how sociological theories have informed policies Flashcards
which sociological theory has a major impact on policies?
right realism
what is penal populism?
the attempts of the government to create policies around using prison as a punishment that will be popular to the general public
P- what does media reporting achieve?
stokes public concern about crime which leads to calls for tougher and longer prison sentences
how does penal populism link to right realism?
because of the argument that criminals weigh up costs and benefits of committing a crime
according to penal populism, what should a tougher prison sentence do?
reduce crime as more people are put off crime and are incarcerated for longer meaning they’re not as available to commit crime
what act was brought in by conservatives that brought in mandatory compulsory sentences for crimes such as class A drug trafficking and burglary?
Crimes Sentences Act 1977
what percentage of adults that were released from prison were reconvicted within a year?
46%
what happened to prisons due to penal populism?
overcrowding of prisons
number of people incarcerated rising from 45,000 in 1993 to 80,000 in 2021
what is situational crime prevention?
policies that make it more difficult to commit crime by increasing the chances of being caught
how does situational crime prevention link to right realism?
links to weighing up costs and benefits of committing a crime
what are some examples of situational crime prevention?
CCTV, employing security guards, alley gates etc
SCP, what experiment did Bowers et al do 2004?
quasi-experiment to compare the effect of alley gates on burglary rates in Liverpool with adjacent levels over the same period
SCP- what did Bowers et al find?
in test areas burglary rates were reduced by up to 37% compared to the control
what has CCTV shown to have changed?
effective in reducing theft of and from vehicles and has aided captures of perpetrators
what has CCTV made no impact in?
reducing violent crime
what happens to places without any of the situational crime preventions?
crimes get pushed to those places
what is zero tolerance policing?
advocates the reporting of and responding to all crimes no matter how minor
what is zero tolerance policing based on?
Wilson and Kelling broken windows theory
how does zero tolerance policing link to right realism?
a message is being sent to criminals that the cost of committing a crime in an area that had zero tolerance policing will be higher as you’re more likely to get caught
ZTP- where was the policy tried and what did it show?
Hartlepool and showed a 38% drop in crime over a 28-month period
What can zero tolerance policing increase and why?
Racial tension as stop and searches are increased
More people feeling victimised by the confrontational tactics to reduce crime
What would left realists argue about sociological policies?
Ignoring the real cause of crime such as deprivation and the increasing poverty gap
