Methods for dealing with offending

• what is custodial sentencing


  where the court requires that the offender be held in prison or some institution, length of sentence depends on crime
• what methods are used in custodial sentencing

  positive punishment = giving bad experience

  negative punishment = taking away good things (freedom/rights
• what are the 4 aims of custodial sentencing

  - incapacitation

  - deterrence

  - retribution

  - rehabilitation

  I Don't Really Remember
• explain what incapacitation is


  physically preventing further criminal behaviour, removed from society so reoffending in community is prevented
• explain what rehabilitation is

  upon release offenders should leave better adjusted and no longer wanting to offend, prisons should offer training and treatment to enable this
• explain what the 2 types of deterrence are

  general deterrence- put the majority of society of from offending

  individual deterrence- put individuals off from repeating crimes again
• explain what retribution is

  society is seeking revenge for crime by making offenders suffer, level of suffering should be relevant to seriousness of crime
• what is recidivism


  refers to the reoffending of prisoners

  
• which countries have highest recidivism rates and which the lowest

  highest- UK/USA (76%)

  lowest - Norway (20%)
• what are the incarceration rates in Norway and the USA

  norway- 75 out of 100,000

  USA- 707 out of 100,000
• give the strength and weakness of deterrence in custodial sentencing

  + only 15% in prison are first offenders, suggesting majority of people never been to prison will never go, so general deterrence is achieved

  - 70% recidivism for UK suggest majority do not change when returned to society, therefore no individual deterrence
• give the strength and weakness of rehabilitation in custodial sentencing


  + prisons do have increasing opportunities for training programmes for prisoners (e.g. anger manage), to reduce recidivism

  - prison causes mental health issues and institutionalisation which causes difficulties for prisoners to return to society again, so higher chance of reoffending
• give the strength and weakness of incapacitation in custodial sentencing

  + means by which majority of crime could be repeated is prevented by imprisonment

  - many crimes can still be commited in prison
• give the strength and weakness of retribution in custodial sentencing

  + some attempt to match crime with punishment with min/max tariffs or length of sentence

  - impossible to test scientifically whether criminal feels same 'pain' during punishment as victim felt during the crime
• what are the 4 psychological effects of imprisonment

  - mental health issues

  - institutionalisation

  - overcrowding & poverty

  - family effects
• what are the effects of mental health due to imprisonment

  80-90% have mental health problems. anxiety and depression are common and suicide/self harm rates are very high

  study found 86% of group of female delinquents in a training school self harmed, possibly due to environment culture
• what are the effects of institutionalisation due to imprisonment

  offender takes on roles and norms of prison life and finds it hard to reintergrate into society

  EVIDENCE: zimbardo study, patients reffered to themselves as numbers and lost identity within days
• what are the effects of overcrowding and poverty due to imprisonment

  25% live in overcrowded prisons, which can effect psychological state

  EVIDENCE: overcrowding rats led to increased aggression, hyper sexuality and physical illness, however rats cant generalise to humans
• what are the effects of family h due to imprisonment

  children with parent in prison can effect children e.g. psychopathy and more likely to commit crimes, parents also feel anxiety and guilt over seperation

  EVIDENCE: bowlbys 44 theives study
• what is a weakness of individual experiences in the evaluation of psychological effects


  difference prisons have different regimes, people have different sentences, experience, mental health, home life etc. Therfore difficult to make a general conclusion about the psychological effects for all prisoners, HOWEVER no cause and effect
• what is restorative justice


  system of dealing with criminal behaviour, it focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims: offenders can see the impact of their crime and victims can be given a 'voice
• what does restorative justice include

  - face to face encounter with statements from both sides

  - offender may give financial restiution to victim for damage

  - service within community to reflect nature of the crime
• describe the process of restorative justice

  - meeting between victim and offender with trained mediator present

  - victim give an impact statement of how the crime affected them, so offender can see consequences of their actions
• what are the possible variations of restorative justice

  - could be via letter or video instead of face to face

  - offender may give finance

  - can be alternative to prison, an add on to community service
• what are the aims/ purpose of restorative justice for the offender

  - opportunity to apologise and accept responsibility

  - opportunity to repair harm done as result of crime
• what are the aims/purpose of restorative justice for the victim

  1. to understand why crime was committed

  2. to gives victims greater voices in the criminal justice system
• what are the aims/purpose of restorative justice for the community

  + saves money, cheaper than criminal justice system

  + restorative justice reduces the frequency of reoffending so community is safer
• what is a strength of restorative justice from victims pov

  + 85% satisfaction from victims with face to face meetings, HOWEVER not 100%, so could bring more trauma
• what are the advantages of restorative justice compared to custodial sentencing

  + offenders understand consequences of their crime so less likely to reoffend

  + cheaper

  + benefits community

  HOWEVER, seen as soft option and not everyone agrees there is enough of a punishment, also not applicable to serious offenders
• what is a benefit of restorative justices reoffending rates

  + reduces recidivism rates by 14%
• how is the restorative justice system flexible and why is this a strength

  + offender can do wide range of things to make up to the victim whereas prisoners all have the same experience
• what is an issue with the programme being expensive

  may cost money without any benefit as offenders can drop out or a meeting can never happen etc.

  HOWEVER costs could save money in the long term as there will be less money spent having to re incarcerate the offenders
• what does Novaco suggest

  that cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal which can lead to aggression, some people get angry quicker

  WHEREAS behaviourists argue that being angry is reinforced as it makes them feel in control so it is repeated
• what is anger management

  a CBT treatment given inside or outside prison, its aim to reach individuals to identify signs that trigger anger and techniques to deal with those situations in a positive way
• what are the 3 stages of anger management

  1. Cognitive preparation

  2. Skill acquisition

  3. Application practice
• explain what happens in cognitive preparation

  - offenders reflects past experiences and considers pattern of anger

  - identify situations that trigger anger and consequences of getting angry

  - examine in the offender interprets events in irrational ways
• explain what happens in skill aquisition

  - giving offender techniques and skills to deal with anger inducing situations such as :

  - cognitive, positive self talk to encourage calm

  - behavioural, how to communicate effectively

  - pscyhological, methods of relaxation/meditation
• explain what happens in application practice

  offenders practice their skill e.g. through role play of previous scenarios with therapist

  + if role play successful, offender is rewarded reinforced
• what research/study supports anger management

  studied offenders aged 17-21, course was eight 2hr sessions, participants had increased awareness of anger and self control, HOWEVER doesn't show about reoffending
• what evidence supports the effectiveness of anger management


  Novaco found 75% improvement based on six meta analysis, which is large majority improvement

  HOWEVER limited long term benefits, little research