Dealing with offending behaviour
Custodial sentencing
Custodial sentencing involves a convicted offender spending time in prison or another closed
institution such as a young offender's institute or a psychiatric hospital.
4 main aims of custodial sentencing
1. Deterrence
2. Incapacitation,
4. Retribution
5. Rehabilitation
deterrence theory
The unpleasant prison experience is designed to deter the individual from engaging in
offending behaviour.
This works on two levels:
general deterrence - aims to send a broad message to society that crime will not be tolerated
Individual deterrence - should prevent the individual from repeating the same crime in light of
their experience.
Based on the behaviourist idea of conditioning through punishment
Incapacitation
The offender is taken out of society to protect the public and to make sure they cannot
reoffend.
The need for incarceration is likely to depend on the severity of the crime and the nature of
the offender.
Retribution
Society is taking revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer, and the level of
suffering should be proportional to the level of crime.
This is based on the biblical notion of 'an eye for an eye' that the offender should pay in
some way for their actions.
- Many people see prison as the best possible option in this sense and alternatives to prison
are often criticised as being 'soft options. Some argue that prison itself is too soft and does
,not act as a deterrent such people would argue for harsher punishments and even physical
retributions e.g. the death penalty
Rehabilitation
Many commenters would prefer to see the main objective of prison as not being purely to
punish, but to reform. Upon release offenders should leave prison better adjusted and ready
to take their place in society. Prison should provide oppotunities to develop skills and training
or to access treatment programmes for drug addition, as well as give the offender a chance
to reflect on their crime.
3 psychological effects of custodial sentencing
1. Stress and depression
2. Institutionalisation
3. Personalisation
Stress and Depression
Suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population, as are
incidents of self-mutilation and self-harm. The stress of the prison experience also increases
the risk of psychological disturbance following release.
Institutionalisation
Having adapted to the norms and routines of prison life, inmates may become so
accustomed to these that they are no longer able to function on the outside.
Prisonisation
refers to the way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an 'inmate code'. Behaviour
that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded
inside the walls of the institution.
Recidivism
Recidivisms refers to reoffending
The problems of Recidivism
- Statistics produced by the Ministry of justice in 2013 suggest that 57% of the UK offenders
will reoffend within 1 year of their release.
- In 2007, 14 prisons in England and Wales recorded reoffending rates of over 70%.
- Although statistics vary according to the type of offence committed, the UK and US has
some of the highest recidivism rates in the world.
, - This is in contrast to Norway where reoffending rates are the lowest in Europe and less
than half of those in the UK.
- Norwegian prisons are very different to the system that operates in this country.
They are much more 'open' in Norway and there is much greater emphasis placed on
rehabilitation and skills development than there is in the UK.
- However. many commentators are very critical of the Norwegian model labelling it a 'soft
option' that dos not sufficiently punish offenders.
AO3: Custodial sentencing
Evidence supports psychological effects
P-One strength of custodial sentencing is that there is evidence for psychological effects .
Bartol has suggested that, for many offenders imprisonment can be brutal, demeaning and
generally devastating. In the last 20 years, suicide rates among offenders have tended to be
15 times higher than those in the general population.
E- For example, a recent study conducted by the prison reform trust found that 25% of
women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis. It would seem
that the oppressive regime may trigger psychological disorders in those that are vulnerable
E- This suggests that custodial sentencing is not effective in rehabilitating the individual,
particularly those who are psychologically vulnerable.
AO3: Custodial sentencing
Individual differences
P-A weakness of custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it
ignores individual differences.
E-For example, different prisons have different regimes, so there are likely to be wide
variations in experience. In addition the length of sentence, the reason of imprisonment and
previous experiences in prison may all be important mitigating factors.. Finally, many of
those convicted may have had pre-existing psychological and emotional difficulties at the
time they were convicted.
E- This is a weakness because it is difficult to make general conclusions that apply to every
prisoner and every prison.
AO3: Custodial sentencing
Custodial sentencing
Custodial sentencing involves a convicted offender spending time in prison or another closed
institution such as a young offender's institute or a psychiatric hospital.
4 main aims of custodial sentencing
1. Deterrence
2. Incapacitation,
4. Retribution
5. Rehabilitation
deterrence theory
The unpleasant prison experience is designed to deter the individual from engaging in
offending behaviour.
This works on two levels:
general deterrence - aims to send a broad message to society that crime will not be tolerated
Individual deterrence - should prevent the individual from repeating the same crime in light of
their experience.
Based on the behaviourist idea of conditioning through punishment
Incapacitation
The offender is taken out of society to protect the public and to make sure they cannot
reoffend.
The need for incarceration is likely to depend on the severity of the crime and the nature of
the offender.
Retribution
Society is taking revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer, and the level of
suffering should be proportional to the level of crime.
This is based on the biblical notion of 'an eye for an eye' that the offender should pay in
some way for their actions.
- Many people see prison as the best possible option in this sense and alternatives to prison
are often criticised as being 'soft options. Some argue that prison itself is too soft and does
,not act as a deterrent such people would argue for harsher punishments and even physical
retributions e.g. the death penalty
Rehabilitation
Many commenters would prefer to see the main objective of prison as not being purely to
punish, but to reform. Upon release offenders should leave prison better adjusted and ready
to take their place in society. Prison should provide oppotunities to develop skills and training
or to access treatment programmes for drug addition, as well as give the offender a chance
to reflect on their crime.
3 psychological effects of custodial sentencing
1. Stress and depression
2. Institutionalisation
3. Personalisation
Stress and Depression
Suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population, as are
incidents of self-mutilation and self-harm. The stress of the prison experience also increases
the risk of psychological disturbance following release.
Institutionalisation
Having adapted to the norms and routines of prison life, inmates may become so
accustomed to these that they are no longer able to function on the outside.
Prisonisation
refers to the way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an 'inmate code'. Behaviour
that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded
inside the walls of the institution.
Recidivism
Recidivisms refers to reoffending
The problems of Recidivism
- Statistics produced by the Ministry of justice in 2013 suggest that 57% of the UK offenders
will reoffend within 1 year of their release.
- In 2007, 14 prisons in England and Wales recorded reoffending rates of over 70%.
- Although statistics vary according to the type of offence committed, the UK and US has
some of the highest recidivism rates in the world.
, - This is in contrast to Norway where reoffending rates are the lowest in Europe and less
than half of those in the UK.
- Norwegian prisons are very different to the system that operates in this country.
They are much more 'open' in Norway and there is much greater emphasis placed on
rehabilitation and skills development than there is in the UK.
- However. many commentators are very critical of the Norwegian model labelling it a 'soft
option' that dos not sufficiently punish offenders.
AO3: Custodial sentencing
Evidence supports psychological effects
P-One strength of custodial sentencing is that there is evidence for psychological effects .
Bartol has suggested that, for many offenders imprisonment can be brutal, demeaning and
generally devastating. In the last 20 years, suicide rates among offenders have tended to be
15 times higher than those in the general population.
E- For example, a recent study conducted by the prison reform trust found that 25% of
women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis. It would seem
that the oppressive regime may trigger psychological disorders in those that are vulnerable
E- This suggests that custodial sentencing is not effective in rehabilitating the individual,
particularly those who are psychologically vulnerable.
AO3: Custodial sentencing
Individual differences
P-A weakness of custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it
ignores individual differences.
E-For example, different prisons have different regimes, so there are likely to be wide
variations in experience. In addition the length of sentence, the reason of imprisonment and
previous experiences in prison may all be important mitigating factors.. Finally, many of
those convicted may have had pre-existing psychological and emotional difficulties at the
time they were convicted.
E- This is a weakness because it is difficult to make general conclusions that apply to every
prisoner and every prison.
AO3: Custodial sentencing
