Unit 2 - AC4.1 Flashcards
What is an informal policy?
These are policies linked to unofficial ideas to prevent crime, and are created by unofficial authorities e.g. the family
What is a formal policy?
These are policies linked to official ideas to prevent crime, and are created by official authorities i.e. the Government
What is a social policy?
Refers to legislation, guidelines and interventions designed to change, maintain or create living conditions that are necessary for human welfare. They were designed to address social issues e.g. to reduce violent crime
What type of policy is crime control policies and what do they do?
Formal policies that place emphasis on reducing crime in society through increasing the powers of the police, prosecutors and courts
What type of policy is state punishment policies and what do they do?
Formal policies which set guidelines for the type of punishments that go with particular crimes. Most justice systems have a variety of sanctions that can be imposed on offenders
What are the three biological policy developments for crime?
Death penalty
Chemical castration
Eugenics
What the death penalty?
State authorised execution of convicted criminals deemed too dangerous to be allowed to live or they are believed to be ‘deserving’ of death
When and why is the death penalty used?
Often used for the most severe offences such as murder and fulfils an aim of punishment called retribution (i.e. an eye for an eye)
What are the methods for the death penalty?
Hanging, Electric chair, Lethal injection, Firing squads
What theorist would support the use of the death penalty as a crime policy, and why would they have supported the policy?
Biological theorists such as Lombroso - because he believed that criminals are biologically abnormal and genetically predisposition to crime. Therefore, by using the death penalty to execute serious criminals it prevents the criminal from inevitably committing crime again
How would the death penalty control crime?
Helps to remove the biological abnormality and criminal genes from the gene pool
What are the two arguments for the death penalty policy?
-Serves as a deterrent against serious crimes
-Has a 100% success rate from preventing the offender from committing future crimes
What are the two arguments against for the death penalty policy?
-Stats from the USA shows that the murder rate is lower in states that do not have the death penalty
-Possibility of executing innocent individuals who have been wrongfully convicted
What is chemical castration?
A legal body chemical treatment that has been used in the UK since around 1944 to reduce the level of testosterone in men, and also in women, to lower sexual desire. It’s done through the administration of antiandrogen drugs, either in pill form or more commonly via injections
What is chemical castration used for?
Initially it was used for the treatment of sex offenders, thought of as a cure for their problem and as recently as 2010, a British man agreed to undergo chemical castration as part of the terms of his sentence
Who was the man in 1952 who received chemical castration and why did he receive it?
Alan Turing - deemed to be ‘sexually devaint’ because he was homosexual. He was given 2 choices, either receive the chemical castration or go to prison. Alan later committed suicide as a result of the side effects from chemical castration
Hoe does chemical castration link to biological theories?
Links to the idea that criminals suffer from biological abnormalities, such as irregular hormone levels. For example, from a biological perspective a sex offender’s actions could be caused as a result of an overproduction of sex hormones
How does chemical castration aim to control crime as a policy?
There’s an attempt to correct/cure the abnormality. Once the abnormality is addressed then the criminal behaviour should reduce as a by-product
What biological theories does chemical castration link to/be supported by?
High levels of testosterone to criminality such as Sheldon’s somatotyping and Jacob’s XYY theory
What are the three arguments for chemical castration?
-This policy has been trialed- suggested it can cut re-offending rates from 40% to 5%
-Reduces motivation and ability to commit offences
-Allows convicted criminals to participate in society
What are two arguments against chemical castration?
-Positive effects of this policy may be limited, only a small number of sex offenders will benefit from these treatments
-Usually last between 3-5 years and then no longer effective after it’s discontinued - range of negative side effects