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AC UNIT 2 4.1 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving the genetic quality of a human population.
      - Supporters of eugenics call for government policies to improve the biological quality of the human race through selective parenthood.
      - They linked physical and learning disabilities to a range of social problems including crime, vagrancy, alcoholism, prostitution and unemployment.
      - They hope that a eugenic approach could build up the strong section of the population and gradually remove the weak.
      - As the end of the 19th century approached, eugenicists were becoming increasingly influential in British politics – intermarriage between people with disabilities was strongly discouraged.
      - Sir James Crichton-Brown, giving evidence before the 1908 Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded, recommended the compulsory sterilisation of those with learning disabilities and mental illness, describing them as "our social rubbish".
    - - Remember, from a Biological perspective criminals are biologically abnormal and genetically predisposed to crime.
      - For example, Lombroso proposed that some people are born with a strong, innate predisposition to behave antisocially and that this criminality was heritable.
      - Therefore, by using eugenic strategies such as sterilisation, prevents criminals from reproducing. This helps to remove the biological abnormality and criminal genes from the gene pool.
      - This means that these are less likely to be passed onto the next generation, which should then reduce the number of criminals in the future.
  - - - The death penalty (aka capital punishment) is the state authorised execution of convicted criminals deemed too dangerous to allow to live or ‘deserving’ of death.
      - A death penalty is often provided for the most severe offences such as murder and fulfills an aim of punishment called retribution (i.e. an eye for an eye).
      - There are countless methods used to administer a death penalty such as; Hanging, Electric chair, Lethal injection and even Firing squads.
      - Capital Punishment was a policy used in the UK until 1965 when it was abolished, the last criminals were hanged in 1964 at 8:00 am on April 13th.
    - - Remember, from a biological perspective criminals are biologically abnormal and genetically predisposed to crime.
      - Therefore, by using the death penalty to execute serious criminals it prevents the criminal from inevitably committing crime again.
      - Furthermore, execution also helps to remove the biological abnormality and criminal genes from the gene pool.
      - This means that these are less likely to be passed onto the next generation, which should then reduce the number of criminals in the future.
    - - Statistics from the USA show that the murder rate is lower in states that do not have the death penalty. For instance, in 2015 the murder rate was 25% higher in death penalty states then non-death penalty states.
      - This suggests the death penalty is not a deterrent at all. Often people kill in the heat of the moment and are therefore unaffected by the fear of execution.
  - - - Chemical castration is 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 and libido.
      - It is done through the administration of antiandrogen drugs, either in pill form or more commonly via injections.
      - 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.
      - However, it has also used in the UK on those deemed ‘sexually deviant’ such as Alan Turing 1952. He would later commit suicide as a result of the side effects.
    - - This policy very much links with the idea that criminals suffer from biological abnormalities, such as irregular hormone levels.
      - For example, from a biological perspective a sex offenders actions could be caused by the result of an overproduction of sex hormones.
      - Therefore, by administering neurochemical treatment (such as chemical castration) there is an attempt to correct/cure the abnormality.
      - Once the abnormality is addressed then the criminal behaviour should reduce as a by-product.
    - - This policy has been trialled in many countries including; Sweden, Denmark and Canada with evidence from Scandinavia suggesting it can cut re-offending rates from 40 percent to 5 percent.
      - Chemical castration reduces the motivation and ability to commit sexual offences
      - Chemical castration allows the convicted criminal to participate in society, rather than being institutionalized at public expense.
- - - - Token economies are based on the psychological concept of behaviour modification. Token economies utilise operant conditioning to direct behaviour. This is done by rewarding positive behaviour and punishing negative behaviour. It aims to increase desirable behaviours and decrease undesirable behaviour.
      - In a typical token economy programme, the institutional management draws up a list of behaviours they wish to promote. This happens in prison in an attempt to control behaviour. For instance, the desired behaviour may to be: Follow all rules, Keep clean, Keep cell clean, No fighting etc.
      - Rewards good take many forms such as: Extra-visiting hours, Luxury items etc.
    - - Token economies are a type of behaviour modification policy, which are policies that closely link to Individualistic theories.
      - The belief is that the offenders have learnt certain undesirable behaviours such as criminality. This could be a result of imitating their models (Social Learning Theory).
      - Token economies then use rewards to encourage desirable behaviour and punishment to discourage undesirable behaviour.
      - The aim is for the offender to unlearn their previous undesirable behaviour, resulting is a reduction in criminality.
    - - Delivering token economy programmes is much cheaper than a custodial sentence (impact on the economy) so if it helps to reduce recidivism then it is cost-effective
      - These policies are effective in increasing positive behaviours in some prisoners.
      - Eg attacks on officers dropped by 80% and those on inmates by a third in Feltham young offenders when given sweets for good behaviour
  - - - Psychoanalysis, founded by Freud, is a treatment where the patient verbalises their thoughts, through a variety of methods. This method aims to access unconscious, repressed thoughts, which are believed to have led to the criminal activity.
      - The assumptions are that any psychological problems, caused during development or repressed trauma, are embedded in the unconscious mind.
      - The treatment then tries to bring the repressed thoughts to consciousness where they can be dealt with. The analyst allows free association so the patients talks about whatever enters their mind. This is done lying down on the couch facing away from the analyst.
    - - Psychoanalysis treatment obviously has very strong links to Freud’s theory of the psyche.
      - Remember, according to Freud the cause of an abnormal psyche and therefore criminal behaviour, was negative experiences during childhood such as trauma, abuse, neglect etc.
      - These experiences are left unresolved and stored deep within our unconscious mind.
      - Therapy attempts to bring these experiences to the surface/conscious mind in order to resolve them, to prevent further negative consequences such as criminal behaviour.
      - As a result, future crime and offending should be prevented/reduced.
    - - Arguments for:
      - Research by Bergin (1971) found that out of 10,000 patients around 80% benefited from psychoanalysis.
      - More research found, that the longer the treatments took, the better the outcomes.
    - - This therapy is probably the least favoured in contemporary approaches to working with offenders. It’s very time consuming and is unlikely to provide quick answers
      - Criticisms comes from Blackburn (1993) who points out that there are very few positive evaluations of classic psychoanalysis as a treatment method with offenders
      - A patient could discover very painful memories that were deliberately repressed, potentially worsening their mental state.
      - A study in 2010 concluded that it works as well as, or is at least equivalent to other psychotherapy treatments, such as cognitive behaviour therapy.
  - - - Anger management aims to avoid violent offences taking place by people unable to control their anger. This can be effective if resources correctly.
      - Novaco (1975) suggests that because offenders cannot deal effectively with their anger, it tends to be expressed in anti-social ways and displayed onto inappropriate targets.
      - Anger management training is a cognitive therapy that encourages individuals to think rationally about their actions and to attempt to identify when they are getting angry with a view to taking cognitive and physiological responses to reduce the anger.
    - - The belief of theories like Eysenck’s Criminal Personality is that the offenders have difficulty regulating and controlling their emotions and behaviours due to high levels of neuroticism resulting in crime.
      - Anger management is a form of psychological training which policies and techniques link to individualistic theories.
    - - Not all crimes committed due to anger (e.g wouldn’t work for financial criminals)
      - Lack of reoffending data means we don’t know if effects last
      - Very expensive and time consuming and the prisoner needs to be motivated to change
    - - Ireland (2000) found anger management to be very successful by using 50 prisoners who completed anger measurements before and after the intervention and found a 92% decrease in anger reactions
      - Likely to permanently change behaviour as it focuses on how an offender thinks and behaves