Sociological policies Flashcards
What is a policy
A course or principle of action adopted or ptoposed by an organization or individual
What is a zero tolerance policy
Demands all crimes are acted on no matter how trivial they are
What theory is zero tolerance based on
Right realist
How does zero tolerance work
Crime hotspots are cracked down on and introducing a new approach
What is an example of zero tolerance policy
London 2012 Olympics (Operation Trafalgar) had 400 police officers on street crime, (pickpocketing)
Evidence of zero tolerance being successful
It has a measured impact
-New York major crime reduced by 39% in 1993
What are weaknesses of zero tolerance policies
Allows abuse of power (profiling and institutional racism)
Ignorant to other crimes
Displacement effect
Can give criminal records
Zero tolerance causing displacement
Criminals will simply move to areas that aren’t being overly-policed and are under-staffed, allowing them to offend.
Zero tolerance wasting resources
Wastes police time and staff by arresting for petty crimes instead of serious issues, can also be argues to waste taxpayers money.
Zero tolerance giving records
Give criminal records to individuals for small offences (man being sentenced to 6 months in prison for stealing a £3.50 case of water during the London riots 2011)
Zero tolerance encouraging abuse
Impacts minority communities and young people, leading to accusations of institutional racism and profiling
What is broken window theory
A run down area attracts more crime as it is more ‘tolerated’
What is a broken window theory policy
If an area is made to look nice it will deter crime from happening.
What is a weakness of broken window theory
It has to rely on other policies to maintain reduced crime
What is a strength of broken window theory
It makes an area more ‘socially attractive’
What is target hardening
A target that can be made more crime resistant, making it harder for crime to occur.
What does CCTV do
Records and monitors deterring people from crime
CCTV causing displacement
Criminals will simply offend where there is not a camera
CCTV ethical issues
Surveillance is seen as an intrusion to everyday life, known as the ‘Big Brother society’
CCTV only working when rational
Those who are intoxicated of have a passion cannot make a rational decision and ignore it (aren’t deterred).
CCTV helping court
Provides vital concrete evidence in court to identify suspects, gather evidence and solve crimes efficiently.
FM- saves police time and money.
CCTV damage
They can be damaged, covered, deleted, not watched, have blind spots
What is penal populism
Governments change sentencing in a way that is popular with the general public.
What is an example of penal populism
James Bulger concerned media and public that they were being ‘soft on crime’, UK now has more life sentences that all of Europe.
