Penal Populism Flashcards
what is populism?
political response that favours popularity over other policy considerations
What is penal populism?
the pursuit of a set of penal policies to win votes rather than to reduce crime rates and promote justice
IMPORTANT : to sway votes
What do penal populists allow?
the electoral advantage of a policy to take precedence over its penal effectiveness
What is a spectrum of intentionality
- exploitation of public anxiety
- desire to reflect public opinion without sufficient examination
What do politicians think about penal populism?
- that they are doing their job
- there are considering the emotions of the victims
- reflecting community attitudes and sentiment
What is an issue with politicians and penal populism?
they often dont consider what the different surveys are showing (most likely a decrease in crime); ABSENCES OF ESCALATION OF CRIME
what is the primary effect of penal populism?
the over use of imprisonment
What can the over use of imprisonment lead to?
high recidivism rates
How can you connect penal populism and Nils Christie?
the house of perfect, once it is built it is hard to diffuse; the emotions associated with crime and criminals and this so called “tough stance on crime” will take a long time to diffuse
What may take the sting out of the populist agenda?
declining crime rates; does not mean we should become complacent
reaction to ‘good’ crime news
MORAL INDIGNATION (challenging collective conscience)
- skeptic about stats
- accepting declining crime rates = complacency; unacceptable, all small crime should be dealt with
- excusing offenders of their deeds
- insensitivity to crime victims
REJECTING THE NUMBERS
- not relying on stats; do what they feel is right
- dont use the numbers but using perspectives of people effected by it
What are goals of the criminal justice system?
- deter crime
- social control; protection of communities
What is the Punitive turn?
- zero tolerance policing
- paradigm shift of ignoring the evidence
