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Criminology Unit 2 AC 4.1 informing policy development.
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Criminology Unit 2 AC 4.1 informingpolicy development
If we can understand how/why people engage in criminal behaviour, it follows that strategies
can be developed to prevent and/or reduce crime. Knowledge around crime has led to a
range of policies. - correct answer-Policies can be:
Formal- (think of formal sanctions) given by official bodies like police and courts e.g fine,
custodial sentence
Informal- given by people around them/they have a choice to engage with it e.g
psychoanalysis
Crime control- to reduce the amount of crime
State punishment- punishment! loss of freedom etc prison
Diet - correct answer--Research has shown diet can be modified to try to change anti-social
behaviour.
-Artificial colourings such as tartrazine are known to encourage hyperactivity which can lead
to offending, removing these from a diet can help to reduce criminal offences in children.
-All prisons in the UK attempt to embrace the balance of the good health model by providing
nutritionally balanced and healthy diets.
*It is a crime control policy as it is aiming to reduce the amount of crime and can be formal
since prisons serve balanced food and you get what you are given.
Diet- supporting evidence- - correct answer--Virkkunen et al 1987 found violent offenders
had a lower than average serotonin turnover. It can be treated by having a diet with foods
that contain serotonin such as salmon and fresh tuna. Serotonin helps to stabilise mood and
therefore reduces aggression in offenders.
-Gesch et al 2002 studied a volunteer sample of 231 young, adult, male prisoners. They took
either a daily vitamin, mineral or a placebo. Psychological tests of violent behaviour and the
number of reports of disciplinary action were recorded. The findings showed the number of
disciplinary incidents for those taking supplements dropped by 35% compared to a reduction
of only 10.1% in the placebo group.
-Raine also did research where a group of 3 year olds from Mauritius were given enriched
diets of fish, exercise and cognitive stimulation and by 23 findings show they were 64% less
likely than a control group not on the programme to have criminal records. (EEG scans used
to measure brain activity).
Assess the effectiveness of diet in informing policy development - correct answer-There is
evidence to suggest that modifying a prisoners diet is effective in treating violent anti-social
behaviour, Gesch et all 2002 studied a volunteer sample of 231 male prisoners and found
those taking supplements had a 35% reduction in disciplinary actions compared to a placebo
control group whose violent behaviour only dropped by 10%
, On the other hand there are limitations to how useful this policy is, as there may be other
factors that determine what people can eat, for example people in poverty may not be able to
afford fresh fish. Alongside this people may have allergies and this may restrict what they
can eat. Lastly not everyone with a poor diet commits crimes which suggest other factors are
needed alongside diet changes.
Drug treatments- how it works? - correct answer-...are sometimes used to treat/control
criminal or anti-social behaviours. The drugs work by altering biochemical processes in the
body (increasing/decreasing specific chemicals and hormones).
*crime control policy to reduce the amount of crime as well as being informal since people
have the choice to seek treatment.
3 drug treatments to control crime- - correct answer-Alcohol abuse can lead to violent
behaviour, Saunders calculated alcohol plays a role in 1000 arrests a day and Flanzer
estimated 80% of family violence cases involve alcohol. Antabuse can be used to treat
alcoholism-it works by preventing alcohol being broken down by the body which results in
horrible hangover symptoms if the smallest amount is consumed.
Heroin addiction can cause crime due to the need of money to fund their drug habit.
Methadone is a drug that is used to prevent withdrawal symptoms and is used as a long
term, medically controlled substitute which helps to reduce crime because they do not have
to commit crimes to buy heroin.
Sex offenders can be chemically castrated using Stilbestrol which has been used in prison to
treat male sex offenders- it is a female hormone that suppresses testosterone and reduces
sex drive, this has unpleasant side effects e.g breast development.
Briefly assess the use of programmes for crime control that use drug treatments (4 marks)
model answer - correct answer-People who suffer from alcohol abuse are more likely to
commit crimes for example Saunders found that alcohol plays a role in 1000 arrests per day.
Antabuse prevents the breaking down of alcohol and results in severe hangover symptoms.
This can help to reduce the amount of crimes committed because of alcohol such as fatal
drink driving or assault and prevent reoffending for those that have already committed
alcohol related crimes. This is useful since it allows police resources to focus on other crimes
that need attention. On the other hand it has some side effects such as drowsiness and
tiredness.
Methadone is a long term, medically prescribed drug which helps to reduce withdrawal
symptoms in heroin addicts. This is practical in terms of crime control since heroin addicts
will not need to commit utilitarian crimes in order to buy drugs.
Stilbestrol is also useful for crime control since it chemically castrates a sex offender
meaning they have less desire to commit sexual offences due a suppression in testosterone
and therefore helps to reduce crime rates for sexual offences as well as reoffending.
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