3.3 Flashcards
(48 cards)
1
Q
what agency is recidivism/repeat offending a limitation to achieving social control?
A
- prison service
- probation service
2
Q
describe why recidivism is a limitation of the prison and probation service in achieving social control?
A
- Reform Trust - from 1993-2015 the prison population nearly doubled (41000 more people in prison)
- overall recidivism rate is 30% and those who re offend commit a further 4 offences each
- those who are released after a sentence of 2 days or more in prison are required to serve a minimum of 12 months under supervision in the community and the number of people recalled to custody has increased by 19%
3
Q
what theories can relate to recidivism being a limitation of the prison and probation service in achieving social control?
A
- right realists
- marxists
- social learning theory
4
Q
how does right realism relate to recidivism being a limitation of the prison and probation service in achieving social control?
A
- argue that prison works and offenders are rational actors so fear of being jailed is a deterrence (high re offending shows that this isn’t true)
5
Q
how does marxism relate to recidivism being a limitation of the prison and probation service in achieving social control?
A
- not surprising that unemployed offenders are more likely to reoffend as they have little chance of meeting their needs if they have to survive solely on benefits
6
Q
how does social learning theory relate to recidivism being a limitation of the prison and probation service in achieving social control?
A
- offenders learn and copy from others in the prison system, so prisoners can become better criminals, learning the skills from others to encourage them to continue offending upon release
7
Q
what is an example prison that relates to recidivism being a limitation of prisons?
A
- Northumbaland HMP
8
Q
how does Northumbaland HMP relate to recidivism being a limitation of prisons in achieving social control?
A
- 1 prisoner to 30 inmates (couldn’t challenge them as they wouldn’t have backup)
- found spice in the prison and didn’t search all of the cells as they couldn’t lock down the prison as the education services wouldn’t get paid
9
Q
what are civil liberties?
A
- basic rights and freedoms granted by the law
e.g. freedom of speech, movement, arbitrary arrest, assembly, association and religious worship
10
Q
describe how civil liberties and legal barriers are a limitation to agencies in achieving social control?
A
- they limit social control as people therefore have the right to freedom of speech etc. - thus it can be seen as a restriction on agencies such as the police in achieving social control
- there are foreign nationals with criminal convictions who cannot be removed from the UK due to EU regulations
- deportation cannot take place due to prisoners being in danger in their home country
- social control agencies have few restrictions on their power to force citizens to behave as the state withes them too
11
Q
what case could be used to demonstrate how civil liberties are a limitation to achieving social control?
A
- Abu Qatada
12
Q
describe the Abu Qatada case showing how civil liberties can be a limitation to achieving social control?
A
- in 2012, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rules that the hate preacher could not be deported to Jordan as the risk he could be tried on evidence obtained by torture.
- he was eventually deported in 2013
13
Q
what theory could relate to civil liberties?
A
- marxists
14
Q
what do marxists believe about civil liberties?
A
- see civil liberties as a good thing as these laws are necessary to protect the working class from the ruling elite making arbitrary judgement against them
15
Q
what model of justice could relate to civil liberties and how?
A
- Due process
- freedom of arbitrary arrest is an aspect of the due process model as it provides important protection for the individual against the state’s abuse of its power
- the legal process involved in due process are a barrier to the states exercising control over its citizens without good cause
16
Q
explain how Access to resources and support can be a limitation to agencies in achieving social control?
A
- limits prisoners from being able to rehabilitate and therefore bring about social control, upon release from prison an offender will face problems with finance, accommodation, and employment or training
17
Q
what statistics from Prison Reform Trust 2016 - Bromely Briefings shows how access to resources and support can be a limitation for prisons in achieving social control?
A
- 10 of the 34 adult males prisoners inspected, there were not enough activity places to ensure all prisoners could access education or vocational training
- 21 of the prisoners failed to fill their availability places due to staff shortages, poor allocation processes
18
Q
what were the results from ofsted inspecting prions?
A
3/4 of prisoners were given requiring improvement or inadequate
19
Q
how are discharge grants (assess to resources) a limitation to agencies in achieving social control?
A
- some people are entitles to a £76 discharge grant
- the money doesn’t go very far so it tempts offenders to return to crime
20
Q
why do offenders lack accommodation on release and how is that a limitation to achieving social control?
A
- entitlement to housing benefits stops for all sentenced prisoners expected to be in prison for more than 13 weeks so they have very little chance of keeping their tenancy open until the end of their sentence and lose their housing
- means that they are then released onto the streets where they are likely to be tempted to crime
21
Q
once released from prison what percentage of prisoners have a job to go to (access to resources)?
A
1/4
22
Q
describe the ‘end friday release’ campaign and how it relates to access to resources?
A
- supported by nacro and the howard league
over a third of all releases from prison happen on a friday which means that offenders have to race against the clock to access services such as accommodation, drug medication and benefits before the weekend which leaves offenders vulnerable to reoffending - were able to stop friday releases
23
Q
what 3 criticisms can be made about resources to support offenders in the community?
A
- inadequate support for complex needs e.g. drug addiction and mental health programs
- inadequate supervision by probation services e.g. too lenient in letting offenders miss appointments
- failures by the privatised community rehabilitation companies e.g. failure to meet their targets and poor supervision of offenders
24
Q
describe Birmingham prisons ability to control prisoners (access to resources)?
A
- privately run but riots in 2016 led the government to take it over
- worst riots in 25 years
- drugs were constantly used (spice) - staff weren’t doing anything
- inmates were able to gain control of 4 wings
- guards were found sleeping or locked in offices
- prisoners were afraid to leave their cells
- had to send inmates to other prisons
25
how is finance a limitation to agencies in achieving social control?
- public sector funding is limited and budget cuts impact the ability of agencies to provide social control
- police 19%, CPS 25%, Prisons 16%
26
how has finance been a limitation for the police to achieve social control?
- have led to a fall of 20000 in police numbers
- police forces are dropping investigations into crimes if they take a lot of time to investigate
27
how has finance been a limitation for the CPS to achieve social control?
- lost 1/3 of its staff - were failing to investigate thousands of cases effectively
- downgrading charges so that it can prosecute cases in magistrates court as its quicker and cheaper meaning that offenders get off with lighter sentences
28
how has finance been a limitation for the probation service to achieve social control?
- a national staff shortage and over reliance on agency staff
- short comings in keeping victims safe
29
what has the impact of funding on the CPS according to the Law Society Gazette?
- marked decline in its performance with inadequate case progression and preparation
- could lead to miscarriages of justice and therefore decreases the effectiveness of social control
30
how has finance been a limitation for prisons to achieve social control?
- incidents of suicide, self harm and attacks on staff
31
how is finance a limitation to charities and pressure groups?
- are substantially funded by voluntary contributions
- unable to function without public donations
- charities have lost more than £3.8 billion in grants from the government in the last decade
32
how do national and local policies impact social control?
- there is less social control for priority areas and less for non-priority areas
33
What policy was promoted by the government between 2010-2015 (Henderson) and how?
- police to tackle knife, gun and gang crimes
- they introduced new offences e.g. gang injunctions to prevent a person from engaging
34
What did the Home Secretary do in 2019 in relation to local and national policies?
- announced that he was making it easier for police officers to stop and search anyone for an offensive weapon without first having reasonable suspicion that they are carrying one
35
why can local police strategies be seen as limitations in achieving social control?
- allegations against the police suggesting that they focus on 'trivial crime' instead of serious offences, in order to meet government targets
36
What local policy did the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan launch in 2017?
- outlining a series of policing aimed at tackling hate crime and boosting the metropolitan police's armed anti-terror squad
37
what are local weapon amnesties and how do they work?
- the police forces say they will not arrest people who surrender illegal weapons
- 2017 two week gun amnesties in London led to 350 firearms and 40000 rounds of ammunition being handed in
38
how can moral panics impact policies?
- they have to show to the public that they are doing something about it
39
how can the environment impact social control?
- impacts rehabilitation and reoffending rate so therefore it can limit social control
40
what theory relates to the environment in achieving social control and why?
- marxism
- believe it could be argued that the bourgeoisie constructs the rules of society to prevent the proletariat from achieving in life, so they have no other option but to commit crimes
41
What home environment issues are best for prisoners and what percentage don’t have these according the PRT, in relation to the environment in achieving social control?
- less likely to reoffend when they live with their immediate family on release, only 61% do
- people who have a job to go to on release are less likely to reoffend as it has an impact on an effective environment for offenders
42
what can help aid rehabilitation in prison and help rehabilitation in relation to the environment?
- purposeful activity, including education, work and other activities
- fewer than half of prisons received a positive rating from inspectors in 2015-16
43
what are crime committed by those with moral imperatives?
- where people commit a crime because they think that what they are doing is right from a moral point of view
44
what example are there of crime committed by those with moral imperatives?
- Kay Gilderale
- Luke Steel
- The suffragettes
- Stansted 15
45
how is the case of Kay Gilderale an example of a crime committed with a moral imperative?
- assisted suicide of her bedridden daughter who had suffered a severe form of ME for 17 years
46
how is the case of Luke Steel an example of a crime committed with a moral imperative?
- the head of the Anti-vivisection Coalition
- has been imprisoned twice for attacks of laboratory workers
- the group protest against experiments on live animals
47
how are the suffragettes an example of a crime committed with a moral imperative?
- they campaigned for women's right to vote in parliamentary elections
- they deliberately broke the law as part of their campaign of direct action and civil disobedience
48
how were the Stansted 15 an example of a crime committed with a moral imperative?
- 15 protectors broke into Stansted airport in 2017 in order to stage a non-violent protest chaining themselves together around a plane that had been chartered by the home office to deport 60 people
- were convicted of endangering a aerodrome
- prevented the deportation of individuals some who were later proven to have been victims of human trafficking, rape and forced into sex work
