AC4.1 biological influences on policy Flashcards
what have biological theories led to
crime control and punishment policies that aim to change the working of the criminal’s brain or body & cure the condition that causes their criminality
what 2 ways have biochemical processes influenced policy by theory
1.drug treatments
2.surgery
how have biochemical processes influenced drug treatments
-used in some situations to treat or control criminal or anti-social behaviour
-alcohol abuse can trigger violent behaviour. the drug ANTABUSE is used in AVERSION THEORY to treat alcoholism -> prevents the body from breaking down alcohol, immediately causing a hangover
-heroin addiction often leads to crime in order to pay for the drug. METHADONE is used to treat adddicts, as a long-term alternative to heroin or to prevent withdrawal symtpoms. ->helps reduce crime
how have biochemcial processes influenced surgery
-has been used to alter offender’s brains or bodies with the aim to prevent offending, including
-surgical castration: sex offenders have often been castrated in the past in the attempt to change offending
-lobotomy: major procedure involving cutting the connection between the frontal lobes of the brain and the thalamus -> used to treat schizophrenia and sexually motivated, violent crimes
->can have serious side effects, few are now performed
what is the link between biological process and eugenicists + compuslory sterilisation
-believed that they could perfect human beings and eliminate the so-called “social-ills” through genetics and heredity
-used methods such as: involuntary sterilzation, segregation and social exclusion
-argued “genetically unfit” should be prevented from breeding
how have biochemical processes influenced policy on sex offenders
-STILBESTROL is a form of chemical “castration” that has been used in prison.
-female hormone that supresses testosterone as a way of reducing men’s sex drive
-can have serious side effects
how have biochemical processes influenced policy on managing offenders
-sedatives and tranquilisers such as: VALIUM, LIBRIUM and LARGACTIL have often been used to keep violent prisoners calm
how have biochemical processes influenced policy on managing offenders with diet
-can be modified to change anti-social behvaiour
-Gesch et al found that supplementing prisoners’ diets with vitamins, minerals and fatty acids caused a “remarkable” reduction in anti-social behaviour (up to 37% in the case of violent incidents)
-vitamin B3 has been used to treat some forms of schizophrenia
-dietary changes have been used to try and control hyperactivity- eg: removing foodsstuffs containing tartazine from children’s diets
how have biochemical processes influenced policy making of crowd control and public order offences
-use of chemical substances
-eg:Teargas may be used to control crowds or disperse rioters
->workws by causing uncomfortable or distressing sensations: vomiting, breathing difficulties and disorinetation
-can also cause lung damage and death
name an example of eugenic policies influenced by biochemical processes
-Nazis “racial purity” policies
-Nazis eliminated those they deemed unfit to breed
-Holocaust
