About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the punitive aspects of dealing with offenders, focusing in particular on: (i) the definition of custodial sentencing as custody serving as punishment for a crime; (ii) the four custodial aims, which are deterrent, incapacitation, retribution, and rehabilitation; (iii) the psychological effects of custodial sentencing on those incarcerated, including stress, depression, institutionalisation, prisonisation and prisonerisation; (iv) the role of institutionalisation in making the prison system seem like a more positive environment, when compared to the potentially harsher and less predictable realities of the outside world; (v) the role that governments can play in enhancing the perceived effectiveness of imprisonment, in order that they appear to be ‘tough on crime’.

About the lecturer

Professor Ciarán O’Keeffe is associate professor of education and research and head of the School of Human and Social Sciences at Buckinghamshire New University. Professor O’Keeffe’s research interests include investigative psychology and parapsychology, and has made numerous television and radio appearances alongside an array of celebrities. Some of Professor O’Keeffe’s recent publications include 'Things That Go Bump In The Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of 'Haunted Houses'' (2020) and 'Restorative Justice and Recidivism: Investigating the impact of victim-preference for level of engagement' (2014).