1. Why does society punish offenders?

2. Retribution
Reform
Deterrence

3. Today’s session You are learning about... You are learning to...
Judicial sanctions for offending (imprisonment & non-custodial sentencing)
Use research to evaluate judicial sanctions
Use psychological principles to explain effects on behaviour
Distinguish between psychological and common-sense explanations of behaviour

4. Has our society ‘gone soft’ on crime?

5. Prison population in England & Wales
Source: Morgan (2002)

6. Prison population in England & Wales
There are 140 people in prison per 100,000 population in E & W.
50% higher than France, Germany & Italy
Double rate of most Scandinavian countries
Substantially lower than US (700+/100,000)
The prison population has grown steadily since 1946
Doubled since 1991
Length of sentence has also been increasing

7. Purposes of prison Morgan (2002) lists three purposes:
Custody
Coercion
Punishment
Only the punishment function interests us.
Recidivism = return to criminal activities following judicial punishment
Recidivism rate is a measure of the effectiveness of punishment

8. In 1993, the Home Secretary Michael Howard insisted, ‘prison works’
In 1993, the Home Secretary Michael Howard insisted, ‘prison works’. Was he right?

9. Common sense would suggest that prison should reduce future offending
Common sense would suggest that prison should reduce future offending. So why doesn’t it?

10. Why doesn’t prison work?
Offending is not always a rational choice
Prison does not adhere to known principles of learning. Punishment should be:
Probable
Prompt
Aversive
How might imprisonment fail to meet these criteria?

11. Do offenders learn not to offend or not to get caught?
Probable
Many crimes are never solved, so punishment unlikely
Prompt
Long delay between offending and eventual imprisonment
Aversive
Not necessarily, given circumstances of many offenders
Do offenders learn not to offend or not to get caught?

12. Hollin (1992) suggests that, in the face of the failure of imprisonment to reform offenders, we have a choice between making prisons even more unpleasant and rethinking the whole idea. Which do you favour and why?

13. Non-custodial sentencing
How, besides imprisonment, does our judicial system respond to offenders?
Admonishment (e.g. police caution)
Fines
Probation (community rehabilitation order)
Reparation & restitution (e.g. community punishment order)

14. In your groups:
Consider the possible advantages and disadvantages of the sentence you are assigned, relative to imprisonment
Think about: (1) potential to reform the offender; (2) additional effects on the offender/society; (3) economic implications

15. Fines
Walker & Farrington (1981): lower recidivism than probation or suspended prison sentence
Feldman (1993) lower reconvictions than the alternatives for first offences

16. Probation
Oldfield (1996): prison – 63% recidivism; probation – 41% recidivism
Roshier (1995): prison 64%; probation 41%

17. Reparation & restitution
Schneider (1986): restitution marginally more effective than alternatives, but depends on programme and community

18. General issues
Offenders take little account of judicial sanctions when weighing up costs and benefits of offending (McDonald, 1989)
Offenders are not randomly assigned to sentences; differences in recidivism may be due to judicial risk assessment
In terms of recidivism, non-custodial sentences are no worse than imprisonment and can be much better