effectiveness of agencies of control

Question 1

limitations of cps: lack of effective media reports

Answer 1

• newspapers present the CPS’s performance in handling rape cases negatively
• They said they dropped weak cases to improve the conviction rate, making victims feel they may never get justice

Question 2

limitations of CPS: Budget

Answer 2

• 25% cuts led to loosing 1/3 of staff
• unmanageable work loads due to new tech

Question 3

strength for CPS: evidence of success

Answer 3

• success in achieving its aim as in a typical 3 month period they prosecute 80,000 cases in the crown court and 450,000 in the magistrates
• around 80% of the defendants it prosecutes are convicted

Question 4

strength of police: offences of public concern

Answer 4

• in recent police have made progress in prioritsing offences of public concern such as domestic abuse.
• more cases have been reported and recorderd
• 2/3 of practioneers said they saw an improvement in police approach

Question 5

strength of police: recording crime

Answer 5

since critism in 2014 police made efforts to improve crime recording

Question 6

limitations of police: funding

Answer 6

cuts between 2010-2018 by 19% led to a fall in police numbers and more people getting away with crime
- wayne couzens

Question 7

limitations of police: civil and legal barriers

Answer 7

PACE 1984
- rights and freedome garunteed by the law/ human rights, rights to a fair trial
- abu hamza

Question 8

2 strengths of probation

Answer 8

• reintroduces offender into society
• assesses triggers of offenders, reoffending rate of - 45% compared to 60% with a short prison sentence

Question 9

limitations of probation: under staffing

Answer 9

• 40% staff cuts heavy workloads
• some offenders not seen for weeks to months
• breif phone calls every 6 weeks

Question 10

limitations of probation: funding

Answer 10

• budget fell by 40% between 2003-4 and 2018-19 which led to fewer staff and heavy work loads
• poor supervision led to reoffending
• mistakes made, Zara Aleena and Teri Harris
• out of shared £4.6 billion budget with HMP only 0.11% goes to reoffending rates

Question 11

limitations for judges: bias

Answer 11

90.8% of judges are white, bias
34% of court judges are female, gender bias

Question 12

limitations of judges: unduly lenient sentence

Answer 12

inconsistent sentencing leads to a lack of trust in judges.

unduly lenient scheme allows victims, proseucutors and members of the public to appeal for a sentence they think was unduly lenient, applies to serious offences

Question 13

2 strengths for judges

Answer 13

1) independent from the government
2) increasing number of BAME and women

Question 14

limitations for prisons: finance

Answer 14

budget cut by 40% led to 30% reduction in staff
- birmingham riots

Question 15

limitations for prisons: recidivism, bromley breifing

Answer 15

• short prison sentences are less effective than community sentences at reducing reoffenders
• 48% of adults are reconvicted within 1 year of release

Question 16

limitations for prisons: saftey in prisons

Answer 16

• safty in prisons has decresed rapidly over the last 7 yeaes. prisoners and staff are less safe with more self harm assaults than ever
• 317 deaths in the year to march 2019. doubled in the last decade

Question 17

limitations for prisons: enviroment, overcrowding

Answer 17

• health issues, infections and mental issues combined with few staff can mean more time locked up in a cell designed for fewer inmates
• feb 2023: population 83,000 with a useable capacity of 85,000 meaning only little spaces left

Question 18

strengths of prisons: resources and support

Answer 18

• engagement with education can significantly reduce reoffending. 1 yr reoffending rate (34%) for prisoners learners compared to none (43%)