Responses to crime Flashcards
What does deterrence as a response to crime mean? (1)
- Deterrence refers to the idea of the government actively discouraging crime through surveillance, police officers or prison itself.
What are ways we deter crime? (2)
- Deterrence from committing crime in the first place: Laws and policies or the role of the police.
- Deterrence through punishment: Prison or capital punishment.
What is the role of the police? (2)
- Apprehend wrongdoers
- Deter would-be wrongdoers
How effective is deterrence? (2)
- Research shows that more people are deterred by the idea of being caught committing a crime instead of a punishment like prison.
- The restriction of freedom due to incarceration is a strong deterrence for some however.
Which country still uses the death penalty? (2)
- China
- Has been shown to be effective deterrence as they have low violent crime rates.
What are some examples of preventative measures? (3)
- Surveillance
- Investment in infrastructure
- Reducing opportunities for crime to take place
What can be tackled to prevent violent crime? (4)
- Poverty
- Inequality
- Toxic Masculinity
- Alcoholism/Addiction
What was implemented in Scotland to prevent violent crime and how? (3)
- The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU)
- Since its implementation, the murder rate in Glasgow has dropped by 60%.
- Facial trauma patients passing through the city’s hospital has halved.
How effective has the implementation of the VRU been economically? (2)
- Every murder costs Scotland £1.9m, so a project that cut murders down by half with only a budget of £1m, it has been extremely cost effective.
What are the goals of rehabilitation? (2)
- To reform
- To reduce reconviction
How has rehabilitation worked in Scotland so far? (2)
- The current reoffending rate is 28.6% (decreasing for a decade.)
- This is because the UK now focuses on tackling the root causes of offending instead of rehabilitation.
Why is it beneficial to rehabilitate? (2)
- Reoffending costs an estimated £3 billion a year.
- Could be used instead to fund prisons and rehabilitation services.
What does rehabilitation look like in crime? (2)
- Prisoners are helped to reduce the likelihood of their reoffending.
- Supported to prepare for release back into society.
How can prisons supporting offenders? (3)
- Email-a-prisoner scheme to enable family connections.
- Range of clinics offered to support a variety of health needs.
- Variety of work opportunities available.
What are the limits on the rehabilitation support prisons can offer offenders? (2)
- No special learning needs staff
- Substantial delays in accessing specialist services (mental health experts require 42 referrals.)
What is Denunciation? (2)
- The public condemnation of a criminal.
- Described as a ‘tough love’ approach to crime.
How does prison reflect a ‘tough love’ approach? (3)
- ‘Slopping out’ refers to the manual cleaning of human waste by the inmates.
- Separate wing for sex offenders
- Daily routines
How is denunciation reflected by the media? (2)
- News outlets often use harsh language to describe prisoners: ‘Evil, Thug, Beasts.’
- Monstrous MET officer.
What are disadvantages of the ‘tough love’ employed with denunciation?
- 5 years max imprisonment for possession of a knife yet knife crime rates are still too high.
- Growing public push towards other, better responses to crime that work.
How effective can prisons be as a punishment?
- By focusing on protecting the public instead of reform, makes a safer country.
- However increases reoffending rate.
- UK currently focuses on punishment and has 60% reoffending rate.
