AC 4.1 Criminological Theories, Policy development - Sociological Flashcards
Which policies were influenced by Merton and Subcultural theories
What are their aims?
Tackling poverty in society
-The improvements in welfare system, unemplyment rates & Minimum Wages to improve equality in socety.
- Aims to provide people with increased resources so offenders don’t need to commit crimes.
Education in Prison
- This is implemented in prisons
- Teaches inmates trades or to improve skills and achieve qualifications so they don’t face difficulties with employment when released.
- Reduces the likelyhood of re-offending.
Improving Benefits - Finland UBI
- Universal Basic Income, given to every citizens
- Implemented to help people find jobs as some thought if they start the short-term employment, they may lose the benefits and eventually have no source of income
- The problem of UBI was how to fund it
- Kaukoranta claimed that a more realistic scheme would be to increase the tax to fund UBI
- However, implementing UBI means that it will discourage and put people off from working, as they will think that they will get money regardless.
Evaluate the policies that aim to improve equality.
Merton and subcultural theories
- Welfare systems are extremely (notoriously) hard to navigate and people struggle to gain the financial support. This shows that there are still people who commit crimes, despite the welfare systems existing.
- These policies that tackle poverty aren’t effective at all as some places are still struggling with deprevation, which means crimes rates there will remain high, while others experience wealth and privilege. Therefore, more policies are required to tackle crime.
Weaknesses
Which policies were influenced by the Labelling theory?
Discriminalisation of Behaviours
- Behaviours that are no longer prosecuted or condidered serious offences, were discriminalised.
- Examples: smoking cannabis is not considered as a serious offence, therefore can’t be labelled as deviant not it’s likely to be recorded in the criminal record and they can still gain employment easily.
Diversion Policies
- The informal law enforcement, which may be inconsistent because at times the police uses alternative ways of chaning behaviours.
- It states that the police can use different strategies to punish someone who is drunk and disorderly (instead of labelling them as a criminal with a criminal record) such as making it mandatory that those individuals attend a support group to help with their drinking problem.
Reintergrative Shaming
- Attempts to change the way society views criminals, such as seeing them as ordinary people rather than offenders.
- Promotes the concept that good people can do bad things and that a bad behaviour doesn’t imply that the offender can never become a good member of the society.
Evaluate the labelling theory policies.
- Weakness - The policies seems to be more appropriate for minor offences (as they are more likely to occur where criminal behaviouris not serious or harming others) than major offences as it’s not a suitable option to deal with the serious offenders like sex offenders.
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Strength - By avoiding labelling people as criminals and keeping
them out of the justice system, it avoid pushing individuals into a deviant career. - Strength - These are received well by those offenders who favour rehabilitation of offenders, punishment and retribution.
- Promotes the idea of humane perspectives on offenders.
For example, someone who had addictions, it’s better to effectively treat the individual as someone who needs help instead of punishment.
Which policies are influenced by Right Realism?
SCP - Situational Crime Prevention -
- Aims to deter criminal behaviour by increasing the costs and risks of committing crimes, while reducing benefits and rewards of crime. (Making risks outweigh the benefits of crime)
- Examples: increase of CCTV, police controlling, home security devices
- Promotes the concept of target hardening which refers to making it harder for criminals to be successful in crime.
Environmental Crime Prevention
- Focuses on improving environmental areas and surroundings, making the appear in order and functional instead of disorder.
- This makes criminals less likely to commit crimes.
- Methods include removing graffiti, boarded up houses (makes it look like there is someone who cares about the safety and the area).
- Examples: Zero Tolerance Policing
Evaluate the Right Realism theories.
- Strenght - Tougher imprisonment indicates to society that crime is taken seriously by the law, reminds them are criminal behaviour is not tolerated, detering people from commiting crime themsleves.
- Weakness - Target hardening will not deter all criminals, as if they think it may be too risky, lots of difficulties in executing the crime, they will choose to commit a different form of crime or go elsewhere. This means the crime has been pushed towards a more vulnerable area.
- Weakness - The number of prionsers are rising each year, and an average of 48% of criminals re-offend. This means prison sentences are good for removing criminals from society, but doesn’t deter people from offending.
Which policies are influenced by Left Realism?
Democratic Policing
- Aims to improve the relationships between the communities and law enforcers because in deprived areas people may distrust the police.
- The communities therefore can come together to decide what are the prioritises.
Multi Agwncy Approach to Reduce Crime
- Focuses on tackling the inequality as a group not separate institutions, such as the police, NHS, social services.
- Many others come together to reduce the poverty and relative deprivation to reduce the crime.
- Multi agencies have led campaigns to reduce knife.
Improving opportunities
- Policies to improve housing, job security and access to health services for everyone.
- These changes hope to reduce relative deprivation and the need for people to resort to crime.
Evaluate the Left Realism Policies.
- Strengths - Democratic policing is evident with the use of PCSO, as it was introduced to build better relationships between communities and law enforcement.
- Strengths - By involving communities in decision-making about crimes (domestic violence and hate crimes) are viewed more important to target instead of less serious crimes like cannabis possession.
- Strengths - campaigns for change and reducing crime are more likely to be effective if a multi-agency approach is taken as it makes it seem more trustworthy. No Knives Better Lives was led by multi agencies - NHS, councils.
- Weakness - They don’t always help with inequality of money, job opportunities or health. This means Left Realist policies alone are not enough to control crime.
Which policies are influenced by the Surveillance theories?
CCTV Surveillance
- A modern form of the Panoptican prison, guards can see inmates but inmates can’t see guards.
- This is when people are aware they are being watched, but don’t know by who and where.
- For example, CCTVs in shops deter people from stealing, and results into self-regulating their behaviour.
Profiling
- When criminal database is analysed, sets of traits can be identified such as patterns like gender, age, or nationality.
- Certain patterns and combination may be common, and when spotted on CCTV, it can be used t determine where the risk is and where criminality is likely to be.
- This leads to people being stopped and searched.
Surveillance is also influenced by data.
Evaluate the Surveillance theory policies.
- Weakness - Profiling surveillance is discriminatory and leads to racial profilingas Black youths are more likely to be profiled for engaging in criminal or deviant behaviour, which means they are more likely to be monitored with surveillanc, stopped and searched.
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Weakness - Certain gorups are overrepresented in official crime statistics due to labelling, subcultures, stereotypes and typifications. Black youths and working class boys appear more dominant as they are prosecuted more and more likely to be profiled.
Black youth are 9 times more likely to be labelled than other races. - Weakness - CCTV doesn’t deter people from crime, as some still commit crimes despite knowing they are being watched as it doesn’t affect them, meaning this method is not too effective.
- Strength - CCTV can be used for other reasons such as recognising car number plates, checking car tax, parking permits and other things to regulate behaviour. It was increased in London in 1990s, and people who were reassured by CCTV may no longer welcome it into the society.
