Sociological crime polocies

Question 1

What is Restorative Justice

Answer 1

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

Question 2

How is Restorative Justice Informed by Functionalism

Answer 2

• 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.

Question 3

Pros of restorative justice

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Cons to restorative justice

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

What is Prevent

Answer 5

Prevent is the 1st phase of the
government’s counter terrorism
strategy.

Prevent

Pursue

Protect

Prepare.

Question 6

How is Prevent informed by Functionalism

Answer 6

Boundary maintenance. Schools are required to reinforce the norms and values (British Values) and reaffirm
the value of being law abiding.

Question 7

Pros of Prevent

Answer 7

Is successfully preventing some people from being drawn into terrorism

Question 8

Cons of prevent

Answer 8

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’.

Question 9

What is Decriminalistaion

Answer 9

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

Question 10

What is a Diversion Policy

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

What is the difference between Designative and Reintegrative shaming

Answer 11

• 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.

Question 12

How are Decriminilisation, Diversion Policies and Reintegrative Shaming informed by labeling theory

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

Pros to Decriminilisation, Diversion Policies and reintegrative Shaming

Answer 13

Can deal effectively with
minor offenders and young
offenders.

Saves expenditure in the CJS.

Question 14

Cons to Decriminilisation, Diversion Policies and reintegrative Shaming

Answer 14

Not appropriate for
serious offences.

Question 15

What are the Right Realism Crime Prevention Policies

Answer 15

• Zero Tolerance Policing
• Penal Populism
• Incarceration
• Situational Crime Prevention

Question 16

What is Penal Populism

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What is Incarceration

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Cons to Incarceration

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What is situational Crime Prevention

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Cons of Situational Crime Prevention

Answer 20

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’.

Question 21

What is Zero Tolerance Policing

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Pros of Zero Tolerance Policing

Answer 22

Has shown to reduce crime, crime fell inn NYC 1990’s

Question 23

Cons to Zero Tolerance Policing

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

HOW ARE PENAL POPULISM,
INCARCERATION, ZERO
TOLERANCE, SITUATIONAL
CRIME PREVENTION
INFORMED BY RIGHT
REALISM

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

How do left realists see to prevent crime

Answer 25

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

Question 26

What is Community Policing

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

How effective is Priority policing

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

What is a Multi-Agency Approach

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

Pros of Multi Agency Approach

Answer 29

A ‘joined up’ coordinated approach
to reducing crime can help deal with the complex social causes of crime.

Question 30

Cons of Multi Agency Approach

Answer 30

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.

Question 31

How are Multi Agency approach and Community policing informed by left realism

Answer 31

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.