EVALUATION POINTS FOR AFTER A GUILTY VERDICT

As requested, here is a list of issues and evaluation points you can use for after a guilty verdict. It isn't comprehensive, so feel free to comment and add your own or just use a couple of these. It's completely up to you; use the most relevant evaluation points you can think of.

• Ethics: obviously,  the death penalty and imprisonment are unethical. But, restorative justice is also pretty traumatic. 
• Freewill and determinism: consequences of committing a crime tend to follow the ideology that criminals choose to commit crimes, despite upbringing, cognition, and biology all being deterministic explanations of crime. Thus, you can evaluate the appropriateness of punishing someone for what they didn't choose to do - if it's relevant. 
• Situational versus dispositional: this is one most relevant to imprisonment and treatments. Both seem to adopt the ideology that criminals themselves are to blame for their behaviour, whilst research has suggested situation and environment can play a role in determining criminality. Here you can refer to reductionism. Thus, are treatments likely to be effective if they're ignoring one aspect of why people commit crime?
• Methodology of research: a lot of research is content analysis, which is inexpensive and replicable, but is of course limited by the validity and methodology of the individual studies. You can, as with all research, evaluate population validity, ecological validity (most research is done in the field, which is great), usefulness, etc.
• Effectiveness of treatments: look at reduction in aggressive/anti-social behaviour, time/cost effectiveness, as well as recidivism.
• You can also look at how well research has been applied. Haney and Zimbardo suggested that individual differences should be taken into account, prisons should be used sparingly, and that psychological knowledge should be applied to prison policy. But the actual implementation of this seems slow, and prison is still more widely spread than most of the alternatives. There is still racial bias in US prisons, too. However, research raises the issues surrounding punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, and thus you could say any discussion is beneficial. 

Part a) for cognitive skills programmes

              (a)    Outline how cognitive skills programmes can be used as a treatment for offenders

After a guilty verdict, offender may be given numerous sentences which may punish them for their actions, or attempt to rehabilitate them – or both. One way in which an offender may be rehabilitated is through the use of treatment programmes, such as cognitive skills programmes.

Cognitive skills programmes refer to the cognitive approach’s explanation of turning to crime that criminals have distorted cognitions that cause their offending, such as denial of responsibility, optimistic fantasies of anti-social behaviour, poor moral development, and having tendencies to incorrectly attribute actions to hostile intent (Yochelson and Samenow, Palmer and Hollin).

Two examples of cognitive skills programmes offered to offenders are reasoning and rehabilitation therapy, and enhanced thinking skills. Reasoning and rehabilitation therapy targets moral development, and attempts to encourage the offender to take a social perspective on their behaviour, in the hope that this will discourage them to offend if they understand the effects their actions have on others and how to think more morally. Enhanced thinking skills programmes target aspects of cognition such as self-control, and aim to boost pro-social behaviour by teaching interpersonal communication skills.

One study which looked at how cognitive skills programmes can be used as a treatment for offenders is through Friendship et al, which compared the recidivism rates of those on cognitive skills programmes such as ETS, to those who had not been part of such programme. 670 male offenders who had taken ETS or reasoning and rehabilitation therapy were thus compared to 1801 offenders who hadn’t, and the results showed that reconviction rates were 14% lower in the therapy group. This equated to 21000 crimes prevented, based on the researchers’ estimates.

Thus, cognitive skills programmes can be used to treat offenders by improving the different aspects of cognition thought to be responsible for offending, such as interpersonal skills, moral development and self-control.   

All the studies and theories for G543 (the ones I'm using)

Some people have been asking how many studies I've learnt, so I've put them all down here. It's also a bit of a reference point to see whether you're familiar with them or if you need to revise some sections more than others.

Forensic Psychology

Turning to crime

Upbringing - disrupted families [Juby and Farrington], differential association theory (learning from others) [Akers], poverty and disadvantaged neighbourhoods [Wikstrom and Tafel]

Cognition – criminal thinking patterns, [Yochelson and Samenow] moral development, social cognition (attribution) [both use Palmer and Hollin]

Biology – brain dysfunction [Raine], genes and serotonin [Brunner], gender [Daly and Wilson]

Making a case

Interviewing witnesses – recognising faces [Bruce], influencing factors (weapon focus)[Loftus] , cognitive interview [Fisher]

Interviewing suspects – detecting lies [Mann], interrogation techniques [Inbau], false confessions [Gudjonsson]

Creating a profile – top down [Mokros and Alison], bottom up [Copson], case study of John Duffy [Canter]

After a Guilty Verdict

Imprisonment – Planned behaviours [Gillis and Nafekh], depression/suicide risk [Dooley], prison situation and roles [Haney and Zimbardo]

Alternatives to imprisonment – probation [Mair and May], restorative justice [Sherman and Strang], looking death worthy [Eberhardt]

Treatment programmes – cognitive skills [Friendship], anger management [Ireland] and ear acupuncture [Wheatley]

Health and Clinical Psychology

Stress

Causes of stress – work [Johansson], hassles [Kanner], lack of control [Geer and Maisel]

Measures of stress – self report [Kanner], physiological [Geer and Maisel], combined approach [Johansson]

Managing stress – stress inoculation therapy [Meichenbaum], biofeedback [Budzynski], social support [Waxler-Morrison]

Dysfunctional behaviour/Disorders

Diagnosing dysfunctional behaviour – definitions [Rosenhan and Seligman], DSM, gender bias [Ford and Widiger]

Explanations of dysfunctional behaviour/disorders – faulty thinking (cognitive) [Beck], learned/positive reinforcements (behavioural) [Lewinson], serotonin and genes (biological) [Wender]

Treatments of dysfunctional behaviour/disorders – rational emotive therapy (cognitive) [Beck], CBT/behavioural activation (behavioural) [Lewinson], drug therapy (biological) [Karp and Frank]

Note that the two Beck studies and two Lewinson studies are different studies. The explanations one refers to studies where Beck interviewed patients with depression to see what cognitive distortions they shared, and Lewinson looked at positive reinforcements in the lives of depressed participants. In the treatments studies, Beck compares drug therapy and cognitive therapies, whilst Lewinson sees whether a "coping with depression" course coupled with parents being taught how to reinforce good behaviour is studied. 

Treating criminals: EAR ACUPUNCTURE

Cognitive skills and anger management programmes are fairly standard cognitive treatment programmes, but there are some more obscure offender treatment programmes out there. 

One of these more unusual treatment programmes is ear acupuncture as a treatment programme for drug addiction. 

Drug (and alcohol) addiction has strong links to offending, as both lower inhibitions and inhibit cognitive functioning. Additionally, a majority of recently imprisoned males were involved in hard such as cocaine in the year previous to their conviction. So, it makes sense to target addiction to drugs when devising treatment programmes for offenders. 

Study: Wheatley et al (2007) conducted an experiment comparing 350 prisoners in 6 high security prisons who'd received ear acupuncture alongside the standard care programme FOCUS, to a control group who'd received soley the FOCUS programme. 

The ear acupuncture was administered by two trained practitioners in small group sessions, where 5 acupressure points in the ear were targeted. After the acupuncture, offenders were given a 40 minute relaxation session. The results were positive: 70% reduction in drug-related incidents 6 months after treatment and 42% reduction in positive mandatory drug tests for those who'd been given the acupuncture. This group also reported reduced nicotine cravings, improved sleep, and better cognitive functioning as well as improved health in general. 

Treating criminals: ANGER MANAGEMENT

Anger is a strong emotion which many offenders struggle to control, and aggression is strongly associated with anti-social behaviour such as offending. 

Anger management programmes are therefore employed to help offenders combat their anger problems, and help them to better manage it. 

The main anger management course in prisons is Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it (CALM). It consists of 24 two-hour sessions, which aim to reduce the frequency, intensity and duration of anger. It is specifically targeted to benefit males. 

There are 6 stages of CALM, which generally focus on thinking patterns that lead to criminal behaviour, learning how to solve problems without getting angry, improving communication skills and developing strategies to prevent relapses of anger. 

Study: Ireland (2000) conducted a natural experiment comparing 50 prisoners who had completed CALM and a control group of 37 who hadn't. The study used a cognitive behavioural interview alongside questionnaires, which looked at the effectiveness of anger management. Prison officers also monitored angry behaviour on a Wing behavioural checklist of 29 “angry behaviours”. Both measures were compared. Offenders who’d been part of a CALM programme rated themselves as less angry, and officers also tended to rate these offenders as less angry. 92% showed improvement on at least one "angry behaviour" measure, which suggested that anger management is effective at least in short term. However, 8% deteriorated. 

Treating criminals: COGNITIVE SKILLS PROGRAMMES

Offending is often attributed to dysfunctional behaviour, such as inability to control anger, poor cognitive functioning, or substance abuse. 

Treatment programmes offer offenders the opportunity to remedy these behaviours, in the hope that they will cease offending. 

Cognitive skills programmes are a form of specialised CBT. As with all forms of CBT, it aims to improve cognitive functioning. Cognitive skills programmes work on the basis that if you change the cognitive patterns of criminals, then they will change their behaviour. Two forms of CBT used specifically with offenders are:

1. Reasoning and Rehabilitation therapy targets moral development, encourages creative thinking, and teaches offenders to take a social perspective on life.

2. Enhanced Thinking Skills aims to boost pro-social behaviour by working on interpersonal skills and self-control.

Study: Friendship et al conducted a field experiment into the effectiveness of CBT in reducing recidivism. 670 male offenders took part in Reasoning and Rehabilitation therapy or ETS, and their re conviction rates were compared to 1801 offenders who'd not been part of a cognitive skills programme. Re-conviction rates were 14% lower in the therapy group, and the researchers projected that as a result of CBT, 21000 crimes were prevented. 

Racism and Capital Punishment: Looking "death-worthy"

Capital punishment is a highly contentious issue which divides nations; some think it's highly immoral and that offenders should be made to face what they've done in prison or be rehabilitated, whilst others think that death is the only punishment for death, and that some simply do not deserve to live.

In the United States, it's legal in some states to issue the death penalty. A decent amount of states which issue death penalties are in the Southern states, which have typically or historically been more racist and prejudiced, particularly against black people.

Eberhardt suggested that the more "stereotypically black" your features, the more likely it is you'll receive the death penalty in death eligible cases. Though this theory is fairly extreme and isn't something most of us consider or might think, there's a heavy racial bias in prison populations, and it's true that the criminal justice system in the US is heavily dominated by white people and that in some areas of the US as well as in many other cultures, racial discrimination is still around. 

Eberhardt conducted an analysis of a database of "death-eligible" cases in Philadelphia between 1979 and 1999. In 44 of these cases, a black man had killed a white victim. Photographs of these men were shown to naive raters, who were asked to rate the men on the extent to which they had stereotypically "black" features. The men with the most stereotypically black features were given the death penalty 57.4% of the time, which was considerably more than those with the less stereotypically black features, who received the death penalty 24.4% of the time. There was no difference when the victim was black, suggesting whilst stereotypically black men were considered more death-worthy, black victims were perceived as less important. 

Restorative Justice

Historically crime was “against the state”, however victims and their families often feel their needs and wishes are ignored.

Restorative justice aims to redress this balance as victims are allowed to have a say on what happens to the offender. It provides victim with control and choice, a chance to ask questions and explain the impact of their crime to discourage re-offending.

However, it can be a very distressing process for both the victim and the offender, and as details of the crime are brought up, it may be more traumatizing than beneficial for the victim.  

Study: Sherman and Strang (2007) conducted a content analysis of 36 papers which compared re-offending rates of those who'd undergone restorative  justice to those who had not. 

Restorative justice was found to be more effective with a personal victim rather than a business, and especially effective with violent crimes and property crime such as burglary. It was not found to be effective in all cases, and appeared to be more effective in providing peace of mind or reducing post-traumatic stress for the victim than preventing re-offending. 

It was concluded that there was some support for the increased use of restorative justice, particularly with young or first time offenders.

Probation

Probation refers to the release of an offender subject to good behaviour and adherence to a community sentence. 

There are four types of community sentence:
1. Rehabilitation orders (e.g. therapy)
2. Punishment orders (e.g. public service)
3. Combined orders (i.e.e both punishment and rehabilitation)
4. Drug testing and treatment orders

90% of those on probation are male, and the majority are either young, first-time offenders, or mature offenders of minor crimes. 

Behaviour is closely monitored whilst on probation, and non-adherence is taken very seriously, especially with regard to staying out of trouble with the law, and going to every appointment with a probation officer. 

Study: Mair and May (1997) looked at 3299 offenders chosen at random from 22 probation offices, though there was a 40% drop out rate with a disproportionate number from London. The study used an interview to investigate the effectiveness of probation, which consisted of mainly closed questions such as Likert scales and multiple choice. 88% found probation to be useful, however only 37% said it would stop them re-offending. Over one third went on to re-offend. Thus, probation may be most effective when combined with therapies or employment schemes. 

IMPRISONMENT: The role of prisons

What are prisons supposed to achieve? It's a contentious issue, because people are divided between thinking that prisons should rehabilitate criminals, and thinking that prisons should act as a deterrent to other potential offenders. Both ways attempt to reduce recidivism; how to go about this is the real issue.

A lot of people complain that prisons are "too soft" to actually help deter offenders, but the prison with the lowest recidivism rates is Grendon Underwood. It's run democratically by prisoners, with offenders having much more freedom and control, and it encourages open discussion and extensive therapy. (Here's an enlightening article on the prison if you want more information)

This begs the question: are harsh prisons actually effective?

Study: Haney and Zimbardo (1998) published a paper which looked at changes to prison policy in the US between 1973 and 1998, and suggested changes to help make prisons more effective based on their findings.

The report mentioned aspects such as Reagan's "war on drugs" which put pressure on the creation of more harsh prisons, and the high degree of racial bias; half of prison populations were African-American men, when they only made up 6% of the population in the US. The Supermax prison was also included, which was a bare cell with a small window, concrete bed, immovable chair, bathroom, and a black and white TV showing only religious and educative classes. 

The paper concluded with a number of suggestions to improve prisons and reduce recidivism rates:

1. Prisons should be used sparingly; alternatives should be sought
2. Prison environments should take into account individual differences so they are tailored to the offender and thus be more effective
3. Rehabilitation should help the offenders to cope with the outside world
4. Psychological knowledge should be used to help create more suitable and efficient prisons
5. Changes should be made, suggested and/or implemented by impartial "outsiders" (i.e. not people involved in the justice system)

IMPRISONMENT: Depression and suicide

Prison is not an environment which promotes positive mental states. The lack of freedom and repetitiveness takes its toll on inmates, and it's not uncommon for prisoners to experience delusions or hallucinations as a result.

More common effects in terms of mental health however are increased risk of anxiety and depression. Of course, a decent proportion of offenders had pre-existing psychological disorders before their incarceration, but it's likely that the conditions within prison have both increased depression and triggered it in a significant number of cases. 

Dooley found that suicide rates are 4x higher in prisons than the general population, which is an alarming statistic. Those awaiting trial and those in their first year are the most likely to commit suicide.

A study by the same researcher looked into unnatural deaths in English and Welsh prisons across a 15 year period. A checklist was used to analyse data, and deaths were split into two categories of suicides and non-suicides. 

Out of 442 unnatural deaths occurring in the prisons, 300 were suicides, 52 were the result of self-inflicted injuries and the rest had a variety of explanations, but mainly were attributed to "misadventure".

Dooley also found that most deaths occurred at night, and appeared to be the result of both pre-existing disorders and situationally-induced. 

IMPRISONMENT: Theory of Planned Behaviour

Some of the main factors that influence recidivism rates are outlined by the theory of planned behaviour.

It was developed from the theory of planned action, which essentially describes how if intentions are positive towards an action, and attitudes are positive towards an action, then someone is likely to act in that way. The theory of planned behaviour developed this, by suggesting that perceived behavioural control is an important factor too; this refers to whether the individual believes they can actually do the action, which is essentially the same as self-efficacy. 

This theory can be applied to offenders and recidivism rates because if an offender has positive attitudes and intentions towards rehabilitation/getting a job/staying out of trouble, and they believe that they can do so, it's more likely that they'll be successful. This theory emphasises the role of self-belief and attitudes, and thus is a cognitive theory.

The main application of this theory is looking at ways to improve attitudes, intentions and beliefs relating to the outside world. One of the ways thought to help people get used to the outside world and feel more positive towards rehabilitation is getting a job inside prison, as it allows them to gain work experience and be more employable. 

Study: Gillis and Nafekh conducted a content analysis using retrospective data of over 23000 released offenders. The independent variable was whether the offender was employed prior to his or her release, and the dependant variable was the recidivism rates. 

Results were positive, and showed that those on employment schemes were more likely to remain on conditional release and less likely to commit a new offence. 15% less of the "employed"condition went back to prison, and the average time of returning to prison was greater. 

Thus, employment may be one way to help reduce recidivism rates as it encourages positive attitudes, beliefs and intentions for release.