5. aims & psychological effects of custodial sentencing

aims of custodial sentencing

• there are 4 key aims that serve a dual function of punishing the offender and protecting society

how is offending behaviour dealt with - custodial sentencing

• custodial sentencing

• whereby a criminal will be found guilty of a criminal act and sentenced to a period of time in prison or another criminals institution

outline the aims of custodial sentencing

• incapacitation - the imprisonment of offenders

• rehabilitation - using education and treatment programmes to change offenders behaviour

• retribution - to show society and the victims family that the offender has been forced to pay for their actions

• deterrence - to prevent the offender re-offending and demonstrate to society the consequences of similar actions

outline the functions of the aim: incapacitation

• for the offender it serves to take away the basic freedoms of the offender and punish them, in the hope that upon release they will be put off committing further crimes

• it also serves to prevent further crimes being committed in society by the offender

outline the functions of the aim: rehabilitation

• for the offender it serves to make changes to the offenders behaviour so that they will be less likely to commit further crimes in the future

• for society it serves to protect society from further crimes being committed by the offender and makes them a more productive citizen

outline the functions of the aim: retribution

• for the offender it serves to directly punish the offender for their crimes by removing their freedom

• for society it serves to show that the justice has been done and that retribution has been gained for the victim

outline the functions of the aim: deterrence

• for the offender it serves to prevent recidivism (re-offending) by ensuring that through the unpleasant experience of prison, offenders will be put off committing crimes

• for society it serves to show that criminal actions have consequences and endures that individuals are reluctant to commit crimes

evaluation of custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour - recidivism

• the key function of custodial sentencing is to prevent recidivism, however this is not what seems to happen statistically

• e.g. hollin (1992) argues that a large proportion of offenders seek to reoffend and this supports peterson et al (1981) who estimates that 8-10% of criminals are responsible for around 50% of all crimes

• this is important because is suggests that the aims of custodial sentencing are not being met which puts greater strain on society

evaluation of custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour - ineffective

• many critics of the penal system suggest that it does not do much to deter offenders from committing crimes

• e.g. davis and raymond (2000) argues that prison sentences are only issued to satisfy society in order to make it look like something is being done by the criminal justice system - therefor the root causes of the crime are not addressed

• this is important as it suggests that custodial sentencing lacks any effectiveness as a deterrent and therefore other methods should be used

evaluation of custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour - negative outcomes

• prisoners will experience negative psychological effects of custodial sentencing

• it’s not meant to be pleasant and should deter people from going back

• some psychological effects include depression (most common), suicide & self harm, anxiety disorders etc

• however zamble and porporino (1988) conducted a longitudinal study of prisoners finding that while anxiety and depression is high at the start of a sentence, it does decrease over time

• daniel (2006) argues that the first 30 days of an offenders arrival in prison is the high risk period where they are most likely to attempt to take their own life

evaluation of custodial sentencing as a way of dealing with offending behaviour - counter

• it is difficult to show causality with regards to mental health problems and prison

• for example it has been estimated that 70% of the prison population have a mental health condition of some description, although of course it is difficult to tell if they have suffered from it previously or if it has developed since being in prison - therefore the data is somewhat flawed

• this is important as it would help

• researchers to know how serious the psychological effects are and perhaps suggest improvements