CRIME AND DEVIANCE - Crime, Punishment and Control - Includes Punishment and Prisons

Question 1

What are the Elements of the Criminal Justice System (CJS)?

Answer 1

• Police
• CPS = Crown Prosecution Service - They decide is a case goes to court based on how secure the conviction is!
• Court
• Prison
• Probation
• The Home Office
• MOJ = Ministry of Justice

Question 2

Why do we have the Criminal Justice System (CJS)? HINT: There are 4 reasons here!

Answer 2

To prevent future crime and to punish crime that has happened:

1. Deterrence = Create laws and puts them in place, such as those regarding knife crime - A threat of punishment

2.Protection of the public

3. Retribution = Revenge for the victim; make the offender pay
4. Rehabilitation = Does this actually happen, due to the high re-offending rates in prison? = It is populated by privileged, white men (the judges_ = There is a lack of understanding between white, middle-class judges and ethnic-minority groups in society!

Question 3

How has Punishment changed over time, according to Garland?

Answer 3

Punishment is a very politicised issue!

‘Penal welfarism’ (putting people in prisons) has moved to ‘mass incarceration’ and now ‘transcarceration’!

Question 4

What percentage of the Adult Population in the USA is inside Prison?

Answer 4

Around 3% of the Adult Population are inside prison in the USA!

This is includes around 37% of Black Americans; 13% of the total population!

This is 3x higher than European imprisonment rates –> Around 30-40% of the prison population is unemployed on entry to prison (deprivation issues; a link between poverty and unemployment and prison).

Question 5

What else can we do instead of putting people into Prison? HINT: ‘Diversion Tactics’!

Answer 5

‘Diversion Tactics’ = Early intervention diverts people away from crime; this includes community initiatives, welfare, community service, probation not prison = A focus on rehabilitation; a labour and person intensive programme that is really expensive → This is liked by Left Realists as it fights back against marginalisation and increases Bonds of Attachment!

Question 6

What do we do now, in regards to Control? HINT: ‘Culture of Control’!

Answer 6

‘Culture of Control’ = We today care more about punishments and preventing crimes (Victims want revenge; retribution), rather than rehabilitation of prisoners (they are driven by their emotional connectedness to the crime committed against them) –> This then leads to a high re-offending rate!

Question 7

What are the 2 things that Punishments do (as subheadings)? HINT: Reduction and Retribution!

Answer 7

REDUCTION:

• Deterrent - ‘Short, sharp shock!’
• Rehabilitation - Education and Training

RETRIBUTION:

• Revenge
• Expresses societies outrage at criminals
• Incapacitation = Prison / Executions / Chemical Castration

Question 8

What is the Functionalist Perspective on Punishment?

Answer 8

They believe that punishments are needed for boundary maintenance.

They reaffirm social solidarity, asserts the collective conscience!

They believe that punishments fit the crime and it does something positive for society (both crime and punishments)!

Question 9

What is the Marxist Perspective on Punishment?

Answer 9

They believe that punishments are controlled by the ruling-class ideology with system in place like the RSA!

They believe punishments enable the rich to maintain over the poor, which helps to prevent a proletariat revolution!

Punishments divert our attention away from structural inequality; they act as a distraction to capitalism and prevents capitalism from being overthrown!

Links to Hall and ‘Policing the Crisis’ (Distracting people from the failures of capitalism)!

Question 10

(MARXISM) What do Rusche and Kirchheimer argue, in regards to the Marxist perspective? HINT: Prisons are the main form of punishment as you can recall workers + bureaucracy now deal with prisons,; used to be factory owners!

Answer 10

Capitalism uses punishment depending on what type of economy (don’t execute if workers are needed; can’t fine if there is a lack of money etc) = Prisons are the main punishment as you can recall workers if needed!

There is a plethora of workers; they can be put into prisoners and taken out when needed for labour!

The aristocracy used to punish the poor –> Factory owners could punish workers (it was their responsibility = Quicker punishments given out).

Now, a bureaucratic, impersonal system does this (now this is in the hands of a fairer, democratic system) = Individual factory owners used to be able to determine punishments for their workers!

Question 11

What do Left-Realists argue in regards to Punishment?

Answer 11

Punishments should be rehabilitative - Punishments should tackle the issues that cause crime in the first place = Reformation, community projects, AA meetings etc - They don’t say that punishments are not needed; they believe they should target the causes of crime!

Question 12

What do Right-Realists argue in regards to Punishment?

Answer 12

Punishments should follow the theme of Zero-Tolerance; harsh punishments - It is a rational choice and offenders deserve to be punished!

Question 13

What ‘School of Thought’ does the Sociologist Foucault belong to?

Answer 13

Postmodernism!

Question 14

(FOUCAULT) How are we Controlled in Society?

Answer 14

• Social Control
• Hirschi = Bonds of Attachment
• Agents of Control = Media
• RSA and ISA - Althusser
• Heidensohn - Female control

Question 15

(FOUCAULT) What is Surveillance?

Answer 15

Surveillance = Monitoring, observing, gathering information to regulate, manage or correct behaviour for the purpose of crime control and punishment!

Question 16

Who identified ‘Liquid Surveillance’? HINT: Links to ‘Liquid Society’!

Answer 16

Bauman!

Question 17

(BAUMAN) What does he say ‘Liquid Surveillance’ is?

Answer 17

All the ways we are monitored and tracked, which happen all around us, happen all the time –> Think of ourselves and our data as fluid; flowing and seeping throughout every part of our lives, watching over everything we do! = Are we every truly alone?

Question 18

(FOUCAULT) How does he link to Family and Households? HINT: Surveillance of the Family!

Answer 18

Surveillance of the family = He claimed that professionals had entered into the domestic sphere and acted as surveillance, reporting on families and gathering data etc!

He sees surveillance is a form of social control and increases the power of the state!

Question 19

(FOUCAULT) What does Surveillance do? HINT: There are 5 Examples here!

Answer 19

• Sense of security and safety
• Provide good evidence after they have happened
• Feel protected
• Track and monitor people’s routines
• Deterrence from committing crimes

Question 20

What Sociologist asks the question: ‘Are we a Surveillance Society’?

Answer 20

Postmodernist, Lyon!

Question 21

(LYON - ‘Surveillance Society’) What does he argue in regards to how much our lives are surveilled?

Answer 21

He says our lives are transparent and there is a lack of privacy in our lives = Do we expect this; giving away our data with a lack of protection from VPNs / accepting cookies and terms and conditions without reading them??

However, we are also more accepting of this and we take it as expected that Government agencies will hold information about us!

Question 22

(LYON - ‘Surveillance Society’) What 2 Types of Surveillance does he argue that we experience in life? HINT: External and Internalised!

Answer 22

EXTERNAL (COVERT OR OVERT) SURVEILLANCE = CCTV cameras in public places as well as other means (EG: Tracking of websites visited or card payments made).

INTERNALISED SURVEILLANCE = We monitor ourselves (Links to the Panopticon)

Question 23

(FOUCAULT) What are the 4 Different Types of Surveillance?

Answer 23

SURVEILLANT ASSEMBLAGES (The creation of a ‘digital self’ from our online habits and trails) = Masses of data is assembled and merged to create a ‘data double’ or a ‘digital self’ - you can be ‘known’ even if you have never been ‘met’ in person –> Digital self online = A picture of you can be assembled from your online habits!

SOUS SURVEILLANCE (Watching those above us) = The public can watch and report on the powerful (EG = Filming police interactions with the public via mobile phones) = Surveilling the agencies in societies!

SYNOPTIC SURVEILLANCE (Watching each other) = Mathesion says we ‘watch’ each other (Facebook stalking!) or media tracking and monitoring of politicians –> Lings to Ring Doorbells!

SELF SURVEILLANCE (Watching ourselves) = We monitor and control our own behaviour for the fear of being judged by others. EG = The fear of being judged as a ‘bad mother’ and the link to social desirability!

Question 24

What is the Panopticon?

Who designed it?

What purpose does it serve?

Answer 24

The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single corrections officer, without the inmates knowing whether or not they are being watched.

Designed by Jeremy Bentham = 1791!

• For incarceration of prisoners
  If you wan to build the perfect prison, you have to make the prisoners believe they are being watched 24/7 = They do not need to be surveilled all the time, you just need to make people believe they are being watched, in order to make them Self Surveil!
• Cells around a tower where the officers would ‘watch them from’; shine lights into the cells so you can see in and they cannot see out = They would self-surveil themselves; this links to Elf on the Shelf and how children change their behaviour and self-serveil themselves as ‘Santa is watching them’!

Power makes us comply and survey ourselves!

Question 25

(FOUCAULT) What were the Types of Power he identified?

Answer 25

SOVEREIGN POWER = Before the 19th Century, the monarchy had absolute power (think ‘off with her head’) and it was brutal (EG: Public executions). This power is enforced through fear –> This was brutal and we have moved away from this; however, places whereby crimes have strong and sever punishments, like Thailand, crimes still do take place!

DISCIPLINARY POWER = From the 19th Century, authorities take over punishment (think ‘oi, you’re nicked!’) and it was more humane (as seen with arrest rights) - This power is enforced through surveillance (EG: Online registers, tracking, CCTV, performance management)!

Question 26

(FOUCAULT) What type of ‘Culture’ does he argue we have in Society today?

Answer 26

CARCERAL CULTURE = This is a culture whereby other social institutions can use disciplinary power, such as schools, social care and health care providers, as they surveil and monitor society = EG: Schools that have detention systems; this links to how the family is surveilled by health visitors, GPs and pre-school teachers!

Question 27

What Sociologists argue that we now have Actuarial Justice?

Answer 27

Feely and Simon!

Question 28

(FEELY AND SIMON) What is Acturial Justice?

Answer 28

This is whereby surveillance is based on profiles generated by the mass data we have (EG = You are not randomly stopped for searches at airports) –> Technology is fundamental to our ability to do this; and it is aimed at preventing offending –> A target for who is going to be punished and who is not; looking at ‘risk’ - They assess the risks and they way up the costs = A game of probability!

This links to typification and targeting people!

Question 29

Why do some people are that we are in a ‘Fortress Society’?

Answer 29

It is so hard to get off the grid - We will be tracked everywhere we go; this is made worse because of globalisation!

Question 30

(FOUCAULT) What are the Criticisms of Foucault + ‘Discipline & Punish’? HINT: There are 7 Criticisms here!

Answer 30

• Does Foucault over emphasise the power of surveillance to change behaviour? = Does it actually change what you do?
• CCTV doesn’t stop crime, it just leads to displacement - Links to Situational Crime Prevention!
• Goffman (1982) = They showed that inmates in asylums are able to resist control = Some people still reject it (links to the reject or the labelling theory)
• Surveillance is about preventing crime rather than rehabilitating offenders
• Surveillance is open to labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy - who do you surveil? The people you suspect (EG: Links to stop and search or airport scanning etc.) = Links to typification and who they suspect will be guilty!!
• Kilburn Experiment (Newburn and Heyman) = CCTV can protect civil liberties as well as erode them - 18 months CCTV in custody suite in Kilburn; used by defence lawyers as well as prosecution; protects inmates from police brutality = Protecting those who are invulnerable (Links to Ring doorbells)!
• People now surveil authorities (EG = Film police doing stop and search) and each other (dash cams). Now surveillance works together with other technology (EG = CCTV with facial recognition) - This is expensive and is there too much data to process?

Question 31

What were the Role of Prisons?

Think about:

• Pre-18th Century
• Enlightenment
• Modern Era
• New Labour Era

Answer 31

PRE-18th CENTURY = Prison was used to hold people BEFORE they were punished - Holding people before punishment (Being on remand; being in prison before you have been taken to court + if you are likely to be seen as guilty) = You would be put in prison if you were awaiting trial; the time you already serve is then deducted off your sentence (This does happen today, but only for cases where it is likely that the person is guilty / may attempt to flee the country)!

ENLIGHTENMENT = Prison is seen as a punishment itself (use reformation - hard labour / religious instruction) - The view has changed from prison being the place where punishments take place, to an actual punishment; including the loss of liberty!

MODERN ERA = Prison is punishment but no inhumane treatment, prisoners are treated well-rehabilitation is the focus = Government-run institutions and ethics board that are supposed to be forward-thinking and rehabilitative places –> However, is this true due to Recidivism rates? How effective are prisons? = Mental health issues, poor literacy skills, assaults ,re-offending rates etc all suggest not –> If prisons worked, would people be going back?

NEW LABOUR = ‘Populist punitiveness’ –> Prisons are popular with the electorate, as they feel safer and feel like crime is being tackled - However, this is expensive and not good in the long term) –> Overcrowding and cost of prisons (they are expensive and there is a lack of effective rehabilitative schemes)!

Question 32

Give some Statistics about UK Prisons! HINT: There are around 11 Examples here!

Answer 32

147 per 100,000 incarceration rate –> This is the highest rate in Western Europe!

95% of the Prison Population are male; 5% are female!

There are 7 Female Prisons in England and Wales!

England = 112 Prisons
Wales = 6 Prisons

AGE = Nearly 4/5 of prisoners are between the ages of 21-49!

ETHNICITY = More than 1 in 1- prisoners are a foreign national (around 11%) = Moral panics in the media make us believe that prisons are full of BAME individuals!

2016 Statistics = Around 2/5 of prison admissions were re-offenders!

Nearly 1/2 (44%) of adult offenders released from custody go on to re-offend!

More than 1/3 of male prisoners said drugs were easily obtainable in prison!

Almost 2/3 of adult prisoners said they used drugs within the month before entering prison = Links to Left-Realism; see addiction as a root cause that we need to tackle and solve!

Mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, are overly represented by both men and women, apart from personality disorders for women in prison compared to the those not!

Question 33

TRUE OR FALSE - Overcrowding in prisons is INCREASING!

Answer 33

TRUE!

However - Sometimes there is a quiet release of prisoners when prisons are becoming overcrowded; those usually in prison for lower-level crimes often get released!

To combat this there was an idea to create ‘floating prisons’ - Prisons floating on a barge in the Isle of Wight! - This is a very dystopian view!

Question 34

Give some Statistics for Assaults on Prison Staff in the years in the UK!

Answer 34

Assaults on prison staff in the UK more than doubled (2x) between 2012-2016!

Of all assaults on staff in 2016, around 800 (789) were serious (requiring hospitalisation or extra care etc)!

Question 35

TRUE OR FALSE - Juvenile Offenders have been re-offending MORE since 2008!

Answer 35

TRUE!

Question 36

How do Sociologists argue that Recidivism (Re-offending) can be reduced? HINT: Reformation!

How can this link to Employment of Prisoners after they get released?

Answer 36

Recidivism (reoffending) can be reduced with supporting offenders as they reintegrate to the community.

Problems they face are:

• Lack of skills/training
• Mental health issues
• Substance misuse
• Prejudice/discrimination towards ex-offenders
• Lack of employment
• Back to the same area again

Only ¼ had a job to go to on release from prison! = Timpsons (the shoe and key cutters) help give prisoners on release!

⅕ employers said they excluded or were likely to exclude ex-offenders from the recruitment process!

Question 37

What does the Prisoners Education Trust attempt to do? HINT: Educate and train prisoners so they can get employed when released!

Can you give any Statistics for this?

Answer 37

Educate and train prisoners to increase their skills and qualifications so they can get jobs after they get released!

For 30 years, PET has helped people in prison transform their lives through learning.
Working across England and Wales, we:

1. Fund courses in levels and subjects that are otherwise unavailable
2. Support people to choose courses, build connections and progress with their learning
3. Champion the life-changing power of education to prisons and policy makers

Out of 100 people leaving prison, around 82 of those who were part of PET went on to love crime-free lives

Question 38

Describe the Wandsworth Prison (UK)!

Answer 38

Category B; holds around 1500 as of September 2023 = Easy access to drugs, cramped places and narrow corridors, violence, high rates of re-offending, smuggling of phones (sometimes brought in by officers = Corruption) etc

Question 39

Describe the Halden Prison (Norway)!

Answer 39

A max-security prison; holds 250 inmates = Incarcerates 60 out of every 100,000; calm police officers; clean and spacious conditions; freedom and liberty (can open and close doors when they choose); education strategies etc = Shared kitchen and chilling space! = Calm, and rehabilitative yet correctional! = Have an interpersonal relationship between staff and inmates = Contact officers in Norway are trained for 2 years; it takes just weeks in the US to train correctional officers! Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world!

Question 40

What is the Functionalist View of Prisons? HINT: See them as a Positive thing!

Answer 40

They point to the positive functions prison might perform in society!

• Prison could act as a deterrent – thus reinforcing social regulation
• They work to maintain balance in society – making up for the failings of other institutions such as the family and the education system
• Restoring order through incapacitating those who break the law.

Question 41

What are the Criticisms of the Effectiveness of Prisons? HINT: Re-offending!

Answer 41

One might criticise the effectiveness of prison – There is a 60% re-offending rate it isn’t really effective in restoring equilibrium in the first place – what prison does most of the time is re-socialise people into criminal norms, in the extreme people become institutionalised and unable to reintegrate into society once released.

Question 42

What is the Marxist View of Prisons?

Answer 42

• We ignore the failings of the system that lead to the conditions of inequality and poverty which lead to crime
• The imprisonment of selected members of the lower classes neutralises opposition to the system = EG: Russia (putting away opposition groups; as seen with Stalin’s’ ‘purges’)!
• The imprisonment of many members of the underclass also sweeps out of sight
• The ‘worst jetsam of Capitalist society’ such that we cannot see it
• All of the police, court and media focus on working class street crime means that our attention is diverted away from the immorality and greed of the elite classes

Supporting evidence for the Marxist view comes from the fact that there are higher rates of imprisonment in more unequal countries.

Question 43

What do Critics of the ‘Overuse of Prison’ argue offer as Alternatives?

Answer 43

Critics of the ‘overuse of prison’ argue that we should employ alternatives – by using curfews, community service and treatment orders – because these have a lower re-offending rate – mainly because they do not remove an offender from society.

Question 43

What are the Left and Right Realists Views on Crime?

Answer 43

LEFT REALISTS = They criticise Marxists for absolving criminals from blame – people in jail mostly deserve to be there and their victims are most likely to be working class themselves.

Since the 1980s there has been a significant increase in the use of imprisonment in the United Kingdom – numbers have roughly doubled since 1990 with the total prison population now standing at about 84,000 and we have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the western world - Often due to Right Realist policies!

RIGHT REALISTS = They emphasise rational choice theory as the cause of crime and zero tolerance as the solution to crime. The state claims that tougher penalties are one of the major causes of declining crime rates.

Question 44

How are the Characteristics of the Prison Population and the Characteristics of the Population as a Whole different?

Answer 44

It is also worth noting that the characteristics of the prison population are very different to the characteristics of the population as a whole.

People who are over-represented include ethnic minority groups, men, the underclass and the young (those who are relatively deprived, marginalised and in subcultures - Links to Left Realism!)

Question 45

What is ‘White Eye’?

Answer 45

We seen the representations and depictions of ethnic-minorities in the way that White people see them –> An ethnocentric and oblivious view!

Similar to the Male Gaze for Women!