custodial sentencing (dealing with offending behaviour)

• aims of custodial sentencing

  • deterrence
  • incapacitation
  • retribution
  • rehabilitation
  • custodial sentencing involves a convicted offender spending time in prison, hospital or young offender's institute
• deterrence

  • 'putting people off committing crime'
  • deterrence is based on conditioning principles (punishment and vicarious punishment):
  • individual deterrence = the unpleasant experience of prison is designed to put an individual off repeating the same crime again
  • general deterrence = sends a message to members of society that crime will not be tolerated
• incapacitation

  • 'protect the public by removing offenders'
  • ensures that the offender is taken out of society which protects the public from further offending
  • the need for incapacitation depends on the severity of the crime
  • eg = society needs more protection from serial murderers compared to people who do not pay council tax
• retribution

  • 'revenge against the offender'
  • society enacting revenge by making the offender suffer
  • level of suffering should be proportionate to the severity of the crime
• rehabilitation

  • 'reform the offender'
  • ie = he/she learns new attitudes and values and stops being an offender
  • prison should provide an opportunity to, for example: develop skills, access treatments (eg for addiction or anger) and reflect on crime
• psychological effects of custodial sentencing

  • stress and depression = suicide rates and self-harm are higher in prison that in the general population
  • institutionalisation = inability to function outside of prison having adapted to the norms and routines of prison life
  • prisonisation = behaviours unacceptable outside prison are encouraged via socialisation into an 'innate code'
• recidivism

  • refers to reoffending, recidivism rates in ex-prisoners tell us what extent prison acts as an effective deterrent
  • rates in different countries
  • ~45% of UK offenders reoffend within a year
  • 60% of offenders in the US, Australia and Denmark
  • ~20% of offenders in Norway
  • Norway is significant as they have less emphasis on incarceration and greater emphasis on rehabilitation and skills development
• limitation = negative effects of custodial sentencing

  • Bartol = said prison is 'brutal, demeaning and generally devestating'
  • suicide rates in English and Welsh prisons were 9x higher than rest of general population
  • The Prison Reform Trust = found that 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis (eg schizophrenia)
  • supports the view that oppressive prison regimes may be detrimental to psychological health which could impact on rehabilitation
• counterpoint to the negative effects

  • many offenders may have had pre-existing psychological difficulties before prison - this may explain their offending behaviour in the first place
  • suggests that there may be confounding variables that influence the link between prison and its psychological effects
• strength = prison provides training and treatment

  • the Vera Institute of Justice = claims that offenders who take part in college education programmes are 43% less likely to reoffend following release
  • this will improve employment opportunities on release, which reduces likelihood of reoffending
  • suggest that prison may be a worthwhile experience assuming offenders are able to access these programmes
• limitation = prison may be a school for crime

  • incarceration with long-term offenders may give younger inmates in particular the opportunity to learn the 'tricks of the trade' from more experienced prisoners
  • offenders may also acquire criminal contacts whilst in prison that they may follow up when they are released
  • this form of 'education' may undermine attempts to rehabilitate prisoners and consequently may make reoffending more likely
• extra evaluation = the purpose of prison

  • in a survey = 47% of respondents saw the primary purpose of prison as being to punish the offender for their wrongdoing
  • BUT = a similar number of (40%) held the view that prison's main emphasis should be on rehabilitation, so offenders can be effectively reintegrated back into society
  • suggests custodial sentencing should be sufficiently tough to deter offenders but also offer a 'second chance' through training and treatment