Labelling

• Decriminalising minor offences like possession of cannabis would mean many fewer young people were labelled as criminals. A criminal record can prevent them from getting a job and lead to further offending
• Diversion polices -

  • These aim to keep an offender out of the justice system so as to avoid labelling them as criminals, some diversion police are informal like when police use their discretion not to charge someone. Others are formal such as requiring an offender to attend an anger management programme to avoid prosecution 
• Disintegrative shaming - where both the crime and the criminal are labelled as bad and the offending is excluded from society. This can push them into secondary deviance
• Reintegrative shaming - labels the act but not the actor (saying he has does doesn't thing bad not he is a bad person) It avoids stigmatising the offender as evil, while still encouraging them to repent and encouraging other to admit them back into society
• is it effective? Evidence shows crime control policies baked on labelling theory can deal successfully with minor offences and young offenders. By avoiding  labelling people as criminals and keeping them out of the justice system they avoid punishing individuals into a deviant career