Biological crime policies

Question 1

What is a crime control policy

Answer 1

Crime control policies refer to the laws, regulations and other governmental actions that are designed to reduce criminal acts.

Question 2

What is a Informal Policy

Answer 2

Informal policy: are used where the rules are not formally written down and are perhaps ‘unspoken’. When someone breaks these rules, others show their disapproval in informal ways, such as refusing to speak to them, telling them off, a slap on the wrist.

Question 3

What is a Formal Policy

Answer 3

ones imposed by official bodies such as the police, courts, schools and other institutions. They are punishments for breaking formal written rules or laws.

Question 4

What are the crime control policies informed by biological theories

Answer 4

• Eugenics

-Death Penalty

• Drugs / Surgeries / Diet

Question 5

What is Eugenics

Answer 5

Eugenics is the idea that genetic quality of the human population can be improved through selective breeding.

Favor policies such as compulsory sterilisation, forced abortion and restrictions on the right to marry.

Question 6

Eugenics case study

Answer 6

The Nazis, wanted a perfect race, the Aryan race, Blue eyes, blonde hair, white skin, a way of achieving their goal was by eliminating those deemed to be unbreedable, such as the physically and mentally disabled
- 400,000 people sterilised against their will and 70,000 killed under the Nazis’ euthanasia policy.

Later in the Holocaust more inferior races were targeted, at least 6 million jews and up to 1.5 million Gypsies/Roma were killed. thousands of others defined as deviant were also exterminated, including gays, lesbians, drug users, alcoholics, and the homeless

Question 7

How have eugenic policies been informed by genetic theories

Answer 7

Linked to genetic theories of crime and the idea that criminality was transmitted by a ‘criminal gene’.

Reinforces the idea of biological determinism and claims that biology contributes towards social
problems such as crime

Eugenicists feared human race was degrading due to poor people breeding faster then rich people, and passing on more poor traits like low intelligence and criminality

Question 8

Why is Eugenics no longer used

Answer 8

As values linked to human rights have changed, it now seen as an example of state crime.

Question 9

What is Capital Punishment

Answer 9

The legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime.

Question 10

Why was the death penalty abolished in the UK

Answer 10

In the UK there was a trial abolition of the death penalty from 1965, there was no increase in the murder rate so it was permanently abolished in 1969

Question 11

Pros of Capital Punishment

Answer 11

• Offenders cant re-offend
• Can deter people from offending

Question 12

Cons of Capital punishment

Answer 12

• Doesn’t always stop murders as they are usually spontaneous

Question 13

What are the Bio-chemical processes linked with Criminality

Answer 13

Sex hormones

Substance abuse

Chemical imbalance as result of
diet
- Low blood sugar
- Low serotonin

Question 14

What are the crime control policies influenced by research into biochemical processes

Answer 14

Drug Treatments

Diet

Surgery

Question 15

What are drug treatments in the biochemical crime policies

Answer 15

Alcoholism is often linked to violent crime. Antabuse is an aversion therapy to treat alcoholism. It
causes very unpleasant hangover symptoms if you consume even the smallest quantity of alcoholism.

Heroin addiction causes crime as people often steal or engage in sex work to play for drugs. Methadone is a legal, medically controlled substitute.

Stilbestrol is a female sex hormone that is sometimes used in prison to treat male sex offenders. It is a form of chemical castration which suppresses testosterone and reduces sex drive.

Question 16

What is diet in the biochemical crime policies

Answer 16

Gesch (2002) 231 young, male, adult prisoner volunteers either given a daily vitamin and essential fatty acid supplement or a placebo. Number of disciplinary incidents dropped by 35%. Whereas, the placebo group only dropped by 6.7%. Violent incidents in the active group dropped by 37% in the supplement group and by 10.1%

Virkkunen et al (1987) violent
offenders had a lower than average
serotonin turnover and can be
treated with foods that can
serotonin such as salmon and
fresh tuna.

Schoenthaler (1982) found that a
reduced sugar diet reduced
anti-social behavior by 48%

Question 17

What is surgery in the biochemical crime policies

Answer 17

Surgical castration for sex offenders has been used in the past in the past in some countries.

Lobotomy – cutting the connection
between the frontal lobes of brain and the thalamus. Has been used to treat sexually motivated and spontaneously violent criminals. Can have very serious side effects very few are successful

Question 18

What are positive sanctions

Answer 18

Sanctions can also be positive, such as rewards for behaviour that society approves of.

Question 19

What is Social control

Answer 19

All sanctions, formal or informal, positive or negative, are forms of social control- ways in which society sees to control our behaviour and ensure that we conform to its norms and behave in a way that others expect us to.