forensic psychology Flashcards
1
Q
what is offender profiling?
A
- An investigative tool employed the police when solving crimes, to narrow the list of likely suspects
professional profilers will often be called on to work alongside the police, especially when it comes to high profile cases - methods can vary but the main methods involve careful scrutiny of the crime scene and analysis of other evidence (including witness reports)
all of this is done to get an idea of the offender (age, background, occupation)
2
Q
what is the American approach
A
The top down approach originated in the US as a result of the work carried out by the FBI in the 1970s
they carried out research adn produced data from 36 sexual serial offenders, including ted bundy and charles manson
they determined that each characteristic could be determined inot organsied and disorganised and that from this, we can predict other characteristics which then allows us to find the offender
offender profilers who use the top down approach with collect details about the murder (characteristics of the murderer, the crime scene etc) and then decide on the category that fits the data the best
3
Q
what is organised and disorganised types of offenders
A
this is based around the idea that experienced offenders will often have signature “ways of working” (their modus operandi) which generally correlate with a particular set of characteristics
organised offenders show evidence of having planned the crime in advance - the victim is deliberately targeted and it is often a much more skilled act
disorganised offenders are often spontaneous and have little lanning which causes there to be evidence left around
4
Q
what are the stages of Constructing a FBI profile data
A
data assimilation - the profilers review the evidence (crime scene photographs, pathology reports etc)
crime scene classification - either organised or disorganised
crime reconstruction - hypothesis in terms of sequence of events, behaviour of victims etc
profile generation - hypotheses related to the likely offender e.g demographic background, physical characteristics, behaviour etc
5
Q
what is the aim of the bottom up approach
A
- The aim is to generate a picture of the offender (characteristics, routine behaviour, social background etc) through analysis of the crime scene
- unlike the top down approach it does not begin with fixed typologies
6
Q
what are the key features of the bottom up approach?
A
investigative psychology
geographical profiling
7
Q
what is investigative psychology
A
patterns that occur or co - exist across crime scenes are used to generate data about the offender. It is based on the psychological theory of matching behavioural patterns to generate a database that acts as a baseline for comparison. specific details can be compared to reveal characteristics of the offender
8
Q
what are the characteristics that may reveal an offender in the bottom up approach
A
- interpersonal coherence- how the offender interacts with the
- crime scene & victim may reflect their everyday behaviour
significance of time and place - geographical profiling
- crime scene & victim may reflect their everyday behaviour
- forensic awareness - behaviour may be indicative of previous criminal experience
9
Q
what is routine activity theory?
A
- cohen and Felson (1979)
- crimes occur when 3 circumstances coincide:
- a motivated offender
- a suitable (and vulnerable) victim
- absence of a capable guardian
- a motivated offender
- criminal offences are an extension of the offenders normal activities, so will occur in places the offender makes regular use of
routine activity theory relies on the same rational choice methodology as situational crime prevention techniques
10
Q
what are the criticisms of routine activity theory?
A
they may not use the same rationale as the person implementing the security measures. they may not even be aware of the situational crime prevention technique put into effect. they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol or for whatever reason they may simply not care about the security measures
11
Q
what is smallest space analysis?
A
- this is a statistical technique developed by Canter
- data about many crime scenes and offender characteristics are
- correlated so that most common connections can be identified
-Salfati and Canter (1999) analysed the co-occurrence of 48 crime scenes and offender characteristics from 82 murders and identified 3 underlying themes:- instrumental opportunistic: “instrumental” refers to using the murder to obtain something or accomplish a goal , “opportunistic” refers to the offender taking the easiest opportunities
- instrumental cognitive: a particular concern about being detected and therefore more planned
- expressive impulsive: uncontrolled, in the heat of strong emotions, may feel provoked by victim
12
Q
what is geographical profiling?
A
- Rossmo (1997) stated that the geographical location of their previous reveals an offender’s operational base of possible future offences.
- uses the location of linked crimes to make inferences of the the likely home (crime mapping) based on the principle of spatial consistency that people commit crimes in a limited geographical space
- used in conjunction with psychological theory e.g investigative psychology to create hypotheses about their modus operandi (MO)
13
Q
what is mental maps?
A
- individuals construct mental maps of the areas they know
assumption is that offenders will restrict their “work” to familiar geographical locations, so the spatial pattern of behaviour - provides a “centre of gravity” for investigators to locate their base
- These are not absolutely accurate. they embody the person’s experience and perspective on the area
14
Q
what is a marauder?
A
the offender operates in close proximity to their home base
15
Q
what is a commuter?
A
the offender is likely to have travelled a distance away from their usual residence
16
Q
why is knowing whether the offender is a marauder or commuter important?
A
such spatial decision making can help investigators make insights about the nature of the crime e.g opportunistic as well as features of the offender e.g mode of transport favoured, employment, approximate age
17
Q
what is criminal geographical targeting (CGT)?
A
- This is a computerised system developed by Kim Rosso and based on their own formula
- the formula produces a three- dimensional map displaying spatial data related to time, distance and movement to and from crime scenes
- This map is called a jeopardy surface. The different colours indicate likely closeness to crime scene
18
Q
weakness of the bottom up approach: other factors are important
A
- location is important, but there are other factors that need to be taken into account, such as their psychological characteristics
-concentrating on location may cause an investigator to miss important information if used in isolation
19
Q
strength of the bottom up approach: evidence supporting geographical profiling
A
- Lundrigan and Canter (2001) collated information from 120 murder cases involving serial killers in the USA.
- Analysis revealed spatial consistency in the behaviour of the offenders
- The effect was more noticeable for offenders who travelled short distances (marauders)
- this supports Canter’s claim that capital information is a key factor in determining the base of an offender
20
Q
strength of the bottom up approach: based on research and statistical likelihood
A
- It is based heavily on research and statistical likelihood. This means that it is seem to be more scientific that top down approach
- this use of statistics and theory has removed intuition of the profiler from the process, which is argued to make it more reliable
21
Q
weakness of the bottom up approach:
mixed results for profiling
A
- despite the successes, there have been some significant failures (e.g rachel Nickell) Copstom (1995) surveyed 48 police formed and found that the advice provided but the profiler was useful in 83% of cases, but only in 3% did it lead to accurate identification of the offender
- Kocsis (2002) chemistry students produced more of an accurate profile on a solved murder case than experienced detectives
22
Q
what are the 3 main biological explanations of crime?
A
atavistic form
genetic
neural
23
Q
what did Lombroso’s suggest about criminals?
A
- criminals were genetic throwbacks - a primitive sub species who were biologically different to non criminals
- He proposed that, as criminal behaviour is innate, an offender is not responsible for their actions
24
Q
what are the characteristics for criminals according to Lombroso?
A
characteristics:
- narrow, sloping brow
- strong prominent jaw
- high cheekbones
- facial asymmetry
- dark skin
- existence of extra toes, nipples of fingers
25
how did Lombroso come to his conclusions about his theory?
- Lombroso meticulously examined the facial and cranial features of hundreds of italian criminals, both dead and alive, and concluded there is an atavistic form
- furthermore, he concluded that these features were key indicators of criminal behaviour
- in all, Lombros examined 383 dead convicts and 3839 living ones
26
weakness of Lombroso's theory - sceintific racism
- several critics have drawn attention to the distinct racial undertones within Lombroso’s work
- Many of the “atavistic” features (curly hair, dark skin) are most likely to be found in people of african descent
also, his description of the activistic form as being “uncivilised, primitive, savage” would lend support to many of the eugenic philosophies of the time
-eugenics = a social philosophy advocating the improvement of human genetic traits through the promotion of higher rates of sexual reproduction for people with desired traits or reduced rates of sexual reproduction for people with undesired traits
27
weakness of Lombroso's theory - contradictory evidence
[ Goring (1913) compared 3000 criminals and 3000 non criminals and concluded that there was no evidence that offenders are a distinct group with unusual characteristics
- although he did suggest offenders have lower than average intelligence (this is very limited support for Lombroso’s argument that criminals are a sub - species)
28
weakness of Lombroso's theory - poor control
Lombros did not compare the criminals to a non criminal control group Without this it is difficult to draw conclusions that a feature is distinctive
also, his sample may have included people with learning difficulties which may have skewed the measurements as some learning difficulties have a physical effect on facial features
29
strength of Lombroso's theory - father of modern criminology
- Lombros shifted the emphasis away from a moralistic discourse (e.g offenders were wicked and weak- minded) towards a more scientific and credible realm (evolutionary influences)
- In many ways, Lombroso’s theory heralded the beginning of criminal profiling
30
genetic explanation support - twin study - Karl Christiansen (1977)
* Studied 3500+ twin pairs
*found concordance rates for offender behaviour
* MZ twin (boys) : 35%
* DZ twin (boys) = 13%
31
evaluation of Karl Christiansen (1977)
* Slightly lower raves for girls
* all twins wère born in Denmark
between 1880-1910
* offender behaviour was based off Of police records
* This data suggests that it is not just the behaviour that might be inherited but the underlying predisposing traits
32
adoption study support of genetic explanation - ADOPTION- Raymond Crowe (1972)
* found that adopted children whose biological mothers had a criminal record
had a 50% risk of having a criminal record by age 18
* whereas, adopted children whose biological mother did not have a criminal record had a 5% risk
33
how does the diathesis stress model like to offending rates
* If genetics do have an influence on offending, it seems likely they are moderated by effects of the environment
* A tendency towards offending behaviour may come through the combination of a genetic predisposition and a trigger - eg. being raised in a dysfunctional environment or having criminal role models
34
What do genetic explanations propose?
* One or more genes predispose individuals to criminal behaviour.
* Suggest that would-be offenders inherit a gene or a combination of genes, that predispose them to commit crime.
35
Candidate genes - jari et al (2015)
* A genetic analysis of almost 800 Finnish offenders by jari et al
(2015), suggests that genes MAOA and CDH13 may be associated with violent crime.
36
how does MAOH - monoamine oxidase A relate to offending
* Regulates serotonin in the brain and has been linked to aggressive behaviour.
- Brunner et al (1993) analysed the DNA of these men and found they shared a particular gene that led to low levels of MAOH.
37
how does CDH13 - cadherin 13 relate to offending
* Has been linked to substance abuse and the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
38
supporting evidence for genetic explanation
Evidence from adoption studies supports the findings of twin studies that there must be some element of inheritance in offending behaviour.
* Mednick et al's (1987) study of 14,000 adoptees found that 15% of sons adopted by a criminal family went on to be criminals compared to 20% of whose biological parents were criminals.
* These findings suggest that inherited genes are a marginally more significant factor than environmental issues.
39
limitation of the genetic approach- GENETIC EXPLANATIONS DO NOT FIT WITH EVERY TYPE OF CRIME
* Most genetic research into offending has focused on violent or aggressive behaviour rather than non-violent offences such as theft, fraud, drug use and bigamy. It is more difficult to link these latter crimes to biological explanations.
At best, biological explanations may only account for crimes such as those involving violence and psychopathy (a psychopath is a person who lacks empathy with what other people feel and thus are more likely to commit crimes).
* There is evidence that this personality trait is inherited. For example, Blonigen et al (2005)
found support for a genetic basis looking at over 600 male and female twins.
40
limitation of genetic approach - ISSUES WITH DETERMINISM
* An issue with the genetic explanations of crime is how far they can be used to explain, and excuse, offending behaviour.
* It can be argued that the genes a person is born with determine their later behaviour. This was the argument for Steven Mobley whose lawyer excused his crime.
* Criminality cannot be 100% tested with genetics as other psychological and environmental factors tend to affect people on different levels.
41
WHAT DO NEURAL EXPLANATIONS PROPOSE?
- Evidence suggests that there may be neural difference in the brains of offenders and non- offenders
- they consider the structure of the brain is the reason of the brain is the reason for criminal behaviour
42
how does the prefrontal cortex link to offending?
- Raine has conducted many studies of the antisocial personality disorder brain, reporting there are several brain-imaging studies demonstrating that they have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex
- this part of one brain regulates emotional behaviour
- Raine (2000) found an 11% reduction in volume of grey mate in the prefrontal cortex of people with APD compored to controls
43
what is antisocial personality disorder
is a condition characterised by impulsive, irresponsible and criminal behaviour
Patients with this disorder are more likely to offend.
This could be because of low levels of serotonin and dopamine which are linked to aggression
Scerbo + Raine investigated antisocial adults and found low levels of serotonin
could also be as a result of a damaged frontal lobe
43
how does serotonin levels link to offending rates
Serotonin - seo et al 2008 suggest that low levels of serotonin may predispose PeopLE to impulsive aggression and criminal behaviour.
Dopamine hyperactivity may enhance this effect.
44
how do noradrenaline levels link to crime
Noradrenaline - both very high and low levels of noradrenaline have been associated with aggression, violence and criminality.
High levels of noradrenaline are associated with the sympathetic nervous system and the “fight or flight” response, therefore linked to aggression
low levels would stop individuals reacting and perceiving threats
45
what are mirror neurons?
they are activated in the pre motor cortex and work by mirroring behaviour done by someone else
46
how to mirror neurons relate to crime?
If the mirror system is functioning incorrectly, then individuals may experience a lack empathy, meaning its more likely that they offend
- Keysen et al (2011) when criminals were asked to empathise with someone on a film experiencing paid, the empathy reaction was activated
suggests that those with APD are cable of empathy but it s switched on an off
47
strength of the neural explanation- brain scans
-Kandel and Freed (1989) reviewed evidence of frontal lobe damage (including the prefrontal cortex) and anti social behaviour
people with damage to the frontal lobe tended to show impulsive, instable and criminal behaviour, and an inability to learn from their mistakes
48
limitation of the neural explanation - free will and criminality
- the neural approach is very deterministic and in the court of law it would not be considered as criminality is thought to be a result of free will
49
limitation of the neural explanation - intervening variables
- the link between APD and neural structure may be complex
- other facotrs may contribute to APD and therefore offending
- Farrington et al (2006) studies a group of men who scored highly on psychpathy , and they had experiences risk factors during their childhood which could have contributed to the developemnt of APD
50
what is eysenck's theory of criminal personality ?
Believes that our personality has a genetic basis rather than developing as a result of how others around us respond to us
Personality has a biological explanation. He linked the criminal personality to the central nervous system arguing that our personality is shaped by the activity and arousal of parts of our nervous system - we can’t help our personality
51
what are the 3 key traits of criminal personality?
- extraversion
-neuroticism
-psychoticism
52
where do most people fall on the scale?
each of these dimensions are normally distributed, so we would expect about 68% of any population to fall within one standard deviation
According to Eysenck, individuals with a criminal personality will score highly on each of the three traits
53
how does extraversion link to criminal behaviour
need a lot of stimulation from the environment
can be found through thrill seeking involvement in criminal activit
54
how does neuroticism link to criminal behaviour
can get stuck in patterns of behaviour to relieve high anxiety levels
high anxiety can also get in the way of attempts to punish criminal or antisocial acts
as a results, don’t learn from previous mistakes
55
how does psychoticism link to crime
characteristics of these people are directly related to crime
56
what is the biological cause of extraversion and criminal behaviour
- activation system is part of the brainstem that links to brain and cortex
- RAS regulates the stimuli sent to the cerebral cortex
- extroverts’ cerebral cortex is under-aroused because RAS restrict stimuli
- cerebral cortex is hungry for stimulation = lawless, risky behaviour
- extroverts have a stronger dopamine reward system - they may need to acquire them illegally
57
what is the biological cause of neuroticism and criminal behaviour
activities in the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
activated during emotion-inducing situations and regulates the activity of the limbic system
ANS becomes over aroused in neurotics
leads to higher levels of violence
58
what is the biological cause of psychoticism and criminal behaviour
result of an excess of dopaminergic neurons
overproduction of dopamine
less inhibition of impulses in the brain during synaptic transmission
59
how does socialisation and instant gratification like to crime
socialisation is a process where children are taught to delay gratification - they are able to withhold and control their impulses/ desire
60
how can a child be socialised away from criminal behaviour
- high levels of extraversion and neuroticism make people difficult to condition
-naturally stable and introverted people learn the association between performing a criminal act and its negative outcomes more easily, so avoid the crimes
- believes children are born with their personality trait so are more resistant to early socialisation in terms of moral behaviour
- does not necessarily mean they are doomed to a life of crime, as nature and nurture interact
- does mean parents and other agents of socialisation will have to work hard to “divert” their child from criminal activity
- extraverted children will not necessarily become criminals but are likely to end up occupations that match their personality e.g politics or businesses
61
what did Kohlberg say about criminals and morality?
Criminals have a lower level of moral reasoning than others. Criminals do not progress from the pre conventional level of moral reasoning - they seek to avoid punishments and gain rewards. They have childlike reasoning. Non criminals tend to reason at higher levels and sympathise with the rights of others, exhibiting honesty, generosity and non violence
62
what is stage 1 , preconventional morality?
punishment orientation - rules are obeyed to avoid punishment
63
what is stage 2 , preconventional morality?
instrumental morality or personal gain - rules are obeyed for personal gain
64
what is stage 3 , conventional morality?
good boy or good girl orientation - rules are obeyed for approval
65
what is stage 4 , conventional morality?
maintance of social order - rules are obeyed to maintain social order
66
what is stage 5, post conventional morality ?
morality of contract and human rights - rules are challenged t#if they infringe the rights of others
67
what is stage 6, post conventional morality?
morality of consciousness - individuals have a personal set of ethical principles
68
preconventional level - link to offending
criminals are likely to be at this level (Hollin et al 2002)
they believe breaking the law is justified if the rewards outweigh the consequences or punishment can be avoided
most people reach this stage by the age of 10 - in Kohlberg’s study only 20% of children were at stage 1 and 60% at stage 2
69
conventional level - link to offending
adults at this level who break the law would feel that their behaviour was justified because it helps maintain relationships or society
an offender may accept breaking the law in order to protect a member of society or others
70
post conventional level- link to offending
about 10% of adults reach this stage (Colby et al 1983) so the most common level to reach is the conventional level
71
strength of kohlberg -Palmer and Hollin (1998)
compared moral reasoning between 210 female non offenders 112 male non offenders and 126 convicted offenders using the socio-moral reflection measure (SRM) which contains moral- dilemma related questions such as not taking things and keeping a promise to a friend. The offender showed less mature moral reasoning than the non delinquent groups
72
limitation - Gibbs (1979) - morality is more simple
proposed two levels of moral reasoning - mature and immature
73
CROSS CULTURAL SUPPORT of moral development - Howitt & Chen (2007)
in Taiwan, analysed 300 adolescents (12-18), found more advanced moral reasoning = less violent crimes.
74
limitation and gender - Gilligan (1982)
developed a theory that proposed gender differences following her work looking at the moral development of women. She argued that women focus on how an action affects other people, and that men consider fairness and justice. Given the varying rates of crime between men and women, it may be that moral development in genders is different
75
what is a cognitive distortion?
faulty, irrational ways of thinking which can cause individuals to perceive themselves, others or the world inaccurately, usually negatively
76
what is hostile attribution bias
violence that is caused by the perception that other people’s acts as aggressive
people may be perceived as being confrontational when they are not
e.g “he was giving me a funny look” as a reason for attacking someone, when no such look had happened
77
what is minimalism
downplaying the seriousness of an offence
euphemistic labelling e.g burglars are just “doing a job” or “supporting their family”
some will underplay their offence e.g paedophiles may claim they were “just being affectionate” or fraudsters may claim “ it wasn’t that much money compared to what the company is worth”
78
what is Custodial sentencing
a judicial sentence determined by court where the offender is punished by serving time in prison (incarceration) or in another therapeutic or educational institution (e.g a psychiatric hospital )
79
what are the main 4 aims of putting offenders in prison?
Deterrence
discouraging an action through instilling doubt or fear - operant conditioning
Incapacitation
the act of making an individual “incapable” of committing a crime
Retribution
punishment imposed (as on a convicted criminal) for purposes of repayment or revenge for the wrong committed
Rehabilitation
enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people
80
what is the main aim of putting prisoners in prison?
the main aim is to punish and rehabilitate offenders in the hope that they will not reoofend. Re-offending is known as recidivism. prison has a poor record for reducing reoffendiong. more than two in five adults (42%) are reconvicted of another offence within one year of release
81
what is Differential association theory
an explanation for offending which proposes that individuals learn criminal behaviour through interactions with others
they learn values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour
82
what did Edwin Sutherland say?
- 1924 - attempt to set scientific principles to offending
- “the conditions that are said to cause crime should be present when crime is present and absent when crime is absent”
- his aim was discriminate absolutely between criminals and non criminals regardless of race, class or economic background
- crime is a learned behaviour
- this occurs most often with interactions with significant others (family, close friends)
83
what are the two parts of his theory?
learned attitudes towards crime : social transmission of values, motivations and rationalisation for committing a crime
learning of specific criminals ats: such as learning involves the development of both the technique required to commit the crime such as the delicate touch of a pickpocket
84
what is learned attitudes towards crime?
- pro criminal attitude = criminality
-Sutherland argues of the number of pro-criminal attitudes a person acquires outweighs the number of anti criminal attitudes, then they will go on to offend
- DA suggests that we should be able to carry out a simple calculation to predict the likelihood of someone committing a crime:
- frequency, intensity and duration of their exposure to criminal and non criminal norms and values
85
what is learning of specific criminal acts
- in addition to learning about why they may want to commit a crime, criminals may also learn how to carry out crimes
- this can help explain re-offending when people are released from prison as they learn specific techniques from inmates
- learning can happen through observation and imitation or direct tuition
86
what are the 9 key principles for someone who has turned to crime?
1.criminal behaviour is learned rather than inherited
2. it is learned through association with others
3. this association is with intimate personal groups
4. what is learned are techniques and attitudes /motivations
5. this learning is directional - either for or against crime
6. if the number of favourable attitudes outweigh unfavourable ones, then a person becomes an offender
7. the learning experiences (differential associations) vary in frequency and intensity for each individual
8. criminal behaviour is learned through the same process as any other behaviour
9.general “need” (e.g money is not a sufficient explanation for crime because not everyone with those needs turn to crime
87
evaluation of differential association theory - farrington et al (2006)
Farrington et al. (2006) examined official conviction records and self-reported offences and interviewed and tested participants nine times throughout the study.
At the end of the study, 41% of participants had at least one conviction. Offences were committed most frequently between 17−20 years of age
88
evaluation of differential association theory - Explanatory power
This theory has the ability to account for crime within all sectors of society. Whilst Sutherland recognised that some crimes like burglary may be prevalent in certain inner-city,working class communities,it is also the case that some crimes are more prevalent amongst more affluent groups in society
89
evaluation of differential association theory - difficulty of testing
many of the concepts cannot be tested as they cannot be operationalised and without being able to measure these, we cannot know at what point the urge to offend is realised and the offending is triggered
90
evaluation of differential association theory - individual differences
Not everyone who is exposed to criminal influences goes on to commit crime.Sutherland specified how crime should be considered on an individual case by case basis as there is danger within differential association theory of stereotyping individuals from impoverished,crime-ridden backgrounds as ‘unavoidably criminal.
91
psychodynamic explanation for offeding behaviour - failure to progress from pleasure principle to reality principle
The psychoanalytic theory incorporates unresolved conflict, a lack of emotional stability and childhood events to explain offending
During normal development, a child’s behaviour becomes socialised with the emergence of the ego and the operation of the reality principle and the child begins to behave in keeping with the rules of its environment
Offending is also caused by someone unable to postpone immediate gratification to achieve greater longer term gains
The criminal is one who has failed to progress from the pleasure principle to the reality principle
92
psychodynamic explanation for offending behaviour - inadequacies of the superego
The superego is the moral regulator of behaviour. It develops at the end of the phallic stage (about 5 years) as the child interanises its same sex parent to resolve the oedipus complex
93
what is the weak ego
if the same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage,the child can not internalise a fully formed superego as identification can not occur making immoral/criminal behaviour more likely.
94
what is the deviant ego
this is when the child is brought up with a deviant moral code. So a child's superego may be well formed throughout childhood through good relationships with devious parents, but is based on criminal values.
95
what is the overactive ego
An overdeveloped superego occurs with this process, where the internalised rules are so strict and taken so literally by the person that their ideal self is completely unattainable and their conscience punishes them with guilt for all of their actions which fall short of their unattainable ideal self
96
what did blackburn (1993) say
argued that if the superego is inadequate in some way, the the inevitable consequence would be criminal behaviour because the ID is given free rein and is not properly controlled
97
what are the 3 main effects of custodial sentencing
- stress and depression
- institutionalisation
- prisonisation
98
how is stress and depression caused by custodial sentencing?
- 76% of prisoners (remand and sentenced combined) have two or more mental disorders.
99
how is institutionalisation caused by custodial sentencing?
people get so used to the ideas of prison so they are not able to adjust when they get released
100
how is prisonisation caused by custodial sentencing
inmates learn behaviours that are not consdiered acceptable on the outside - considered schools of crime
101
what is recidivism?
refers to reoffending
recidivism rates help us understand how helpful prison actually is
102
why are recidivism rates so difficult to look at?
ther are so many differnet factors that cause and infleucne the results e.g how long they have been out, when the reoffending crime was commited
103
why does norway have such a low reoffending rate (20%) ?
they put a greater emphaiss on rehabilitation rahter than incarcirations
103
limtiation of custodial sentencing - encoriage development of mental health disorders
- the Prison Reform Trust (2014) found that 25% of women and 15% of men reported having psychosis symptoms
- Bartol (199) suggested that for many offenders, imprisonment can be “brutal, demeaning and generally devastating”
104
limitation of custodial sentencing - the effect of individual differences
- different prisons have different regimes, so there are likely to be wide variations in experience.
- therfore it is difficutl to assume that prison works for everyone, when everyone works differently
105
strength of custodial sentencing - custodial sentencing may be the opportunity for rehabilitation
- The rehabilitation model argues that offenders may become better people during their time in prison
106
limtiation of custodial sentencing - prisons can become “universities for crime”
- Differential association theory suggest that time spent with hardened
criminals may give younger inmates to learn 'tricks of the trade' from experienced offenders
107
how does the role of emotion link to crime
- The effect on an inadequate superego is to allow primitive, emotional demand to guide moral behaviour
- this is a key feature of the psychodynamic approach
- this approach deals with the emotional life of the individual - it acknowledges the role of anxiety and guilt in the development of offending behaviour
- this also means that the lack of guilt is relevant to understanding offending behaviour, as in the case of maternal deprivation
108
how do problems with early relationships lead to crime
- the process of socialisation for some children goes astray, allowing “latent” delinquency” to become dominant.
- latent delinquency is innate but also in part determined by a child’s early emotional relationships.
- the criminal behaviour is therefore a result of a failure of psychological development
109
what did Healy and Bronner (1936) say
criminal act results from inner unsatisfied desires and dissatisfactions. These unsatisfied wishes stem from a failure to experience strong emotional ties with another person, usually a parent
110
what does Bowbly's maternal deprivation theory say
-Bwolby argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependant on the child forming a warm and continuous relationship with the mother- figure
- failure to establish such a relationship during the first few years of life means a child is likely to experience damaging and irreversible consequences in later life
111
according to bowlby, what is affectionless psychopathy ?
- one of these development is the development of a particular personality type - affectionless psychopathy
- characteristed by lack of guilt, empathy or feelings for others
such maternally deprived individuals are likely to engage in delinquent behaviouts and cannot develop close relationships with others
112
what was Bowlby's juivinile thieves study?
- interviews 44 juvinile thieves and their families
- 14 of the sample showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classes as affectionless psychopathy
of these 14, 12 had prolonged separation from their mothers during infant (first 2 years of life)
- in a non offender group, only 2 had hte same experiences
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limitation of the psychodynamic approach - contradictory evidence
There is very little evidence that children raised without a same-sex parent are less law-abiding as adults.This contradicts the weak superego argument. Similarly,if children who are raised by deviant parents go on to commit crime themselves,this may be down to genetics or socialisation rather than a deviant superego
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strength of psychodynamic approach - reseach support
- goreta et al coudcted a freudian - style analysis of ten offenders referred for psychiactric treatment
- in all, problems with the superego were diagnosed
- each offenders have feelings of guilt which show signs of overharsh superego this shows the need for punsihment is manifesting itsself in crime
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limtiation of psychodynamic approach - gender bias
- an implicit assumption within freuds theory is that girls develop a weaker superego than boys becuase identification with a same sex parent is not the same
- this is because girls do not experience the same emotions as castration anxiety and do not feel the pressure to identify with thier mothers adn their morality is not fully realised
- hoffman also ntoes that there is very little difference between the genders
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what are token economies used for ?
- Token economy programmes are used to obtain desirable behaviour in
closed institutions such as prisons, and they are used for juvenile and
adult offenders in custody.
- They are a form of behaviour modification. That is they reinforce
obedient behaviour and punish disobedient behaviours with the views
to making a behaviour change!
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how does the rewards aspect of token economies?
Rewards are usually tokens or points (secondary reinforcers), and these
can be periodically exchanged for something that the individual wants
(primary reinforcers).
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strength of token economies - easy to impliment
- it can be easily implemented without the use of a professional like is needed in anger management
- Basset and Blanchard (1977) found found that the benefits of the token economy broke down when staff implemented them inconsistently due to conditions such as high staff turnover. Thus, the staff must apply the token economy consistently if it is a successful behaviour modification method.
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One limitation of prison is that there is little rehabilitative value
- Blackburn (1993) argued that any positive changes made in prison can be quickly lost when outside
- more cognitive based treatments seem to be more effective and permanent
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A further limitation is the ethical issues that are raised.
- the behaviours involved within a token economy are often considered manipulative and dehumanising
- Moya and Achtenburg - participation is obligatory not optional and therefore taking away rewards because of lack of involvement is unethical
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REASONS WHY TEP’S MAY NOT WORK
- Staff are not committed to the programme, so they do not focus on it sufficiently.
- Inconsistent rewards are given for the same behaviour.
- There is a failure to plan for transferring to the home environment or any environment outside the institution.
- TEPs only produce a behaviour change on the surface, they don’t necessarily tackle the root cause of the offending behaviour.
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ADVANTAGES OF TEP’S
- There should be no delay between the desired behaviour and the reward.
- Anyone can give the tokens.
Clear rules mean staff know when to award a token, so the programme is relatively easy to administer.
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what does Raymond Novaco (1975) say about anger management
a therapeutic programme offered in prisons to identify triggers and allow offenders to deal with the situation in a positive and calm manner
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what is involved in anger managment?
- focus on people with aggressive behaviour that needs to be controlled.
- Anger management in general uses strategies such as identifying what triggers anger and learning to control those triggers.
Proper eating regimes are suggested as well as relaxation techniques.
- Learning to cope with different opinions from others is also important in the programme.
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what are the 3 stages of anger managment?
1. cognitive preparation
2. skills and aquisition
3. application practice
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what is involved cognitive preparation?
- requires an offender to reflect on past experiences and consider the typical patterns in their anger. they learn to identify situations which act as triggers in which a therapist will help clear these thoughts
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what is involved in skills and aquisition?
- offenders are introduced ot a range of techniques and skills to help them deal with anger revoking sitautions better
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what are the cognitive skills that are aquired?
postivie self talk to encourage calmness
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what are the behavioural skills that are aquired?
assertivness training in how to communciate more effectively which will become an automatic response if practiced regularly
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what are the physiological skills that are aquired?
deal with the physical reaction to anger such as relaxation training or meditation
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what is involved in application practice?
Offenders practise their new skills through role-play
The therapist will deliberately provoke them to see how they react
The therapist will positively reinforce successful strategies
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what is the aim of ireland (2004) - Effectiveness of Anger Management
To investigate whether anger-management programmes are successful in reducing aggression in young male offenders
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what was the procedure of Ireland (2004) - Effectiveness of Anger Management
A natural experiment conducted where 50 male prisoners who had completed an anger management course were compared to a control group of 37 male prisoners who had not
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what were the findings of Ireland (2004)
- After treatment, prisoners who had completed CALM rated themselves lower on the anger questionnaire and were rated lower in aggression by prison officers
- No significant reduction in either of these measures in the control group; 92% of the treatment group showed improvements on at least 1 measure, 48% showed improvement on both measures, 8% showed no improvement/deterioration in both measures
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what is restorative justice?
- focuses on rehabilitating offenders through reconciliation with victims.
- this enables an offender to see the impact of their crime and empowering survivors to use their voice
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what are some ways that restorative justice can be done?
face to face encounter
financial restitution
community service
work in schools, workplaces and hospitals to help manage conflict between people
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what is important to remember about RJ?
has to be voluntary for all parties and seeks a positive outcome. it is respectful and not degrading for either offender or victim
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what are the general aims of RJ?
rehabilitation of offenders
addressing wrongdoings
victims perspective
an opportunity to explain the impact of the crime
an acknowledgement of the harm causes
a chance to ask questions
acceptance of responsibility
active rather than passive involvement of both parties
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what is involved in Wachtel and McCold (2003) theory of restorative justice
- the starting point is the belief that the focus should be on relationships rather than punishment.
- crimes harm people and their relationships, and restorative justice requires that harm to be healed as much as possible
early models of restorative justice just focused on the offender and victim only, but more recent ideas recognise the effect on the wider community
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what is the ivolvment of stakeholders in restorative justice (VENN DIAGRAM)
the involvement of 3 stakeholders is necessary - the offender seeks reconciliation, the offender must take responsibility and the community aims to achieve reconciliation to maintain a healthy society
if only one stakeholder is involved, the process is only partly restorative
if only 2 stakeholders are involved, then the process is mostly restorative
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what is involved in peace circles
have been set up in many communities where violence and crime levels are high
they aim to foster an environment of respect where the community offers support to victims of crime but also welcomes the offender into the circle to come to a mutual understanding
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what is involved in social discipline window
Wachtel and McCold (2003) created this window to represent the choices available for social discipline - one dimension is control, which can be high or low, the second is support which again can be high or low
high control with low support is just punishment and support with no control is just permissive
restoration aims have high control along with high support
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waht are the four aspects of social discipline
- punitive
- restorative
- negtectful
permissive
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strength of restorative justice - needs of the survivor
- shapland et al (2008) did a 7 year study
- found that 85% of survivors felt satisfied
- 60% said it helped them move on
- only 2% found that it didn't help
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limitation of restorative justice - abusing the system
- the success of RJ may hinge on offenders intentions being honourable - meaning that they actually want to make amends
- Gigsegham (2003) says that offenders might use RJ to avoid punishment or play down their faults
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strength of restorative justice - can lead to recidivism
- strange et al (2013) did a meta analysis comparing offenders who had done RJ compared to custodial sentencing
- the RJ group were significantly less likely to re offend
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