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Socio/Psychology EPQ section help!
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tomweath
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Hi, my EPQ dissertation project question is 'Is prison effective in improving society?' but I'm struggling on individual topics within this question to discuss.
So far I have:
• Effects of prison on mental health and integration into society
o Can prison increase likelihood of crime post-release?
o Short and long term
• Long term collateral damage of families
o Can mass incarceration in some communities exponentially increase
crime rates for future generations?
• Cost of prison and underfunded alternates
• Have alternatives to prison been proven to work?
Can anyone suggest any more ideas that I could use to expand on?
Thanks
So far I have:
• Effects of prison on mental health and integration into society
o Can prison increase likelihood of crime post-release?
o Short and long term
• Long term collateral damage of families
o Can mass incarceration in some communities exponentially increase
crime rates for future generations?
• Cost of prison and underfunded alternates
• Have alternatives to prison been proven to work?
Can anyone suggest any more ideas that I could use to expand on?
Thanks
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iammichealjackson
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#2
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#2
(Original post by tomweath)
Hi, my EPQ dissertation project question is 'Is prison effective in improving society?' but I'm struggling on individual topics within this question to discuss.
So far I have:
• Effects of prison on mental health and integration into society
o Can prison increase likelihood of crime post-release?
o Short and long term
• Long term collateral damage of families
o Can mass incarceration in some communities exponentially increase
crime rates for future generations?
• Cost of prison and underfunded alternates
• Have alternatives to prison been proven to work?
Can anyone suggest any more ideas that I could use to expand on?
Thanks
Hi, my EPQ dissertation project question is 'Is prison effective in improving society?' but I'm struggling on individual topics within this question to discuss.
So far I have:
• Effects of prison on mental health and integration into society
o Can prison increase likelihood of crime post-release?
o Short and long term
• Long term collateral damage of families
o Can mass incarceration in some communities exponentially increase
crime rates for future generations?
• Cost of prison and underfunded alternates
• Have alternatives to prison been proven to work?
Can anyone suggest any more ideas that I could use to expand on?
Thanks
I think you have enough ideas, but they are mostly too broad to be tackled in a single project or essay.
Its helpful to think about what the purpose of prison is to get your head around whether it "works".
The purpose of prisons is generally stated to be: punishment (or retribution), rehabilitation, protection of the public (incapacitation) and deterrence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison...nd_criminality
You could as you say focus on particular prisons (e.g. for youth or women), or particular forms of alternative punishment (e.g. suspended sentences, community work, fines).
However I wouldn't lump together "have alternative to prisons been proven to work" as this is too broad to write about in one essay, and also you have to clarify what you mean by "work". Also there are so many different kinds of offenders...
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Findlay6
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What stance are you taking - Do you agree or disagree that it improves society?
You need some background/introduction to this topic. Look at current reoffending rates or failed rehabilitation cases.
Cultural differences are always good - prison will have its own culture (Link this to Zimbardo and conformity to social roles, and within sociology the idea of 'Canteen Culture' )
Might be worth gathering your own first-hand research from charities that work with offenders and finding out how they feel, or what their results are.
I used to work for Sova which is a rehabilitation charity. They were the first charity that was funded by social impact bonds which aimed to reduce offending rates (https://data.gov.uk/sib_knowledge_bo...borough-prison). They succeeded in their mission and reduced reoffending by 9% (https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/...d-in-full.html).
There are loads of charities that work with offenders though - St Giles Trust, Ormiston Families, MIND, TTG Training, YMCA, John Laing Training.
You could also look as institutionalisation as a reason why people re-offend.
You might want want to explore functionalist views in that crime is necessary for society to develop laws and security.
It just seems like such a broad question. Focus on a specific country and a specific area of crime, perhaps even a specific prison category. What area of society are you focusing on? How are you measuring improvement?
You need some background/introduction to this topic. Look at current reoffending rates or failed rehabilitation cases.
Cultural differences are always good - prison will have its own culture (Link this to Zimbardo and conformity to social roles, and within sociology the idea of 'Canteen Culture' )
Might be worth gathering your own first-hand research from charities that work with offenders and finding out how they feel, or what their results are.
I used to work for Sova which is a rehabilitation charity. They were the first charity that was funded by social impact bonds which aimed to reduce offending rates (https://data.gov.uk/sib_knowledge_bo...borough-prison). They succeeded in their mission and reduced reoffending by 9% (https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/...d-in-full.html).
There are loads of charities that work with offenders though - St Giles Trust, Ormiston Families, MIND, TTG Training, YMCA, John Laing Training.
You could also look as institutionalisation as a reason why people re-offend.
You might want want to explore functionalist views in that crime is necessary for society to develop laws and security.
It just seems like such a broad question. Focus on a specific country and a specific area of crime, perhaps even a specific prison category. What area of society are you focusing on? How are you measuring improvement?
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