This file contains the key information, studies and evaluation points on the role of prison systems in preventing recidivism. These studies have been sourced via several sources including the AQA second-year psychology textbook (found on the illuminate publishing website). This saves a lot of time ...
Evaluation of prison systems in preventing recidivism
S N/A
P N/A
Ethical implications for the public: Public safety is at risk if recidivism rates are high. However the
government is not willing to invest money into developing a more effective system than prison.
Implications for the offender: Curt Bartol (1995) found suicide rates are generally 15 times higher than
I in society in general. Most at risk are young, single men in the first 24 hours of incarceration. Around
25% of female and 15% of male prisoners have symptoms of psychosis. 62% of males and 57% of
females have a personality disorder. Prison can sometimes cause or contribute to mental health issues,
which doesn’t lower recidivism.
Links to behaviourist approach: Aims to use operant conditioning to deter prisoners, but that doesn’t
work.
A Links to humanism: Acts as a deterrent as only prisoner’s physiological needs are getting fulfilled
Links to SLT approach: Prisoners can either identify with those who are trying to get better or those who
are wanting to commit more crimes.
- Reoffending rates:
Average: 29.4%
Adults: 28.6%
Juveniles: 40.4%
Sentence of 12 months or less: 64.5%
- Smith et al: Conducted meta-analysis of over 100 research studies. Found recidivism rate after
imprisonment wasn’t lower than recidivism rate after a custodial sentence. A longer sentence didn’t
C lower the risk of reoffending. Also found the lowest rate of recidivism in Europe is in Norway, where the
prison system has more emphasis on rehabilitation and acquiring skills.
- Malott and fromader (2010): Surveyed 102 Australian male offenders. Found that offenders were not
given proper resources to remain crime free.
- Tripodi et al: If an offender is employed after being released they are less likely to reoffend. If they
commit another crime they won’t do it as quickly as someone who is unemployed.
Not curative: Doesn’t address psychological or root causes of crime
Not effective in long term: People are often released back into the same environment they came from
so they associate with the same people. Juvenile offenders may be more respected by gang members
after imprisonment leading them to commit worse crimes. Offenders find it to hard to integrate back
into society and get a job due to being habituated to the prison environment. Offenders cannot use the
qualifications they gained in prison due to legal restrictions.
E Not a good deterrent: Prison can be preferable to homelessness, so they are being positively reinforced
by prison as they get TV, warmth, food and shelter. Operant conditioning states that prison should be
negative and done promptly after the crime has been committed. Prison can often be a university of
crime so people learn more about crime and are more likely to commit crime as a result.
Too broad: Not all prisoners react the same way to imprisonment so the punishment should fit the
individual and not just the crime.
D N/A
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