informing sociological policies

Question 1

what are some examples of sociological policies?

Answer 1

-penal populism
-zero tolerance
-cctv
-restorative justice
-multi-agency approach

Question 2

what is penal populism?

Answer 2

-media driven process where politicians compete to implement tougher prison sentences based on the idea that crime is out of control
-informed by right realism
-crime is a rational choice so harsher punishments act as a deterrent

Question 3

evaluate the effectiveness of penal populism

Answer 3

strengths
-very practical: it is effective, in theory, at reducing crime as a whole as deterrents can discourage people
weaknesses
-politicians might not have any idea of how to implement the policies as they just want the votes instead of trying to reduce crime

Question 4

what is the zero tolerance policy?

Answer 4

-police take a tougher approach to prevent all crimes happening
-focuses on the quality-of-life offenses such as begging, prositiution and vandalism
-eforced by right realism
-they believe people choose not to work and turn to crime for their needs. tougher sentences means it encourages these people to crack down and prevent crime, encourages others to get jobs

Question 5

evaluate the effectiveness of zero tolerance

Answer 5

strengths
-cheap implement and has an immediate effect on crime. makes people think something is actually being done
weaknesses
-it might lead to targeting of ethnic minorities due to police racism
-only focuses on low-level crimes and ignores the white-collar crimes committed by powerful organisations
-leads to more people being arrested
-people already commit crime without a regard for the consequences so might account as being ineffective

Question 6

what is cctv?

Answer 6

-modern form of panopticon where prison guards watch inmates who are not aware if they are being watched
-foucault: surveillance theory - people regulate their own behaviour and act accordingly
-enforced by surveillance theories

Question 7

evaluate the effectiveness of cctv

Answer 7

strengths:
-practical value: aids the criminal justice system as it provides evidence for crimianls (e.g., sarah everard case)
weaknesses:
-loveday et al found very few criminals are deterred by cctv

Question 8

what is restorative justice?

Answer 8

-more empathetic approach
-focuses on the harm caused by the criminal and the wrongdoing
-examines the negative impact of crime and considers what can be done to repair the crime
-includes the victim: the offender and victim meant with a r.j. facilitator at different times to cover ground and make sure all intentions are met
-victim and offender will meet until an agreement is achieved
-supported by left realism as it supports the rehabilitation of criminals

Question 9

evaluate the effectiveness of restorative justice

Answer 9

strengths:
-cost-effective - less in prison, funds go to police
-offender has a say in the process making them feel heard - confront their choices
weaknesses:
-some offenders may go through the process and act remorseful to get a reduced sentence and go to reoffend again - not all offenders want to do the process - not effective in reducing crime as a whole

Question 10

what is the multi-agency approach?

Answer 10

-enforced by left realism
-crime control must include other organisations and not just the police
-e.g., schools, youth services, housing departments, social servicesz nhs
-e.g., no knives better lives includes schools, local councils and youth services as well as the police and is effective

Question 11

evaluate the effectiveness of the multi-agency approach

Answer 11

strengths:
-more agencies getting involved means it is more effective as there is more support from others
weaknesses:
-only keeps others safe - it doesn’t actually reduce crime as a whole