FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY - dealing with offending behaviour: Custodial sentencing

Question 1

what is custodial sentencing?

Answer 1

Involves a convicted offender spending time in prison.

Question 2

what are the 4 main reasons of custodial sentencing?

Answer 2

1. deterrence
2. incapacitation
3. retribution
4. rehabilitation

Question 3

define deterrence.

Answer 3

• putting people off committing the crime.
• based on conditioning principles ( punishment )
• prison is designed to be an unpleasant experience to put the individual off committing a crime.

Question 4

define incapacitation.

Answer 4

• take the offender out of society to protect the public from further offending.

Question 5

define retribution.

Answer 5

• society enacting revenge by making the offender suffer.
• level of suffering should be proportional to the severity of the crime

Question 6

define rehabilitation.

Answer 6

• reform of the offender
• learns new attitudes and values and stops being a criminal
• prison should provide an opportunity to develop skills, access treatments and reflect on crime.

Question 7

what are psychological effect of custodial sentencing?

Answer 7

• stress and depression = suicide and self harm rates are higher in prison
• institutionalisation = adapted to the norms and routines of prison = inability to function outside of prison
• prisonisation = behaviour considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside the walls of the institution.

Question 8

define recidivism.

Answer 8

re-offending

Question 9

Explain Yukchnenko et al (2019)

Answer 9

Reoffending rates value with time period after release, age of offender, crime committed and country.
According to the ministry of justice UK figure for recidivism is 45% and Norway figure is low, 20%.
Norway figure is low = less emphasis on incarceration and greater emphasis on rehabilitation and skills development.

Question 10

Strengths of custodial sentencing.

Answer 10

+ provides opportunities for training and treatment.
eg rehabilitation allows offenders to become better people and allows them to lead a crime free life when back in society.
Offenders access education and training which increases likelihood of employment.
Increases value of custodial sentencing.

Question 11

Give limitations of custodial sentencing.

Answer 11

• negative effects on prisoners.
  eg Bartol (1995) = prison can be brutal demeaning and devastating.
  Prison Reform Trust (2014) = 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis.
  = oppressive prison regimes may have a negative impact on psychological health which could impact rehabilitation.

Counterpoint = prison reform trust study doesn’t consider if the prisoners had any pre-existing psychological difficulties = we don’t know if prisoners have psychological problems due to the prison regimen or trauma of being locked away. = confounding variables may interfere between the link between prison and its psychological effect.

• offenders may learn to be better offenders.
  eg younger inmates may be given the chance to learn tricks from experienced offenders = undermines attempts to rehabilitate prisoners making reoffending more likely.