sentencing and intervention Flashcards
what are examples of sentencing?
Prison (then on licence in community)
Suspended sentence (up to two years)
Community sentence (unpaid work, treatment)
Fines (equal to seriousness and personal finances)
Absolute/conditional discharge
what is the purpose of sentencing?
Retribution / just deserts Incapacitation Deterrence Rehabilitation Restoration / Reparation
what were the Sentencing Attitudes from the Ministry of Justice Analytical Series (2013)?
majority say too lenient (38%, 09/10)
only 1% said much too tough
24% said about right
what are the imitations of the Ministry of Justice Analytical Series (2013)?
self-selected sample of people interested in sentencing in England and Wales
when responding, people may think of the worst crimes and offenders
a survey does not allow people sufficient time to consider the “evidence” on the question – they may respond based on media stories of sentencing which tend to be unrepresentative
what’s the prison population in England and Wales?
79% increase since 1993
Prison population 1993 = 44,246
Prison population 2021 = 79,092
England and Wales has the highest population in custody in Western Europe!
The effect of sentencing policy on reoffending
White’s (2017) review:
Custodial sentences do not reduce recidivism any more than non-custodial approaches
Custodial sentences have higher financial costs for society, and higher social and economic costs for prisoners and their families
Less than one-quarter (23%) of prisoners attend education classes
Very few prisoners (5-7%) attend offending behaviour courses
what were the Re-offence rates within 12 months of release (MoJ, 2021)?
- 6% of all prison leavers*
- 9% of those serving short (<12m) prison sentences
- 2% of under 18s
= The revolving door
what are the types of intervention?
Boot camps
A highly structured, often militaristic, regimen focussing on discipline
Counselling
Client-centred therapy focussed on increasing self-understanding
Cognitive-behavioural therapy
Learning new coping skills to change unhelpful patterns of thinking
Teaching family homes
Professionals act as proxy parents to residents to teach them self-management skills, provide counselling and advocacy.
Therapeutic communities
‘Permissiveness, reality-confrontation, democracy and communalism’ (Rapoport, 1960)
Restorative justice
Repairing harm by bringing those harmed and those responsible for this into communication
what’s the level of hierarchy evidence?
Top to bottom:
Systematic reviews Randomised Controlled Trials Cohort studies Case-control studies Case series, Case Reports Editorials, Expert opinion
What’s Maryland scientific methods scale?
- Cross-sectional correlation (before/after comparisons without untreated comparison group).
- Non comparable comparison group (programme completes vs drop-outs)
- Two-group designs (one receiving the programme) (programme A vs B)
- Controlled two-group design (A vs B, where the populations and contexts are similar, and baseline differences are controlled)
- Random assignment and analysis of two comparable groups (As (4) above but under a RCT)
What are key moderators?
Larger effect sizes:
- in community than institutional settings
- for personal than for property crimes
- for adolescents and adult rather than young adult offenders
- for higher than for lower risk offenders
Results indicate the importance of:
- targeting criminogenic rather than non-criminogenic needs (e.g. pro criminal attitudes rather than self-esteem)
- multi-model intervention
- organised setting and quality of delivery - services under agency management
What is ‘appropriate service’? (Principles of effective interventions)
Matching intensity/dosage to the RISK level
Focussing on the factors associated with reoffending: criminogenic NEEDS
Use powerful influence strategies, tailored to the individual
Maintaining the INTEGRITY of the programme
What’s RESPONSIVITY? (Principles of effective interventions)
The how of treatment
Maximise the offenders ability to learn from a rehabilitative intervention by providing cognitive-behavioural treatment and tailoring the intervention to the learning style, motivation, abilities and strengths of the offender.
What’s the good lives model?
Increase the overall psychological well-being of offenders
