Forensic Psychology - 11. Dealing with Offending Behaviour: 1. Custodial Sentencing Flashcards
Custodial sentencing
Judicial sentence determined by a court, where the offender is punished by serving time in a prison or in some other closed therapeutic/educational institution, such as a psychiatric hospital
What is the official capacity of prisons in the UK in 2023? What was the UK prison population?
Official capacity - 78,000
UK prison population - 87,000
4 aims of custodial sentencing
Deterrence
Incapacitation
Rehabilitation
Retribution
Deterrence
The idea that prisons should be an unpleasant experience, so someone who serves a sentence wouldn’t ever want to go back
Incapacitation
Taking criminals ‘off the street’ to stop them from being able to commit further crimes
Retribution
Society is taking revenge on a criminal, making them pay for their crimes by taking away their freedom
Rehabilitation
The idea that prisons can reform criminals through training, education and/or therapy so they leave prison a better person
What therapy may be used for violent criminals?
Anger management
What research method does this topic link to?
Economic implications
4 psychological effects of custodial sentencing
Stress
Depression
Institutionalisation
Prisonisation
Who talked about the stress and depression psychological effects of custodial sentencing?
Curt Bartol (1995)
How do suicide rates in UK prisons match to suicide rates of the general population?
Suicide rates are 15% higher in prisons
Highest proportion of suicide cases in UK prisons
Single men, under the age of 24, within the first 24 hours of custody
What percentage of men and women in prison have reported symptoms of psychosis?
25% of women
15% of men
What is in-prison depression caused by according to Abramson et al?
Caused by a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness
How many known incidents of self harm in prison were there in the UK in 2008?
10,000 known incidents, meaning 12% of prison population self harmed
Institutionalisation in prison
Having adapted to the norms of prison life, some find it impossible to then cope with real life. This is because prisons have set times for meals, routine and the inmates are catered for
Prisonisation
Some behaviours that are unacceptable in the outside world are encouraged and rewarded inside prison
Prison social hierarchy
Serial killers/murderers
Drug dealers
Robbers
Abusers of other people
Rapists/paedophiles
Evaluation of psychological effects of custodial sentencing
Are we sure that these psychological effects are due to imprisonment?
Are alternatives to prisons better? (E.g. community service)
Recidivism
Re-offending
After being released in 2021, what percentage of prisoners re-offended in the UK within one year of leaving prison?
25%
What countries have the highest recidivism rates?
UK and US
What country has the lowest recidivism rate in Europe and why is this?
Norway because it puts greater emphasis on rehabilitation and skill acquisition
Reasons why the UK recidivism rate is so high / why the UK prison system doesn’t work: psychological problems
The UK prison system doesn’t address the psychological problems that caused prisoners to commit crimes in the first place (E.g. mental health issues)
Reasons why the UK recidivism rate is so high / why the UK prison system doesn’t work: where are people released?
People are released into the same social environment that potentially caused them to offend
Reasons why the UK recidivism rate is so high / why the UK prison system doesn’t work: stigma
The stigma attached to having been imprisoned makes it difficult for offenders to reintegrate into society
Reasons why the UK recidivism rate is so high / why the UK prison system doesn’t work: prison life
For some people, prison life is preferable to the life they left behind
Reasons why the UK recidivism rate is so high / why the UK prison system doesn’t work: substance abuse
Prison life encoruages substance abuse and people who takae drugs are more likely than non-abusers to commit violent acts
According to the Prison Reform Trust, what percentage of prisoners don’t have the skills required for most jobs?
50% of prisoners don’t have the skills required by 96% of all jobs
