crime control policies influenced by sociological theories

Question 1

what policys where influenced by the labelling theory

Answer 1

policy 1 - decriminalisation
policy 2 - diversion policies
policy 3 - restoritive justice and reintegrative shaming

Question 2

what does each policy include

Answer 2

decriminalisation- this states we should hate the act not the actor, so when it comes to minor offences, we should give other punishments instead of leaving them with a criminal record, for example the decriminalisation of drugs in Portugal

diversion policies- the aim is to keep minor offences out of arrests and justice system and get behavioural course or fine so its not on criminal record which avoids a self fullfilling prophecy

restorative justice and reintegrative shaming- disintegrated shaming is where both the crime and criminal labelled as bad and offender excluded from society, reintegrative shaming- ‘hate the sin not the sinner’ avoiding labelling, restorative justice- both parties agree to sit down and talk out the issue

Question 3

effectiveness of labelling theory policies

Answer 3

decriminalisation- in portugal this really helped reduce drug related deaths and contraction of hiv and aids from contaminated needles so it is effective
diversion policies- it avoids a self full filling prophecy which helps reduce crime
restorative justice and reintegrative shaming- disintegrated shaming is ineffective and it leads to a self-full-filling prophecy, were as reintegrated shaming allows them to believe they can change so it is effective, and restorative justice doesn’t actually do anything it is just for peace of mind so it isn’t effective in stopping crime as it occurs after the crime has occured

Question 5

what policys were influenced by right realists?

Answer 5

policy 1- environmental crime prevention
policy 2- situational crime prevention
policy 3- penal populism and imprisonment

Question 6

what does each policy from right realists include?

Answer 6

environmental crime prevention- this is influenced by the broken windows theory that states disordly neighbourhoods attract offenders so this became a strategy where they tackle all signs of disorder as soon as possible and also a zero tolerance policy towards all crime and tackling ‘quality of life’ offences
situational crime prevention- this is an aim t reduce oppurtunity or crime by increasing the risks or difficulties which is based on the rational choice theory and includes target hardening measures like locking cars and security guards
penal populism and imprisonment- from the 1990s the government took a tougher view on penalties and the crime act was introduced in 1997 making a minimum sentence for repeat offenders like repeat sexual offenders getting minimum life sentence

Question 7

right realists policys effectiveness

Answer 7

ecp- crime fell after ztp but could’ve been impacted by other factors as this occuredin other places that didnt have it, males and macaller found the curfews increased juvenile crime, can lead to targeting of ethnic minorities and confrontations
scp- the offender will then look for an easier target resulting in more vulnerable victims being attacked
penal populism and imprisonment- prison works temporarily and prisoners cant get funding for rehabilitation and criminals so 48% of the time reoffend

Question 8

policies introduced due to left realists

Answer 8

policy 1- policies to reduce inequality
policy 2- multi-agency approach
policy 3- democratic policing