forensic psych lessons 9-12 Flashcards
what are the four aims of custodial sentencing
1) deterrence - unpleasant prison experience should deter from offending in future. general deterrence sends message to public. individual deterrence sends message to person
2) incapacitation - offender taken out of society to prevent from harming the public again
3) retribution - society is getting revenge for the crime by making offender suffer
4) rehabilitation - once released prisoners should take their place in society and they should have learnt skills and treatment programs in prison
what are the four effects of custodial sentencing
1) psychological disorders - prisoners have higher rates of mental illnesses than the public and prisoners experience psychosis
2) institutionalisation - spending time in prison leads to lack of autonomy and so prisoners conform to that role
3) brutalisation - prison is a school for crime and this leads to 70% of young offenders to reoffend in two years
4) - labelling - prisoners tend to lose touch with previous social contacts and struggle to regain employment. this also leads to re offending
evaluation of custodial sentencing
ADV: can be useful as it limits danger to public and treatment programmes in prison helps offenders modify behaviour.
DIS: suicide rates are 15% higher in prison population than normal population. crime prevention is more effective because it avoids labelling and can help psychologically. e.g community service
what is behaviour modification
A behavioural therapy which uses operant conditioning techniques to encourage positive behaviours
what is token economy
It uses positive reinforcement in the form of tokens which are secondary reinforcers and are given when a person displays desirable behaviours. tokens can then be exchanged for primary reinforcers such as rewards. Not complying leads to tokens being withheld which is negative punishment
evaluation of behaviour modification
ADV: token economy is easy to administer and doesn’t require professionals or specialised equipment. It is also cost effective.
DIS: doesn’t work if staff are inconsistent and lack of training or high staff changes may be the cause for that. behaviour modification only deals with surface behaviour without going deeply
what is anger management
a form of cognitive behavioural therapy and has three stages
what are the three stages of anger management
1) cognitive preparation - offender learns to identify cues for their anger and reflect on events where they are angry. the therapist tries to redefine them as non threatening
2) skill acquisition - the offender learns skills to manage their anger such as positive self talk, effective communication and meditation
3) application practice - the offender is given role plays to practice the new skills and receive feedback. successful negotiation leads to giving positive reinforcement
evaluation of anger management
ADV: Anger management tries to get to the root cause of offending behaviour unlike behaviour modification.
DIS: many crimes aren’t motivated by anger such as financial crime and even harold shipman killed so many patients to alleviate their suffering. The programmes are expensive to run as they require specialist training
What is restorative justice
a process of managed collaboration between the offender and the victim based in healing and empowerment. A trained mediator oversees this. the offender is confronted with the consequences of their actions and the victims emotional distress
what are the key features of restorative justice
focuses on acceptance of responsibility and positive change for offenders. survivors and offenders meet face to face in a non courtroom setting. active rather than passive involvement of all parties. focuses on positive outcomes
evaluation of restorative justice
ADV: research has found that every £1 spent on restorative justice would save the criminal justice system £8 by reducing re-offending
DIS: relies on offender showing remorse and some might sign up to reduce sentence rather than genuine willingness to change. general public find it unpopular as is seen as a soft option
