Punishment

1
Punishment

• Nipissing University
• Lecture 3
• 23 January 2007

2
Sanctions

• Deterrence Specific and General
• Punish to stop criminal behavior
• Fair and Just
• Punishment should be fair and just

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
3
Increased Sanctions

• Sentencing guidelines
• Minimum mandatory sentences
• Longer prison sentences
• 3 strikes and youre out law
• Truth-in-sentencing law

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
4
Origins of Getting Tough

• Social-political conditions of the 1970s
• Vietnam, Watergate, Attica
• Utilitarian Models of Crime
• Increase the costs
• Just Deserts
• Punishment as a deserved social value
• Misperceptions of Public Interest
• Public opinion surveys

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
5
Punishment in America

• Correctional populations
• 1/4 of worlds prison pop
• 6 million
• 3 of US adults
• In 1999
• 3,527 awaiting death penalty
• Texas 3/month
• 2 lt age 17

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
6
Death Penalty StatsUSA
Retrieved 06Jan2005 from http//www.deathpenaltyin
fo.org/
7
Retrieved 06Jan05 from http//www.deathpenaltyinfo
.org/DPICyer04.pdf
8
Public Support - USA
Retrieved 06Jan05 from http//www.deathpenaltyinfo
.org/DPICyer04.pdf
9
NEW South Continues Isolation in Executions
                                                  
                                                  
                 
http//www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid1
2did167
10
Retreived 12Jan04from http//www.death penaltyinf
o.org/ article.php?scid 12did167
11
Does Increasing Time Incarcerated Reduce
Recidivism?

• Meta Analysis
• Smith, Goggin, Gendreau, 1999
• Community vs. Prison
• Longer vs. Shorter time in prison

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
12
Prison, Probation, or Intermediate Sanctions?

• Prison / probation as options
• Intermediate Sanctions
• ISPs
• Shock Incarceration
• EM

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
13
Intensive Supervision Programs (ISP)

• Alternative
• 1982 Georgia
• 25 offenders
• 2 officers
• Very popular concept

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
14
Shock Incarceration (SAI)

• Rationale
• shock the criminal lifestyle out of them
• Method
• Expose to the harshness of prison life
• Up close and personal
• Boot Camps
• Scared Straight program

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
15
Electronic Monitoring (EM)

• Keep track of Offenders
• Electronic Bracelet
• Widespread application of technology
• Used for
• Parole condition
• On bail
• Probation condition
• Front end sentencing EM vs. Back end EM

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
16
Do Intermediate Sanctions Work?

• ISPs (Petersilia Turner, 1993)
• ISP with Tx 10 to 20 lt Rearrest than ISP without
  Tx

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
17
Do Intermediate Sanctions Work?

• Boot Camps
• McKenzie et al. (evaluated 8 State camps)
• Tx required to reduce re-offending
• Jones Ross (1997)
• Higher arrest rates with boot camp grads

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
18
Do Intermediate Sanctions Work?

• EM
• On own, no reduction in recidivism
• Tx component required

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
19
Fairness in the CJ System?

• NO!
• Bias exists
• 3 strikes offenderssome in for minor crimes
• War on drugs
• War on women
• War on minorities
• Racial bias
• Sentencing
• Death Row
• Executions

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
20
Why is Punishment so Popular?

• Punishment works?
• tough on crime attitude
• Rehab seen as soft ineffective
• Program Inertia

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
21
Why Sanction Doesnt Work

• Experimental psychology
• Literature on punishment

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
22
Conditions for Effective Punishment

• Maximum Intensity
• Immediacy
• Consistency
• No Escape or Reinforced Alternative
• Density
• Person Variables

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
23
1. Intensity

• Most Intense
• No escalation
• Escalation
• Inhibition is only temporary
• tolerates punishment
• Offends sense of decency / justice / fairness
• maximum punishment not really an option

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
24
2. Immediacy

• Sooner the better
• Delay
• Allows for reinforcers
• Last behaviour in chain punished most
• 2nd last punished less
• 3rd last punished even less
• Nth punished less to the nth degree

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
25
3. Consistency

• Discriminative stimuli
• Signal outcome
• Avoidance learning

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
26
4. No Escape or Reinforced Alternatives

• Escape attempts are natural when punishment is
  present
• If successful
• Escape behaviour reinforced
• Original behaviour no longer punished
• Behavioural repetoire

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
27
5. Density

• Behaviours
• Costs
• Benefits
• To suppress behaviour
• Density Punishment gt Density of Reinforcement
• High risk offenders
• Hi density of reinforcement for criminal
  behaviour
• Behaviours highly resistant to punishment

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
28
6. Person Variables

• Inter-individual differences
• Intra-individual differences
• Interaction with person variables

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
29
Checklist for Effective Punishment

• Vary punishers (few universal punishers)
• Immediate
• Appropriate intensity
• Inhibits does not teach new behavior
• Type of person
• non-impulsive, future-oriented
• average to above-average IQ
• minimal punishment history
• cautious, avoids/minimizes excitement

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
30
Other consequences of Punishment

• Interfere with desirable behaviour
• Learned helplessness
• Attributions
• Fate
• Fair
• Unfair

Andrews, D. Bonta, J. (2003). The Psychology of
Criminal Conduct. Cincinnati Anderson
31
Punishment Summary

• Problems with punishment
• CJ system
• alternatives

32
Recommended Reading

• Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
  Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs can
  have harmful effects! Lessons from experiments of
  programs such as scared straight. Crime
  Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.

33
History of Scared Straight

• TV documentary
• Rahway State Prison, 1970s
• Juvenile Awareness Program
• Claimed 80 of 8,000 law abiding
• More than 30 states, foreign countries

Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs
can have harmful effects! Lessons from
experiments of programs such as scared straight.
Crime Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.
34
Why so Popular????

• Get tough deterrent approach
• Simplicity
• Low cost
• Constructive use of prisoners
• Media attention
• Fit between program ideological climate

Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs
can have harmful effects! Lessons from
experiments of programs such as scared straight.
Crime Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.
35
The Search for Simple Cures

• Original Panacea Thesis
• Revised Panacea Thesis
• Fits Scared Straight programs
• Little empirical support
• Program Survives!

Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs
can have harmful effects! Lessons from
experiments of programs such as scared straight.
Crime Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.
36
Evaluation of Scared Straight

• Randomized experiments
• Juveniles
• In prison or reformatory
• Measure of crime

Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs
can have harmful effects! Lessons from
experiments of programs such as scared straight.
Crime Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.
37
Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs
can have harmful effects! Lessons from
experiments of programs such as scared straight.
Crime Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.
38
Why Harmful Effects?

• Alienation
• Sense of community
• Fit in
• Security and belonging
• Delinquent Fulfilling Prophecy?
• Challenge to Prove Toughness

Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs
can have harmful effects! Lessons from
experiments of programs such as scared straight.
Crime Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.
39
Still Going Strong

• Political Climate.GET TOUGH
• Inertia among policy makers
• Media Factors
• Gap between researchers Policy makers

Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C.,
Finckenauer, J. (2000). Well-meaning programs
can have harmful effects! Lessons from
experiments of programs such as scared straight.
Crime Delinquency, Vol. 46(3). p. 354-379.
40
Restorative Justice

• Influences
• Judeo-Christian view on justice
• Aboriginal view on justice

Griffiths, C. T. Cunningham, A.H. (2003).
Canadian criminal justice A primer (2nd ed).
Canada Thomson Nelson.
41
Comparison of Retributive Restorative Justice
Principles

• Retributive Justice
• violates state laws
• Aim establish guilt
• pain
• adversarial conflict
• Wins / loses

• Restorative Justice
• violates people relationships
• Aim identify needs
• Make right
• healing of individuals relationships

Griffiths, C. T. Cunningham, A.H. (2003).
Canadian criminal justice A primer (2nd ed).
Canada Thomson Nelson.
42
Circle Sentencing

• Reconciliation / Restitution / Reparation
• Sit in circle
• Consensus sought
• protect, rehabilitate, punish
• Sentencing
• Incarceration
• Banishment
• Community service
• House Arrest

Griffiths, C. T. Cunningham, A.H. (2003).
Canadian criminal justice A primer (2nd ed).
Canada Thomson Nelson.
43
Review of Restorative Justice Programs

• Average ? .03 (k 44)
• 3 lower recidivism in general
• 2 increase for VORP (Victim-Offender
  Reconciliation Programs)
• 8 reduction for restitution
• 3 reduction for community service
• 5 increase for FGC
• (Family Group Conference)

44
Test Next Week

• Lectures 1, 2, 3
• Chapters 7 8
• Multiple Choice
• Short Answer / Matching
• Essay
• Worth 20