4.1 Flashcards
What is Informal Policy in Crime Prevention and how does it work?
Linked to non-official ideas to prevent crime.
Can involve community efforts such as:
Community meetings
Tenants associations
Neighbourhood groups (e.g. mother & toddler, youth clubs)
Community Impact:
Neighbourhood Watch uses signs to warn potential offenders.
Increases fear of getting caught, reducing crime.
↳ Linked to Durkheim’s Functionalist Theory – boundary maintenance.
Youth Engagement:
Youth clubs offer belonging & teach social norms.
Helps avoid deviant behaviour.
↳ Linked to Bandura’s Social Learning Theory.
Family-Level Informal Policy:
Rules & discipline (e.g. grounding, loss/increase of pocket money).
Reinforces good behaviour.
↳ Linked to Skinner’s Operant Learning Theory.
Biological Support:
Balanced diet promotes health, prevents traits linked to crime.
↳ Linked to Biological Theories of Criminality.
Briefly what are formal policies
Formal policy is linked to official ideas to prevent crime such as prison sentences or community orders. Formal policy making takes place such as crime control policies or state punishment policies.
How has diet been shown to influence aggressive behaviour and crime, and how has this informed prison policy?
The 2002 Gesch study demonstrates that diet can positively affect aggressive behaviour, potentially reducing crime.
In the study, 231 young male prisoners took nutritional supplements or a placebo.
Disciplinary action dropped by 35% for those on supplements compared to 6.7% for the placebo.
Violent incidents decreased by 37% for supplement users versus 10.1% for placebo users. Vikkunen et al. (1987) found that violent offenders had lower serotonin turnover, which can be improved by a diet including serotonin-rich foods like salmon or fresh tuna.
As a result, many prisons have adopted the Balance of Good Health model, providing nutritional diets.
This research has significantly influenced prison dietary policies.
What drug treatments are used to control behaviour and reduce crime, and what are their effects?
Antabuse is used for alcohol addiction as aversion therapy, causing severe hangover effects if alcohol is consumed, thus reducing drink-related violent crime.
Methadone is a substitute for heroin addiction, helping to wean dependency and prevent withdrawal symptoms, which in turn reduces crime.
Stilbestrol, a form of chemical castration for male sex offenders, suppresses testosterone and reduces sex drive but has significant side effects and is rarely used.
These treatments aim to control behaviours linked to criminal activities.
What is eugenics and how has it historically influenced crime control policies?
Eugenics is the practice of improving the human species by selectively mating people with desirable traits, reinforcing biological determinism.
In the late 19th century, it was believed that biology contributed to social problems like low intelligence and high criminality. Eugenics advocated for higher reproduction rates among those with desirable traits and sterilisation of the unfit. In 1927, the USA legalized compulsory sterilisation of the unfit, including those with learning difficulties.
This policy justified the Nazi regime’s actions. Today, such policies are discredited and prohibited by human rights conventions established post-Nazi regime.
Eugenics has left a lasting negative legacy on crime control policies.
What is psychoanalysis and how has it been used (and criticised) in treating criminal behaviour?
Psychoanalysis is a treatment where the patient verbalises their thoughts to access unconscious, repressed thoughts believed to have led to criminal activity. Psychological problems from early development or repressed trauma are embedded in the unconscious mind.
The aim is to bring the unconscious to the conscious mind, allowing the person to deal with the issues.
This is arguably the least favoured policy in contemporary approaches to working with offenders.
Criticism comes from Blackburn (1993), who notes there are very few positive evaluations of classic psychoanalysis as a treatment method with offenders.
Andrews et al. (1990) argue that traditional psychodynamic therapies should be avoided in general offender populations.
The nature of psychoanalysis creates a power imbalance between therapist and client, which could raise ethical issues. A patient could recover very painful memories that had been deliberately repressed.
What is behaviour modification, and how has it been applied to control and improve offender behaviour?
Behaviour modification focuses on techniques designed to extinguish undesirable behaviours and promote desirable ones (based on Skinner’s behaviourism).
Good behaviour is reinforced, and poor behaviour punished. Prisons use a token economy system.
Tokens are given for desirable behaviours, which can be exchanged for extra visitation rights or more money to spend each week.
These privileges are removed if the offender displays poor behaviour.
Fo and O’Donnell (1975) devised a ‘buddy system’ where adult volunteers were assigned to young offenders to reinforce socially acceptable behaviours.
It improved the behaviour of serious offenders but showed mixed results for less serious offences.
Hobbs and Holt argue that token economics show good short-term results for young offenders.
Allyon and Milan argue the same for adults.
This implies that prisoners ‘learn’ how to behave in prison but do not replicate this behaviour once released, as shown by high reoffending rates.
What is penal populism and how has it influenced crime control policy in the UK?
Successive UK governments have implemented penal populism to gain public support.
This policy began after the James Bulger killing in 1993, according to Wilson (2014). Tony Blair’s slogan: “Tough on crime; tough on the causes of crime.” Both Labour and Conservative parties introduced punitive laws intended to be tough on crime.
Examples include automatic life sentences for a second serious offence and seven years’ imprisonment for a third ‘class A’ drug trafficking conviction.
These are automatic regardless of offence circumstances. Resulted in more life sentences in the UK than the rest of Europe combined.
England and Wales: 130 people in prison per 100,000 population. Scotland: 133 per 100,000 (highest in Europe). Nearly double the rate of Germany and Sweden.
Overall prison population increased by 74% in 30 years. Nearly three times as many sentenced to 10+ years in 2019 than in 2009. Average prison sentence for indictable offences rose from 33.5 months (2008) to 54.3 months. Links to right realism.
All figures from the Bromley Briefings 2021.
How is prison used as a crime control policy in the UK, and what are its effects?
Imprisonment is one of the main ways the UK controls crime. Aims to ensure retribution and public protection.
Individuals are deprived of liberty for the duration of their sentence. Prison sentences may be concurrent, consecutive, suspended, determinate, or indeterminate.
England and Wales have the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe: 130 per 100,000 population.
Prison population increased by 74% from 1991 to 2021. According to the National Audit Office, there is no consistent correlation between prison population size and crime levels.
Short sentences are less effective than community sentences in reducing reoffending.
Prisons have been overcrowded every year since 1994. Reconviction rates show that 48% of adults are reconvicted within one year of release, and 63% for those with sentences under 12 months.
While punishment is high, it is not very effective at preventing future crime. Links to right realism.
All figures from the Bromley Briefings 2021.
What is zero tolerance policing and what are its strengths and weaknesses?
Zero tolerance stems from right realism and means no crime is accepted, no matter how small. It originated in New York City and focuses on quality of life crimes such as aggressive begging, prostitution, and vandalism.
Based on Kelling and Wilson’s broken windows theory, clean, crime-free streets discourage further crime
Implemented in UK cities such as Kings Cross, Hartlepool, and Middlesbrough. In New York since 1993, major crime fell by 39% and murder fell by 49%. Similar results have been seen in other areas.
However, the effectiveness is debated as the decline in drug use may also explain the crime drop, and many violent offenders were already jailed, contributing to reduced crime.
Crime fell in areas not using zero tolerance as well. It can lead to heavy-handed policing or brutality and works best short-term in densely populated areas with high petty crime.
None.
