Ac 3.4 Flashcards
(11 cards)
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control.
Strength of police.
Specialist policing.
Police are not the only agency responsible for investigating crime. HMRC deals with tax evasion and the DWP deals with benefit fraud and border force deals with immigration offences. This is a strength because it means the police can focus their resources on areas that are within their remit, and would improve their ability to control the public.
Offences of public concern.
In recent years, the police have made progress in prioritising some of the offences of concern to the public such as domestic abuse where increasing numbers of cases are being reported or recorded. For example, survey evidence from 2017, annual report of HMO. Inspector of police shows that 2/3 of domestic abuse practitioners felt the polices approach had improved in the previous three years
Improved recording procedure.
One reason for the apparent rise in the number of crimes could simply be that the police are better at recording them in 2014 police record is statistics were deemed not to have met the standards required by the office of national statistics, since then the police have made some efforts to improve crime recording, for example of domestic violence, and this has led to greater proportion of offences now appearing in statistics.
Financial circumstances.
Adequate funding is a major factor in the police achieving social control over crime from 2023 the government has increased the total police budget to 17. £6 billion. This has allowed the police to invest in programs such as the police uplift program which has recruited 20,000 additional police officers resulting in there being nearly 150,000 police officers in England and Wales.
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Weaknesses of police
Offences of public concern.
However, the report does show some shortcomings in the police performance on domestic abuse. The arrest rate has been falling police. I’m not using bail conditions for a vet to protect victims. Staff shortages are causing delays responding to incidents putting victims at risk body worn video cameras are not always being used together evidence to suggest that police are not affectively embracing their role with regards to social control and letting some criminals slip through the net.
Recent police involvement in criminal activities.
Recently, the police have been highlighted the news for the general incompetence and corruption nature 80% of UK. Police officers accused of domestic violence have kept their jobs Wayne cousins. A police officer was found guilty of the rate of murder of Sarah Everard. He had previous offences before this for flashing and I’ve not been picked up by his colleagues. David Carrick was recently arrested for the rape of multiple women over the course of a 21 year period. This is Jess at the public will be losing faith in the police, and this will affect their ability to act social control because a public may stop reporting crimes to them.
Inefficiency.
There have been numerous criticisms of the polices inefficiency or incompetence investigating offences successfully. For example, the McPherson report noted that the failure of the police together evidence and investigate lead in the murder of Stephen Lawrence, that could’ve led to successful prosecution of the five leading suspects in the case
Current trends more crimes with you were solved.
According to the polices own statistics, crime appears to be increasing for example, the number of offences recorded by the police Road from five. 4 million in March 2021 to 6. 7 million in June 20 24
knife and gun crime.
Police statistics for knife and gun crime have increased significantly recorded knife crimes rows from 45,000 to 49,500 between 2020 and 2023 police clearance have been falling in 2023, 5.7% of covet cases resulted in someone being charged with an offence. This has fallen significantly since 2015, 116% of crimes resulted in a charge
Dropped cases.
Police are failing to investigate large numbers of offences reported to them including some serious ones for example in 2018 the Met police dropped two. Nine times as many cases on the day they were reported as they had done in 2013 over the 60 period of 2013 to 2018. The Met police screened out a total of 525,000 crimes. The day they reported
Racism and bias.
Since the McPherson report was released in 1999, and the net were found to be institutionally racist, there has been considerable interest in the relationship of the police and minority ethnic backgrounds. I can step son is due still continue recruitment of officers from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased but minority groups continue to be under represented in the police force. Stop and searches are still use disproportionately against people of minority background cases are used disproportionately on people of minority backgrounds
Media reports.
They have been accusations of the police plane to the media to portrait crimebusters image. For example, in 2014, South Yorkshire police invited the BBC to film the rate of the height of Sir Cliff Richard in connection with historical child abuse allegations your charges of war and the police and the BBC had to pay considerable damages to the singer. The police have been criticised for overreacting to media during moral panics and calls for crackdown on crime. The media has chosen to focus on this can draw police resources away from all the areas of criminal banality that may be more serious or widespread 
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Strengths of the CPS
Evidence of success.
CCPS has had some success in achieving its aims, for example, in a three month period it prosecute around 80,000 cases in Crown Court and 450,000 cases in the magistrates court around 80% of the defendants that it prosecute are convicted.
Budget cuts
In 2023, we saw an increase of 16% in the CPS budget. this has allowed for over 1000 new start has been recruited which is the highest volume on record. This demonstrates that the CCPS are making efforts toward solving previous concerns surrounding the ability to perform the role effectively by hiring new staff. The CPS are improving. Their ability in response to the growing pressure is in the criminal justice system.
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Weaknesses of the CPS
Lack of effectiveness.
Despite the high proportion of convictions, the CPS, to some extent, they also chief social control by effectively prosecuting offenders.
Media reports
Media reporting of the CPS‘s performance has not always been favourable. For example, there has been criticism of its handling of rape cases.
Realistic prospect of conviction.
The CPS must follow the full code test that is laid out in the code for crown prosecutors. The two stages included within the use of evidential test and the public interest test prosecutors must be sure during the evidential phase that there is enough evidential value for realistic prospect of conviction.
Failure to build a case.
In some high-profile cases, the CPS has failed to build an adequate case this has led to the prosecution collapsing, for example, in the murder of 10-year-old dumber, Damilola Taylor, the CPS rested its case on an obviously lying witness when proper checks would’ve been easier established that and reliability of her evidence.
More criticisms.
Despite an independent state is the CPS has been criticised for being too close to the police has been criticised for being too bureaucratic inefficiency and slow are proceeding with cases failure to communicate with relevant parties that have been examples of a suspects have found out the case against them has been dropped by reading it in the media.
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Strength of the judiciary
Bias.
Although there are examples of male judges showing a lack of empathy for sexual assault victims, it’s hard to pinpoint a clear pattern of bias. Likewise, most offenders are young so it’s hard to know if age makes a difference in the judges sentencing decisions.
Or judges out of touch
Media stereotypes of judges portray them as out of touch with mainstream modern society, and especially with the public views on sentences for age, education and class. Background of judges is likely to make them somewhat atypical members of society, but it is different court to judge if they are out of touch. The more pertinent issue is whether being out of touch, affects their sentencing reliability
Our judge is too lenient.
Very few applications are made for sentence reviews in 2018, 140 cases referred 99 had their sentence extended suggesting that judges are not unduly lenient when compared with the thousands of cases that are sentenced every year.
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Weaknesses of the judiciary
Bias
Because judges tend to come from a narrow on representative section of society they are sometimes suspected of making biased judgements as results.
Judges backgrounds,
63% of judges or male more than half of judges are aged over 50 with the average age, being 66 black Asian and minority ethnic groups are under represented only nine. 5% of judges are from minority backgrounds 65% of judges were privately educated with 75%, having attended Oxford or Cambridge.
Evidence of gender bias.
In 1989, Judge James pickles sentence Amanda probation after he was convicted of sexually assaulting, a six-year-old girl later that year, he jail the woman for contempt of court, for refusing to give evidence against her ex-boyfriend, who had assaulted her in 1990 he sent us a 19-year-old single mother with a 10 week old baby to 6 months on charge of theft. He commented that getting pregnant was rude. No reason to escape custody
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Weaknesses of prison
Staff cuts new line between 20,23 and 2024 the number of prison officers fell by 30%. As a result of budget cuts. More experience of us were more likely to leave and by 2024 and 26% of prison officers at 10 or more years of service.
Overcrowding.
The prison population has more than doubled in 44,819 93 to nearly 97,000 in 2024, in 20 24,24% of Prisons were overcrowded overcrowding leads to discontent and rule breaking.
Not addressing rehabilitation needs.
Increase numbers of prisoners, staff, shortages and budget cuts. Prisons are often unable to deal with the cause of prisoners offending behaviour. There is not enough time to address complex needs.
Drugs academic
Drug use among prisoners has rapidly risen. Most of the increase has been in the use of new psychoactive substances such as spice. The synthetically produce drugs can be 100 times more potent than natural cannabis and can cause aggression, psychosis and intense depression between 2013 and 2018, 117 deaths in prison were linked to NPS use.
Security
The most basic requirement of prison is the whole prisoners in custody. They have been almost no escapes from close prisons since 2010 and a few absconders from open prisons. However, there have been numerous breaches of security with drugs, Sim cards and other forbidden items being smuggled into prison.
Safety
Incidents of assaults, self harm and suicide have risen in 2024, there were 10,000 and 200 sorts of staff 29,000 assault incidents, five homicides, 85 suicides, 74,000 incidents of self harm. Self harm is seem to be on the rise, particularly within male establishments.
Riots and disorder.
Major breakdowns of order and loss of control by staff have increased. In addition to the right at HMP Birmingham in 2016 that has been a series of lesser incidence.
After release the evidence on reoffending.
Although rehabilitation is a primary aim of the prison system, many ex-prisoners reoffend and quickly find themselves back in the criminal justice system, for example, within one year of release 39% of all ex-prisoners, reoffended among ex-prisoners with many previous convictions nearly half reoffended, 50 to 6% of those on short sentences reoffended around 83% of juvenile offenders refunded
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Strength of probation
The National probation service.
The NPS has been more successful than The Seahorses in achieving social control. Overall, it has about half the rate of reoffending compared with prison. However, the service has limitations that reduce its effectiveness in achieving social control. These include a critical national shortage of probation officers, high workload have led to professional standards being compromised and leadership, probation premises or dated Shelby, and in some cases, not secure there is no national strategy to provide enough specialist local services. There is a shortage of places on specialist programs to address the causes of offending.
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Weaknesses of probation
Privatisation
In 2014 the Conservative government under the justice secretary, Chris Grayling launched what he claimed was a rehabilitation revolution and reducing reoffending. A key part of the policy was part privatisation of the probation service. 21 private companies called Community. Rehabilitation companies were set up each operating in a particular geographical area The Seahorses what to deal with low risk offenders and would earn their profits on a payment by a regular basis with targets to reduce reoffending by their clients.
Evidence.
The CSEs performance failed to live up to the governments expectations of the 21, companies, 19 failed to meet their targets rehabilitating offenders And had to have an extra £342 million Pompton as a result of his failings, the government decided to terminate the CRC contracts early bringing them to an end by 2020.
Bias.
The political ideology of the Conservative government biased in favour of privatisation Conservatives are privately owned commercial companies as the most effective means of achieving social control in the justice sector they believe that private companies can provide both a more efficient and more cost-effective service. For this reason. The Conservative government followed a policy of privatisation in both probation and the prison service. However, Dame Glenys Stacey, then head of the probation service said in 2019 that the park presentation was irredeemably flawed.
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Strengths of charities and pressure groups
Strong commitment.
Charities are sometimes better place to reduce reoffending and offending. The government agencies this is because they have a strong commitment to one particular group or issue and specialist knowledge of peoples needs. They are also strongly motivated to help and may therefore go the extra mile in a way that government or privatise agencies may not do you.
NACRO.
Necro is also a charity that provides services for ex offenders and those in danger of offending. For example, it provides accommodation for those released from prison and support them to find long-term commendation. Homelessness is a Major driver of reoffending and has been out how to do a chief social control. They also act as a pressure group and Friday releases campaign can be used as an example of this
Women in prison.
Women imprisoned is a pressure group that campaigns to reduce the number of women in prison. It presses government and criminal justice agencies to change their policies. For example, cause of the government to drop its plans to build five new prisons for women, instead it cost For money to be invested in specialist women centres and community based solutions such as housing and mental health support that would reduce reoffending: the courts to follow the sentencing guidelines and use prisons only as a last resort for the most serious offences and to protect the public from home, yet 84% of women’s prisons, sentences of a non-violent offences, including nonpayment of council, tax or TV licenses. Women in prison has won the support of a number of MPs as well as members of the public for its campaigns. Provides a range of support for women in prison, including a free phone helpline to provide support and guidance for women prisoners, referring women to all the specialist agencies, delivering the care program for women in prison for violent offending have a history of self harm, suicide attempts, mental health problems or substance essence.
Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
Weaknesses of charities and pressure groups
Gaps in provision.
One limitation of charities and pressure groups in achieving social control is that they are voluntarily Organisations this means they only exist where people are concerned about a particular issue a group. For example, people might be concerned enough about victims of child sexual abuse to set up charities to support them. They may be less concerned about the abuses and less likely to set up organisations aimed at rehabilitating. Then this may mean the opportunities to prevent reoffending warmest.
Funding.
It is easier to persuade the public to donate funds for some groups or causes than others that might be just as important or deserving national and local government do also fun, charities and provide certain services, but only if it fits in with their political and financial priorities priorities.
