the effects of imprisonment Flashcards
why do we send people to prison?
punishment; deterrent; public protection; rehabilitation
who is imprisoned in the uk?
houses a range of offenders- some who have committed very serious crimes- but majority of offenders are guilty of much less serious offences
what percent of uk prisoners are serving sentences under four years?
40%
imprisonment as punishment
locked up in cells; limited contact with friends and family; few personal possessions; sharing a cell; restricted movements; strict schedule and rules
does prison work?
it stops criminals commuting further offences whilst they are incarcerated, and takes away personal freedom to give ‘justice’ to society and victim
issues with prison
restrictive and unpleasant experience for inmate- including unintended features like over-crowding, boredom and threat of violence from other inmates
consequences of prison
can have negative effect on prisoners- suicide rate is 4x that of the general population, particular in the early part of their sentence.
young offenders on remand are particularly at risk
is prison a deterrent?
there is an argument that it deters an individual through behaviourist principles- being released negatively reinforces the idea that crime does not pay.
what are recidivism rates in the uk?
high- more than one in four criminals reoffends within a year. suggests it is not great as an individual deterrent.
when is prison a deterrent?
may work in the social level- vicarious negative reinforcement if seeing someone else sent to prison. but numbers are steadily increasing.
why do people reoffend?
most do not want to reoffend- but many return to situations where offending becomes likely
situations where offending becomes likely
many have lost homes, job or family. others return to situations with old friends with whom they used to get into trouble. others have mental health issues- others drug problems, possibly developed in prison.
what are prisoners 13x more likely to have been in?
care as a child
what are prisoners 10x more likely to have?
regularly truanted from school
what are prisoners often?
poorly educated, lacking basic literacy and numeracy- many below those expected of an 11-year-old
what do these statistics show?
how prisoners may struggle to fit into society and obey the law
what have psychologists been very involved in?
the design and delivery of programmes to reduce recidivism
why are jobs important to reduce reoffending?
keeping offenders away from old acquaintances, providing income and allowing them to pay for accommodation.
why else are jobs important?
they increase self esteem and give a sense of control
what did gillis and nafekh study?
23,500 canadian offenders- some of whom had been on employment programmes prior to release
what percent of offenders remained free during their conditional release period?
70% vs 55% who were not on the programmes
what happened to those who did return to prison?
those on the programme went back after an average of 37 months vs 11 months for the non-programme group
what was haney’s sample?
24 male volunteers who responded to a newspaper advert, paid $15 a day, and the most stable participants were selected
what was haney’s study?
mock prison created in the basement of stanford university. IV- 11 guards and 10 prisoners. DV- behaviour recorded through recordings, interviews and questionnaries
how was participant behaviour affected in haney’s study?
strongly affected by the role they had been given, as they internalised the environment and their roles. situation became reality rather than an experiment.
what were 90% of the conversations in haney’s study about?
their situation in the prison, not the outside world
pathology of prisoners and guards
took it upon themselves to engage in hostile interactions. hostile guards created an aggressive culture and basic rights became reframed as privileges. led to pathological prisoner syndrome.
how did the prisoners experience loss of identity?
uniqueness reduced through uniform and ID numbers
how did the prisoners experience arbitrary control?
guards exercised power in random and capricious ways- led to destabilising and helplessness. smiling at a joke may be punished depending on the guard’s mood.
how did the prisoners experience dependency and emasculation?
arbitrary control created a network of dependency for the most basic needs. style of uniform provoked insults. publicly asked permission for toilet- handcuffed and blindfolded.
how was the behaviour of participants best explained?
by situational, not dispositional factors. these findings should be used to inform guard training programmes.
strategies to reduce reoffending
restorative justice
what is restorative justice?
tries to recognise the needs of the victim of the crime- to give them peace of mind and regain a sense of control.
what is the victim often more interested in finding out?
why they were targeted, rather than receiving an apology
what does restorative justice operate alongside?
the criminal justice system
why does restorative justice bring the victim and offender together?
so the victim is able to explain the impact of the crime to the offender
what is the offender expected to agree to?
actions suggested during the process by the victim
how is restorative justice supervised?
by trained officials and both groups can bring support
how does restorative justice help?
reduces victim PTSD symptoms and reoffending
what did sherman and strang find about restorative justice?
it works in property and violent crime
