4.1 Drug Treatments, Diet & Lobotomies

• Drug Treatments?


  Informed by biochemical explantations such as testosterone being linked to crime.
• Stilbestrol?


  Reduces testosterone which is linked to violent and sexual crimes.

  This reduces sex drive which in turn reduces sexual crimes.
• Is stilbestrol effective?


  Effective as it did suppress sexual behaviour in 6 out of 15 in policies.

  Ethical issues as it has unpleasant side effects, e.g in the case of Alan Turing who committed suicide two years later.
• Methadone?


  Acts as a substitute for heroin and is used to gradually to break the craving and reliance on heroin.

  This reduces crime as crime is committed to fund the addiction.
• Is methadone effective?


  Treats the addiction itself which deals with the cause of crime.

  Just as likely to commit crime on programme (Glasgow Uni)
• Antabuse?


  Aversion therapy used to treat alcoholism and gives unpleasant hangover like symptoms.

  Patients want to avoid this feeling and will drink less and thus reduce the crime.
• Lobotomy?


  Used to treat paranoid schizophrenics, sexually motivated offenders and spontaneously violent offenders.

  Involves cutting connections between the frontal lobes (front of the brain) and the thalamus (centre)
• Side effects?


  Brain infection

  Changes in language ability

  Seizures
• Castration?


  Has been used in denmark and the USA in the past.

  Used on sex offenders to attempt to change offending behaviour.