
Neural explanations evaluation:
Problems with adoption studies-
Presumed separation of genetic and environmental influences in adoption studies is complicated by the fact that many children experience late adoption. Many adoptees also continue contact with their biological parents following their adoption. Difficult to asses the environmental impact the biological parents might have has. Mednick et al's figures only applied to petty offences. Conclusions may not apply to serious crime.
50
The criminal personality:
An individual who scores high on measures of extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism and cannot be easily conditioned is cold and unfeeling and is likely to engage in offending behaviour.
51
Eyesnck (1974);
Proposed that behaviour could be represented along two dimensions, introversion/extraversion and neuroticism/stability. The two dimensions combine to form a variety of personality characteristics or traits. Later added a third dimension- psychoticism.
52
Eyesnck's criminal personality in a biological basis:
Our personality traits are biological in origin and come about through the type of nervous system we inherit. Thus, all personality types have an innate, biological basis.
53
Extraverts according to Eyesnck:
Underactive nervous system which means they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours. They also tend not to condition easily and do not learn from their mistakes.
54
Neurotics according to Eyesnck:
Tend to be nervous, jumpy and over-anxious, and their general instability means their behaviour is often difficult to predict.
55
Eysenck- Role of socialisation:
Personality is linked to criminal behaviour via socialisation processes. Eysenck saw criminal behaviour as developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification- they are impatient. Process of socialisation is one in which children are taught to become more able to delay gratification and more socially oriented. Eysenck believed that people with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition. Resulting in them not learning as easily to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety.
56
Measuring the criminal personality:
The notion that personality can be measure is one that is central to Eysenck's theory. He developed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), a form of psychological test which locates respondents along the E and N dimensions to determine their personality type.
57
Eysenck's personality type evaluation:
Supporting himself-
Eysenck (1977) compared 2070 male prisoners' scores on the EPI with 2422 male controls. Groups were subdivided according to age. On measures of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism prisoners recorded higher score than controls which accords with the predictions of the theory.
58
Eysenck's personality type evaluation:
Farrington et al (1982)
Reviewed several studies and reported that offenders tended to score high on P measures, but not for E and N. There is also very little evidence of consistent differences in EEG measures between extraverts and introverts, which casts doubt on the physiological basis of Eysenck's theory.
59
Eysenck's personality type evaluation:
The idea of a single criminal type-
Moffitt (1993) proposed several distinct types of adult male offender based on the timing of the first offence, and how long offending persists. Further, Eysenck's criminal type is out of step with modern personality theories.
60
Eysenck's personality type evaluation:
Cultural bias:
Bartol and Holanchock (1979) looked into cultural differences. They studied Hispanic and African-American offenders in a maximum security prison in New York and divided these into 6 groups based on criminal history. It was revealed all 6 groups were found to be less extravert than a non-criminal group.
61
Level of moral reasoning:
Moral reasoning refers to the process by which an individual draws upon their own value system to determine whether an action is right or wrong. Kohlberg attempted to objectify this process by identifying different levels of reasoning based on people's answers to moral dilemmas.
62
Cognitive distortions:
Faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves, other people and the world inaccurately and usually negatively.
63
Hostile attribution bias:
The tendency to judge ambiguous situations, or the actions of others, as aggressive and/or threatening when in reality they may not be.
64
Minimalisation (or minimisation):
A type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an event or emotion. A common strategy when dealing with feelings of guilt.
65
Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning:
Proposed that people's decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral developments- higher stage= more sophisticated reasoning. Based his study on people's responses to moral dilemmas such as heinz dilemma.
66
Kolhberg et al (1973)'s finings on moral reasoning:
Using his moral dilemma technique, found that a group of violent youths were significantly lower in moral development than non-violent youths even after controlling for social background.
67
Kohlberg's model and criminality:
Criminal offenders are more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional level (stages 1/2) but non-criminals progress to the conventional level and beyond.
Pre-conventional level is characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards, and is associated with less mature, childlike reasoning- more likely to commit crime.
68
Two examples of cognitive distortions:
-Hostile attribution bias
-Minimalisation
69
Hostile attribution bias- Schonenberg and Justye (2014)
Presented 55 violent offenders with images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. When compared with a non-aggressive matched control group, the violent offenders were significantly more likely to perceive the images as angry and hostile.
70
Hostile attribution bias-
Dodge and Frame (1982):
Showed children a video clip of an 'ambiguous provocation'. Children who has been identified as 'aggressive' and 'rejected' prior to the study interpreted the situation as more hostile than those classes as 'non-aggressive' and 'accepted'.
71
Minimalisation-
Barbaree (1991)
Found among 26 incarcerated rapists, 54% denied they had committed an offence at all and a further 40% minimised the harm they had caused the victim.
72
Minimalisation-
Pollock and Hashmall (1991)
Reported that 35% of a sample of child molesters argued that the crime they had committed was non-sexual and 36% stated the victim had consented.
73
Cognitive explanations evaluation-
Level of moral reasoning evidence:
Palmer and Hollin (1998) compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offender, 122 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the Socio-Moral Reflection Measure-Short Form, which contains 11 moral dilemma related questions such as not taking thinks that belong to others and keeping a promise. Delinquent group showed less mature moral reasoning.
74
Cognitive explanations evaluation-
Alternative theories of moral reasoning:
Gibbs (1979) proposed a revised version of Kohlberg's theory comprising 2 levels of reasoning: mature and immature. In the first level moral decisions are guided by avoidance of punishment/ personal gain. The second level- by empathy, social justice and one's own conscience. Gibbs argued that Kohlberg's post-conventional level should be abandoned because it was culturally biased and did not represent natural maturational stage of cognitive development.
75
Cognitive explanations evaluation-
Application of research:
Understanding the nature of cognitive distortions has proven beneficial in the treatment of criminal behaviour. Dominant approach in rehabilitation of sex offenders is CBT which encourages them to face up to what they did. Studies suggest that reduced incidence of denial and minimalisation in therapy is highly correlated with a reduced risk of reoffending.
76
Cognitive explanations evaluation-
Individual differences:
Level of moral reasoning may depend on the offence. Thornton and Reid (1982) found that individuals who committed crimes for financial gain were more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of assault. Langdon et al (2010) suggested that intelligence may be a better predictor of criminality than moral reasoning.
77
Differential association theory:
An explanation for offending which proposes that, through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour.
78
Scientific basis of offending-
Sutherland (1924):
Set himself the task of developing a set of scientific principles that could explain all types of offending- that is ' the conditions which are said to cause crime should be present when crime is present, and they should be absent when crime is absent.' His theory is designed to discriminate between individuals who become criminals and those who do not, whatever their race, class or ethnic background.
79
Crime as learned behaviour:
Offending behaviour may be required in the same way as any other behaviour through the processes of learning. This learning occurs most often through interactions with significant others that the child associates with, such as the family and peer group. Criminality arises from two factors; learned attitudes towards crime, and the learning of specific criminal acts.
80
Pro-criminal attitudes:
When a person socialises in a group they will be exposed to values/attitudes towards the law. Sutherland argues that if the number of pro-criminal attitudes the person comes to acquire outweighs the number of anti-criminal attitudes, they will go on to offend. Differential association suggests that it should be possible to mathematically predict how likely it is that an individual will commit crime if we have knowledge of the frequency, intensity and duration of which they have been exposed to deviant and non-deviant norms.
81
Learning criminal acts:
Socialising may lead to learning particular techniques for committing crime. These might include how to break into someone's house. Sutherland's theory can also account for why so many convicts released from prison go on to reoffend. It is reasonable to assume that inside prison inmates learn specific techniques of offending from other criminals.
82
Differential association theory evaluation:
Explanatory power:
One strength is its ability to account for crime within all sectors of society. Whilst Sutherland recognised that some types of crime, such as burglary may be clustered within certain working class communities, it is also the case that some crimes are more prevalent in more affluent groups in society. Sutherland was interested in white-collar or corporate crime and how this may be a feature of middle-class social groups who share deviant norms and values.
83
Differential association theory evaluation:
Shift of focus:
Sutherland was successful in moving the emphasis away from early biological accounts of crime, such as Lombroso's atavistic theory as well as away from those that explained criminality as personal immorality. Differential association theory draws attention to the fact that dysfunctional social circumstances and environments may be more to blame for criminality than dysfunctional people.
84
Differential association theory evaluation:
Difficulty of testing:
It is hard to see how, for instance, the number of pro-criminal attitudes a person has, or has been exposed to, could be measured. Similarly, the theory is built on the assumption that offending behaviour will occur when pro-criminal values outnumber anti-criminal ones. It is difficult to know at what point the urge to offend is realised and the criminal career triggered. The theory does not provide a satisfactory solution to these issues, undermining its scientific credibility.
85
Psychodynamic explanations:
A group of theories influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud which share the belief that unconscious conflicts, rooted in early childhood and determined by interactions with parents, drive future criminal behaviour.
86
Summary of superego purpose:
Alongside the id and the ego, make up the tripartite structure of personality. The superego is formed as the end of the phallic stage pf development. The sugerego works on the morality principle and exerts its influence by punishing the ego through guilt for wrongdoing, whilst rewarding it with pride for moral behaviour.
87
Blackburn (1993) inadequate superego:
Argued that if the superego is somehow deficient or inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is given free rein and is not properly controlled.
88
Blackburn (1993)'s three types of inadequate superego:
-Weak superego
-Deviant superego
-Over-harsh super ego.
89
Blackburn (1993)'s weak superego:
if the same sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification. This would make immoral or criminal behaviour more likely.
90
Blackburn (1993)'s deviant superego:
If the superego that the child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to offending behaviour.
91
Blackburn (1993)'s over-harsh superego:
A healthy superego is like a kind but firm internal parent: it has rules, but is also forgiving of transgressions. In contrast, an excessively punitive or overly harsh superego means the individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety. This may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superego's overwhelming need for punishment.
92
Bowlby (1944) maternal deprivation theory in terms of criminality:
Failure to establish a strong bond during the first few years of life means they are more likely to develop into affectionless psychopaths, characterised by a lack of guilt, empathy and feeling for others.
93
Bowlby (1944) 44 thieves as a support of maternal deprivation's effects on criminality:
He found, through interviews with the thieves and their families, that 14 of the sample he studies showed personality and behavioural characteristics of affectionless psychopathy. Of the 14, 12 had had prolong separation from their mothers during infancy. Concluded that the effects of maternal deprivation had caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among the juvenile thieves.
94
Psychodynamic explanation of offending evaluations:
Gender bias:
Assumption with freudian theory is the idea that girls develop a weaker superego than boys. As they are not competing with their mothers their sense of morality/superego is less fully realised. Means females should be prone to criminal behaviour more than males. Hoffman (1975) found hardly any evidence of gender differences and little girls had more morals than boys.
95
Psychodynamic explanation of offending evaluations:
Contradictory evidence:
Very little evidence that children raised without a same-sex parent are less law-abiding. Contradicts Blackburns superego theory. If children who are raised by deviant parents go on the commit crime themselves, this could be due to genetics or socialisation. The idea that criminal behaviour is due to unconscious desire for punishment is BS.
96
Psychodynamic explanation of offending evaluations:
Unconscious concepts:
Lack of falsifiability. The many unconscious concepts within Freudian theory mean that applications to crime, are not open to empirical testing. In the absence of supporting evidence, arguments such as the inadequate superego can only be judged on their face value rather than their scientific worth. Regarded as pseudoscientific and may contribute little to our understanding of crime or how to prevent it.
97
Custodial sentencing:
A judicial sentence determined by a court, where the offender is punished by serving time in prison or in some other closed therapeutic and/or educational institution.
98
Recidivism:
Reoffending, a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behaviour; in the context of crime, a convicted criminal who reoffends, usually repeatedly.
99
Four main reasons for custodial sentencing:
Deterrence-
Unpleasant prison experience is designed to put off the individual from engaging in offending behaviour. Deterrence works on two levels: general deterrence aims to send a broad message to members of a give society that crime will not be tolerated. Individual deterrence should prevent the individual from repeating the same crime in light of their experience. Based on behaviourist idea of conditioning through punishment.
100
Four main reasons for custodial sentencing:
Incapacitation-
The offender is taken out of society to prevent them reoffending as a means of protecting the public. The need for incapacitation is likely to depend upon the severity of the offence and the nature of the offender.
101
Four main reasons for custodial sentencing:
Retribution-
Society is enacting revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer, and the level of suffering should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime. This is based ob the biblical notion, 'an eye for an eye'.
102
Four main reasons for custodial sentencing:
Rehabilitation-
Many commentators would see the main objective of prison as not being purely to punish, but to reform. 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/ treatments.
103
Psychological effects associated with custodial sentencing:
-Stress and depression, suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population. The stress of prison increases chance of psychological disturbance upon release.
-Institutionalisation, having adapted to norms and routines of prison life, means inmates are no longer able to function on the outside.
-Prisonisation, prisoners are socialised into adopting an inmate code. Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world is rewarded in prison.
104
Statistics of recidivism:
Ministry of Justice-
2013: 57% of UK offenders will reoffend in a year of release.
2001: 14 prisons in England and Wales recorded reoffending rates of over 70%.
105
Recidivism in Norway:
Norwegian prisons are more open and there is greater emphasis on rehabilitation and skills development than there is in the UK.
106
Custodial sentencing evaluations:
Evidence supports psychological effects-
Bartol (1995) suggested that, for many offenders, imprisonment can be 'brutal, demeaning and generally devastating'. In the last 20 years, suicide rates among offenders have been 15x higher than those in the general population. A study by the prison reform trust (20140 found that 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis. Not effective in rehabilitating the individual.
107
Custodial sentencing evaluations:
Individual differences-
Time in prison may be psychologically challenging for many, it cannot be assumed that all offenders will react in the same way. Different prisons have different regimes. The length of sentence, the reason for incarceration and previous experience of prison may all be important mitigating factors. Many convicted may have pre0existing psychological/emotional difficulties. Therefore can't make general conclusions.
108
Custodial sentencing evaluations:
Opportunity for training and treatment-
The rehabilitation model is based on the argument that offenders may become better people during their time in prison, and their improved character means they can have a crime-free life out of prison. Access education and training when in prison increasing employability. Suggests prison may be worthwhile experience assuming offenders have access to these programmes.
109
Custodial sentencing evaluations:
Alternatives to custodial sentencing-
Davies and Raymond (2000) concluded that government ministers often exaggerate the benefits of prison. Prison in reality does little to deter reoffenders. Alternatives such as community service and restorative justice, have been proposed which mean family contact and employment can maintain.
110
Behaviour modification:
An application of the behaviourist approach to treatment. It is based on the principles of operant conditioning. The general aim is to replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones through the selective use of positive and/or negative reinforcement.
111
Token economy in custody:
Reinforcing desirable behaviour with a token that can be exchanged for a reward. Tokens are secondary reinforcers because they derive their value from their association with a reward.
112
Behaviour modification:
Changing behaviour-
Desirable behaviour is identified, broken into steps and a baseline measure is established. Those in contact with offenders must follow the regime of selective reinforcement.
113
Behaviour modification:
Research example:
Hobbs and Holt (1976) introduced a token economy programme with groups of young delinquents across three behavioural units. They observed a significant difference in positive behaviour compared to a non-token economy group. A similar effect was found with offenders in an adult prison (Allyon et al 1979).
114
Behaviour modification evaluation:
Easy to implement-
Appeal of behaviour modification rests largely upon the ease with which it can be administered. There is no need for expertise or specialist professionals as there would be for other forms of treatment. Token economy systems can be implemented by anyone. They are cost effective and easy to follow.
Bassett and Blanchard (1977) found any benefits were lost after staff applied techniques inconsistently.
115
Behaviour modification evaluation:
Little rehabilitative value-
Blackburn (1993) said, behaviour modification has little rehabilitative vale and any positive changes in behaviour that may occur whilst the offender is in prison may quickly be lost when released. The token economy system is at its best when establishing appropriate conduct within prison with respect to a very specific set of behaviours but progress is unlikely to extend beyond the custodial sentencing.
116
Behaviour modification evaluation:
Ethical issues-
Terms and conditions of behaviour modification are regarded as manipulative and dehumanising by several commentators. In an institution using the token economy system, participation in. the scheme is obligatory for all offenders. Although ultimately the offender can decide whether to comply with the scheme or break he rules, critics have suggested that the withdrawal of 'privileges' is ethically questionable.
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Anger management:
A therapeutic programme that involves identifying the signs that trigger anger as well as learning techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way. The aim of anger management is to recognise and manage it. It can be offered in prison to encourage self-awareness and facilitate rehabilitation.
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Cognitive behaviour treatment: Novaco-
Suggests that cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal which generally precedes aggressive acts. His argument is that, in some people, anger is often quick to surface especially in situation that are perceived to be anxiety-inducing or threatening.
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Three stages of anger management:
-Cognitive preparation
-Skill acquisition
-Application practice
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Three stages of anger management:
Cognitive preparation:
This phase requires the offender to reflect on past experience and consider the typical pattern of their anger. The offender learns to identify those situation which act as triggers to anger and the therapists role is to make this clear.
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Three stages of anger management:
Skill acquisition-
In this stage offenders are introduced to a range of techniques and skills to help them deal with anger-provoking situations more rationally and effectively. Techniques may be cognitive: positive self-talk to encourage calmness; behavioural: assertiveness training in how to communicate and physiological: methods of relaxation.
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Three stages of anger management:
Application practice-
In the final phase, offenders are given the opportunity to practise their skills within a carefully monitored environment. Such role play is likely to involve the offender and therapist re-enacting scenarios that may have feelings of anger. This requires commitment from the offender and bravery from the therapist. Success would be met with positive reinforcement.
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Anger management example:
Keen et al (2000)
Studied the progress with young offenders (17 - 21) who took part in a nationally recognised anger management scheme. National Anger Management Package was developed by England and Wales Prison Service. It comprises 8 two-hour sessions, first seven over 3 weeks and the last a month later. Although there were initial issues in terms of offenders not taking the course seriously, and individuals forgetting routines, the final outcome was generally positive.
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Anger management evaluation:
Eclectic approach-
It works on a number of different levels. It includes cognitive preparation in order to identify the precursors to anger in phase one. It applies a behavioural perspective when developing techniques of self management in phase two. Finally, a social approach is adopted in phase 3 when offenders are required to demonstrate what they learnt about during role play.
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Anger management evaluation:
Comparison with behaviour modification-
Unlike modification, anger management tries to tackle one of the causes of offending. Rather than focusing on superficial surface behaviour it addresses the thought processes. Experiences of treatment programmes may give offenders new insight into the cause of their criminality enabling them to self discover ways of management.
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Anger management evaluation:
Limited long-term effectiveness-
Blackburn (1993) points out that, whilst anger management may have a noticeable effect on the conduct of offenders in the short term there is very little evidence that it reduces recidivism.
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Restorative justice:
A system for dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims. This enables the offender to see the impact of their crime and serves to empower victims by giving them a 'voice'.
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Restorative justice- changing the emphasis:
Switch the emphasis from the needs of the state (to enforce law/punish) to the needs of the individual victim.
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Restorative justice process:
Braithwaite (2004) said 'crime hurts, justice should heal'. RJ is a process of managed collaboration between offender and victim based on the related principles of healing and empowerment. A supervised meeting between the two parties is organised- attended by a trained mediator- in which the victim is given the opportunity to confront the offender and explain how the incident effected them.The offender is able to see the consequences of their actions.
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Key features of the restorative justice process:
-Focus on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for people who harm others.
-Not restricted to courtrooms, victims and offenders may voluntarily choose to meet.
-Active rather than passive involvement of all parties in the process wherever possible.
-Focus on positive outcomes for both parties.
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Variations in the restorative justice process:
Occasionally, the offender may make some financial restitution to the victim which may reflect the actual or psychological damage done. May also involve the offender repairing damaged property themselves.
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The restorative justice council (RJC)
Is an independent body whose role it is to establish clear standards for the use of restorative justice and to support victims and specialist professionals in the field. The RJC advocated the use of restorative practice in preventing and managing conflict in many areas including schools, work, hospitals, etc.
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Restorative justice programmes evaluation:
Diversity of programes-
A strength is that there is a degree of flexibility in the way in which programmes can be administered, and the term itself covers a wide rage of possible applications. Schemes can be adapted and tailored to different needs however this does prevent the drawing of general conclusions.
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Restorative justice programmes evaluation:
Relies on offender showing remorse-
There is the danger that some offenders may agree to the programme to avoid prison or for the promise of a reduced sentence, rather than genuine willingness to want to make amends to the victim. RJ programmes may not lead to positive outcomes when p/pants do not agree for the right reasons.
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Restorative justice programmes evaluation:
Expensive-
A 7-year government funded research project conducted by Shapland et al (2007) found that every £1 spent on RJ would save the criminal justice system £8 through reduced reoffending. Specialist professionals who are trained are likely to be expensive and rare.
