Custodial sentencing

• Custodial Sentencing


  A form of punishment for offenders which involves the offender serving time in a prison, a special hospital or young offender's institution
• The four main aims/roles of custodial sentencing

  • Incapacitation (Public Protection)
  • Rehabilitation (Reform)
  • Retribution (Punishment)
  • Deterrence
• Incapacitation (Public Protection)


  A custodial sentence means the offender is removed from society-unable to commit crime for duration of sentence. Used as a means of protecting the public.
• The need for incapacitation depends on the nature of the crime
• Rehabilitation (Reform)


  Change the offender into a better person via treatment programmes etc. Offenders should leave prison better adjusted to and ready to take their place in society.
• Recidivism rates suggest rehabilitation does not happen, but the reason why is unclear
• Retribution (Punishment)


  Make the offender pay an eye for an eye. Many people see this as the primary function of imprisonment. Suffering is to be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.
• Deterrence


  Put the offender off committing further crime, AND put other people off criminal behaviour by showing the negative consequences. Should prevent individual from reoffending the same crime.
• Recidivism


  A convicted criminal who reoffends, usually repeatedly
• People have looked for evidence that removing people from society for a specified term is effective, because it prevents recidivism
• The statistical evidence is not encouraging
• Moj figures (2013) suggest 57% of offenders will reoffend within a year of release
• The UK and the USA have come of the highest recidivism rates in the world
• Norway has some of the lowest recidivism rates in the world where much more emphasis is placed on rehabilitation and skills development
• Types of Custodial Punishment

  • Prison
  • Special Hospitals
  • Residential Centres
• Prison


  • The prison population in England and Wales was around 74,000 in 2004
  • Most prisons recognise that their main purpose is to remove offenders from mainstream society
• Special Hospitals


  • These institutions are not prisons but secure units in which treatment can take place although the wards are locked
  • They usually house offenders whose criminal activities relate to some form of mental illness or instability
• Residential Centres


  • These are usually for young offenders and use a mixture of therapeutic methods and a social learning approach to treat delinquents
  • Some follow a harsher regime of training and control
• The effectiveness of Custodial Sentencing
• Cullen and Minchin (2000) tracked prisoners released in 1996 and found that 57% reoffended within 2 years
• For young males the rate was much higher at 76%
• Custodial sentencing


  Not meeting two of its main aims; deterrence and rehabilitation
• Doherty (2001) cited that the rates of recidivism are 77% for those convicted of burglary, 18% for those convicted of sex offences
• Rates of recidivism vary according to the type of crime
• Imprisonment does meet some of its aims for certain types of crime but not for others
• Row figures should be treated with caution
• Offenders sent to prison for more serious crimes (e.g. sex offences)


  Are likely to be older when they are released and therefore may be less likely to reoffend than those convicted of burglary
• Rates of reoffending may not be linked to the type of crime but rather to the age at release
• Prison may have several negative effects
• Psychological effects of prison

  • Inmates become institutionalised to the norms and routines of prison life and cannot function adequately on the outside
  • Prison can have negative psychological effects on mental health, leading to greater psychological disturbance after a custodial sentence
  • Suicide rates are also considerably higher in prison than in the general population, as is self-harm
• Prisonisation


  The way in which prisoners are socialised, they develop an 'inmate code'
• Behaviour that is considered unacceptable on the outside world, may be encouraged and rewarded in the institution
• Loss of contact with family and disruption of employment

  Make it more difficult for the offender to stay out of trouble in the future
• Zimbardo et al. (1973): 'Study on psychological effects of prison'
• We can't assume that all offenders will react in the same way to the prison environment
• Prisons vary in their approach
• The length of sentence and reason for the offender being in prison are all important factors
• Offenders may have pre-existing psychological disorders when they were convicted
• Norway


  Less effects on psychological wellbeing
• Universities for Crime


  Offenders may undergo a form of 'education' whilst in prison, learning the tricks of the trade from experienced offenders