Custodial sentencing

• What are the 3 ways we can treat Offenders?

  -behaviour modification

  -anger management

  -restorative justice
• What is Behaviour Modification?

  an application of the behaviourist approach to treatment. it is based on the principles of operant conditioning with the aim to replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable behaviours
• What does Behaviour Modification Involve?

  1. selective reinforcement; the prison officers may reinforce a particular prisoner for working positively in a group such as avoiding retaliation when being provoked

  2. token economies; based on OC involved reinforcing desirable behaviour with a token that can be exchanged for some kind of reward

  3. type of reward e.g. time in the gym, extra cigarettes

  4. punishment; disobedience may result in the tokens and associated privileges being withheld
• Explain Research into Token Economies

  -Hobbs and Holt found an increase in desired behaviours among juvenile males

  -Rice et al. found no long term benefits when conducting a follow up of offenders who had received this treatment. research has found once reinforcement stops the desired behaviour

  -Saunders argued that inconsistencies amongst staff was a big problem in the successful administration of token economies
• Explain Human Rights Issues of Token Economies

  -some have argued that some of the rewards for good behaviour in a token economy programme should be seen as a right not a reward

  -this is important as it has implications for how effective such treatment programmes are
• Evaluate Behaviour Modification

  +requires little training making it economical

  -takes time and commitment to implement

  -ethical issues in terms of restricting access to food, drink, sleep, visits etc.
• What is Anger Management?

  a therapeutic programme that involves identifying the signs that trigger anger as well as learning techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way. the aim is not to prevent anger but recognise it and manage it.
• What are Ainsworth's 3 Stages of Anger Management?

  1. cognitive preparation; offenders analyse their own anger and identify situations that make them angry and analyse their thought process during these situations

  2. skill acquisition; offenders are taught skills necessary to help them avoid anger provoking situations or deal with them more effectively

  3. application practice; offenders apply their skills in role-play situations, receiving feedback from counsellors
• Explain Ireland's Key Study

  a; to investigate whether anger management programmes work with a sample of young male offenders

  m; a sample of 50 prisoners completed an anger management course. measures were taken before and after treatment, including an Anger Management Assessment Questionnaire

  r; convincingly in favour of anger management programmes. all who completed the programme showed a decrease in self-reported anger, as well as lower levels of anger reported

  c; overall the results indicate that in the short-term instance of ireland's research, there is positive evidence to support the use of anger management programmes.
• Evaluate Anger Management Programmes

  -the relationship between anger and violence is complex and hasn't been extensively researched

  -Loza argue that the research links made between anger and violence are limited because they make use of self-report explanations of an offenders motivation

  -requires full engagement from prisoners, Keen found that there were practical issues with encouraging young offenders
• Explain Restorative Justice

  a system for dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims, enabling the offender to see the impact of their crime
• What are the Aims of Restorative Justice?

  -to help rebuild relationships between the offender, the victim, the family and the community

  -attempts to improve the victims experience as well as encouraging offender responsibility

  -suggests a link between recidivism and external locus of control, whereby an individual is more likely to blame external causes than take responsibility
• How does Restorative Justice Work?

  -in order for restorative justice programmes to be fully effective, engagement is required from all parties

  -face to face meetings

  -mediation
• What are the Key Features of Restorative Justice?

  -changing the emphasis from the needs of the state to the needs of the individual victim. victims are encouraged to take an active role in the process.

  -focus on acceptance of responsibility with active involvement and focus on positive outcomes

  -variations of the process e.g. repairing damaged property
• Explain Research into Restorative Justice

  -Strang found that face to face meetings or restorative justice conferences led to a reduction in recidivism, which is important as it offers a cost-effective way of dealing with offending behaviour

  -Miers found that most offender-victim meetings were received favourably, but victim felt unsure that the offender was there with genuine intentions
• Evaluate Restorative Justice

  -some victims find it intimidating and uncomfortable and some questioned the sincerity of the offenders

  -both offender and victim needs to be wiling to take part

  -socially sensetive

  -not appropriate in every case

  +time consuming
• What are the aims of custodial sentences?

  Custodial sentencing is the sentence given by a judge which results in an individual being sent to prison/young offenders institution/secure hospital. The aims of custodial sentences include : deterrence (discouraging the action with the threat of punishment) ; incapacitation (removing criminals from society to create a safer environment) ; rehabilitation (offering offenders the experience to learn to new skills and behaviours) ; retribution (providing the victim and society a sense that offenders have paid for their crimes). 
• what are the aims of custodial sentences?

  Custodial sentencing is the sentence given by a judge which results in an individual being sent to prison/young offenders institution/secure hospital. The aims of custodial sentences include : deterrence (discouraging the action with the threat of punishment) ; incapacitation (removing criminals from society to create a safer environment) ; rehabilitation (offering offenders the experience to learn to new skills and behaviours) ; retribution (providing the victim and society a sense that offenders have paid for their crimes). 
• are the aims of custodial sentences met?

  no

  Davies and Raymond (2000) researched custodial sentences and found that the aims are not always met as society values retribution over rehabilitation. 

  2019 the Ministry of Justice suggested that almost 60% of UK offenders reoffend within a year of release from prison, with the UK having some of the highest rates in the world. 

  the oppressive prison regime may trigger psychological disorders in those that are vulnerable. 
• what are the effects of prison?

  Stress and depression is typically high, and it was found that suicide rates, self-harm and stress are proportionately higher in comparison to the general population. Secondly, institutionalisation is when prisoners adapt to certain norms and values within the prison, which makes it hard for them to return to the outside world. This usually leads to recividism, and around 70% of offender reoffend within 2 years of release. Lastly, deindividualisation is when the identity of the individual is stripped away during imprisonment.
• Outline recidivism?

  Recidivism refers to a person's relapse into criminal behaviour, often after the person receives custodial sentence for a previous crime. In 2013 the Ministry of Justice suggested that almost 60% of UK offenders reoffend within a year of their release from prison, with the UK holding some of the highest recidivism rates in the world. Contrastingly, norways recidivism rates are some of the lowest in the world, presumably due to their custodial sentencing prioritising rehabilitation over retribution as they provide educational training. 
• reasons for recidivism?

  offenders who have been institutionalised where their basic physiological needs are met, may reoffend if their home environment is inconvenient or difficult.

  inability to obtain employment due to criminal record or lack of opportunity to gain skill during prison can cause previous offenders to reoffend as its the only way they can support themselves.

  prisons are referred to as “schools or crime” suggesting that offenders may learn “tricks of the trade” during prison that can influence them to reoffend as they feel more confident that they wont get caught.