Sociological crime polocies Flashcards
What is Restorative Justice
justice: voluntary process involving offender and victim
Trained facilitators work with both to talk about what happened, who was affected and how and what can be done to repair the harm.
It can take place at any stage of the criminal justice process (pre-sentence or after sentencing).
It used by the police and by prisons and is growing in popularity
How is Restorative Justice Informed by Functionalism
- Boundary maintenance.
It allows the victim to condemn
the wrong doer’s actions and
reinforces society’s commitment
to shared norms and values.
The function of punishment is
not to make the offender suffer,
but to remove crime from society.
Pros of restorative justice
Studies suggest it can reduce
post-traumatic stress in victims.
Can motivate offenders to change
the values and turn away from crime
Value for money, shown to reduce
re-offending
Most victims willing to go face to
face, and 85% satisfied with the
outcome
Cons to restorative justice
Some victims will be fearful of
facing the person who has
harmed them.
Some offenders may go along
with the process to get a lighter sentence, they are not really committed to the process.
What is Prevent
Prevent is the 1st phase of the
government’s counter terrorism
strategy.
Prevent
Pursue
Protect
Prepare.
How is Prevent informed by Functionalism
Boundary maintenance. Schools are required to reinforce the norms and values (British Values) and reaffirm
the value of being law abiding.
Pros of Prevent
Is successfully preventing some people from being drawn into terrorism
Cons of prevent
Innocent people are referred to the
channel programme.
This mainstreams discrimination.
Muslims are much more likely to be
referred this links to the media
stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists.
It undermines the relationship
between teachers/pupils & doctors/patients, who feel they are a legal duty to ‘spy’.
What is Decriminalistaion
Making some offences legal in order to prevent some people from getting a criminal record, preventing them from getting a job and becoming a deviant member of society
What is a Diversion Policy
Diversion policies aim to keep an offender out of the justice system to avoid labelling them as criminals.
Sometimes informal - police discretion.
Sometimes formal, e.g.
speed awareness course to
avoid prosecution.
What is the difference between Designative and Reintegrative shaming
- Disintegrative shaming
Where both crime and criminal are
labelled bad and the offender is
excluded from society. This can
push them into secondary deviance. - Reintegrative shaming
Labels the act not the actor. ‘He has
done a bad thing’ rather than he is a
bad person.
How are Decriminilisation, Diversion Policies and Reintegrative Shaming informed by labeling theory
Much crime is a result of a
self-fulfilling prophecy
By labelling a criminal we risk them
living up to their label and
committing further crime.
Pros to Decriminilisation, Diversion Policies and reintegrative Shaming
Can deal effectively with
minor offenders and young
offenders.
Saves expenditure in the CJS.
Cons to Decriminilisation, Diversion Policies and reintegrative Shaming
Not appropriate for
serious offences.
What are the Right Realism Crime Prevention Policies
- Zero Tolerance Policing
- Penal Populism
- Incarceration
- Situational Crime Prevention
What is Penal Populism
If criminal get a tougher prison sentences, in terms of the tariff and regime, then they are less likely to make the choice to commit crime
1990’s-200’s Politicians found it popular among voters, as a result pledged to build more prisons to hold people for longer, these kind of policies are known as penal populism
What is Incarceration
being confined in prison; imprisonment.
Right realists argue that prison has 2 functions.
Incapacitation – criminals become
incapable of harming the public
Deterrence – criminals think twice
before offending
Cons to Incarceration
Offenders can still commit crime within prison
Temporary, only protects public while offenders are in jail
Many crimes are not a result of an impulsive reaction meaning long sentence wont deter them from offending
Nor effective at preventing reoffending, 48% of adults are reconvicted within a year of release
What is situational Crime Prevention
Involves Target Hardening, this is when people take measures to make it harder for someone to commit a crime, for instance having CTV outside your house to scare off robbers
Cons of Situational Crime Prevention
Displacement.
In many cases, it doesn’t reduce crime, it just moves the problem to an easier target.
People in poorer areas are less able to take measures to ‘target harden’.
What is Zero Tolerance Policing
Zero tolerance approach to all crime, even trivial offences that affect people’s quality of life, such as aggressive begging, prostitution
vandalism.
3 strikes - 3rd strike prison
Pros of Zero Tolerance Policing
Has shown to reduce crime, crime fell inn NYC 1990’s
Cons to Zero Tolerance Policing
Can lead to the targeting of
ethnic minorities due to police
racism, and confrontations due
to heavy handed policing.
ZTP curfews can increase
juvenile crime.
Doesn’t deal the the causes of
crime, such as poverty and lack
of educational opportunities
and lack of jobs.
HOW ARE PENAL POPULISM,
INCARCERATION, ZERO
TOLERANCE, SITUATIONAL
CRIME PREVENTION
INFORMED BY RIGHT
REALISM
Right realists argue that crime is a
rational choice and that criminals
weigh up the risks and benefits of
committing a crime before they act.
Tougher sentences, SCP and ZTP are all about tipping the scales so the cons of committing a crime outweigh the pros.
Offending becomes an irrational
decision.
How do left realists see to prevent crime
The state (government) Could reduce crime by acting to reduce economic inequality and to
create a more just/fair society, where people don’t feel socially excluded. For example, ensuring everyone has access to
Good schools
Job opportunities
A living wage
Community Policing
Multi Agency Approach
What is Community Policing
Due to police loosing support in poorer areas, they need to win back public trust, they do this by involving themselves in local communities and deciding their priorities
This would prioritize policing the crimes that victimize people living inner city areas, such as domestic violence and hate crime.
At the same time, using more informal sanction policing crimes such as the possession of cannabis.
How effective is Priority policing
PCSOs work to build better relationships with communities.
Many forces make the procession of cannabis a low priority crime. Informal sanctions used.
Domestic violence and hate crime are now a much higher priority for
the police.
What is a Multi-Agency Approach
Left realists argue that crime control must involve many other agencies apart from the police. Such as schools, the NHS, local councils, social services and the
probation service.
Prevent is an example of a multi-agency approach.
Pros of Multi Agency Approach
A ‘joined up’ coordinated approach
to reducing crime can help deal with the complex social causes of crime.
Cons of Multi Agency Approach
Staff working in schools and the NHS for example, may not always feel comfortable about being
asked to police the behaviour of the people they are trying to help.
How are Multi Agency approach and Community policing informed by left realism
crime as an unequal and unfair social structure. They believe that
individuals in the community can
create a fairer society through the
way they interact with each other.
Community policing and a
multi-agency approach recognise that crime is a very complex problem and the only way to reduce it, is to involve the whole community.
