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CRIMINOLOGY: BIOLOGICAL THEORIES INFLUENCING POLICIES (4.1) - Coggle…
CRIMINOLOGY: BIOLOGICAL THEORIES INFLUENCING POLICIES (4.1)
BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
testosterone, substance abuse + deficiencies in diet -> criminality
treatment programmes used to reduce offending include use of drugs, diet + surgery
CRIME CONTROL POLICIES
drug treatments: treat/ control criminal/ anti-social behaviours
alcohol and violent behaviour
antabuse: used in aversion therapy to treat alcoholism
prevents body from breaking down alcohol, causing unpleasant symptoms even with small consumption amounts
heroin addicts and crime for addiction
methadone: treats addicts, long-term alternative to prevent withdrawal symptoms
provides legal, medically controlled substitute, helps reduce crime
sex offenders
stilbestrol
: chemical castration, used in prisons for male sex offenders
female hormone that supresses testosterone, reduces male sex drive
side effects include breast development, feminisation, serious psychiatric disorder
diet modification
vitamin b3: can treat some forms of sz, disorder sometimes associated with violence
dietary changes to control hyperactivity, may lead to offending, removing artificial colourity from diets
virkkanen et al
: violent offenders had lower than avg. serotonin turnover, can be treated by diet with foods that contain serotonin (e.g. salmon)
gesch et al
: 231 young male offenders volunteered to get either daily vitamin, mineral + essential fatty acid or placebo
results: disciplinary incidents per 100 reduced from 16 to 10.4 in supplement group (35% reduction), placebo group only dropped by 6.7%. violent incidents in active group dropped by 37%, placebo only dropped 10.1%
surgeries
surgical castration for sex offenders
lobotomy: cuts connections between frontal lobes and thalamus (has side effects)
used to treat paranoid schizophrenics + sexually motivated + spontaneously violent crimes
GENETIC THEORIES
eugenics
inheritance of genes could explain presence of behavioural characteristics
eugenics policies vary over the years, e.g. nazi sterilisation programme
such programmes advocate higher rates of sexual reproduction per people with desirable traits + higher sterilisation for those with less desired traits
death penalty
most extremely driven biological driven policy is capital punishment
states in the usa show that murder rates are lower in states that don't have death penalty than those that do
2015: murder rate was 25% higher in death penalty states
suggests death penalty isn't a deterrent
people kill in the heat of the moment, while under the influence, or while suffering from mental illness