custodial sentencing and recividism#

• custodial sentencing

  • court requires offender to be held in prison or other closed community (psychiatric hospital)
• aims of custodial sentencing

  • protect public (incapacitation)
  • punish offender and prevent recidivism - behaviourist approach
  • deter others - social learning, vicarious reinforcement
  • retribution - sense of justice, offender pays for the crime
  • rehabilitation - education or therapy
• psychological effects

  • de-inviduation - SPE, loss of individual identity
  • depression - hopelessness
  • self harm - conformity, inmate culture
  • suicide - young men in first 24hrs most at risk
  • overcrowding and lack of privacy - 25%, stress, physical illness
  • effects on family - financially and psychologically affected
• effectiveness of punishment is low

  high rates of recidivism

  • behaviourist principles - punishment most effective when immediate (not the case for custodial sentencing)
  • offender may see as punishment for getting caught not crime
  • not lower crime where death penalty

  may not be most effective method
• prison as a training ground for crime

  Sutherland's Differential Association theory

  • spending time w criminals affects attitudes to crime
  • learn how to commit crime
  • placing low risk (recidivism) with high risk offenders makes it more likely that low risk will reoffend

  reinforces pro criminal attitudes
• individual differences in recidivism

  custodial sentencing may be better for some than others

  • length of sentence made little diff to habitual offenders
  • differs with age and crime - younger more likely to reoffend, theft 2x more likely to reoffend than drug/sexual offenders

  suggests sentencing should be targeted in different ways
• benefits of non-custodial sentencing

  alternatives may be better due to cost/problems

  • eg. probation, fines, community service
  • offenders sentenced to community rehabilitation less likely to reoffend (maybe because less serious offences)
  • would avoid problems like deinviduation, inmate culture

  maybe better for new or non violent offenders