Rehabilitation

• what is the view of rehabilitation described as?

  ”forward looking”
• what aim does rehabilitation contrast with?


  retribution
• the point of sentencing is to help the person change their behaviour for the future and join back into society (change their mindset)
• forms of sentencing that might be supported include:

  • drug/alcohol programmes
  • anger management
  • community sentencing
  • education/training - rationally choose alternatives
• requires a lot of work with multiple agencies in the CJS in and out of prison

  e.g.: probation to help people access the right training/education/therapy
• veolia: looks at helping young people/people with criminal records get into employment and reintegrate them into society
• how does Eysenck’s personality theory support rehabilitation?


  this would support the use of behaviour modification links such as aversion therapy
• what is aversion therapy?


  psychotherapy designed to cause a patient to reduce/avoid an undesirable behaviour pattern by conditioning the person to associate the behaviour with an undersized stimulus
• give an example of when aversion therapy has been used in the past:


  a man was found to be homosexual (at the time it was illegal) and was forced to watch gay porn and take a tablet which induces nausea. this meant that the man would associate homosexuality with the feeling of nausea
• Eysenck’s theory is a cognitive theory. what does this mean?


  this theory looks at how a person responds to information
• how does eysenck’s personality inventory link to rehabilitation?

  If these behaviours can be spotted, they can be worked on to steer the Individual away from a criminal pathway
• how does skinner’s operant conditioning theory link to rehabilitation?


  it would support the idea that behaviour can be modified and changed particularly if the person can see rewards at the end e.g.: token economies to alter behaviour
• what is a token economy?

  points/tokens which are awarded for good behaviour. these can add up to a better reward. encourages good behaviour
• how does left realism support rehabilitation?


  would support the idea that helping people into work because crime has happened due to social inequalities, poverty and poor educational opportunities
• strengths of rehabilitation:

  • can allow people to return to society
  • lower risk of recidivism
  • can give people better opportunities in life
  • offers the chance of mercy and a new start
  • could save money in the long run by keeping people out of prison
• limitations of rehabilitation:

  • does it bring justice to victims/society for the wrong committed?
  • can be costly e.g.: drug rehab
  • requires the offender to commit to trying to change
  • right realists - argue it isn’t entirely successful and people still often reoffend
  • Marxists - argue that it still shifts the blame/problem to the offender, when it’s the capitalist system that needs changing
  • does it reward wrongdoing?
• how does Hirschi’s control theory link to rehabilitation?


  by getting offenders back into society/work. it creates bonds that will deter them from reoffending