Custodial Sentencing

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The aims of custodial sentencing

  • Custodial sentencing (CS) involves the offender spending time in prison or another closed institution such as a young offender's institute or psychiatric hospital.
  • There are four main reasons for doing this:
    • Deterrence - the unpleasant prison experience is designed to put off the offender and other members of society from engaging in offending behaviour. General deterrence aims to send a broad message to members of a society that crime is not tolerated and individual deterrence should prevent the individual from repeating the same crime. This view is based on the behaviourist idea of conditioning through punishment.
    • Incapacitation - offender is taken out of society to prevent them from reoffending as a means of protecting the public. This is dependant on the severity of the offence and the nature of the offender. E.G. Society need more protection from offenders who are a serial murderer than a elderly person who refuses to pay her tax.
    • Retribution - society is enacting revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer, and the level of suffering should be proportionate to the seriousness off the crime.
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Psychological effects of CS

There are some psychological effects associated with serving time in prison:

  • Stress and depression - suicide rates are higher in prison than in the general population, as are incidents of self-mutilation and self-harm. The stress of prison experience increases the risk of psychological disturbance following release.
  • Institutionalisation - having adopted the norms and routines of prison life, imates may become so accustomed to these that they no longer able to function on the outside (back in society).
  • Prisonisation - refers to the way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an 'inmate code'. Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encouraged and rewarded inside the prison or other institutions.
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The problem of recidivism

  • Recidivism refers to reoffending.
  • Ministry of Justice in 2013 suggest that 57% of UK offenders will reoffend within a year of release.
  • In 2007, 14 prisons in England and Wales recorded reoffending rates of over 70%.
  • The UK and US has come of the highest rates of recidivism in the world.
  • In contrast with Norway where reoffending rates are the lowest in Europe and less than half of those in the UK.
  • Norwegian prisons are very different to the system here in the UK. Penal institutions are much more open in Norway and there is greater emphasis placed on rehabilitation and skills development than there is in the UK.
  • Many commentators are critical of the Norwegian model labelling it a 'soft option'  that does not sufficiently punish the inmates.
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Evaluation of custodial sentencing

  • There is evidence which supports the psychological effects of CS.
    • Curt Bartol suggested that, for many offenders imprisonment can be 'brutal, demeaning and devestating'.
    • Suicide rates among offenders have tended to be around 15 times higher than those in the general population. Most at risk are young single men during the first 24 hours of confinement.
    • A study conducted by the Prison Reform Trust found that 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis. The oppressive prison regime may tigger psychological disorders in those that are vulnerable.
    • This suggests that CS is not effective in rehabilitating the offender, and in particular those who are psychologically vulnerable.
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Evaluation of custodial sentencing

  • There are individual differences. Although prison may be challenging for many, we cannot assume that all offenders will react in the same way. Different prisons have different regimes, so there is more likely to be variations in experience. The length of sentence, the reason for incarceration and previous experience of prison may all be important mitigating factors.
    • Those who have been convicted may have had pre-exsisting psychological emotional difficulties at the time they were convicted and this may explain their offending behaviour.
    • Its difficult to make general conclusions that apply to every prisoner and every prison.
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Evaluation of custodial sentencing

  • Rehabilitation is based on the argument that offenders may become better people during their time in prison, and their improved character means they are able to lead a crime-free life when back in society.
    • Many prisoners access education and training whilst in prison increasing the possiblility they will find employment upon release.
    • Treatment programmes such as anger management and social skills training may give offenders insight into their behaviour, reducing the likelihood of recidivism.
    • This suggests prison may be a worthwhile experience assuming offenders are able to access those programmes. However, many prisons lack resources to provide these programmes and even, when they can, evidence to support the long-term benefits such schemes is not conclusive.
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Evaluation of custodial sentencing

  • Offenders may undergo a more dubious education as part of their sentence. Incarceration with hardened criminals may give younger inmates the opportunity to 'learn the tricks of the trade' from more experienced offenders. This may undermine attempts to rehabilitate prisoners, making reoffending more likely.
  • Judge Geoffrey Davies and co-author K M Raymond, in a review of CS. Concluded that government ministers often exaggerate the benefits of prison in a bid to appear tough on crime. The review suggested that, in reality, prison does little to deter others or rehabilitate offenders. Alternatives to CS such as community service and restorative justice, mean family contrasts and employment can be maintained.
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The aims of custodial sentencing

  • Rehabilitaton - prison as not being purely to punish, but to reform. Offenders leave prison ready to take their place back in society. Prison should provide opportunities to develop skills and training and allow the offender to reflect on their crime.
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