3.4 - evaluate effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control Flashcards
(14 cards)
Police - strengths
Specialist units - deal with serious/complex time, allows all issues to be tackled by officers with expertise
Progress in prioritising offences of concern (domestic violence) - 2017 annual report 2/3 of practitioners felt police ad improved
Media - use of the media to communicate to the public to help solve crimes (info on victim or offender)
Stats - CSEWC, find out about unreported crime, reconsider priorities
Police - weaknesses
Media - try to play a hero role, respond to moral panics and draw resources from other crimes
Proved to be racist - causes public mistrust leading to future lack of c-operation, Mark Duggan (shot by police, lead to london riots)
Stats - inaccurate for learning crime levels, dark figure of crime such as rape
Inefficient - indirectly causing crime due to failure to investigate, the puppy farm murder (gave gun back)
Bad performance on offences of public concern - 2017 annual report says staff shortages mean delay in response leaving victims at risk
CPS - strengths
2018 - 80,000 cases prosecuted in crown court and 450,000 in magistrates, 84.1% conviction rate (effective in preparing/presenting, helps act as a deterrent)
Use of evidential and public interest test
CPS - weaknesses
Failure to disclose evidence - Liam Allen 2018 (CPS failed to disclose evidence which would’ve undermined case - not fair)
Media reporting on their attitude towards rape cases - prosecutors were encourage to drop weak rape case to improve conviction rates, barriers to justice and hard for victims to get revenge, no deterrent
Funding cuts - budget fallen by 25% and lost 1/3 of staff
Judiciary - strengths
High level of expertise - make correct legal decisions, 74% privately educated, able to give appropriate sentences
Rising levels of average custodial length over last 10 years - receiving harsher/longer sentences for indictable, bigger deterrent
Ensure fairness
judicial oath means they must act impartially
Judiciary - weaknesses
Gender bias - 71% of judges are male, lack of understanding for crimes revolving around women such as rape, judge doesn’t understand then less likely to give harsh sentence of find guilty
Media influence - represents public opinion, high profile cases such as ______ media portrays offender as guilty, impacts sentencing leads to unduly harsh sentence, not acting impartially
Prisons - strengths
Deters individuals - rational choice theory, knows what the punishment is like, choose not to re-offend
Rehabilitates offenders - 2022-2023 there was 45,000 prisoners in drug and alcohol programmes, huge amount of crime is due to intoxication or committing crime to fund money to buy drug, not addicts = won’t re-offend
Prisons - weaknesses
High recidivism rates - in 2017 37.5% re-offended within 1 year, prison has clearly been ineffective if re-offend so quick
Lots of violence - 2018 there was 8,400 attacks on staff, staff pre-occupied with safety so unable to control/rehabilitate prisoners
Overcrowding - as more sentences are given prison population increases, nearly doubled 1993-2019, can’t control, don’t have space for all to do programmes
Probation - strengths
NPS, use of halfway houses - provides ex-prisoners with new environment to stay, less likely to offend as no previous temptations
NPS, 40-60% have a full time job - Travis Hirschi, offenders involved in jobs so don’t have time to offend
Probation - weaknesses
CRC, often fail to meet targets - 19/21 failed to meet re-offending targets, offenders not conforming
NPS and CRC - often only supervised by phone, rational choice theory, less likely to be caught, not deterred
CRC - inadequate protection for victims and children when domestic abusers released, rational choice
Charities - strengths
Provide services to specific groups of people such as ex-prisoners
NACRO
Use of education programmes - 94% of people pass English and Maths GCSE, Travis Hirschi, likely to get job, involvement
Housing - house 2,000 people a night, less likely to commit crime if housed instead of on the street
Charities - weaknesses
Reliance on pubic donations - majority comes from this, reduces effectiveness as may not be able to fund rehab programmes, more likely to re-offend
Understaffed - ex-prisoners with complex substance or mental health issues, don’t get specialist care
Pressure groups - strengths
Campaign for changes to government policies to benefit those whose interests they serve
Women in prison - support women affected by the CJS, want prisons to be last resort
CARE programme - women in prisons for violent offending, help with mental health issues, tackle root cause, less likely to re-offend
Campaigns - sent letters to end building of prisons and invest instead, instead of punishing prevent from occurring, more pro-active
Pressure groups - weaknesses
Reliance on public donations - majority comes from this, reduces effectiveness as may not be able to fund rehab programmes, more likely to re-offend
Understaffed - ex-prisoners with complex substance or mental health issues, don’t get specialist care
