Forensic - Sentencing and Risk Assessment Flashcards
Sentencing is the imposition of a ______ upon a person who has been ______ of a crime. Beliefs about the ______ of crimes influences rationale for _________ (reflects deeply held values about crime)
penalty
convicted
causes
sentencing
Historically, crime was a _____, and suffering was the culprits ____. Hence, judges were expected to be _____ (eg: capital punishments and torture for petty crimes). However, during the enlightenment of 18th and 19th centuries, philosophers put an emphasis on ______ through rational punishment. Quick, ______ punishment became more important than the _________.
From the 20th century, the focus has been on _______. And more recent work has been on _______ criminals from society to limit offenders’ potential for ______ harm
sin
due
harsh
deterrence
certain
severity
rehabilitation
separating
future
5 goals of modern sentencing - retribution
This is the act of taking ______ upon the criminal, related to a need for ______ and _______.
In early societies minor crimes attracted _____ punishments. The phrase “an eye for an eye” was intended to ______ the severity of punishment for minor infractions.
Even now, it is still thought that criminals ______ the punishment they receive, and that the punishment should ____ the type and severity of the crime (eg: don’t want jail to be a nice place)
revenge
vengeance
satisfaction
harsh
reduce
deserve
fit
5 goals of modern sentencing - Incapacitation
The use of _______ or other means to reduce the _______ that an offender will be capable of committing future offences. This rationale aims to _____ innocent members of society.
Ancient times saw ______ or amputation to prevent re-offending. Now, the goal is to just keep them away. But, they also have _______ interventions (such as chemical castration to reduce libido, etc)
imprisonment
likelihood
protect
mutilation
biomedical
5 goals of modern sentencing - Deterrence
This seeks to ______ people from committing crimes _____ to the one for which an offender is being sentenced for. Hence, the goal is crime ________.
prevent
similar
prevention
5 goals of modern sentencing - Deterrence
Describe the two types of deterrence - specific deterrence and general deterence
Specific deterrence - preventing a certain individual from recidivism (associate crime with punishment in society)
General deterrence - prevents others from committing crimes similar to the one for which an offender is being sentenced for by making an example of them (eg: celebrities)
What is another word for repeat offences?
recidivism
5 goals of modern sentencing - Rehabilitation
Describe the history of rehabilitation and what techniques are used now.
- 1930s - influence of Freud meant rehabilitation approaches were developed
- 1970s - studies on recidivism showed not much effectiveness (up to 90% re-committing crimes)
NOW
- evidence suggests effective treatments exist, but effect sizes are small
- CBT is used
–> often done in groups for moral support
–> based on the idea that we can change our thinking to change our behaviour
–> ABC technique very common
Activating event lead to
Beliefs which lead to
Consequences
5 goals of modern sentencing - Restoration
This aims to make the victim “_____ again”. This could be incorporated into the ________ such as _______ payments
whole
sentencing
restitution
What do “continued detention orders” mean?
Allows some offenders to be detained after the end of their sentence if they are regarded as a serious risk
Risk Assessment
Continued detention orders means we need valid ways to assess _____. We need to be able to _______ their risk of re-offending (the likelihood of occurrence). This takes into account the _________ (the consequences if they do re-offend).
high ____ and high _________ = continued detention orders
risk
predict
dangerousness
risk
dangerousness
Risk Assessment
It is important to maximise _____ positives and negatives and reduce _____ positives and negatives. However, the two types of _____ are dependent on each other.
False _______ (they are judged as good but DO reoffend). This is a problem as they are a harm to society and we want to protect society as much as possible.
False ______ (they are judged as bad but do NOT reoffend). This is a problem as we lock up people unintentionally.
true
false
errors
negatives
positives
positive = will reoffend negative = will NOT reoffend
Risk Assessment - Unstructured Clinical Judgement
Describe this technique and the pros/cons
The psychologist/psychiatrist just decides…uses professional discretion…from their experience/own feelings
cons - subjective - no specific risk factors examined - no risk decision-rules - poor at predicting re-offending - classified as weak and ineffective
Risk Assessment - Actuarial Prediction
Here, decisions are based on _____ factors that are selected and combined based on _______ and ________ evidence. Risk is calculated by comparing individual _______ to those of individuals for whom we know their _______.
The evidence favours this practice. However, it seems very ______ from the individual - you never have to meet them. It’s all about the _______.
risk empirical statistical characteristics behaviour
removed
numbers
Risk Assessment - Structured Professional Judgement
These are _______ to help structure clinical ______-______. These are guided by a predetermined list of _____ factors from the literature. Judgement of risk level is based on professional _________ (eg: Hare’s psychopathy checklist)
guildelines
decision-making
risk
judgement
