LO4: Understand Causes of Policy Change

Question 1

explain how biological theories inform policy development with an example

Answer 1

Drug Treatment:
Managing prisoners
Sedatives and tranquillisers such as Valium have been used to keep potentially violent prisoners calm.

Surgery:
Lobotomy
This is a major procedure that involves cutting the connection between frontal lobes and the thalamus and reduces violence.

Diet:
Supplementing prisoners diets with vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. Vitamin B3 has been used to treat some forms of schizophrenia

Eugenics:
the selection of desired heritable characteristics in order to improve future generation. the system would allow “the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable.” Example Nazi germany and the Holocaust with policies were aimed at purifying the Aryan Race by eliminating those they deemed unfit.

Capital punishment
The practice of executing someone as punishment for a specific crime after a proper legal trial like the Death penalty

Question 2

explain how individualistic theories inform policy development

Answer 2

Behaviour modification:
This therapy works on the principle that criminals should be trained / taught desirable behaviours and undesirable behaviours should be extinguished.

Token economy :
Prison sets a list of desirable behaviours. If prisoner behaves in the right way –they receive a token that can be spent on rewards. Selective reinforcement makes good behaviour more likely than bad behaviour

Question 3

explain how Sociological theories inform policy development

Answer 3

crime control needs a Multi Agency Approach is the Police and Probation, NHS and Care providers, Social and Welfare Services and Education and youth services working together to reduce crime.

Question 4

what are pressure groups

Answer 4

Organisations that try to influence government policies in the interests
play an important role in policy making both in gaining public support and creating change by persuading politicians to agree change is needed
They create moral panics to stir the public in their favour.

Question 5

Explain How Public perseption Changes Affect Policy Change

Answer 5

Drink Driving
public attitudes to drink driving were quite tolerant
was not generally thought of as a serious offence
Governments showed little interested and did not collect official stats of deaths caused by DD
Car ownership was only 15% of households in 1951, but this increased to 55% by 1971
Amount of deaths rose from 5000 in the 1950’s to 8000 by the 1960’s
1952, the 1st law was passed making driving while drunk an offence - vague definition of “drunk”
Road safety was becoming more of a public concern from 1966
1967 Road Safety Act introduced a blood alcohol limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

Question 6

Explain How Cultural changes Changes Affect Policy Change

Answer 6

LGBT Rights
homosexual is now socially acceptable in our society, but the fight for equality has arguably been one of the most dramatic cultural changes in public opinion

For centuries, Same-sex sexual activities was condemned as immoral or sinful and severely punishment by the law. in 1954 there were over 1000 men in prison as a result.

1967 - Sex between two men over 21 and “in private” is decriminalised. 2000 - The ban on gay and bisexual people serving in the armed forces is lifted; the age of consent is equalised for same- and opposite-sex partners at 16. 2002 - Same-sex couples are given equal rights when it comes to adoption
2004 - A law allowing civil partnerships is passed. 2014 - Gay marriage becomes legal in England, Wales and Scotland

Question 7

name one biological policy

Answer 7

Eugenics, death penalty

Question 8

name one Individualistic policy

Answer 8

Psychoanalysis, cognitive behavural therapy

Question 9

name one Sociological policy

Answer 9

CCTV, zero-toralence

Question 10

describe the policy of CBT

Answer 10

a talking therapy, aiming to help offenders identify their thinking errors, challenge and chage them. For example:
- Anger management coaches an offender new ways to express their anger, offering new techniques they can use to reduce or cope with their anger.

Question 11

describe the policy of CCTV

Answer 11

survalence that people are aware is happening, but not where someone is watching from. it acts as a deterent for crimes like theft, and results in people self-regulating there behaviours

Question 12

Explain how laws are applied differently according to the circumstances in which the action occurs

Answer 12

Age of criminal responsibility - 10 in england but 13 in scotland

Partial defences of diminished responsibility and loss of control - the accused was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning, so much so that they were not in control of their actions

Mens rea and Actus Reus - the guilt act and guilty mind, if there is consent by both parties, like at boxing matches, its not a crime.

Self-defence - can have murder charges dismisted if proven to be killed in self defence with no alternative way to protect themsevles

Question 13

Name 2 newspaper campains

Answer 13

Sarah’s law and Year and a day rule

Question 14

name 2 indiviual campaigns

Answer 14

Claires law and the double jeopardy rule

Question 15

name 2 pressure group campaigns

Answer 15

PAS (Protection Against Stalking) and Inquest

Question 16

what is sarah’s law

Answer 16

allows people to ask the police if a convicted sex offender has had contact with a specific child. Campaign lead by sarah’s mother after sarah payne was abducted in 2000 when she was 8, sarah was murdered by a convicted sex offender. News of the World newspaper published the names of 50 peadophiles, and committed to publishing more, for the safety of the public in suppor tof sarah’s mums campaign

Question 17

what is claires law

Answer 17

A Law that allows people to ask the police about the criminal backgrounds of their partner. campaign lead by clares father

Clare ended her relationship with her boyfriend, george, in 2008, but he still harrassed clare in 2009, during this year george raped and murdered clare and set fire to her body. Clares father was outraged when he found out she went to the police several times about the harrassment and that the police did nothing. it was also revield that Geoge had a history of violence against women including having served 5-years for threatening a partner with a knife and several other violent offences.

Question 18

what is PAS

Answer 18

this campaign aimed to make stalking a specific offence. befor 2011, stalking was not identified as an offence according to the law. this was dispite over 100,000 people reporting that they feared they were being stalked. this campaign raised awareness about how the law wasn’t protecting people and they set up an independent parlimentary inquiry about changing the law. Victims were given a platform to share their experiences and to describe the physical and psychological harm stalking caused.