Policy Development Flashcards
(12 cards)
What are the policy development for biological theories
Addiction therapy
Lobotomy
Death penalty
Addiction therapy
Heroin addiction- Methadone prevents withdrawal symptoms
Alcohol abuse- Antabuse administered , causes an unpleasant feeling even in small doses.
Sex offenders- Stilbestrol (chemical castration)drug to suppress testosterone but has serious side effects.
lobotomy
A procedure that involves cutting the connection between the frontal lobes of the brain and the thalamus. This has been used to treat paranoid schizophrenia and spontaneously violent criminals.
Very few Lobotomies are performed anymore due to very serious side effects
Death penalty
Extreme way of punishing criminals. This was fully abolished in the UK in 1969.
This policy was not effective as many people who would commit murder where under the influence of alcohol or drugs, some may have had mental illnesses so we can infer that these individuals would have impaired rational thought processes. Therefore, not responsible for committing said crimes.
What are the policy development for individualistic
Psychoanalysis of Offenders
(Aichhorn)
Token Economies within Prison
Aversion Therapy
Aversion therapy
Aversion therapy is a type of behavioral therapy that involves repeated pairing of unwanted behavior with discomfort.
Eysenck argues criminals have extroverted and neurotic traits which are harder to condition as they are more resistant to learning through punishment so therefore, treatment needs to be stronger. This method only has limited short term success. Used to ‘cure’ gay people which is an abuse of a person’s human rights.
Token economies
Token economies are a reward system within prisons used to give incentive for inmates to behave appropriately and adhere to prison rules. This is a form of operant conditioning which derives from learning theories. Token economies are seen to be effective within prisons themselves and appear to be effective in the short term after release. However, with a recorded 48% of recidivism (repeat offending after release) this therefore shows that token economies are not effective in the long term for reducing crime.
Psychoanalysis
Psychodynamic theory (Freud) brings the unconscious mind to the surface, using hypnosis and free association. Up to 5 sessions a week for a series of years. (Extensive and expensive)
Aichhorn, applied psychoanalysis to policies for treating young offenders. Aichhorn dismissed environmental factors and focussed on crime deriving from childhood trauma or disruption of socialisation. Resulting in an underdeveloped superego (similar to Bowbly’s MD).
This approach gives analysts the power to define the normal/abnormal
due to their interpretation. Freud defined homosexuality as abnormal
for instance, causing an increase in abuse. Therefore, ethically this approach may cause more harm to the patient rather than resolving the causation of criminality.
What are the policy development for sociological theories
Decriminalisation & reintegrative shaming- labelling theory
Zero tolerance policing- right realism
Penal Populism & Imprisonment- Right realism
Penal Populism & Imprisonment- Right realism
process whereby the major political parties compete with each other to be “tough on crime”. It is generally associated with a public perception that crime is out of control and tends to manifest at general elections when politicians put forward hard-line policies which would remand more offenders into prison prior to sentencing and impose longer sentences. Professor David Wilson (2014) believes this policy started as a result of the Jamie Bulger case due to public outrage and concern about the violent crime in the community which was then fuelled further by media whose publications would suggestively discuss harsher punishments for offenders. Politicians use this to their advantage to market their campaigns by insisting on harsher laws and punishments which they implement through policy. The UK has more life sentences than the whole of Europe
Zero tolerance policing
Zero tolerance means that every crime is acted upon no matter how small. This is an aggressive form of policing derived from New York police. Zero tolerance policing has been effective in crime hotspots such as New York and London. In 1993 major crime in New York fell by 39% and murder by 49%. This strategy is based on the ‘broken windows’ theory (George Kelling &- James Wilson, 1982). Disorder and crime are linked to the condition of community areas which could be more welcoming of crime due to the inference of public disinterest within the community environment.
Decriminalisation & reintegrative shaming
The reintegrative shaming theory emphasises the importance of shame in criminal punishment. The theory holds that punishment should focus on the offenders behaviour rather than characteristics of the offender. Shaming includes all forms of social processes that in different ways have the aim of remorse in the offender. The theory highlights that the shaming is most effective when coming from people close to the offender, such as family or friends, and not by authorities or officials. The idea is that the shaming is not stigmatized when imed at the offences itself rather than the characteristics of the offender.
