Custodial sentencing

• The aims of custodial sentencing:

  • deterrence
  • incapacitation
  • retribution
  • rehabilitation
• Custodial sentencing involves a convicted offender spending time in prison, hospital or young offenders institute
• Deterrence is based on conditioning principles (punishment and vicarious reinforcement)
• Individual deterrence - the unpleasant experience of prison is designed to put an individual off repeating the same crime again
• General deterrence - send a message to member of society that crime wont be tolerated
• Incapacitation 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 (e.g: society needs more protection from serial murders compared to people who do not pay council tax)
• Retribution is society enacting revenge by making the offender suffer. The level of suffering should be proportionate to the severity of the crime
• Rehabilitation is the reform of the offender (he or she learns new attitudes and stops being an offender). Prison should provide an opportunity to develop skills and access treatments
• Several psychological effects are associated with spending time in prison:

  • stress and depression - suicide rates and self-harm are higher in prison than general population
  • institutionalisation - inability to function outside prison
  • prisonisation - behaviours unacceptable outside prison are encouraged via socialisation
• Recidivism refers to reoffending. About 45% of UK offenders reoffend within a year
• Recidivism rates vary with age, crime committed and country. The US, Australia and Denmark record rates are over 60%. In Norway rates may be as low as 20% (less emphasis on incarceration and more on rehabilitation)
• One limitation is the negative effects of custodial sentencing. Bartol said prison is "brutal, demeaning and generally devastating". Suicide rates in prisons 9 times higher than general population. The prison reform trust found 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms of psychosis. This supports the view that oppressive prison regimes may be detrimental to psychological health which could impact rehabilitation
• A counterpoint to the negative effects of custodial sentencing is that many offenders may have had pre-existing psychological difficulties before prison (importation model), this may explain their offending behaviour in the first place. This suggests there may be confounding variables that influence the link between prison and its psychological effects
• Deindividuation - loss of individual identity = may lead to increased aggression and inhumane treatment
• One strength is that prison provides training and treatment. The Vera Institute of Justice claims that offenders who take part in college education programs are 43% less likely to reoffend following release. This will improve employment opportunities on release, which reduces likelihood of reoffending. This suggests prison may be worthwhile experience assuming offenders are able to acccess these programs
• One limitation is that prison may be a school for crime. Incarceration with long term offenders may give younger inmates in particular the opportunity to learn the tricks 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 (high rates of recidivism)