Control, Punishment and Victims

Question 1

What is situational crime prevention and who argued this? (5)

Answer 1

Clarke.
They try to prevent something before it actually happens. There are three features aimed at SCP:
They are directed at specific crimes
They involve managing or altering the environment.
They aim to increase the efforts and risks of committing crimes an reducing rewards.
He suggests target hardening measures should be put in place.

Question 2

What is an example of SCP?

Answer 2

Port Authority bus terminal building in New York.
Large sinks made for six people at a time used as bathtubs can be changed to individual sinks where you can only wash your hands.

Question 3

What are criticisms of SCP? (2)

Answer 3

Doesn’t actually prevent the crime or get to the root cause.
Displacement - people move elsewhere

Question 4

What is environmental crime prevention and who argues this?

Answer 4

Wilson and Kelling.
Concerned about preventing areas from deteriorating by keeping neighbourhoods in good physical condition and making crime less acceptable.

Question 5

What is an example of ECP?

Answer 5

The Clean Car Program in New York.
Cleaned and repaired tarnished subways and cars because they were broken.

Question 6

What are criticisms of ECP? (2)

Answer 6

Its success was a myth, as crime rates were falling anyway, it wasn’t a result of zero tolerance.
It disregards crimes of the powerful and environmental crimes.

Question 7

What is social and community crime prevention and who argued this? (2)

Answer 7

Wilson and Kelling.
Along crime prevention strategies there needs to be a focus on the offender and their social context that encourages them to commit crime.
It involves early intervention groups of people most at risk.

Question 8

What is an example of SCCP?

Answer 8

Sure Start.
Itroduced support to families that are from disadvantaged areas.

Question 9

What are criticisms of SCCP?

Answer 9

Right Realists would say that people make rational choices to commit crimes and crime is not caused by society.
Although they are long term solutions, it is difficult to meaure their specific impact on crime reduction.

Question 10

How has the nature of discipline changed over the years?

Answer 10

It used to be physical torture and inflicting pain but now it is more psychological torture, but the death penalty still exists in America.

Question 11

What is surveillance?

Answer 11

Observing people’s behaviour and in prison it is used to control and change the behaviour of criminals..

Question 12

What does Foucault argue and what’s an example? (2)

Answer 12

He argued about surveillance and the Panoptican is an example.
This is where the prisoners were being watcehed but they didn’t know when. So, it teachers self control and self-discipline because the prisoners can’t see when the guardian is watching them.

Question 13

What are criticisms of Foucault? (2)

Answer 13

Very deterministic - not everyone will change their behaviour just because there is a camera watching them.
Exaggerates the extent of control- inmates are able to resist control.

Question 14

What does Mathiesen argue? (2)

Answer 14

There is now a synoptican which is hwere everyone watches everyone collecting criminal evidence.
E.G: Police bodycam footage (can be used against them)

Question 15

What does McCahill argue?

Answer 15

There is still a hierarchy of surveillance as the police are still able to confiscate the mobile phones and cameras of citizen journalists.

Question 16

What are surveillant assemblages and who argues this?

Answer 16

Haggerty and Ericson.
There is no longer one form of surveillance there are multiple forms of monitoring like CCTV and face recognition.

Question 17

What is acturiarial justice and who argues this? (2)

Answer 17

Feeley and Simon.
Refers to the increasing focus on the early detection and prevention of possible threats and risks.
This is to identify particular groups who are likely to be offenders of particular crimes.

Question 18

How might acturiarial justic disadvantage groups? (2)

Answer 18

Abuse of power and disproportionate use of stop and search.
Labels lead to marginalisation.

Question 19

What are 3 types of punishment?

Answer 19

Custodial punishment
Non-custodial punishment
Restraining order.

Question 20

What are reasons of punishment and who argues this? (4)

Answer 20

Newburn.
Deterrence
Rehabilitation.
Incapacitation.
Retribution.

Question 21

What is the functionalist perspective of punishment? (2)

Answer 21

Retributive justice - more brutal but moved to restitutive justice - justice that is based on interdependence.
Punishment is less intense in a more developed society, modern socieities have collective sentiments.

Question 22

What is the marxist perspective of punishment?

Answer 22

Capital punishment turned into productive, hard labour and work ‘free’ people would be unwilling to fake.

Question 23

What is incarceration before and what are they now?

Answer 23

Prisons were originally holding places before individuals received their punishment.
Now more people are being sentenced to prisons and fewer prisoners are getting parole so people spend longer in prison.

Question 24

Why do prisons make people worse? (3)

Answer 24

Rebellion.
Criminal subcultures.
Mental health.

Question 25

What is an example of incarceration? (2)

Answer 25

Michael Gove argued that prisons should be a place of reform where rehab and education should eb the goal.
There are lots of deaths and assaults making prison unsafe.

Question 26

What is mass incarceration and who argues this? (2)

Answer 26

Garland.
It has become the systematic imprisonment of whole of the population.
Minorities make the majority in prisons.

Question 27

What is transcarceration? (3)

Answer 27

Individuals become locked into a cycle of control shifting from different agencies to another.
A major goal of young offenders was to divert them away from contact with the CJS.
But people have been diverted into it.

Question 28

Why is the concept of victim not always clear?

Answer 28

It is socially constructed because it depends on our perceptions and interpretations.

Question 29

What are the two major approaches to victimology and who argues this?

Answer 29

Christie.
Positivist victimology - examine a range of factors that lead to the person becoming a victim to crime.
Critical victimology - Focuses on the structural factors that make individuals more likely to be a victim based upon their social position.

Question 30

What is positivist victimology? (3)

Answer 30

Explores statistical patterns in victimisation.
Victim proneness - people become victims based on their own characteristics.
Victim precipitation - victims are actively involved in or to blame for their victimisation.

Question 31

What are criticisms of positivist victimology? (2)

Answer 31

Ignores wider structural factors influencing victimisation like poverty and patriarchy.
Can be victim blaming and it is like saying they ‘asked for it’.

Question 32

What is critical criminology? (2)

Answer 32

Focuses on wider stuctural inequalities.
Points out how the CJS have a crucial role in definining who is and who isn’t a victim of crime.
But the state may deny a victim their status.
This approach questions the whole category of the victim and emphasises how crime is actually socially constructed.

Question 33

What are criticisms of critical criminology? (1)

Answer 33

Disregards the role victis play in bringing victimisation on themselves. E.G: not making their home secure.

Question 34

What are strengths of victimology? (2)

Answer 34

Acknowledges the experiences of victims.
Valuable in drawing attention to the social construction of ‘victim’ status.

Question 35

What are criticisms of victimology? (2)

Answer 35

Ignores that many of the victims of crime who choose not to report a crime or people who don’t know they are a victim.
Some approaches rely on limited and unreliable surveys.