FP- Dealing with offending behaviour Flashcards
What are the aims of custodial sentencing?
- Deterrence
- Incapacitation
- Retribution
- Rehabilitation
What is deterrence, in relation to custodial sentencing?
The unpleasant prison experience is designed to put off individuals and society as a whole from engaging in offending behaviour
What is incapacitation, in relation to custodial sentencing?
Offenders are taken out of society to prevent reoffending as a means of protecting the public
What is retribution, in relation to custodial sentencing?
Based on ‘eye for an eye’, criminal should have proportional punishment to the crime to pay for their actions
What is rehabilitation, in relation to custodial sentencing?
To reform offenders through access to development of skills
What are the effects of custodial sentencing?
- Stress
- Depression
- Institutionalisation
- Prisonisation
What is prisonisation?
Prisoners adopt an ‘inmate code’ in prison where behaviours that are considered unacceptable on the outside are encouraged and rewarded on the inside
What is institutionalisation?
Becoming so accustom to norms of prison life that it’s difficult to function on the outside
Britain vs Norway reoffending rates
Britain = retribution = high
Norway = rehabilitation = low
Negative evaluation of custodial sentencing
- Institutionalisation
- Prisonisation
- Criminal networking
- Suicide/self-harm (suicide rates among offenders is 15x higher of the general population)
Positive evaluation of custodial sentencing
- There are rehabilitation opportunities in prison such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) schemes and anger management
What is the reasoning to behaviour modification?
if we accept the argument put forward by the behaviourist approach, that behaviour is learnt, it should be possible to unlearn behaviour by applying the same principles
What are the aims of behaviour modification?
Applying behaviourist principles (operant conditioning) to reinforce obedient behaviour in offenders, whilst punishing disobedience through a token economy system
What does a token economy system do?
Based on operant conditioning, it reinforces desirable behaviour with a token which can be then exchanged for some kind of reward (positive reinforcement)
Does research support token economy?
Research into a token economy programme observed a significant difference in positive behaviour compared to non-token economy groups
Negative evaluation of behaviour modification
- It is not a long-term solution as it only temporarily improves behaviour
- Offenders are motivated by instant rewards however, the same rewards are not present outside of prison
- Hence, there is not much rehabilitation value
Positive evaluation of behaviour modification
- Token economies are easy to implement and can be done so by virtually anyone in the prison staff (instead of hiring a specialist professional) thus, can be cost-effective
What is the aim of anger management?
Identifying and dealing with emotions which lead up to anger, instead of preventing anger in the first place
What are the three stages of anger management?
- Cognitive preparation
- Skill acquisition
- Application practice
What is cognitive preparation in terms of anger management?
This is where offenders reflect on past experiences and what caused them anger
What is skill acquisition in terms of anger management?
Offenders learn techniques to deal with anger-provoking situations more rationally and effectively e.g. positive ‘self talk’ and methods of relaxation
What is application practice in terms of anger management?
Offender applies skills learnt to real-life situations e.g. role play, which is then positively reinforced by therapist.
Negative evaluation of anger management
- It’s done in groups which means offenders are likely to not open up and withhold information
- Application practice is usually done through role-play which is not reflective of real life
Positive evaluation of anger management
- It incorporates skills from a range of approaches e.g. behaviourist approach is shown through therapist positive reinforcement in application practise and cognitive approach is shown in cognitive preparation
- This means that it is not an over-simplification as it recognises a variety of triggers
What is the aim of restorative justice?
- Rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victim
- The criminal is made aware of the emotional distress caused
Negative evaluation of restorative justice
- It’s not suitable for trauma-inducing crimes such as domestic violence and sexual assault
- Assumes both parties will show remorse: offenders may be motivated to participate by a reduced prison sentence and victims may want some sort of revenge
