4.1 - Policy development (sociological)

Question 1

Control & punishment policies (Merton & subcultural theories)

Answer 1

Structure of society could be made more equal by:
- Tackling poverty (welfare benefits, increased wages)
- Equal opportunities in school (treating WC equal = reduced failure)
- Education in prison (1/2 UK prisoners have reading age of 11 -> improvements gives skills to get jobs once they get out)

Question 2

Effectivity of control & punishment policies

Answer 2

+ Positive effect
+ Societies that spend more on welfare jail less people

Question 3

Decriminalisation (labelling theory)

Answer 3

Minor offenses -> fewer young people labelled as criminals (avoid criminal record that affects future job applications)

Question 4

Diversion policies (labelling theory)

Answer 4

Aim to keep offender out of justice system -> informal (police use discretion to not charge someone) & formal (attend anger management programmes to avoid prosecution)

Question 5

Shaming (labelling theory)

Answer 5

Disintegrative -> both crime & criminal are labelled bad & excluded from society (leads to secondary deviance - not ideal)

Reintegrative -> labels act but not the offender, avoids stigmatising the offender as evil whilst still encouraging repenting

Question 6

Effectivity of policies based on labelling theory

Answer 6

+ Deals successfully with minor offences & younger offenders
+ Avoids pushing individuals to deviant careers

Question 7

Situational crime prevention (right realism)

Answer 7

Increases risks & difficulties of committing crime + reducing the rewards (rational choice theory), target hardening measures (i.e. locking cars, employing security guards)

Question 8

Effectivity of SCP

Answer 8

• Displacement -> will look for an easier target rather than giving up

Question 9

Environmental crime prevention (right realism)

Answer 9

Based on ‘Broken windows’ theory (a disorderly neighbourhood sends message nobody cares -> attracts criminals)
- Zero-tolerance policing -> taking a tougher stance towards all crime, even trivial (concentration on tackling ‘quality of life’ offences)
- Environmental improvement strategy -> all signs of disorder tackled promptly (remove graffiti, fix broken windows)

Question 10

Effectivity of ECP

Answer 10

+ ZTP decreases crime - ex. New York
- Could be impacted by other factors
- Increases juvenile crime with curfews
- Targetting of ethnic minorities due to police racism
- Fail to tackle structural causes of crime i.e. inequality

Question 11

Penal populism & imprisonment (right realism)

Answer 11

Tougher penalities as prison works, incapacitation (become incapable of harming the public) & deterrence (think twice before offending if punishment is harsher) introduced in the 90s

Question 12

Effectivity of penal populism

Answer 12

+ Works temporarily
+ Provides rehabilitation
- Commit crimes on other inmates & staff
- Overcrowding & budget cuts lead to lacking education, skill training and treatment to become law-abiding citizens
- Ineffective in preventing recidivism (48% reconvicted within a year or release)
- Not deterring enough to affect crime rates

Question 13

Policies to reduce inequality (left realism)

Answer 13

• Call for major structural changes to tackle discrimination & provide jobs + housing to all -> reducing relative deprivation
• Democratic policing: involvement of local communities in deciding priorities to win back support of the public and tackle crime effectively (ex. prioritising domestic violence & hate crime)
• Multi-agency approach: involvement of councils, NHS or schools with police to control crime (providing new facilities for young people as alternatives to crime)

Question 14

Effectivity of policies to reduce inequality

Answer 14

+ Evidenced with PCSOs introduction
+ Campaigns & reducing crime is effective w/multi-agency approach (ex. No Knives Better Lives)
- Do not always help with inequality of money, job opportunities, or health
- Not enough alone to control crime