8. dealing wirh offending behaviour- aims of custodial sentencing

What is custodial sentencing?

Involves a convicted offender spending time in prison or another closed institution (e.g young offender’s institute, psychiatric hospital)

4 Aims of custodial sentencing

• deterrence

• Incapacitation

• Rehabilitation

• (Eye for an eye)Retribution

Deterrence

Aims to act as a deterrent - put people off offending

Experience/see negative outcomes of offending so are less likely to offend

Two levels of deterrence

• general deterrence

• Individual deterrence

General deterrence

Aims to send a broad message to society that criminal behaviours will not be tolerated

Put people off crime as don’t want to go to prison

Individual deterrence

Aims to stop the individual from repeating the same (or other) crimes to avoid going back to prison

Experience negative outcomes of offending so less likely to reoffend

Incapacitation

Sending an offender to prison removes them from society, prevents them from reoffending so they are no longer a threat to the public

Deprive an individual of their freedom- no longer a threat to society

Rehabilitation

• Aims to make the offender a better person in order to reduce the chance of reoffending

• prisons should offer opportunities to develop skills and training or to access treatment programmes for problems (e.g. drug addiction) as well as give the offenders a chance to reflect on their offending behaviour

• Offenders should leave prison better adjusted and ready to be effective members of society

Retribution

A way for society to get revenge/get their own back - offenders should pay for their action

Putting them in prison means that they are suffering the consequences of their criminal behaviour which is the loss of their freedom

AO3 - recidivism rates

P- high recidivism rates suggests not successful as a deterrent or as rehabilitation

E- 45.5 of offenders will reoffend within 1 year of release

69.9% for juvenile offenders

suggests prison is not an individual deterrent for all prisoners and suggests rehabilitation is not successful, especially for young offenders

E- recidivism rates for minor offences (theft, drunken disorderly) challenges use of custodial sentencing as retribution and incapacitation for these offences- 57.7% of offenders who have served less than 12 months reoffend within a year-

Retribution not needed (don’t need to seek revenge- no victims) nor incapacitation (not a dangerous threat to society)

L- lessens support for custodial sentencing being a sufficient method to lessen offending -aims not addressed for every type of crime

AO3 - does not meet all aims for all prisoners

P- custodial sentencing is important for some prisoners as it provides a method of punishment that the legal system can administer

E- over 35,000 people are currently serving a sentence for a violent crime against another person or a serious sexual offence. Incapacitation- these prisoners are dangerous. Retribution- seek revenge for a violent crime

E- However - 61% of current prisoners had committed a non-violent offence.

Incapacitation is not necessary for all prisoners- and do these individuals really need rehabilitation?

L- when evaluating the aims of custodial sentencing the individual person, background and crime they committed needs to be considered first

AO3- psychological effects

P- negative psychological effects

E- rather than rehabilitating people figures suggest that prison causes psychological problems such as depression, anxiety and self harm which may continue after the person leaves prison

E- suicide rates higher in prison (3.7x higher for men) than in general population as are self harm and self mutilation rates

Risk of suicide is greater in the first 30days- adjusting to prison life is too psychologically distressing for some inmates

L- some may see these effects as retribution but these effects may continue after prison leading to higher recidivism rates so reducing individual deterrent and does not rehabilitate