Effects of custodial sentencing

• -        Deindividuation

  o   A loss of identity (due to uniform) may lead to de-individuation. This is associated with increased aggression rates and treating others in inhumane ways.

  o   This is seen in Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment.
• -        Institutionalisation

  o   Prisoners get so used to the routine of being in prison and their day being organised.

  o   They may become so accustomed to these that they struggle to function once outside the prison.
• -        Over-crowding, lack of privacy

  o   The growing prison population in the UK has not been matched by an increase in the number of prisons. 25% of prisoners are in overcrowded accommodation, usually with two people sharing one cell.

  o   This can lead to aggression, stress and hypersexuality (sex addiction).
• -        Effects on the family

  o   Children with a parent in prison are deeply affected financially and psychologically.

  o   Parents in prison may feel guilt and separation anxiety as a result of the separation from their family.
• -        Prisonisation

  o   Prisoners are ‘socialised’ into adopting an ‘inmate code’ whilst in prison – they have to adapt to fit in.

  o   The inmate code is unacceptable outside of prison but would be encouraged and rewarded within the prison setting by other inmates. Prisonisation can make adjusting to outside society difficult.
• -        Mental health

  o   Depression is prevalent among offenders due to helplessness (lack of control) and hopelessness (about their future).

  o   Depression may be expressed in terms of self-harm – an attempt to gain control or as a result of becoming part of the inmate culture.

  o   Suicide is also an outcome of depression and I much higher in prison, especially so within the first 24 hours of being in prison.
• -        -ve It is difficult to establish cause and effect.

  o   E.g. we cannot be sure if the mental health issues within the prison environment are due to that context or whether they were already present in the individual.

  o   It could be that the offender committed the crime because of their mental health.

  o   It would therefore be an error to state that poor mental health is solely due to the prison setting.
• -        Some may argue prison has to be purposefully unpleasant as a deterrent for future crimes.

  o   E.g. it could be argued that some decline in mental health is necessary for the individual to be punished.

  o   If prison didn’t have a negative effect it wouldn’t be effective at reducing future offending.

  o   As a result, the punishing nature of prison is likely to negatively impact an individual.
• -        Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment showed how being in prison can have a negative effect on the individuals mental health.

  o   E.g. one participants mental health was so badly affected they had to withdraw from the study.

  o   This is potentially due to the treatment from the guards and withdrawal of freedom.

  o   This gives the concept of custodial sentencing giving poor mental health supporting research.

  o   However caution should be taken when generalising to real prisons as the setting was experimental and therefore ecological validity is low.
• -        Research supports the decline in mental health amongst prisoners.

  o   E.g. in a study by the prison reform trust (2014) 25% of women and 15% of men reported symptoms indicative of psychosis.

  o   This is attributed to the oppressive prison regime that may trigger psychological disorders in those who are vulnerable.

  o   This may suggest prison isn’t effective at rehabilitating the individual and may be a stressor to those who are vulnerable to MH issues.