Individual crime prevention - effects of imprisonment

• Prison serves the role of:

  • Punishment - to punish offenders for their crimes by taking away their basic freedom.
  • Retribution - justice for the victim/their family.
  • Deterrent - puts other people off from committing crime.
  • Rehabilitation/Reformation - so offenders do not go on to commit future crimes.
• Prison as a form of punishment is a type of operant conditioning: people avoid behaviour for which they have been punished for previously. However, it can also be explained by vicarious reinforcement where we observe what happens to other people who commit crime (prison) so we are less likely to do it.
• Is prison effective or ineffective?

  • effective - 95,000 inmates currently in prison will no longer be committing crime while they are locked up and it punishes offenders by taking their freedom.
  • ineffective - overcrowding, boredom and threats of violence all have a negative impact on prisoners mental health leading to anxiety and depression. Dooley found that suicide rate of prisoners is 4x the general population especially young offenders.
  • ineffective - reoffending rates in the UK have remained high: 25% of adult prisoners and 30% of young offenders.
• To make prisons more effective, they should provide opportunities to learn new skills or change behaviour. Such as having working prisons where inmates can get work experience and skills needed for employment upon release. Or therapeutic programs such as anger management.
• Haney - WW

  • To investigate the effect of being assigned different roles (prisoner or guard) to see individual vs situational factors of the behaviour of the participants.
  • 24 male volunteers for a study on "prison life" they were selected as the most stable and were paid $15 a day.
• Haney - How

  Lab experiment - the IV was whether participants were allocated the role of prisoner or guard. The guards were told to maintain a "reasonable degree" of order within the prison. They wore a khaki uniform and reflective sunglasses. They were told not to let the prisoners escape and were deliberately given minimal guidelines about their role. Prisoners were arrested at home by the real Palo Alto police, handcuffed and taken to the the mock prison where they were stripped and deloused. They wore a dress like smock and were given an ID number. Results were observed through recordings.
• Haney - Findings

  It was observed that 90% of the conversations had by the prisoners were about the prisoners as opposed to other topics.
• Haney - Findings

  It was observed that 90% of the conversations had by the prisoners were about the prison as opposed to other topics. During the relaxation breaks, guards talked about problem prisoners. The study was stopped after 6 days because the behaviour of the guards became too brutal. 5 prisoners had to be released early due to extreme depression, crying rage and anxiety
• Haney - Conclusions

  It was concluded that the behaviour of the guards was due to the social roles they took on (sense of reduces personal agency and anonymity), the loss of personal identity and the structure/organisation of the environment inside a prison.

  The findings highlight that being confined in a prison can have a detrimental impact on the mental state of both prisoners and guards.
• Restorative Justice

  • RJ is a process that tries to recognise the needs of the victim and the offenders are brought together and the victim is able to explain the impact of the crime against them to the person who did it. They can also gain an understanding of why they were targeted. A plan of action can be made so the situation is not repeated.
  • Sherman and Strang found that RJ was most effective for violent crimes and was shown to reduce PTSD in the victim and reduce the reoffending rate of the offender.
• Anger management

  • Stage 1: offender must learn situations which are triggers and notice physical signs (e.g. heart rate). Stage 2: offender learns relaxation skills to calm themselves down (e.g. regulating breathing) they are also taught negotiating skills. Stage 3: offenders practice their skills in safe situations.
  • Feindler found that anger management training led to improvements in self-control, more effective problem solving and a reduction in reoffending for young men.
• Employment focused programmes

  • Focus on training, skills and preparation for employment on release. Inmates can be given courses on interview skills, writing a CV and time management. They can also gain work experience in prison and new skills (e.g. cooking in the kitchen).
  • Gillis & Nafekh compared 2 groups of prisoners on release and found that those in employment schemes had 70% completion of conditional release vs 55% for those without the program.