AC 4.1

Question 1

What are the 3 policies from the biological theories?

Answer 1

neurochemistry
death penalty
eugenics

Question 2

what is serotonin?

Answer 2

hormone that stabilises mood, to low of this can cause antisocial behaviour

Question 3

what study showed supported the belief about serotonin ?

Answer 3

scerbo and raine
found from analysing 29 studies that people with anti social behaviour had low levels of serotonin

Question 4

what is the policy that can improve serotonin?

Answer 4

diet where improving diets by eating foods such as dark chocolate and cheese increases levels of serotonin and reduces aggression

Question 5

what is another study which supports the diet policy?

Answer 5

gesch which included 231 young male prisoners, when given a daily supplementation the no of disciplinary actions reduced by 35% showing good diet can reduce crime.

Question 6

what other neurochemical can be treated as a policy to reduce crime?

Answer 6

testosterone as high levels of testosterone can cause extreme violence for example taking lots of steroids leads to roid rage

Question 7

what supports that testosterone causes violence?

Answer 7

Horace Williams American bodybuilder took 2000 times more recommended dosage of steroids and beat a man to death due to extreme violence.

Question 8

what policy treats testosterone?

Answer 8

chemical castration where testosterone is inhibited by a tablet which decreases libido to try and reduce violence and stop sexual crimes. pilot scheme in 2012 proved this was effective

Question 9

what is eugenics?

Answer 9

the idea that the human race can be improved by selectively reproducing with people who have “better genes” (as genes are inherited from our parents -a person can potentially inherit good/bad characteristics). It discourages reproduction with those who have undesirable traits.

Question 10

how can eugenics reduce crime?

Answer 10

those who have criminal genes shouldn’t reproduce and should be sterilised.
eg by selective breeding

Question 11

what studies support eugenics?

Answer 11

Osborn and west- 40% of boys whose fathers had a criminal record also had criminal records - this supports the theory that crime is genetic
Lombroso- reducing reproduction opportunities of people who have certain facial features

Question 12

what is the death penalty?

Answer 12

where someone is killed for committing a crime. this creates fear among society and acts as a deterrent for serious crimes such as murder

Question 13

what is some evidence to support the death penalty as a policy?

Answer 13

murder rates are higher in US states without the penalty then with the penalty by 25%. however this is illegal in the uk

Question 14

what are the 4 sociological policices?

Answer 14

restorative justice
cctv
penal populism
zero tolerance policies

Question 15

what is restorative justice

Answer 15

A meeting between offender and victim to discuss what happened and how the situation could be remedied. offenders talk about what happened + what can be done to repair harm
This is voluntary and will be led by a qualified facilitator.

Question 16

assess restorative justice?

Answer 16

There is a high satisfaction rate, and it has been noted to reduce reoffending somewhat (reduces re offending by 14%) and is used by prisoners + police force.
Allows the victim to have a voice in criminal justice system and a 2017 study research found it reduces post - traumatic disorder in victims + provides value for money government spending.
not every offender may take responsibility

Question 17

what is penal populism?

Answer 17

The government will attempt to gain popularity with the public by introducing laws to punish
offenders.

Question 18

how has penal populism woeked?

Answer 18

*UK - had the most life sentences compared to Europe as a way to controls crime by imprisonment.
*Tony Blair - ‘tough on crime and tough on causes of crime’. introduced laws that intended to be punished’ or 3 strikes and you’re out within England and Wales 3rd compulsory prison sentence for a third conviction created by the Labour Party in 2000

Question 19

assess penal popualism?

Answer 19

incapacitation works temporarily as they cannot harm the public but Prison is ineffective in improving recidivism as 46% of adults are reconvicted within a year. It also doesn’t act as much of a deterrence.
it can scare some people away from crime though if they know that they cant get away with crime

Question 20

what is zero tolerance policing?

Answer 20

Policy that all crimes are responded to, no matter how trivial. Favoured by right realists. Based on ‘broken windows’ theory whereby small issues remain unresolved which can eventually lead to more serious crime.

Question 21

assess zero tolerance?

Answer 21

It can achieve positive results with significant drops in crime. New York 1993, major crime fell by 39% + murder by 49%.
* there are consequences of aggressive policing, including accusations by police due to oppression. There is a case of rational tension when people feel victimized the case in the USA.

Question 22

what is CCTV?

Answer 22

continuous monitoring with cameras around, idea that people aren’t going to commit crime if they know they are being watched and the crime will be recorded as this is major evidence in a case