A03: Custodial sentencing - Dealing with offending behaviour

• Evaluation of Custodial Sentencing A03

  + Supporting Research for the negative psychological effects (Bartol 1995) (Prison Reform Trust 2014)

  + Training Opportunities (Shirley 2019)

  -Individual Differences

  -School for Crime
• Supporting Research for -ve psy effects - CS A03

  • Evidence show servilely damaging effects prison has on mental health of inmates.
  • Bartol (1995) said prison 'brutal, demeaning & generally devasting' & found suicide rates 9x higher vs general pop, esp for young men in 1st 24 hours of confinement (England & Wales)
  • More support from The Prison Reform Trust (2014) found 25% of women & 15% men in prison experience symptoms of psychosis (e.g. Sz)
  • Supports view: oppressive prison regimes detrimental to psychological health/wellbeing, impact success of rehabilitation (making it unlikely)
• Training/treatment Opportunities - CS A03

  • A positive is the n.o of opportunities available to prisoners to help better themselves
  • The Vera Institute of Justice (Shirley 2019) claim those who participated in treatment & college education training programs, 43% less likely to reoffend when released. Improve employment opportunities on release, which reduce likelihood of reoffending
  • Also prisons which offer these programmes report less incidences of violence
  • Indicate rehabilitation possible providing prisoners prepared to engage & it's available/have access to them.
• Individual Differences - CS A03

  • Caution be demonstrated when looking figures like Prison Reform Trust
  • Consideration of confounding variables like n.o of prisoners who entered system with pre existing psychological conditions - this may explain offending behaviour in first place.
  • Importation Model suggest prisoners bring in -ve characteristics from outside world rather than prisons causing these behaviours.
  • Thus further analysis of data key to understand true origin of psychological effects coz there may be CVs that influence link between prison & its psychological effects
• School for Crime - CS A03- TB NOT DONE

  • A further question on the success of rehabilitation has to do with the notion of prison being a 'school of crime'
  • Although, prisoners can access a range of life improving training opportunities there is also a more negative type of training received from other inmates
  • Prison is often criticised as particulary younger inamtes can learn to efine their criminal skills from the older more experience inmates
  • So rather than rehabilitating them, prison can actually increase criminality & lead to high levels of reoffending.
• School for Crime - CS A03 - THE TB NOTES

  • 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.
• The purpose of prison - CS A03 - THE TB NOTES

  In Onepoll (2015) survey 47% of respondents saw the primary purpose of prison as being to punish the offender for their wrongdoing.

  • However, a similar number (40%) held the view that prisoner's main emphasis should be on rehabilitation, so offenders can be effectively reintegrated back into society.

  This suggest custodial sentencing should be sufficiently tough to deter offenders but also offer a 'second chance' through training and treatment.