informing policy development - done Flashcards
what is a policy
A policy is a course of action adopted or proposed by an organisation or government - it is a set of guidelines that inform actions
what is informal policy making
how does it work, what does it rely on?
relies on moral and social institutions (e.g. families, peer groups, the community) to promote lawful behaviour
what is formal policy making
society attempts to control crime and prevent reoffending through punishment or programmes that offenders have to engage with
what influence have biological theories of criminality had on policy making
have led to crime control and punishment policies that aim to change the working of a criminal’s brain or body
Treatment programmes to reduce offending include the use of what?
include the use of drugs, diet and surgery.
Alcohol abuse can be treated with the drug Antabase - what does antabase do that stops alcohol abuse?
prevents the body from breaking down alcohol, causing unpleasant hangover symptoms (aversion therapy)
what is used to treat heroin addicts?
Methadone is used to treat addicts as a long term alternative to heroin to prevent withdrawal symptoms
Sex offenders can be treated with Stilbestrol - what does this do?
suppresses testosterone in order to reduce the sex drive
sometimes prisoners are given tranquilisers or sedatives such as Valium, Lithium and Largactil to do what?
to keep them calm
what did Gesch et al find on the link between diet and crime?
if prisoners were suplimented with vitamins, fatty acids and nutrients there was an upto 30% reduction in violent incidents
what is the link between vitamin B3 and schizophrenia
some types of scizoprenia might be caused by lack of vitamin b
what are the two types of surgery used to alter offender’s brains and bodies to preventing them offending
lobotomy and surgical castration
what is surgical castration?
the removal of one or both of the male testes
what is the aim of surgical castration
used on sex offenders in the past to change their offending behaviour
what is the problem with surgical castration?
it is ethically wrong
what is a lobotomy?
cutting the connection between the frontal lobes of the brain and the thalmus
what has lobotomy been used to treat?
It has been used to treat schizophrenia and sexually motivated and spontaneous violent criminals
name 2 countries where surgical castration is still used
nigeria and czech republic
is surgical castration effective
it dramatically reduces reoffending rates
in the 1940s there was a study on lobotomies and it found that for ?? patients it was effective
it is a fraction
2/3 of patients
what is the problem with lobotomy
has severe side effects such as brain damage
what is tear gas used for?
controlling crowds or dispersing rioters
what does tear gas do that helps control crime?
physically incapacitates people so they have to stop what theyre doing
what is eugenics?
the theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations
what did they believe about crime in eugenics
they believed the tendancy to criminality is transmitted by inheriting a ‘criminal gene’
what did those who believed in eugenics do?
forced sterilisation on those who they thought had hereditary defectiveness & stopped certain people from breeding (those who they deemed genetically unfit)
What 2 policies came out of eugenicist theory?
- in 1927 it became legal to sterilise the unfit
- anti-miscegenation laws in places eg in some states in america it was illegal for a black person to marry a white person
give an example of a eugenic policy
Nazi germany - the holocaust
what did the law of the protection of german blood and honour do in nazi germany?
banned marriage and sexual relations between germans and jews - it was later extended to othergroups that the Nazis deemed inferior
in psychoanalysis what does Frueds treatment involve (how does it work)
involves bringing unconscious conflicts and repressed emotions into the conscious mind so they can be resolved - he saw patients 1 on 1 for sessions and used methods such as hypnosis and word association
what are token economies (explain how they work)
a behaviour modification program - if you behave well you get something, if you dont behave well you get nothing or get something taken away
where are token economies commonly used
in prison
are token economies effective
can change behaviour in incarsirated individuals in upto 69% of cases
what are the problems with token economies especially in prison?
- after prisoners leave the same currency doesnt exist so they may struggle to adapt back to the real world
- in the wider world, there is not such positive reinforcement apart from in some cases such as in a job eg promotions or bonuses
Aversion therapy applies Eysenck’s personality theory to the treatment of who?
sex offenders
according to eysenck criminals are more extravert and neurotic, why is this a problem?
makes them harder to condition because they are more resistant to learning through punishment
what does aversion therapy involve?
uses negative responses such as nausia to an undesirable stimulus