Custodial sentancing: dealing

• custodial sentencing involves a convicted offender spending time in prison or other closed institutions
• what are the 4 main reasons for custodial sentencing?

  1. deterrence
  2. incapacitation
  3. retribution
  4. rehabilitation
• Deterrence: reasons for custodial sentencing

  the unpleasant experience of prison is designed to put off the individual from engaging in offending behaviour

  • works on 2 levels: general deterrence and individual deterrence
  • based on the behaviourist idea of conditioning through punishment
• general deterrence 


  aims to send a broad message to members of a given society that crime will not be tolerated
• individual deterrence

  prevents the individual from repeating the same crime in light of their experience
• incapacitation: reasons for custodial sentencing 


  the offender is taken out of society to prevent reoffending as a means of protecting the public

  • depends on the severity
• retribution: reasons for custodial sentencing

  society is enacting revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer.

  • punishment should be equal to the seriousness of the crime
  • many people view other alternatives as soft options
• rehabilitation: reasons for custodial sentencing

  many commentators would see the main objective of prison is to reform

  • offenders should leave prison better adjusted and ready to take their place back in society
  • should provide opportunities to develop skills and access treatment for drug addiction while reflecting on crime
• the psychological effects of custodial sentencing

  1. stress and depression
  2. institutionalisation
  3. Prisonisation
• stress/depression: psychological effects of custodial sentencing

  suicide rates are considerably higher in prison than in the general population

  • also increases the risk of psychological disturbance following release
• institutionalisation: psychological effects of custodial sentencing 


  inmates may become accustomed to the norms and routines of prison leading them to be no longer able to function following their release
• prisonisation: psychological effects of custodial sentencing

  behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged or rewarded inside the prison walls
• recidivism

  refers to reoffending
• the problem with recidivism

  statistics show that 57% of offenders will re-offend within a year

  • the UK and the US have the highest rates of recidivism
  • stark contrast to Norway where the reoffending rate is the lowest - Norway has more emphasis on rehabilitation
  • commentators say that Norway's approach si too soft
• weakness for custodial sentencing is that there is evidence to support the psychological effects

  Bartol (1995)

  • suggests that for many offenders imprisonment can be 'brutal and demeaning'
  • suicide rates have increased to around 15x higher than those in Gen pop

  prison reform trust

  • found that 25% of women and 15% of men reported symptoms of psychosis

  suggesting that custodial sentencing is not effective in rehabilitating the individual, particularly those who are psychologically vulnerable
• Weakness of custodial sentencing: individual differences

  cannot assume that all offenders will act the same way

  • different prisons have different regimes therefore offenders will have different experiences
  • many of those convicted may have had pre-existing psychological and emotional difficulties at the time they were convicted
• strength of custodial sentencing: opportunities for training and treatment

  many prisoners access education and training whilst in prison increasing the possibility they will find employment upon release.

  • treatment programs such as anger management schemes and social skill training may reduce the likelihood of recidivism
  • suggesting that prison is a worthwhile experience

  HOWEVER, many prisons may lack the resources to provide these programs, and long-term benefits do not have concludable evidence