4.1

• individual- psychoanalysis 


  • involves a patient verbalising their thoughts
  • aims to access unconscious, repressed thoughts which lead to criminal activity
  • assumes trauma is embedded in the unconscious mind
  • patients talk freely about whatever comes to mind. aims to bring thoughts into the consciousness with the patient lying down on a couch away from the analyst (helps relaxation, limits distraction, reduces insecurity, encourages openness)
• individual- psychoanalysis -> application 


  airhorn:

  • applied psychoanalytic ideas to treating young offenders
  • many offenders had uncaring of absent parents, failed to develop relationships
  • therefore, the development of the superego was lacking
  • critical of the harsh environment of young offending institutions and wanted to provide a pleasant environment of young offending institutions and wanted to provide a pleasant environment to develop the superego
• individual- psychoanalysis -> evaluation

  strengths

  • 2010 study works just as well as other psychotherapy treatments
  • long-term behavioural change by unlocking unconsciousness thoughts
  • Can be used as a coping strategy to alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety

  limitations

  • time consuming an unlikely to provide quick answers
  • Blackburn (1993): Very few positive evaluations of its work with offenders
  • Creates power imbalance between therapist and client which could be ethical concern
  • Could bring amount painful memories for the client
  • Gives the analyst the power to define what is normal/abnormal.
• individual- behaviour modification (operant learning/ token economies)

  • Behaviour modification focuses on the technique to extinguish undesirable behaviours and promote desirable ones
  • Behaviours that are reinforced are strengthened whereas behaviours that are punished are weakened
  • Criminal behaviour is learnt through reinforcement and punishment
  • It has been applied to offenders via a ‘token economy’ 
• individual- behaviour modification


  • Positive Reinforcement: A behaviour is more likely to occur to get a positive reward (e.g. a child will complete their homework to be rewarded with a chocolate).
  • Negative Reinforcement: A behaviour is more likely to occur to avoid a negative consequence (e.g. a child will complete their homework to avoid getting a detention from their teacher).
• individual- behaviour modification -> token economies

  this involves

  1. A list of desirable behaviours is drawn up
  2. When the offender behaves in the desired way, they earn a token
  3. Tokens can be exchanged for rewards
  4. Through this selected reinforcement, good behaviour is encouraged
• individual- behaviour modification -> evaluation

  Strengths:

  • Offenders tend to return to crime more slowly afterwards
  • Makes prisoners more manageable within prison
  • Fo and O’Donnell (1975): Effectiveness of a ‘buddy stem’ to promote socially desired behaviour

  Limitations:

  • Once an offender leaves prison, the effectiveness of it reduces
  • Argument that human rights can be breached under this model
• individual- aversion therapy (Eysenck)


  • Eysenck believed that criminals tend to be extraverted and neurotic
  • Therefore, conditioning needs to take place to change the offender’s behaviour

  3 steps

  1. offenders asked to think of something deviant
  2. a strong aversive stimulus is then administered, electric shock etc...
  3. then repeated until the offender associates the thought with that painful experience
• individual- aversion therapy -> types of punishments

  • Electric Shocks
  • Bad Tasting Substances
  • Nausea Drugs
  • Physical Pain
  • Verbal Reprimand
  • A loss of luxuries
• individual- aversion therapy -> evaluation


  strengths

  • Immediate punishment could break the association with criminal behaviour
  • Could be adapted differently depending on the personality of the individual 
  • Can be targeted towards the specific criminal behaviours

  limitations

  • Has very limited success in the long term
  • Its attempts at “curing” gay people has been criticised from a human rights perspective
  • Could be negative side effects of stress, anxiety and fear etc..
• individual- CBT


  Cognitive Theories State That:

  • Criminal Behaviour Is The Result Of Irrational Decision Making
  • How we process our environment affects our decision/action 
  • Considers how people weigh up the concept of right vs wrong

  CBT programmes aim to:

  • Change people’s thoughts and attitudes to address their behaviour 
  • Identify unhealthy behavioural patterns. Develop coping strategies as a result
• individual- CBT -> examples

  Think First:

  • Aimed at repeat offenders who are on probation
  • Teaches problem-solving skills and consequential thinking
  • Seeing things from another point of view

  Aggression Replacement Training (ART)

  • Aimed at violent and aggressive offending
  • Teaches anger control technique and scenario role play
  • Confronts them with moral dilemmas to consider
• individual- CBT -> evaluation

  Strengths:

  • 30% less likely to be re-convicted than those that receive community sentences
  • Focuses on identifying offensive behaviour
  • Teaches practical skills/coping mechanisms 

  Limitations:

  • Non-Completion of Think First is high
  • Although thinking skills might improve, the behaviour does not
  • May not be appropriate for violent/severe offending
• biological- eugenics (genetic)


  • Would argue that criminality is inherited through a criminal gene.
  • An outdated concept but historically had been referred to as a “eugenic” movement
  • Eugenics were fearful of genes being passed on from lower “inferior” classes. There was the belief that the higher classes possessed “superior genes”
  • Encompasses the concept of biological determinism. Biological determinism =a person’s behaviour/personality is inherited.
• biological- eugenics example 1 USA

  • Mentally ill, physically disabled, and alcoholism considered undesirable. Additionally, immigrants from Eastern Europe and Asia are seen as inferior
  • Over 30 states enact compulsory sterilisation. Targeted those in prisons and mental hospitals. Immigration Act 1924 – favours immigrants from Northern Europe.
  • Around 60,000 sterilisations were introduced. Effected millions of immigrants 
• biological- eugenics example 2 -> nazi germany

  
  

  • Jews, mentally and physically handicapped, homosexuals and gypsies targeted.
  • Law For The Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring 1933: Forced sterilisation of individuals with hereditary diseases
  • T-4 Euthanasia Program: Disabled individuals killed in gas chambers. 
  • Nuremberg Laws: Prohibited marriages and sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews
  • Holocaust resulted in the killing of 6 million Jews.
• biological- eugenics example 3 -> Sweden

  • Mental and physical illnesses, epilepsy, criminal behaviour seen as ‘unfit’ traits
  • Sterilisation Act 1934: Sterilisation without individual’s consent.
  • Financial incentives for individuals to have healthy families
  • Continued until the late 20th century
  • Impacted generations of Swedish families.
  • Around 60,000 sterilised without consent
• biological- eugenics -> dangers

  • Leads to discrimination
  • Violation of basic human rights
  • No consideration of social factors
  • Abuse of state power
  • Lack of diversity in society
  • Trauma for families and wider community
• biological- biochemical 


  • Drug Treatments implemented to control criminal behaviour including:
  • Alcohol: ‘Antabuse’ drug causes an unpleasant hangover even for small quantities of alcohol consumed
  • Heroin: ‘Methadone’ given as a long-term alternative or to prevent withdrawal symptoms
  • Sex Offending: ‘Stilbestrol’ drug administered to reduce testosterone. A female hormone that can cause side effects in men 
  • Prisoner Behaviour: ‘Valium, Librium and Largactil’ used to calm violent prisoners
• biological- biochemical -> example

  Diet – “Diet of Fish Can Prevent Teen Violence” (Guardian, 2003)

  1. A diet rich in fish could prevent violent and anti-social behaviour
  2. Physical defects in the brain are linked to decision-making and self-control 
  3. A diet rich in fish and omega-3 fatty acids, was associated with better brain function, 
  4. The idea of surgeons correcting violent behaviour by repairing damage to the frontal lobes
  5. Raine acknowledges that brain scans alone cannot reliably predict violent tendencies.
• biological- biochemical -> additional applications

  • Diet: The introduction of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and remove of acritical colouring has been seen to reduce deviance and levels of aggression
  • Surgery: The application of surgical castration and lobotomy has been used to curb offending. Mixed results, however. 
  • Crowd Control: Historic usage of tear case to control crowds and supress acts of aggression. 
• biological- biochemical -> chemical castration


  • Aimed to reduce sexual offending by altering testosterone levels
  • Offered to volunteering inmates, was positively received
  • Administered through injections of Depo-Provera
  • Controversial due to ethical concerns and potential side effects
• biological- death penalty


  
  

  • The most extreme policy that derives from biological policies is capital punishment
  • According to Amnesty International (2021), 657 people were executed in 2019 (excluding China).
  • Within the UK, there was temporary abolition of the penalty in 1965, before a permanent abolition in 1969
• biological- death penalty -> does it work?

  yes

  • Sense of retribution for the taking of a life
  • Closure for victim’s family/wider community

  No:

  • Murder rate is lower in US states that do not have the death penalty
  • Murder often a from an irrational state of mind e.g. drugs and alcohol
  • The risk of a wrongful conviction
• sociological- penal populism (right realism)


  • The government attempts to introduce laws to punish offenders that will prove popular
  • When the public become concerned about a violent crime this is reflected in the media
  • Political parties feel the need to be ‘tough on crime’ to satisfy the population
  • The UK has more life sentences than the whole of Europe combined
• sociological- penal populism (right realism)


  • Tony Blair’s labour government in 1997 promised to “tough on crime”
  • Introduced the ‘Crime Sentences Act’ which gave:
  • Automatic life sentences for second serious sexual/violent offences
  • Minimum of 7 years for third Class A drug trafficking
  • Minimum of 3 years for third domestic burglary conviction
  • Attempted to curb anti-social behaviour with ASBO’s and curfews
• sociological- imprisonment (right realism)


  One of the main ways to try and control crime is though imprisonment

  According to His Majesty’s (HM) Prison Service:

  “We keep those sentenced to prison in custody, helping them lead law-abiding and useful lives, both while they are in prison and after they are released”

  “We work with courts, police and local councils, as well as voluntary organisations to do this”
• sociological- imprisonment (right realism)

  • The notion that all crimes are acted on, no matter how trivial §In New York, they used computers to analyse crime hot spots on a street-by-street basis
  • As a result, in New York (since 1993) major crime fell by 39% and murder by 49%
  • Works in heavily populated areas with high amounts of policing and petty crime
  • May be difficult in areas that fall aside of this category
• sociological- imprisonment (right realism) -> where has it gone wrong

  • George Floyd
  • Operation Trident (London)
  • Zero Tolerance US Immigration
  • Stop and Search Policies in New York 
  • Mark Duggan
• sociological- cctv (surveillance theory)

  • CCTV follows similar principles of the panopticon
  • Monitors an offender’s behaviour without the individual knowing
  • Individuals in society help to monitor their own behaviour

  Effective:

  • Gill and Loveday: Criminals are generally not affected by the presence of CCTV
  • CCTV rarely catches someone in the act
  • May be the more for public protection than a deterrence
• sociological- cctv (surveillance theory) -> what would happen without cctv


  
  

  • Deterrence would be reducedA higher amount of opportunistic crimes
  • An increased difficulty to identify suspects
  • A loss of valuable evidence that could be used in court
  • Concerns about other forms of surveillance
• sociological- profilling (surveillance theories)


  • Uses data to draw up a picture of a likely offender
  • Criminals are ranked on what risk they pose to the public based on various characteristics
  • This can be applied to arrests, stop and search within law enforcement but also areas such as airport screening

  Effective:

  • Criticised for discrimination and leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy
  • Consequently, police officers are more likely to stop young black men. Therefore, this demographic become over-represented in the statistics. 
• sociological- restorative justice (labelling theory)


  • A voluntary process whereby the person who has suffered harm meets the person that has caused the harm
  • Along with a facilitator, the two parties discuss what happened, who was affected and how, and what can be done moving forwards to repair the harm
  • Can take place at any stage of the criminal justice process. It is growing in popularity
• sociological- crime control policies (merton and subcultural theories)


  • Crime is caused by blocked opportunities and inability to achieve status through legitimate means 
  • Therefore, criminal offending could be reduced if the following areas are addressed:
  • Policies that tackle poverty
  • Equal Opportunities Within Education
  • Education Within Prison

  Effective:

  • Societies that spend more on welfare tend to jail fewer people