chapter 8 offender punishments,treatments & preventing crime

what was the aim of this study?

to test the impact of demanding, highly structured regimes on reconviction rates 2 years after release

what was the method of this study?

similar to a natural experiment - comparing the reconviction rates following two different regimes

who were the participants ofthis study?

young male offenders, aged 18-21years with approx 6mnths of their sentence left to serve, assessed suitable for open prison

what was the procedure of this study?

2 institutions were studied. Both were styled on US-boot camp regimes

1) Thorn cross high intensity training centre-offered a highly structured 25 week programme of activities 16 hrs a day including military drilling

2) Colchester young offender institution-this had a 26 week programme based on the military regime and ethos at the Military corrective training centre at colchester

the expected reconviction rates were compared to the actual rates, reconvictions rates were also compared to a control group of young offenders in standard regime conditions

what were the results of this study?

Thorn cross HIT- no significant differences in reconviction rates however this group took longer to reoffend and committed significantly fewer crimes

Colchester- this group committed slightly fewer crimes than the control group however their crimes were more costly. This group had significantly more positive attitudes towards staff and other inmates were more hopeful about the future.

what was the conclusion of this study?

bootcamp alone doesn't work-education and training is required as shown in Thorncross regime to reduce re-offending(RECIDIVISM)- this word has to be used

what are 2 weaknesses of this study?

low validity- may have re-offended but not caught

sample- not generalisable for women

what are 2 strengths of this study?

ethics-protection was covered as sample was suitable for the study

usefulness- tells us education and training required

high EV-natural experiment-real offenders used

what was the aim of this study?

to examine the effectiveness of electronic -monitoring curfew orders

what method was used?

similar to natural experiment- reconviction rates of the tagged were compared to predicted reconviction rates and rates of those given community service order

who were the participants of this study?

261 offenders from Norfolk,Manchester and Reading who had been given curfew orders with electronic monitoring between JUL96-JUN97. Typical offences were theft, burglary and drinving offences

what is the procedure of this study?
the probability of the sample being convicted was calculated using OGRS2 based on age, criminal history and time in youth custody.
This suggested that the sample could be considered to be of medium to high risk of reconviction.
The analysis suggested 67% would be reconvicted at the end of two years.
This prediction was then compared with actual Reconvition rates.

What were the results of this study?
72.8% (190/261)had been reconvicted within 2years and 166 of those were reconvicted within 1 year.

what was the conclusion of this study?
curfew orders have no significant effect on offending behaviour because they don't address the real problem.

what are 2 weaknesses of this study?

Ethics - protection control group wasn't

demand characteristics- knew they were being studied

what are 2 strengths of this study?

high EV real offenders used-natural exp

Useful-tells us electronic doesn't work

what is 1-correcting distorted thinking patterns?
encouraging offenders to think about their actions before they see them through
what is 2-controlling deviant fantasies?
sexual arousal is measured using a plethysmograph which measures penile volume changes in response to stimuli (pics of kids)
Aversion therapy is used to encourage the sex offender to assume unpleasant thoughts with images of children to bring about nausea

what is 3-increasing victim empathy?
writing letters of apology to victim, empathising with their victims through their video testimonies.
what is 4-social competence ?
sex offenders are often loners and need help with social skills- befriend children as similar social level

what were the results of the success of SOPT ?
Myers (1990) Studied a group of sex offenders over 10yrs. They participated in the programme and recidivism(Reoffending rate) was below 4%. 20%-60% of untreated offenders reoffend

what were the weaknesses if this study?
demand characteristics-may have offended and lied

validity- they could have reoffended and not got caught. measuring recidivism is not valid.

what were the strengths of this study?
useful-found it helps majority of offenders

what is the aim of this study?
to assess the effectiveness of a brief group-based anger-management programme with a sample of male young offenders

what was the method of this study?
a quasi-experimental design was used as 2 groups weren't equivalent, in which there were two comparisons made:

.pre and post-programme scores for a treatment(exp)group

.two scores taken at the same interval for the awaiting (con)group

what was the sample of this study?
exp grp- 50 prisoners who had completed the anger management course

con grp-37 prisoners who had been assessed as suitable for the course but hadn't yet completed it

what was the programme of this study?
it included 12 one hr sessions run over a 3 day period

what measures were used to assess prisoners on suitability for the course?
1. a cognitive-behavioural interview- this consisted of various questions concerned with how often they lost their temper, what prevented it and what happened when it occurred

2. Wing behavioural Checklist (WBC)- a checklist completed by prison officers concerning 29 different angry behaviours with scores of 0,1 or 2 for how often any particular prisoner had shown them in the previous week.

3. a third measure, the anger management assessment (AMA) questionnaire, which was completed by the prosoners, consisted of 53 items which could indicate an anger problem

what was the pre and post-test measures?
pre-test scores were obtained for both groups of participants 2 weeks before the start of the course and 8 weeks later.

what were the results of this study?
wing-based measures- there was a significant reduction in wing-based angry behaviours in the experimental group but no difference in the control group.

AMA- the experimental group scored significantly lower on self reported angry behaviours after completion of the course. There was no difference for the control group.

92% of prisoners in the Exp grp showed improvement on at least one measure, 48% showed improvement on both the AMA and WBC, 8% showed a deterioration on both measures after completing the course.

what is the conclusion of this study?
short term measures indicate that this programme was a success and significantly reduced the disruptive behaviour of these offenders in the prison.

what are 2 weaknesses of this study?
demand charachteristics- self reports used

observer bias- guards observation

what are 2 strengths of this study?
usefulness- 92% success

individual differences shown -8%

what was the aim of this study?
to evaluate the success of cognitive behavioural treatments for prisoners

which method was used for this study?
feild experiment, the exp grp took part in the cognitive skills programme and the control grp didn't. Reconviction rates were compared.

what was the sample of this study?
670 adult male offenders serving a custodial sentence of 2years or more and who voluntarily participated in 1 of 2 cognitive skills programmes

what was the procedure of this study?
the cognitive skills programme consists of 2 multi-modal programmes focusing on correcting maladaptive or faulty thinking patterns which have been linked with offending behaviour.

what were the 2 programmes?
reasoning and rehabilitation, Enhanced thinking skills

what are the aims of the programmes?
1. self-control (thinking before acting)
2. interpersonal problem-solving skills
3. social perspective taking
4. critical reasoning skills
5. cognitive style
6. understanding the rules which govern behaviour

what were the results of this study?
a significant drop in reconviction rates. Reconviction rates after 2 years were up to 14% lower than the comparison groups.

what are the strengths of this study?
usefulness-it works apply to real life

High EV- feild exp use of real offenders

Sample- representative- large

what are 2 weaknesses of this study?
individual diff- some did reconvict

low validity - some could have reconvicted but not got caught

what was the aim of this study?
Describe development of deliquent and criminal behaviour in inner city males.
Investigate how it could be predicted in advance and explain why juvenile delinquency began.

what method was used for this study?
longitudinal study, self-reports used

what was the sample of this study?
411 males from london majority white.

what were the results of this study?

what were the results of this study?
by age 32 37%males had committed crimes
worst offenders tended to be from large sized multi-problem families
most common teen crime e.g vandalism, shop lifting.

what was the conclusion of this study?
children from poor families more like to offend
impulsive children can't see consequences of actions and desire immediate gratification
problem families produce problem children

what are 2 strengths of this study?

application to everyday life

longitudinal study- shows change over time

what are 2 weaknesses of this study?

ethnocentrism- only looks at white working-class males in london area

not generalisable- due to ethnocentrism can't generalise the whole population

what did K&W argue?

if one broken window was not repaired in a building then others would be broken and the building vandalisied, followed by other buildings then the street and the neighbourhood.

what was zero tolerance policing based on?

cracking down on minor offences such as swearing, loitering and begging in the belief that this will help reduce more serious crimes as well.

what did newman point out?
the design of many urban residential areas meant there was lack of defensible space which tended to encourage vandalism and crime as residents had such limited oppurtunity for surveillance or social control and no real sense of ownership or community.
what did he do?
he advanced several recommendations to increase defensible space and thereby reduce crime.

what did he look at?
crime rates in 100 estates in new yorkand found that the greater the amount of defensible space the lower the incidence in crime
why was this criticised?
the relationship between crime rates and defensible space is only correlational and therefore doesn't demonstrate cause and effect.

what is meant by recidivism?
reoffending rate

what is meant by primary prevention?
stopping crime before it starts e.g farrington promblem children

what is meant by secondary prevention?
petty crimes e.g tagging

what is meant by teriary prevention?
bootcamp - serious crimes

what is meant by enviromental prevention?
changing the enviroment