policy development

Question 1

informal and formal policies

Answer 1

informal- linked to non-official ideas
formal- linked to official ideas to prevent crime

Question 2

what is the death penalty?

Answer 2

state given punishment given for severe crimes such as murder and can be done through hanging, lethal injection, electric chair abolished in the uk in 1965

Question 3

how does the death penalty link to biological factors?

Answer 3

biological perspective is that they are genetically predisposed to crime so therefore death removes the inevitability of crime again and stop crime being added to the genetic pool

Question 4

advantages of the death penalty

Answer 4

100% success rate for preventing reoffending
prevents crime on an individual level
acts as a deterrent

Question 5

disadvantages of the death penalty

Answer 5

USA shows murder rate is 25% higher in death penalty states
not a deterrent for all
often kill in the heat of the moment so unaffected by fear of punishment

Question 6

what is neurochemical treatment (chemical castration)?

Answer 6

reduces testosterone in men and lowers sexual desire in women and is administered by pill or injection and was first used on sex offenders and was used in 1952 on those who were sexually deviant

Question 7

how does neurochemical treatment link to biological factors?

Answer 7

criminals suffer from hormone imbalance so attempts to fix the abnormality and with that reduces criminal behaviour

Question 8

advantages of neurochemical treatment

Answer 8

can cut reoffending from 40% to 5%
reduces motivation to be able to commit sexual offences
allows the criminal to participate in society rather than being institutionalised

Question 9

disadvantages of neurochemical treatment

Answer 9

the maker said ‘only small numbers of sex offenders will benefit from these treatments’
only lasts 3-5 years and can have negative side effects

Question 10

what is eugenics?

Answer 10

aims at improving the genetic quality, the aim is to remove the weak and the disabled where described as ‘our social rubbish’

Question 11

how does eugenics link to biological factors?

Answer 11

criminals are biologically abnormal for example as Lombroso shows therefore eugenic such as sterilisation prevents criminals reproducing to reduce criminal genes in the gene pool

Question 12

advantages of eugenics

Answer 12

40% of boys who’s fathers had a criminal record have criminal have one too compared to 12% who’s fathers did not
has helped vulnerable individuals and can be done for personal safety

Question 13

disadvantages of eugenics

Answer 13

can be counterproductive with the reduction of diversity in the gene pool

Question 14

what is token economy (behaviour modification)?

Answer 14

rewards the positive behaviour to increase desirable behaviours and decreases undesirable behaviours

Question 15

how does token economy link to individualistic theories?

Answer 15

type of modification behaviour policy, aim to relearn previous undesirable behaviour

Question 16

advantages of token economy

Answer 16

token economy is much cheaper then custodial sentence
effective in increasing positive behaviour in some prisoners

Question 17

disadvantages of token economy

Answer 17

only short term
only effective in institutions and cannot be carried into other settings

Question 18

what is Psychoanalysis treatment (therapy)?

Answer 18

tries to bring up repressed thoughts to consciousness where it can be dealt with and allows patients to talk about what is on their mind

Question 19

how does Psychoanalysis treatment link to individualistic theories?

Answer 19

strong links to Freuds threoy of psyche and it attempts to treat unresolved traumas which could have caused crime

Question 20

advantages of Psychoanalysis treatment

Answer 20

out of 10,000 patients over 80% benefited
longer treatments get better outcomes

Question 21

disadvantages of Psychoanalysis treatment

Answer 21

time consuming
can potentially worsen the mental state

Question 22

what is anger management?

Answer 22

encourages people to think rationally and identify emotional triggers

Question 23

how does anger management link to individualistic theories?

Answer 23

is a form of social skills training and can link to Eysenck’s criminal personality and able to reduce crime

Question 24

advantages of anger management

Answer 24

using 50 prisoners in Ireland found 92% decreased in anger actions
more likely to lead to a permeant change

Question 25

disadvantages of anger management

Answer 25

not all crimes are committed out of anger
there is a lack of reoffending data does not show the success rate

Question 26

what is zero-tolerance policies?

Answer 26

strict punishments with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct created by the NYPD it is used in places such as Hartlepool and Middlesbrough

Question 27

how does zero-tolerance policies link to sociological theories?

Answer 27

links to right realism if all criminals are rational thinkers they will see the cons outweigh the the benefits

Question 28

advantages of zero-tolerance policies

Answer 28

since 1993 major crime fell 39% and murder 49% in the NYPD
Merseyside police crime is down 38% and robberies down 23%

Question 29

disadvantages of zero-tolerance policies

Answer 29

crime does not disappear just displaced
increases labelling
does not work with sparse populations

Question 30

what is CCTV?

Answer 30

acts as a form of surveillance in society estimating around 4-5.9 million cameras

Question 31

how does CCTV link to sociological theories?

Answer 31

links to right realism specifically rational choice as the costs outweigh the benefits

Question 32

advantages of CCTV

Answer 32

‘small but statistically significant, reduction in crime’
deterrent against pre planned crimes

Question 33

disadvantages of CCTV

Answer 33

less effective with violent crimes and crimes of passion
less effective for quick crimes
CCTV is being significantly reduced due to funding

Question 34

what is penal populism?

Answer 34

looks at creating punishments that the public will approve of so makes the punishments much harsher

Question 35

how does penal populism link to sociological theories?

Answer 35

links to functionalism in reinforcing social values and can link to right realism with rational choice

Question 36

advantages of penal populism

Answer 36

effective in the US and crime has declined dramatically
lead to an increate in the prison population so unable to commit more crimes

Question 37

disadvantages of penal populism

Answer 37

don’t address the cause of the criminal behaviour
the public decide how to deal with criminals