forensic psychology

Question 1

Explain the 6 stages of the top-down approach

What is the difference between organised and disorganised offenders?

Answer 1

1. Profiling inputs - data is collected (crime scene is described, background info of offender is collected as well as details of the crime). All info should be included even if it appears trivial. Suspects should NOT be considered, as this may be bias the info collected
2. Decision process models - Profiler starts to make the decisions about the data and organises it into meaningful patterns. The following issues are considered:

-Murder type - mass, spree, serial murders
-Time - did the crime take a long time/short time, night or day?

• Location - was the crime scene the same as the murder scene?

3.Crime assessment - Based on the data collected the crime is classified as organised or disorganised:

-Organised offender - planned, victim specifically targeted, weapon hidden, body moved, sexual acts usually acted on by offender, offender has high intelligence, social competence, usually has a family, car and job

-Disorganised offender - unplanned, victim is random, engage little with victim, sexual acts performed after death. Crime scene contains many clues

4. Criminal profile - a profile of the criminal is constructed, includes a hypothesis, and likely background, habits + beliefs. Used to work out a strategy for the investigation to help catch the offender. Also important to anticipate how the offender will respond to various investigation efforts, and how they should be interviewed if they are caught

5.Crime assessment - a written report is given and matching profiles are evaluated. If new info is generated or no suspect is identified the process goes back to step 2

6. Apprehension - if a suspect is apprehended, the entire profile-generating process is reviewed to check that at each stage conclusions made were legitimate, and to consider how the process may be revised for future cases

Question 2

Evaluate the top-down approach for offender profiling?

Answer 2

Organised-disorganised types of offenders originated from data collected from data gathered by interviews with the most dangerous murderers e.g. Ted Bundy - data used to identify key characteristics that would help police ‘read’ a crime scene
-problematic as these individuals are highly manipulative and unreliable, nor are they typical offenders

-Can be argued that the approach is not scientific. The Barnum effect can explain the believability of profiles based on this approach - ambiguous descriptions can be made to fit any situation - may expect in a list of 20 statements about a person, 10 will be correct, explaining why profiles appear to be right - can mislead investigation if they are wrong

Disorganised/organised offenders may have little distinction
-descriptions are generalisations
-offenders can be a mixture of both
-third category proposed called ‘mixed offender’ but others argue this then lessens the significance of the other 2
-39 aspects of serial killings in US serial killers were analysed and it was revealed no clear division between organised/disorganised
-found a number of subsets of organised-type crimes and little evidence for disorganised

Question 3

Describe the bottom-up approach developed by David Canter (investigative psychology)

Answer 3

Investigative Psychology:

1. Interpersonal coherence
   - Ppl are consistent in behaviour + therefore there will be links with elements of the crime + how ppl behave in everyday life
   -peoples behaviour also changes over time so crimes may be different over time
2. Forensic awareness
   - behaviours may reveal an awareness of particular techniques and past experience e.g. rapists who conceal fingerprints often had a previous conviction for burglary

3.Smallest space analysis
- statistical technique developed by Canter and used on the Railway Rapist case
-data about many crimes and offender characteristics are correlated so that the mot common connections can be identified
-Canter analysed 48 crime scenes from 82 UK murder cases where the victim was a stranger
-identified 3 underlying themes:
- Instrumental opportunistic = using murder to obtain something/accomplish a goal in the easiest way possible
-Instrumental cognitive = a particular concern about being distracted and therefore more planned (less evidence)
- Expressive impulsive = uncontrolled, in the heat of strong emotions, may feel provoked by the victim

Question 4

Evaluate the bottom-up approach (investigative psychology)

Answer 4

approach considered more scientific than top-down approach as it uses objective statistical techniques and computer analysis
-issue as the techniques are only as useful as the data inputted into them and the underlying assumptions that are used to work out links between the data items
-data used to link such systems often links to offenders that have been caught and so tell us little about patterns of behaviour linked to unsolved crime.
-how do we know the formula used in computer analysis is correct?
-approach has the potential to be objective and scientific but in practice it can be biased

Question 5

Describe the geographical profiling part of the bottom-up approach

Answer 5

believed offenders reveal themselves by the locations they choose
-about where the crime took place rather than who committed it
-offenders likely to commit crimes near their local area as it is less effort
-analyses locations of a connected series of crimes and how they might relate to an offender’s homeplace

Involves 2 parts:
-Circle theory = most offenders have a spatial mind-set, they commit their crimes within an imagined circle
- marauder= the offender’s home is within the area in which the crimes are committed
- commuter= offender travels to another area and commits crimes within a defined space around which a circle can be drawn

-Criminal geographical profiling= a computerised system where a formula produces a three-dimensional map, displaying spatial data related to time, distance and movement to and from crime scenes
-map is called a jeopardy surface
-different colours indicate closeness to a crime scene

Question 6

Evaluate the geographical profiling part of the bottom-up approach

Answer 6

-researchers studied 45 sexual assaults and showed support for the circle theory by distinguishing between marauders and commuters
-91% classed as marauders - most offenders are marauders so classification system appears less useful
-if a person’s home is not in the centre of the circle, this may mislead police to look in the wrong place
-simplistic as most areas like cities circles are not likely to form

-even if crime is not solved it can provide useful info to help police prioritise their resources
-however cannot identify multiple offenders in the same area + method is limited to spatial behaviour and not any personality traits

Question 7

Explain the historical approach in biological explanations for offending behaviour (Lombroso)

Answer 7

• known as the atavistic form
  -explanation suggests criminal behaviour can arise from certain individuals being born with a criminal personality which is innate
  -states offenders possessed similar traits to lower primates which could suggest their criminality
  -18 characteristics identified that make up the atavistic type

-Empirical evidence:
-used post-mortem exams of criminals and studied faces of living criminals
-made precise measurements of skulls and other physiological features - known as anthropometry
-examined over 50,000 bodies, in 1 study of 383 Italian criminals, found 21% had one atavistic trait and 43% had at least 5

-Environmental influence:
-idea that inherited atavistic form interacted with a person’s physical and social environment
-deterministic view as it suggests factors such as nature or nurture, outside a person’s control determine whether or not they become a criminal
-identified 3 types of offenders which moved away from the atavistic from being the only explanation for criminality
- Born criminals = atavistic type, identifiable from physical characteristics
- Insane criminals = suffered from mental illness
- Criminaloids = large class of offenders whose mental characteristics predisposed them to criminal behaviour under the right circumstances (e.g. social environment)

Question 8

Evaluate the historical approach in biological explanations for offending behaviour

Answer 8

• First person to research the criminal rather the crime, prior to his work it was believed crime was a choice, which could be deterred if punished
  -believed in more humane punishment and also that biology and environments may remove the option of free will

-research lacked controls
-researched more prisoners than non-prisoners
- if more non-prisoners were researched he would have found that just as many non-prisoners as prisoners with the same characteristics

-without studying female criminality, Lombroso made the androcentric claim that women were less evolved than men, and were passive, low in intelligence and had a maternal instinct - all of which neutralised their negative traits and meant they were less likely to be criminals
-those who were criminals had masculine traits which were beneficial in a man but created a ‘monster’ in a female.

Question 9

Describe the genetic explanation for offending behaviour

Answer 9

-Raine provides evidence to link genetics to offending behaviour through studying twins, monozygotic (MZ) + dizygotic (DZ). He found a concordance rate of 52% for MZ twins and their behaviour compared to a concordance rate of 21% for DZ twins

-Brunner researched in more detail to find a specific gene
-researched 28 male members of a Dutch family with histories of impulsive + violent crimes
-tested the DNA of these men and found they shared a specific gene which could be used to explain their behaviour
-this defective gene led to the men producing abnormally low levels of the enzyme MAOA, which regulates the metabolism of serotonin levels in the brain + low levels of serotonin are associated with impulsive + aggressive behaviour

Question 10

Evaluate the genetic explanation of offending behaviour

Answer 10

-Big difference between violent and non-violent crime and how these are explained by genetics
-most genetic research focuses on the link between offending behaviour and violent/aggressive behaviour
-offending behaviour also includes non-violent crimes such as fraud, drug use etc
-therefore bio explanations such as genetics may only account for violent crimes and crimes committed by people with psychopathy who are more likely to commit crimes due to a lack of empathy

-Deterministic = in Tiihonen’s research those with the defective gene were 13 times more likely to have a history of repeated violent behaviour but not everyone with the gene had become an offender
-therefore not everyone will offend even if they have the genetic predisposition
-does not account for individual differences

Question 11

Describe the neural explanation of offending behaviour

Answer 11

-In USA 60% of prisoners have had a head injury compared to 8% of the population - may be due to nature or nurture

-Raine cited 71 brain imaging studies showing that violent criminals have reduced functioning in the prefrontal cortex, the area involved in regulating emotion + controlling moral behaviour - lowered activity in this area is associated with impulsiveness/lack of control

-Raine also studied the limbic systems in murderers
-the limbic system is a set of subcortical structures such as the thalamus and the amygdala that are linked to emotion
-compared with matched controls, they found abnormal asymmetries in the limbic system.

Question 12

Describe Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality

Answer 12

Categorised the criminal personality into 3 traits, where criminals experience them on an extreme level. 60% of the population experience these at a normal level

Extraverts: outgoing, positive, get bored easily, require more external stimulation and so seek it to increase their cortical arousal. Likely to engage in dangerous activities and thrilling crimes like stealing for the thrill

Neuroticists: experience mainly negative emotions rather than positive. Low stability of the sympathetic nervous system -reacts quickly and gets upset easily. May overreact in threatening situations - linked to assault crimes

Psychotics: egocentric, impulsive, lack of empathy, impersonal. May engage in more severe crimes e.g. murder, rape due to aggressiveness and a lack of empathy for others

Eysenck stated people can be born with these traits but their environment means they will never use these traits in a criminalistic way.

Question 13

Evaluate Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality

Answer 13

Biological basis - support from twin research
-researcher found a +52 correlation for MZ twins on neuroticism compared to .24 to DZ twins - shows a large genetic component for this trait. Scientific evidence that traits can be inherited. However twins are brought up differently and often treated as 1 person instead of 2, so this could be a reason as to why they display similar personality traits.

Criticism - personality may not be consistent (neurotic at school, calm and relaxed at home) - known as situational theory of personality. 63 students placed in different situations and strangers and family found almost no correlation between the traits displayed by the individuals, questions Eysenck’s theory as this suggests people do not have one type of personality

Question 14

What is a cognitive distortion and what are the 2 types?

Answer 14

a from of irrational thinking - reality becomes twisted so that what is perceived no longer represents what is actually true
- morality disappears
2 types:
-minimalisation
-hostile attribution bias

Question 15

Describe and evaluate hostile attribution bias as a cognitive explanation of offending behaviour

Answer 15

-a person will think the worst of others
-e.g. someone smiles at them, they will interpret that they are thinking bad thoughts about them
- negative interpretations may lead to defensive and aggressive behaviour

Evaluation:
-emotionally ambiguous faces shown to 55 violent criminals and compared their responses to matched control of ‘normal’ pps
-faces showed various emotions varying in intensity
-offenders more likely to interpret anger in any picture that only showed slight anger
-concluded misinterpretation of non-verbal cues such as facial expressions may partly explain aggressive-impulsive behaviour in these individuals

Question 16

Describe and evaluate minimalisation as a cognitive explanation for offending behaviour

Answer 16

-an offender will under-exaggerate the consequences of their behaviour to reduce negative emotions such as guilt
-e.g. will come up with excuses such as they are doing it to support family members (stealing)
-research found sexual offenders are likely to minimise their actions. A researcher found out of 26 rapists in prison, 24% denied to crime, and 40% minimised the harm they had caused to the victim

Evaluation:
-Research again showed sex offenders’ often downplayed their behaviour
-some suggested the victim’s behaviour contributed and some even denied that the crime ever took place
-Researchers suggested that minimalisation is fairly ‘normal’ for everyone as we downplay our actions to protect ourselves. In this way it is not especially deviant behaviour and so other factors must be used to explain offending behaviour.

Question 17

Explain levels of moral reasoning as a cognitive explanation for offending behaviour. Describe the levels and how they link to offending behaviour

Answer 17

Kohlberg developed a theory of moral reasoning
- suggested moral decisions we make are personal to us and are based on what we perceive as right/wrong.
-interviewed males about the reasons for their moral decisions and constructed a stage theory of moral development
-each stage represents a more advanced form of moral understanding

1. Pre-conventional (basic level - children)
   - judge actions based on consequences - rewards and punishments

2.Conventional level (most adults)
-believe conforming to social rules is desirable, but this is not out of self-interest. Maintaining the social system ensures positive relationships and social order

3. Post-conventional (least common)
   -question compliance to social norms
   -believe individual rights are more important than the law (e.g. in Nazi Germany)

Linking to offending behaviour:

• Kohlberg found around 10% of adults reach post-conventional level and the most common level is conventional
  -breaking law at conventional stage - may feel their behaviour is justified as it helps maintain relationships/society (e.g. may offend to protect others e.g. rioting)

Offenders are likely to be at the pre- conventional level - offending is justified if the rewards outweigh the cost or punishment can be avoided. This stage is normally reached by the age of 10
-e.g. children under 10 cannot be charged with a crime as it is thought they have not developed a good moral understanding

Question 18

Evaluate the levels of moral reasoning as a cognitive explanation for offending behaviour

Answer 18

Researchers used an offending motivation questionnaire to assess 128 male juvenile offenders
-found 38% did not consider the consequences and 36% were convinced they would not be caught
-suggests they were at the pre-conventional level, supporting the link between moral reasoning and offender behaviour

A limitation is that the theory concerns moral thinking rather than behaviour
-researchers suggested moral principles are only one factor in moral behaviour and may be overridden by more practical factors (e.g. financial gain)
- Therefore morality is complex and requires more than one explanation as there is multiple factors involved

-Gender bias - research based on males - moral reasoning may be very different in women due to women being more emotionally sensitive - low ecological validity

Reductionism - explaining offence with one theory is not reliable as it has many factors involved

Question 19

Describe the differential association theory

Answer 19

Sutherland suggested that offending behaviour can be explained in terms of learning and association - suggests people are socialised to a life of crime

• Differential association refers to the fact that ppl vary in frequency with which they associate with others who have more or less favourable attitudes towards crime. These attitudes can influence their own attitudes
• A child will learn attitudes towards crime whether they are desirable or not. They will learn the crimes that are acceptable in their community and desirable. May pick up methods from others

-Learned from intimate personal groups (family/friends) and from the wider neighbourhood . Differential social organisation is the degree to which local community supports/opposes crime which determines the different crime rates from one area to another. Some people will hold deviant attitudes but not commit.

-Frequency, length and personal meaning of such associations will determine how influential they are upon an individual
-Direct and indirect operant conditioning is said to be how these influences work

Question 20

Evaluate the differential association theory

Answer 20

Changes how ppl view criminals
- recognises social factors rather than just blaming the criminal
- important real-world application as genetics cannot be changed but social environments can

-Researchers found crime can run through families
-Found if fathers had a criminal conviction than 40% of their sons had committed by 18,compared to 13% of sons with a non-criminal father
-suggests influence from father
-but this does not mean causation as there could be other factors involved
-genetics also explains this as the sons have 50% of the father’s genes and so are likely to have similar traits

The theory does not tell us the causes and effects of crime. Researchers argued the theory is not testable as it is too difficult to separate inherited and learnt influences. It is also not clear how many unfavourable over favourable influences are needed to tip the balance so that the person becomes criminal.

Theory of associations is more applicable for smaller crimes rather than violent impulsive crimes. It can explain why most crimes are committed by young people. A researcher found that 40% of offences are committed by ppl under 21, supporting the theory. This could be due to the fact young people are more likely to become influenced by others rather than older people.

Question 21

Explain Freud’s psychodynamic explanation for offending behaviour.

Answer 21

Approach states crime occurs through early experiences and innate drives

Stated personality develops from 3 components

Id - wants + desires
Ego - reality principle - finds acceptable ways to meet the demands of the Id
Superego - makes us feel guilty if we break rules and decides what behaviours are acceptable - related to offending behaviour due to it being related to right or wrong

The superego develops around 4 years old during the phallic stage

Boys:
-develop an Oedipus complex (a desire for their mothers) and become jealous of their fathers
-eventually recognise the father’s power and become fearful of him
-to resolve the conflict the boy gives up his desire for his mother and starts to identify with his father - superego develops

Girls:
-develop an Electra complex (penis envy)
-in competition with their mother for their father’s love
-Jung suggests girls come to accept they will never have a penis and substitute this with a desire for children through which they identify with their mothers - superego develops

Weak/underdeveloped superego:

• a child who does not identify with the same sex or their parent is absent will have a weak superego as there is no opportunity for identification to take place
  -therefore they act in ways to satisfy their instinctual Id impulses and are likely to behave criminalistic

Harsh/overdeveloped ego:
- a child may develop a very strong identification with a strict parent. Results in excessive feelings of guilt/anxiety as if they act on their Id impulses they would feel bad.
-Would commit crimes with a wish to be caught and the punishment would reduce the feelings of guilt

Deviant superego:
-a child with a criminal parent would internalise the same immoral attitudes - may lead to offending behaviour as they are not likely to associate guilt with wrong doing

Question 22

Explain Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation as a psychodynamic explanation for offending behaviour

Answer 22

Prolonged separation can lead to emotional consequences such as mental health disorders and affectionless psychopathy (inability to feel guilt/empathy)
-lack normal sense of shame and responsibility so find it easier to commit crimes

Question 23

Evaluate Freud and Bowlby’s psychodynamic explanations for offending behaviour

Answer 23

-Real world application
-Bowlby’s study of 44 juvenile thieves identified that treating the emotional problems in young delinquents is a slow process therefore we should try to avoid the separation in the first place.

Bowlby worked with Johnson and Johnson and demonstrated emotional separation was vitally important to consider rather than just physical separation.
2 sisters lived with the researchers while their mum was in hospital. They gave the children emotional support and found although they were separated from their mother there was no long lasting effects from it.

Bowlby acknowledged that criminal behaviour couldn’t be explained solely through effects and childhood. A researcher reported findings from a 40 year longitudinal study on offences in the UK by 400 boys from London. He found the most important risk factors for offending behaviour are
-family history of criminality
-daring/risk-taking personality
-poverty
-poor parenting

Freud’s research may be gender bias as events proposed during the phallic stage propose that women should have weaker superegos because they don’t identify as strongly as boys do
-Freud believed there was little reason for anyone to identify with a woman due to her lower status
-show alpha bias, where the differences between the genders are exaggerated so one gender is devalued
-if Freud’s view was correct there would be more female offenders than men due to a weaker superego, which is not the case.

-Principles of id, ego and superego are abstract - his theory is pseudoscientific and his ideas cannot be falsified (proven through scientific evidence)

Question 24

What are the aims of custodial sentencing?

Answer 24

Incapacitation - putting criminals in prison to protect the public. Necessary for violent offenders

Punishment and prevention of recidivism - behaviourist approach - punishment decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated

Retribution - victim and their family/friends will want to feel a sense of justice - the offender should pay for their actions

Deterrence - discourages the rest of the population from committing crimes

Rehabilitation - many believe to prevent crime there has to be some form of education/therapy available - especially true for criminals with mental health issues. Prison is a safe place for this to take place and other criminals will participate, offering social support

Question 25

What are the psychological effects of custodial sentencing?

Answer 25

De-individuation - a psychological state where individuals have lowered levels of self-evaluation and decreased concerns about the evaluation of others - you lose your individual identity (Zimbardo experiment is an example of this)

Depression, self-harm, suicide - become depressed due to feeling hopeless, feel they have no control over their future. Self harm is then caused by depression - The Howard league for prison reform reported 10,000 incidents of self harm in 2008. Suicide is a possible outcome of depression - the greatest risk group is single young men in the first 24 hours of imprisonment.

Overcrowding and lack of privacy - not enough prisons for the amount of prisoners - 25% of prisoners are in overcrowded accommodation. Can cause anxiety and stress

Effects on family - prisoner will feel guilt and separation anxiety which will also be felt by family members, particularly children

Question 26

Evaluate custodial sentencing and recidivism

Answer 26

High rates of recidivism suggest that for atleast 50% of the prison population punishment doesn’t work - an offender may view the sentencing as a punishment for being caught not the crime itself, therefore they learn to avoid being caught rather than learning to not commit the crime. USA murder is no less prevalent in states where there is the death penalty than those where it does not exist - showing punishment is not a good deterrent.

Incapacitation - only relevant to dangerous offenders - however many are not dangerous and their custodial sentence doesn’t reduce recidivism and so custodial sentencing may not be relevant to all offenders

Retribution - could in some cases be achieved through restorative justice where offenders make a mends to their victims and will have to face their own conscience

Rehabilitation - cannot be forced to take part in rehabilitation programmes and some may only do it as it may go towards reducing their sentence rather than them truly wanting to change their behaviour

Differential association theory - offender has an increased association with people who have pro-criminal attitudes - their attitude toward crime becomes normal and allows them more opportunities to commit crime and be successful - therefore increasing recidivism

Found that no matter the sentence type some offenders were always more likely to re-offend.
- rates of recidivism can vary with age and crime - younger people are more likely to re-offend, those committing theft and burglary are twice more likely to re-offend than those committing drug and sexual offences.

Question 27

Describe the token economy method used in behaviour modification in custody

Answer 27

3 main principles: reinforcement, punishment and shaping

Reinforcement:
- based on operant conditioning where new behaviours our reinforced
-prisoners receive tokens for desirable behaviours, which are used to gain desirable goods
-the item purchased with the tokens acts as a reinforcer, increasing the likelihood that the behaviour that gained them the tokens will be repeated
-goods = primary reinforcers, tokens = secondary reinforcers
-tokens = secondary reinforcers as they become reinforcers through being presented alongside the reinforcing stimulus (classical conditioning)
-different behaviours must receive different amounts of tokens for this to work

Punishment:
- tokens removed for undesirable behaviour, less likely to repeat behaviour

Shaping:
-initially a toke is given for a simple task but eventually tasks become more complex, shaping the prisoner’s behaviour

Question 28

Evaluate the token economy system

Answer 28

Hobbs and Holt
125 adolescent delinquents aged 12-15 in a token economy system in Alabama were observed
-lived in 4 cottages, one was a control group (no tokens used)
-data before was taken
-2 workers recorded desirable behaviours daily
-found an average 27% increase in desirable behaviour, but no increase in control group - shows token economy can have beneficial effects on behaviour

Can improve behaviour in the short term but may not be effective in the long term.
Has little effect on re-offending as the behaviours learnt are not applicable to everyday life e.g. walking in a straight line, therefore when out of a prison setting the system may not be effective in an offender’s natural environment

Some state that token economies are a breach of human rights as they manipulate people’s behaviour sometimes without their consent. Some prisoners receive basic human rights like food as a reward.
If a prisoner cannot change their behaviour, e.g. due to biological reasons, thus denying them rewards everyone else receives, this can make the behaviour worse. Suggests in some cases token economies can worsen behaviour rather than better it.

Question 29

Describe Novaco’s stress inoculation model model as a form of anger management

Answer 29

-A form of CBT used to deal with stress, suggests you can inoculate yourself against stress
-changes negative thoughts into positive ones to receive a positive outcome

3 main phases:

-Cognitive preparation:
learn about general anger, how it can be adaptive and non-adaptive
-analyse own anger patterns and what provokes the anger (stressers) and redefines the situations as non-threatening
-focuses on changing irrational thoughts causing them to feel angry

Skill acquisition:
- taught how to manager their anger through self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and relaxation
- taught better communication skills to resolve conflicts assertively without being angry
-relaxation methods and relaxation help the offender to feel in control of their emotions rather than being ruled by them

Application Training:
- apply skills in controlled and non-threating situations such as role plays of situations that previously made them angry - met with positive reinforcement if handled well
-eventually will try out their skills in the real world

Question 30

Evaluate anger management as a way to deal with offending behaviour

Answer 30

Ireland tested the effectiveness on 50 young male offenders. Data was collected before treatment through self-questionnaires and assessment from prison officers
-8 weeks after treatment they were re-assessed in the same way and significant improvements were found

Individual differences
- programmes do not suit all pps (some don’t like to reflect on their behaviour and won’t make the effort to change their attitude)
- if voluntary it makes it easy for the offender to drop out
-pps should be assessed before treatment to see if they are applicable for the programme

How anger is assessed needs to considered as it is usually done by self-report methods or prison staff, both of which are open to bias. Patients may display the ‘hello-goodbye effect’ where they appear to be showing progress as they want to be helpful in showing that the therapy has worked, even if reality may be different

Question 31

Describe restorative justice programmes

Answer 31

Aims:

Rehabilitation:
-victim has the opportunity to explain the impact of the crime to the offender. Learn to take the perspective of others which can reduce the chance of re-offending. The offender is encouraged to take responsibility for their actions

Atonement for wrongdoing:
-offender may offer compensation for the crime.
-allows them to feel guilty for their actions
-offender can develop empathy by taking the perspective of the victim

Victim’s perspective:
- reduces victim’s feelings of victimisation as they are no longer powerless and they now have a voice
-victim may understand the offenders actions which reduces their sense of being harmed

Wachtel and McCold proposed a framework that states the focus should be on healing relationships and harm rather than punishment. 3 main people are required for restorative justice to work effectively

1, Victim seeks justice
2,Offender takes responsibility
3.Community aims to reconcile to maintain a healthy society

Peace circles are set up where everyone has the opportunity to talk, supporting the victim but also welcoming the offender

Question 32

Evaluate restorative justice programmes

Answer 32

UK restorative justice council report 85% satisfaction from victims in face to face meeting with their offenders - covered a large range of crimes. Reported that victims gain a greater sense of satisfaction than when the case goes through court, as they do not have a voice in court - supports programmes work from the victim’s perspective

Every crime/offender is different so is not applicable to every crime
-offender must be willing to admit their crime (some offenders minimalise their crime), not all victims will be in support of it and some offenders may be too dangerous to meet with their victim, e.g. in abusive cases the victim may feel scared to meet with their offender

Aim of punishment can be achieved as facing the victim is an unpleasant experience and so can be a punishment and act as a deterrent. Restorative justice also avoids the issue of prisoners becoming negatively influenced by other prisoners (differential association theory)