A01: Custodial sentencing - Dealing with offending behaviour

• Definition of Custodial Sentencing?

  A sentence of imprisonment for a period of time set by the court

  • Involved a convicted offender spending time in prison, hospital or young offenders institute.
• Aims of Custodial Sentencing?

  • Deterrence
  • Incapacitation
  • Retribution
  • Rehabilitation
• Deterrence


  Using conditioning to stop someone doing & prevent crime (putting people off committing crime).

  • Its based on conditioning principles (punishment & vicarious punishment)
  • 2 main types of deterrence:
  • Individual deterrence
  • General deterrence
• General deterrence 


  Sends a broad message to society that crime in not tolerated

  • Vicarious punishment/reinforcement
• Individual deterrence


  Prevents an individual from repeating offences given their previous experiences

  • the unpleasant experience of prison is deigned to put an individual off repeating the same crime again.
  • Punishment
• Incapacitation 


  Remove offender from society to protect public from further offending

  • Need for incapacitation is dependent on severity of the crime committed.
  • (e.g. society needs more protection from serial murderers compared to people who do not pay council tax)
• Retribution 


  Revenge against the offender

  • Opportunity for society to enact revenge for the offences committed by making the offender suffer.
  • Degree of suffering should be proportionate to the severity of the crime committed
• Rehabilitation 


  Reform the offender (i.e learn new attitudes & value & stops being an offender)

  • Prison is an opportunity to try help offenders to reform their behaviours by allowing them to learn new skills, attitudes & values to allow them to become a non offender, through access to:
  • Education
  • Training
  • Treatment programs (e.g. for addiction / anger)
  • Opportunities to reflect on crime/life

  Prisoners should leave prison ready to integrate back into society as they are better adjusted.
• Psychological Effects of Custodial Sentencing

  Stress & depression

  Institutionalisation

  Prisonisation
• Stress & depression - psychological effects of CS

  High rates of:

  • Suicide
  • Self Harm
  • Self Mutilation
  • Psychosis
  • Depression

  in prison population compared to in the general population
• Institutionalisation - psychological effects of CS

  Inability to function outside of prison having adapted to the norms & routines of prison life

  • (Inmates become so adapt to the norms & routines in prison they can no longer function on the outside)
• Prisonisation - psychological effects of CS

  Behaviours unacceptable outside prison are encouraged via socialisation into an 'inmate code'

  • Inmates become socialised to prison life & adopt the culture of the prison
  • This includes the norms, language, attitudes & relationships that exist within the prison
• Recidivism& Issues


  Recidivism refers to REOFFENDING.

  • Recidivism rates in ex-prisoners tell us to what extent prison acts as an effective deterrent
  • Rates vary with age, crime committed & country:
  • UK 45% reoffend within one year of release
  • US, Australia & Denmark record rates over 60%
  • Norway rates may be as low as 20% (Yukhnenko et al 2019)

  Norway's data is significant coz in Norway there is less emphasis on incarceration & greater emphasis on rehabilitation & skills development
• General Effects of Custodial Sentencing

  • Psychological Effects:
  • Institutionalisation
  • Prisonisation
  • Stress & depression
  • Labelling
  • School for Crime
• Vicarious Punishment


  Experience punishment through someone else

  • a type of social learning in which people do a behaviour less often after they've seen someone else behave that same way and experience negative consequences as a result.
• Custodial Sentencing A01


  • Def of custodial sentencing
  • Aims of custodial sentencing
  • General Effects of custodial sentencing
  • Psychological Effects of custodial sentencing
  • Recidivism & Issues