Policies and Issues in Criminology

1. According to your reading on page 6 “Policies and Issues in Criminology” should sex offenders be registered? Considering the findings of Zgoba and Bachar, would you advocate abandoning sex offender registration laws because they are ineffective? Or might there be other reasons to keep them active? 2. Read the Text in the Box on page 10 and explain what Dr. Nicholas testified with regard to the defendant’s brain. What do you think: Should his crime be excused? Why is this an example of positivist criminology? 3. Watch the video “NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk: Racial Profiling or ‘Proactive Policing’? at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jqXeW5C324 An in-depth look at racial profiling by the NYPD by the ABC News Show. Discussion: Discuss the arguments for and against the NYPD stop and frisk policy