Unit 2 - Sociological policies 4.1 Flashcards
(16 cards)
What is penal populism?
PENAL POPULISM
A media driven political process where politicans compete with eachother to impose tougher prison sentences on offenders based on the perception that crime is out of control
PENAL POPULISM
What was penal populism a result of?
PENAL POPULISM
James Bulger case - Public concerned about violent crime in the community which was fueled with media headlines about the need not to be soft on crime - Increased prison population where the UK has more life sentences than Europe combined - Between 1980 to 2010 prison population doubled from 40,000 to 80,000
PENAL POPULISM
What punishments has penal populism resulted in?
PENAL POPULISM
Automatic life sentences for serious second time offences, ‘three strikes abd your out’ idea
PENAL POPULISM
What is zero tolerance policing?
ZERO TOLERANCE
A strategy that aims to reduce minor offences and more serious crime through order maintenance and aggressive law enforcement against all crimes no matter their severity
ZERO TOLERANCE
How does zero tolerance policing work?
ZERO TOLERANCE
Flooding an area with police and tackling all crimes however small in the hope that stopping the small crimes will decrease the large crimes
ZERO TOLERANCE
Wh
Where has zero tolerance been successful?
ZERO TOLERANCE
New York - NYPD use computers to analyse crime hot spots in the city before taking a zero tolerance approach - Major crime has fell by 40% and murder by 50%
ZERO TOLERANCE
W
What theory is the zero tolerance strategy based on?
ZERO TOLERANCE
Broken window theory - Suggets low level disorder should be tackled quickly or else problems in the area will escalate quickly - offenders will sense an oppprtunity for crime and move in, worrying residents
ZERO TOLERANCE
Strengths of zero tolerance
ZERO TOLERANCE
- Effective at reducing crime
- Measurable improvement
ZERO TOLERANCE
Weakness of zero tolerance
ZERO TOLERANCE
- Only focuses on street crime/violence
- Creates an imbalance of police officers and resources
- Expensive
- Officers may abuse power
- Displacement
ZERO TOLERANCE
Strengths of penal populism
PENAL POPULISM
Takes dangerous criminals off the streets fro longer
PENAL POPULISM
Weaknesses of penal populism
PENAL POPULISM
- Very expensive
- Driven by public and politicians, not experts
- Punitive, puts retribution as the main aim of punishment
PENAL POPULISM
What is CCTV?
CCTV
Closed-circuit television that is an invaluable technique in a criminal investigation
CCTV
Why is CCTV invaluable?
CCTV
- First request made by police at the start of an enquiry
- Would be very difficult to identify a potential perpatrator without CCTV footage
- A deterrent to prevent crime
CCTV
Where is CCTV typically found?
CCTV
- Shop - prevent shoplifiting
- House - burgarly, car theft
- Road intersections - speeding, dangerous driving
CCTV
Strengths of CCTV
CCTV
- Acts as a detterent
- Evidence in court
CCTV
Weaknesses of CCTV
CCTV
- Cameras turned off
- Blind spots
- Blurry footage
- Displacement
CCTV
