Alternatives to Imprisonment

Employment Suicide Prison Probation
Restorative
Justice
Looking Death
Worthy
CBT
Anger
Management
Ear
Acupuncture
Gillis &
Nafekh
Palmer and
Connelly
Zimbardo Mair & May
Sherman &
Strang
Eberhardt Cann Ireland Wheatley

• In 1896 the temperance society of the Church of England started the probation service by giving alcoholics a gift of 5 shillings to help them reform.
• At that time alcohol was seen as the ‘root of all evil’.
• The recipients of the gift had to sign the pledge (to give up alcohol) and follow the teachings of the Bible to keep them away from temptation and crime.
• The modern probation service supervises over 200,000 offenders on four main types of community sentences:-
• Community rehabilitation orders
• Community punishment orders
• Combined orders (rehabilitation & punishment)
• Drug treatment and testing orders

• Approximately 90% are male and 25% aged between 16-20.
• 70% of clients are on community sentences, the remaining
30% are on license after being released early from prison sentences.
• The purpose of the order is to continuously manage the risk of the offender to the community and at the same time to provide programmes designed to reduce re-offending.
• Any breach of probation is taken very seriously and can lead to a custodial sentence.

Probation Order
You MUST
Stay out of trouble
Immediately report any change of address or phone number
Be on time for appointments
Let staff visit your home
You MUST NOT
Miss an appointment or be late
Turn up under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Upset or threaten people
Make racist, sexist or other offensive remarks
Keep to court requirements
Keep to your license if you have been released from prison
Take part in any activities your probation officer asks you to

Probation
Evaluation of Mair & May (1997): Investigation of the experiences of offenders on probation orders
• Method:
• Advantages:
• Disadvantages:

Probation
Evaluation of Mair & May (1997): Investigation of the experiences of offenders on probation orders
• Sample & generalisability:

Probation
Evaluation of Mair & May (1997): Investigation of the experiences of offenders on probation orders
• Usefulness:

Restorative Justice
• Historically, the offender is seen as having committed a crime against the state.
• However, crimes have victims and victims often feel that their experiences and expectations are not just taken into account by the justice system.
• Restorative Justice aims to readdress this balance, crime is seen as being against a person or organisation and victims are allowed to be part of what happens.
• Restorative Justice has to be voluntary for all parties and seeks a positive outcome. It is respectful and not degrading for either offender or victim.
• Under the control of an impartial facilitator, the offender is encouraged to accept responsibility and be re-integrated into the community.

Restorative Justice
• Restorative Justice aims to provide victims with: -
• An opportunity to explain the impact of the crime (impact statements)
• An acknowledgement of the harm caused
• A chance to ask questions
• Some control and choice
• Peace of mind about the future
• Restorative Justice is tough for both victims and offenders. For offenders they have to face up to the consequences of their actions, but for victims they may be forced to relive frightening and upsetting experiences.

Restorative Justice
Sherman & Strang: Review of restorative justice and its effectiveness in preventing re-offending
• Effectiveness of RJ (advantages)

Restorative Justice
Sherman & Strang: Review of restorative justice and its effectiveness in preventing re-offending
• Effectiveness of RJ (disadvantages)

• PROS
CONS

Looking Deathworthy
• Stereotypes are associated with positive or negative characteristics, and the stereotypical black face is seen as less attractive by white people and therefore attributed with more unattractive characteristics.
• Researchers have found that controlling for all other factors, murderers of white victims are more likely to get the death sentence than murderers of black victims to lead to a death sentence.

Which of these people do you think a jury in the southern states of the USA would be more likely to attach a verdict of 'guilty of murder' to?

An inbuilt prejudice?
* Research shows that murdering a white victim will result in a harsher sentence than if the victim were black.
* Criminality is associated with stereotypically black facial features.
* 50% of murder victims are white – 80% of death penalty sentences occur in white-victim cases i.e. an over-representation.
• Why does this happen?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G0v5ZLc
8-Y

Looking Deathworthy
Eberhardt et al: Investigation of the relation between stereotypically black features in offenders and the likelihood of receiving the death sentence.
• Rating scales:
• Sample & Generalisability:
• Implications:

Looking Deathworthy
Eberhardt et al: Investigation of the relation between stereotypically black features in offenders and the likelihood of receiving the death sentence.
• Advantages of death penalty:
• Disadvantages of death penalty: