AC2 Flashcards
(14 cards)
2.1 Explain Forms of Social Control
- INTERNAL FORMS
- social control is strategies which are used in an attempt to prevent deviant human behaviour
- internal forms are personal or psychological mechanisms which encourage an individual to conform
- MORAL CONSCIENCE OR SUPEREGO
- suggested by freud who states that were are more likely to conform to societies expectations because our superego tells us to do so
- this is because it knows the difference between right and wrong
- it develops through early socialisation
- it restrains the animal urges of the ID
- exercises social control and helps us to behave in a socially acceptable way - TRADITION OR CULTURE
- when we accept the values, norms and traditions of our own culture
- we form an internal set of moral principles
- having a sense of belonging to community is important in social control
- examples are ten commandments in christianity and zakat in islam - INTERNALISATION OF SOCIAL RULES AND MORALITY
- happens through socialisaion which is when we internalise a set of rules presented to us by our parents or wider social groups such as school or religion
- we form our own moral code - RATIONAL IDEOLOGY
- set of beliefs that guide and influence our decisions
- people will behave in a rational way and keep within the law
- examples are upbringing and religion
2.1 Explain Forms of Social Control
- EXTERNAL FORMS
- external forces or pressures which are applied by agencies of social control
- AGENCIES :
- police, judges, prison, probation and even school, work and family - SANCTIONS : can be formal or informal - cautions, fines, penalties, sentences, notices, solitary confinement etc
- relating theories include skinners operant conditioning theory with the idea of reinforcement of behaviours which can lead to behaviour being repeated or stopped and idea of punishment
- as well as banduras social learning theory which suggests we are less likely to imitate a behaviour if we observe it being punished
- CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM :
- again, just legal sanctions etc and the police / cps and the powers they have - COERCION :
- force someone to conform
- physical - violence by authorities or other people in power
- non physical - using sentences or fear of imprisonment - FEAR OF PUNISHMENT :
- can be done through deterrence
- general D - preventing others from committing crimes as they see the consequences that others are facing such as mild sentences or the 3 strike system used in the USA
- individual D - directly punishing the offender for their actions to deter them - suspended prison sentence or conditional discharges
- right realists argue that crime would be much worse if these did not exist
2.1 Explain Forms of Social Control
- THEORY - TRAVIS HIRSCHI
- social control theory - he explained why people DONT commit crimes
- focuses on people needing the nurturing of bonds for attachment and developing a conscience
- ATTACHMENT - the better and more attachments we have with our family and friends means the more we care about their opinions so we will respect their norms more, less likely to break them by committing crime
- COMMITMENT - how commited an individual is to convention goals , they don’t want to risk these , less likely to commit crimes , more likely to conform
- INVOLVEMENT - individuals involvement in conventional activities , they have less energy for crime such as engaging in sports, hobbies or youth clubs
- BELIEFS - how we have been socialised to abide by the law and not break it
2.1 Explain Forms of Social Control
- THEORY - WALTER RECKLESS
- control theory - ‘ containment theory ‘
- INNER CONTAINMENT - upbringing and parents etc
- OUTER CONTAINMENT - external influence of social groups
- if we combine these internal psychological containments with external social containments then people are less likely to deviate from norms and wont commit crimes
2.2 Discuss the Aims of Punishment
1. RETRIBUTION
AIMS :
- when offender deserves to be punished and society is morally entitiled to take it’s revenge
- the O deserves to suffer because they breached moral code
- gives the victim some form of justice and compensation
- proportionality - punishment should be equal to the severity of the crime and sentencing council helps with this, example is the death penalty for murderers
- helps society express their moral outrage and their anger to offender, punishment is morally good
THEORIES :
- RIGHT REALISM - rational choice theory - O is responsible for their actions and know that they willingly committed the crimes so should suffer outrage of society
- FUNCTIONALISM - Durkheim argues that expressing moral outrage leads to boundary maintenance and so as a result reinforces social norms for others
CRITICISMS :
- backward looking approach meaning that it doesn’t help the O to change and just punishes them
- sometimes difficult to see what sentence is proportional to specific crimes
2.2 Discuss the Aims of Punishment
2. REHABILITATION
AIMS :
- uses punishment as a way to help reform and change the offender
- policies include education and training programmes which help to avoid unemployment and the prisoner can earn money
- the others include ART, drug therapy and testing orders
- this allows O to retingerate when they go back into society and be law abiding citizens as they transfer these skills they have learnt and seek employment
- left realists also favour this because it tackles unemployment and poverty which are the main reasons for crime in the first place
- forward looking approach
THEORIES :
- COGNITIVE - favours CBT as it can help correct thinking errors
- SKINNER - operant conditioning and the use of token economies
CRITICISMS :
- not all individuals are willing to change and it relies on their cooperation which can be difficult
- right realists argue it is still limited as recidivism rates are still high
2.2 Discuss the Aims of Punishment
3. DETERRENCE
AIMS :
- tries to stop the offenders committing crimes in the first place
- individual D - directly punishing the offender for their crimes through sentences etc and making them realise its not worth it - short , sharp, shock approach in thatchers gov
- general D - prevent others from committing crimes as they see the consequences of others being punished , can hear about it through the media , historically used to be executions etc
THEORIES :
- RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY - makes O weigh up their options and whether they should even commit the crime
- SLT - idea that we are less likely to imitate behaviours from role models who are being punished
CRITICISMS :
- D focuses on idea that O are rational but many of them don’t actually think about punishment before offending
- sometimes difficult would - be offenders may also be ignorant of penalties etc
2.2 Discuss the Aims of Punishment
4. REPARATION
AIMS :
- offender makes amends for their social or material damages
- courts have the power to impose compensation or community orders
- restorative justice also important - chance to seek forgiveness and say sorry etc , victim expresses feelings
THEORIES :
- LABELLING THEORY - we aren’t just labelling criminals as deviant but rather helping them to reintegrate back into society and stop them from committing further deviance
- FUNCTIONALISM - durkheim says a harmonious state is needed for smooth running society, need to make amends
CRITICISMS :
- doesn’t work for all offences
- victim may not want to meet up with the offender
- too soft of an approach as it lets the offenders off lightly
2.2 Discuss the Aims of Punishment
5. INCAPACITATION
AIMS :
- restricts the O physical capacity to offend again
- CJA 2003 - states that prisons to an extent are a form on incapacitation
- there are many different sentences which can also be given to keep prisoners locked inside for appropriate times
- some serious policies include : execution, amputation and banishing
- some less serious policies include : travel bans, curfews and electronic tagging
THEORIES :
- LOMBROSO - he suggests that O are biologically different and cannot change so should be sent into exile, some even argue for chemical or surgical castration
- RIGHT REALISM - argue that it does reduce the crime rate and there are often a few set of reoffending criminals who should be looked up for the benefit of wider society
CRITICISMS :
- people who have longer sentences are not being released so the prison population is much higher as well as costs
- it simply contains offenders but does not actually change them to be law abdiding
- doesn’t tackle the original cause of crime
2.3 Assess How Forms of Punishment Meet the Aims of Punishment
- FORMS + SENTENCE SUMMARY
FORMS :
- fines
- prison
- community service
- discharges - conditional ( D reoffends within a set period of time and the courts can impose a different sentence ) , absolute ( D is found guilty but in penalties are imposed because the person is morally blameless )
SENTENCES :
- LIFE SENTENCE :
- have to serve a minimum time before parole is considered
- usually will remain on this for life
- examples are murder
- discretionary life sentences are given for other serious crimes such as rape or manslaughter - DETERMINATE SENTENCE :
- when there is a set length of time
- if less than one year you can be released after half
- if more than one year you can also be released after half, but you need to be on license and probation supervision for 12 months - INDETERMINATE SENTENCE :
- there is a min set term
- the parole board decide when and if you can be released
- abolished in 2012 but 2600 people are still serving this - SUSPENDED SENTENCE :
- when a person is given a prison sentence for an offence but they don’t have to go and can instead prove they can remain out of trouble by serving a community sentence for a set time
- if they don’t re offend in this time they will not have to go to prison, if they do then they have to go for the original sentence and anything more
2.3 Assess How Forms of Punishment Meet the Aims of Punishment
- DO PRISONS MEET THE AIMS OF …
- RETRIBUTION :
+ because they take away a persons freedoms and they are restricted in life so are suffering
- many people in society argue over what is an appropriate sentence length for certain offences - DETERRENCE :
+ will work if an offender has the mental ability to think and act rationally so will weigh up their opetions when seeing consequence of prison before committing crime
- wont work if they are under the influence, recidivism rates are high, 1/2 of all prisoners actually re convicted in 1 year - INCAPACITATION :
+ because it physically limits their capacity to commit crime, they are taken off the streets and are locked up
+ indeterminate sentences mean that they are in prison for longer so even less reoffending
+ keeping them on license means to keep an eye on them
- prisons can be seen as a school for crime
- expansive to fund, 450k a year for 1 prisoner which is billions for all a year - REPARATION :
+ prisoners earnings act 2011 says that prisoners who work can donate a portion of their earnings to victim support services
- many of them find it difficult to gain work this way so not always efficient - REHABILITATION :
+ longer sentences means more access to these programmes and these can provide training and education to inmates
- 48% of offenders re offend within 1 year
- with a sentence les than 12 months, 64% of them re offend
- 1/2 of all prisoners have literacy skills of an 11 y/o
- shortage of anger management programmes so that issue isn’t really being tackled
2.3 Assess How Forms of Punishment Meet the Aims of Punishment
- DOES COMMUNITY SERVICE MEET THE AIMS OF …
- RETRIBUTION :
+ it restricts a persons freedoms and so they may have to have curfews or electronic tagging
- person is still exposed to many freedoms such as being integrated within the community etc - DETERRENCE :
+ the person may see the others being punished for their actions and so as a result will deter them from doing the same
- extent of the service - is it enough to restrain others imitating bad behaviour because its not very harsh - INCAPACITATION :
+ if person breaches their license then they can be sent to prison so still a factor - more protection
- because it doesn’t really meet the aims of incapacitation which is to physically lock them away - REPARATION :
+ offender can make amends by giving back to the community
- the more serious effects of the victim such as trauma cannot be fixed - REHABILITATION :
+ the offender has access too treatments and programmes to help aid employment and shorter sentences like this are preferred over longer ones in terms of reoffending - 34% v 64%
- relies on the person actually turning up to the service, may be too lenient and wont take it seriously
2.3 Assess How Forms of Punishment Meet the Aims of Punishment
- DO FINES MEET THE AIMS OF …
- RETRIBUTION :
+ the offender looses money which is a loss of value for them
- many fines go unpaid or they can’t be paid - 64% are written off - DETERRENCE :
+ it shows offenders there are more severe punishments after and also reduced reoffending for minor crimes
- for wealthier criminals they can afford it so it doesn’t affect them so its not really a deterrence - REPARATION :
+ some money can be given to victim for compensation and also to support services to show they are making amends
- it can’t undo the trauma and damage done to the victim - REHABILITATION :
+ the money can go towards aiding better causes such as programmes and treatments
- do they actually teach a lesson and change offenders mindset ?
2.3 Assess How Forms of Punishment Meet the Aims of Punishment
- DO DISCHARGES MEET THE AIMS OF …
- RETRIBUTION :
+ it is suitable for minor offences
- it is not really a proper punishment - DETERRENCE :
+ makes people fear any further consequence and punishments
- it may not be enough to encourage others to no engage in crimes - REPARATION :
+ the offender can reflect on their actions
- there’s no way for them to compensate or repair the harm of the victim
