Btec National Applied Psychology Student Book + Activebook
BTEC Applied Psychology Unit 4 LAB Coursework
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Learning Aim B: Investigate punishment strategies and behaviour modification of criminal behaviour
Investigation into the strategies and modification of criminal behaviour
Introduction
Punishment is the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offence or as a deterrent to
an unpleasant or unacceptable action or behaviour. It is a behaviour modification method used to reduce
or eliminate the repetition of a behaviour. Punishment and modification of criminal behaviour are
important in attempting to change criminal behaviour which creates lower recidivism rates, increases
public safety, and allows accountability for the offender for the crimes they committed. Punishment can
take various forms, including imprisonment, zero tolerance, offender disclosure schemes, community
sentences, fines, and discharges.
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is the act of removing someone of their liberty, usually by incarcerating them in a jail or
prison. Imprisonment can be used as a punishment for many types of crimes from violent crimes to
white collar. Imprisonment can take several forms and lengths, such as life imprisonment, solitary
confinement, house arrest, or parole.
Zero tolerance
Zero tolerance refers to a strict approach to criminal behaviour. In this system, anyone caught
committing an offence is severely punished. Any crime committed is automatically charged by the police;
the police have no discretion when it comes to charging someone with an offence. By implementing
zero-tolerance policies, people are prevented from committing criminal acts.
Offender disclosure schemes
Severe criminal offences may result in future legal revisions. A variety of notable crimes have resulted in
the implementation of offender disclosure schemes, which enable individuals to investigate the violent
history of people they know.
Community sentences
Community sentences are particularly used for minor offences, so they are regarded as an effective
alternative to custodial sentencing (incapacitation). They are commonly utilised to punish offences such
as property damage or petty assault.
Fines and discharges
Fines and discharges are intended to impact offenders on a moral and financial level, rather than giving
them a harsher punishment. Fines are the most frequent sort of sentencing imposed to people guilty of
lower-level crimes. They include driving offences and crimes such as littering. The amount of the fine to
be paid is frequently decided in court, or there may be 'set penalties,' which are frequently linked with
speeding offences, for example.
,In this internal assessment the different punishment and behaviour modification strategies I will outline
and discuss are prisons, community sentencing, zero tolerance, anger management, restorative justice,
and token economy.
Punishment strategies used in response to criminal behaviour
Prisons
Imprisonment refers to the custody of an offender in a prison, which can be an adult prison, a young
offender institute, or a secure training centre, depending on the offender's age. The number of prisoners
has continuously increased in recent years. Only in 2018, the prison population was approximately
92,500 prisoners across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. When criminals are proven
guilty of their crimes and deemed too dangerous to be released into society, they are sentenced to
prison.
The purpose of sending an individual to prison while also incapacitating them is to keep the community
safe from the crime that they have been committed or have been suspected of committing.
Incapacitation is a type of punishment for breaching societal rules. It serves as a form of punishment
with the expectation that the experience would deter offenders from returning to prison in the future. It
is also a method of removing individuals who violate society's rules from the general population,
preventing them from committing further crimes. Prison involves the loss of an individual's freedom and
autonomy, which can be a powerful reminder of the consequences of criminal behaviour. The experience
of being incarcerated can be difficult and unpleasant, which reinforces the message that criminal
behaviour has profound consequences. Prison involves the separation of individuals from their families
and communities, which can be a significant punishment. This can reinforce the message that criminal
behaviour has consequences not only for the individual, but for their loved ones as well. Historically,
prisons have been very punitive, with a primary focus on punishment.
Additionally, another aim of prison is deterrence. Prison is intended to serve as a deterrence to potential
criminals. It is thought that the threat of imprisonment will deter people from committing crimes. It
operates on the premise that by not committing a crime, a person avoids going to prison. This
consequently, serves to lower the rate of offending since people do not commit crimes because they are
afraid of the repercussions. It is complicated to study the impact of this fear since potential criminals
cannot be identified. To determine if prison is being used as a deterrent in an effective way, it is more
observable to look at the number of prisoners at any given time, and how this number changes over
time. The prison population has gradually increased in recent years. It is presently at an extremely high
level. This would imply that the threat of incarceration fails to deter certain individuals. However, this
information does not reveal anything about the people who are going to prison. Examining recidivism
statistics might help us comprehend the impact of incarceration on those with a criminal record. This is
the percentage of criminals who go on to commit another crime. The overall recidivism rate is roughly
around 25%. Since 2004, this rate has remained extremely consistent.
, The psychological approach that links to prison is the behaviourist approach. The behaviourist approach
assumes that all behaviour is completely the result of nurture. It is learned as a result of our experiences
in our environment. The approach focuses on learning through direct experience. In the context of
prisons, the behaviourist approach has been utilised to develop a variety of programmes and
interventions targeted at changing offenders' behaviour. For example, the token economy system is
commonly utilised in prisons, where inmates are given tokens or other awards for positive behaviour.
This approach is based on the behaviourist concepts of operant conditioning, in which positive
reinforcement is used to improve desirable behaviour. It also highlights the significance of using rewards
and consequences to influence behaviour. Behaviourist concepts can be utilised to promote positive
behaviour and reduce the likelihood of reoffending by creating an organised and consistent
environment.
Psychological research carried out by David Harding, Jeffrey Morenoff, Anh Nguyen, Shawn Bushway, and
Ingrid Binswanger conducted a natural experiment of the impact of imprisonment on community
violence. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether and how imprisonment affected the
risk that a person will commit a subsequent violent offence in the community .In their study, the
researchers identified this effect among individuals on the edge between prison and probation
sentences, making it particularly useful for policy makers regarding the likely effects of moderate
changes in imprisonment use, particularly among individuals who are currently serving shorter prison
sentences. They stratified analyses based on whether the initial conviction was for a violent offence
because prior violence has been shown to be a strong indicator of future violence. Their natural
experiment was based on judge random assignment on a population cohort of felons sentenced in
Michigan between 2003 and 2006 and followed them up to June 2015. Their study looked at arrest and
conviction outcomes 1, 3, and 5 years after people were sentenced and released from prison. Beginning
with sentencing, researchers compared those sentenced to prison compared to people sentenced to
probation in all analyses. By examining after-release results, they can examine the effects of
imprisonment after an individual returns to society. Their findings discovered no statistically significant
effects of being sentenced to prison for violent crimes for individuals on the borderline of prison or
probation, regardless of whether the outcome was arrest or conviction or when the outcome was
examined.
A limitation of their findings is limited to a particular US state and cannot be generalised to other states
or countries with diverse criminal justice systems and social and economic factors. Michigan is
characterised by high unemployment, declining opportunities for employment in low-skill occupations,
and high rates of racial and economic residential segregation. The proportion of felons sentenced to
prison within the Michigan sample is lower than the average for state felonies in 2006 (18% vs. 41%),
implying that those on the sentencing margin in Michigan may have longer criminal records or
committed more serious crimes. Another disadvantage of the study is that it was confined to looking at
violence detected by the police and only felony convictions. Furthermore, they focused particularly on
community violence and overlooked prison violence, that only rarely leads to arrest or prosecution and
was consequently not reliably measured in their data. Additionally, this study has two potential biases
since analyses were conducted since release. One possibility is that prison behaviour influenced release
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