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Criminology Unit 4 > AC 3.4 - Effectiveness of Agencies in Achieving Social Control > Flashcards

AC 3.4 - Effectiveness of Agencies in Achieving Social Control Flashcards

1
Q

Prison - Strength: Rehabilitation Programmes (3 points)

A
  • Prison Service provides programmes to help offenders rehabilitate & reform
  • E.G. Virgin Trains Apprenticeship Scheme involved providing prisoners employment & an apprenticeship on release
  • PS is effective in achieving social control because if a prisoner is able to have employment upon release, they are much more likely to conform to society within their stable employment
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2
Q

Prison - Weakness: Poor Quality Education (3 points)

A
  • There are a lack of resources to provide good quality rehabilitation & education
  • E.G: Ofsted’s 2019-20 report found that 3/4s of men’s prisons required improvement or were inadequate in their quality of education . None were ‘outstanding’
  • PS is not effective in achieving social control because if the education systems are poor, then prisoners will not be correct taught how to live a law-abiding life within society
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3
Q

Prison - Strength: Public Protection (3 points)

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  • The PS is that it protects the public from harm
  • E.G: Currently 67 people under a whole-life tariff in prison and a further 4 in secure hospitals. These are reserved for the most serious of offences - such as Lucy Letby who murdered several infants
  • PS is effective in achieving social control because it displays that custodial sentences can be proportional to the severity of the offence, and we can achieve complete external social control over the most dangerous individuals
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4
Q

Prison - Weakness: Recidivism Rates (3 points)

A
  • The recidivism rates mean that the public are not being protected in the long-term
  • E.G: 42% of all adults are reconvicted within a year of being released. For short-term sentences under 12 months - this rises to 63%
  • PS is not effective in achieving social control because this rate displays that prisons aren’t effectively creating law-abiding citizens, meaning social control over these individuals is not being achieved
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5
Q

Prison - Weakness: HMP Birmingham Riot (2016) (3 points)

A
  • The amount of rioting within prisons
  • E.G: in 2016, a riot occurred in HMP Birmingham which lasted for 15 hours after a set of keys were stolen & 500 cells were opened by other prisoners - As a result, the prison was returned the public sector due to G4S’s failings
  • PS is not effective in achieving social control because if prisoners are able to early overcome the staff for such a long amount of time, then they won’t learn how to conform under the authority of agencies within society
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6
Q

Police - Strength: Visible deterrences in the community (3 points)

A
  • They work within the community to prevent crime & keep the public safe
  • E.G: They act as a visible deterrent and can issue sanctions such as penalty notices for crimes such as shoplifting or being drunk & disorderly
  • Police are effective in achieving social control because they are able to act as a deterrent presence within local communities, which compels individuals to conform as they are aware of their presence
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7
Q

Police - Weakness: Lack of Funding (4 points)

A
  • Due to the lack of funding there are not enough police officers to maintain external social control
  • E.G: Over the past 5 years, an average of 774 burglaries have gone unsolved every day and the number of offenders facing justice has fallen by 56%
  • Also 20,000 police officers were lost during the 2010 budget cuts
  • Police are not effective in achieving social control because they prioritise certain crimes & fail to act as a deterrent in crimes such as burglary meaning offenders are ‘getting away with it’
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8
Q

Police - Strength: Specialist Units (3 points)

A
  • There are many specialist units trained to deal with issues such as terrorism or incidents involving weapons
  • E.G: Anti-terrorsim squads dealing with international threats. Drugs squads that focus on cracking down on the drug problems
  • Police are effective in achieving social control because there is a wide variety of different specialist forces, which are likely to be more knowledgeable & trained in their specific area - allowing for all types of crimes to be focussed on - increasing the deterrent effect due to high level of specificity
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9
Q

Police - Weakness: Dropped cases (3 points)

A
  • There is evidence that police are dropping investigations into crimes
  • E.G: Longer investigations cost more money so police forces are tempted to drop serious cases as they take much longer to investigate - rape cases take an average of 129 days compared to 2 days for criminal damage
  • Police are not effective in achieving social control because whilst it saves resources, it reduces the extent of fear of potential punishment that a serious sexual offence would lead to, meaning that this particular type of behaviour isn’t controlled
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10
Q

Police - Strength: ‘Golden Hour’ (3 points)

A
  • Police are often first to appear at the scene of a crime and are always connected in an emergency
  • E.G: The ‘golden hour’ principle states that effective early action can result in securing significant material that would otherwise be lost
  • Police are effective in achieving social control because if the police are able to arrive at a crime scene quickly, the evidence will bear of better quality & likely sufficient enough to prosecute the offender
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11
Q

Police - Weakness: Prejudice within the force (MET review after Sarah Everard’s murder) (3 points)

A
  • There are issues of racism & bias within the force
  • E.G: A review of the MET commissioned after Sarah Everard’s murder found institutional homophobia, misogyny & racism in the force & unwillingness to deal with failures. “This has led to a culture of poor performance where behaviours and attitudes can go unchanged”
  • Police are not effective in achieving social control because it leads to a lack of public trust which undermines the police’s objective of keeping the public safe
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12
Q

CPS - Strength: Full Code Test (3 points)

A
  • The CPS is an independent body set up under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985
  • For example, this eliminates bias as the CPS will use the Full Code Test when deciding whether to prosecute a case. This supports the due process model of CJ because it acts as a safeguard giving consistency
  • CPS are effective in achieving social control because with the system being seen as fair and unbiased, the public view it to be more trustworthy and fair, meaning they are more likely to conform to its rules
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13
Q

CPS - Weakness: Collapse in serious sexual offence cases (4 points)

A
  • There has been a “completely unacceptable” collapse in rape prosecutions
  • E.G: in 2022, studies suggest 60% of alleged rapists have previously committed other crimes - but only 1.3% of rapes are prosecuted
  • **Rape prosecutions have dropped by 70% since 2016 to their lowest levels on record
  • CPS are not effective in achieving social control because society is not being protected from dangerous criminals, and effective external social control is not being achieved
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14
Q

CPS - Strength: CPS Direct availability (3 points)

A
  • Their availability as they have a 15th ‘virtual’ area called CPS Direct
  • E.G: This provided charging decisions on priority cases 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is used by the Police directly in order to help them with legal aid in terms of evidence, such as admissibility
  • CPS are effective in achieving social control because with the system being seen as fair & unbiased, the public view it to be trustworthy and fair, eating they are more likely to conform to tis rules
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15
Q

CPS - Weakness: Lack of funding = Inexperienced staff (Damilola Taylor) (3 points)

A
  • Due to a lack of funding there are inexperienced staff that work for the CPS and this means that mistakes are made
  • E.G: in the Damilola Taylor case - unreliable 14-y-o witness: passed the evidential test but failed to notice the girl was lying. Failed to examine the evidence clearly. Resulted in it taking 6 years & 3 trials for the Freddie brothers to be convicted
  • CPS are not effective in achieving social control because society is not being protected from dangerous criminals, and effective social control is not being achieved on these individuals
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16
Q

CPS - Weakness: Lack of efficiency & effectiveness (Glidewell Report 1998) (3 points)

A
  • They have been criticised for being too bureaucratic
  • E.G: in 1998, the Glidewell Report was published which stated that the organisation lacked efficiency & effectiveness and the number of Judge-ordered acquittals was far too high
  • CPS are not effective in achieving social control because if the CPS are unable to effectively prosecute criminals with efficiency, the these criminals will not face punishment for their actions and will not learn to conform to society
17
Q

Judiciary - Strength: Local & National reach (2 points)

A
  • E.G: Supreme Courts have national reach for cases of major and nationwide importance. However, there are around 90 Crown Courts that deal with local cases
  • Judiciary are effective in achieving social control because the cases can be divided into being of local or national importance, which helps to speed up cases by dividing up the workload. This allows for more prosecutions, meaning more individual’s behaviours are controlled
18
Q

Judiciary - Weakness: Unduly Lenient Sentencing (3 points)

A
  • E.G: Statistics from 2021 show that 106 offenders had their sentences increased after their sentences were challenged because they thought they were too low
  • E.G: Lavinia Woodward case - unduly lenient
  • Judiciary are not effective in achieving social control because if criminals are receiving lenient sentences and not appropriate & proportionate sentences, they are far less likely to become law-abiding as they lack a fear of punishment
19
Q

Judiciary - Strength: Sentencing Guidelines (3 points)

A
  • Judges use Sentencing Guidelines for consistency & fairness
  • E.G: If the defendant is guilty of murder they will receive a mandatory life sentence. The Sentencing Council decides appropriate guidelines to be followed when it comes to sentencing in order to promote consistency & increase public understanding of sentencing
  • Judiciary are effective in achieving social control because the use of sentencing guidelines shows that the system (hypothetically) is fair and has consistency, and people are more likely to confirm to a fair system
20
Q

Judiciary - Weakness: Backlog of cases (Dame Vera Baird) (3 points)

A
  • There is a backlog of cases awaiting court due to a shortage of Barristers
  • E.G: Dame Vera Baird: ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. October 2023 - Crown Court backlog hit a new record high of over 65,000 cases. Sexual offence victims face extremely long court waits; almost 4 times the wait in comparison to in 2019
  • Judiciary are not effective in achieving social control because victims of rape are left with little confidence in the CJS. Campaigners say the problems could result in victims dropping their cases and the judiciary being of little deterrent to potential offenders
21
Q

Judiciary - Weakness: Out of touch with modern society (3 points)

A
  • E.G: Judges are viewed as “Middle aged, middle minded and white”
  • As of 1 April 2022, 2/3s of judges were aged 50. Only 10% were of minority ethnicities
  • Judiciary are not effective in achieving social control because if the public are aware that they are not being reflected within the judiciary, then they’re less likely to respect & will see it to be unfair, meaning there’re less likely to conform to it
22
Q

NPS - Strength: Work with other agencies (3 points)

A
  • It works effectively with other agencies such as the CPS & Courts to protect the public
  • E.G: They provide professional, objective & relevant information so that the judge can consider the appropriate sentencing option through the pre-sentence reports
  • NPS is effective in achieving social control because such information ensures that probation is only considered for those offenders who can be safely monitored in the community & who are less like to reoffend are sentenced to probation to ensure that social control is maintained
23
Q

NPS - Weakness: Shortage of places on programmes & lack of support (3 points)

A
  • There is a shortage of places on specialist programmes to address the causes of offending. High workloads have led to professional standards being compromised
  • E.G: There’s a lack of support on drug rehabilitation courses. PS are responding poorly to drug misuse & addiction cases according to inspectors, on a 2021 report: Very few drug users on probation are being tested - just 1 in 6
  • NPS is not effective in achieving social control because the root cause of offending is not being tackled or punished and many offenders with addiction will continue to reoffend
24
Q

NPS - Strength: Help tackle the root cause of offending (3 points)

A
  • Can help tackle root cause of offending, rehabilitating offenders back into the community
  • E.G: They work with offenders via treatment programmes such as drug treatment, anger management, CBT, and supervising unpaid work
  • NPS is effective in achieving social control because helping offenders tackle the causes of their offending helps them to obey society’s norms & values so can result in less recidivism & increased level of social control
25
Q

NPS - Weakness: Inadequate assessment of offenders (Damien Bendall) (3 points)

A
  • Service is not always successful. Too many prisoners’ risk to the public has been inadequately assessed before release
  • E.G: Damien Bendall, who went on to murder his pregnant partner and 3 children, was rated as ‘medium risk’ rather than ‘high risk’
  • NPS is not effective in achieving social control because this case highlights that the PS does not always adequately monitor high risk offenders - can lead to reoffending & decreased public safety
26
Q

NPS - Strength: Reduces recidivism (3 points)

A
  • They provide ensures the supervision of high risk offenders and reduces recidivism
  • E.G: probation recidivism is much lower than prison recidivism. Jan-March 2020, overall reoffending rate for offenders managed by the NPS was 34.1% representing a 3.4% decrease compared to 2015
  • NPS is effective in achieving social control because this suggests that probation is more effective reducing recidivism & ensuring social control in society
27
Q

NPS - Weakness: 2014 to 2020 Part-privatisation (4 points)

A
  • Part-privatisation was ineffective. Staff too focused on paper work & targets at the expense of prisoners
  • From 2014-2020, 21 private companies called community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) were set up. These were set to deal with low-risk offenders & earned payments on results, with targets to reduce reoffending
  • However, 19 of 21 did NOT meet their targets. Offenders were supervised by telephone only, CRCs provided inadequate protection for victims, and cut staff to save money
28
Q

Charities & Pressure groups - Strength: Strong commitment & specialist knowledge (3 points)

A
  • Specialist knowledge and commitment on one particular topic
  • E.G: Howard League for Penal Reform is committed to reducing crime rate, making a safer community, whilst also reducing the number of people in prison & transforming prisons to improve them
  • Charities are effective in achieving social control because they focus on just one issue, making it more likely for them to resolve their aim instead of balancing various problems
29
Q

Charities & Pressure groups - Weakness: Decreasing umber of new charities (3 points)

A
  • They are voluntary organisations and only exist where people are concerned about a particular issue
  • E.G: the number of new charities is declining, as 4021 charities were registered in 2022, which is the lowest since 1989, of 4011
  • Charities & Pressure groups are not effective in achieving social control because if the number of charities is not a guaranteed, consistent number, then their support they offer to the JS is also not guaranteed, limiting the impact they will have on changing behaviour
30
Q

Charities & Pressure groups - Strength: Organisations have been successful (Nacro) (3 points)

A
  • Organisations such as Nacro have been successful
  • E.G: They have campaigned to end Friday releases from prison & this is now in place fir prisoners vulnerable not addiction, mental health or homelessness
  • Charities / pressure groups are effective in achieving social control because when offenders are not released on Friday, the services they require will be open & available to them (weekend), meaning they are less likely to return to criminality
31
Q

Charities & Pressure groups - Weakness: Typically demonised in the media (4 points)

A
  • Media reporting can mean that some charities are promoted so get more funding & others may not be portrayed sympathetically
  • E.G: if the media demonise a particular category, it will be harder for charities that work with them to build support
  • Such as making prions nicer places may not have a lot of media support
  • Charities are not effective in achieving social control because if charities & campaigns aren’t receiving the support they require to be successful, then they will likely fail to achieve their aims of improving society
32
Q

Charities & Pressure groups - Strength: Women in Prison (3 points)

A
  • Women in Prison is committed to tackling the root cause of women’s offending
  • E.G: It presses the government & CJ agencies to change their policies by investing in women’s centres and community-based solutions, such as housing and mental health support rather than building women’s prisons
  • Charities / Pressure groups, such as Women in Prison, are effective in achieving social control because by improving rehabilitation programmes for women, then the recidivism rate for women will likely decrease as they are being more appropriately addressed
33
Q

Charities & Pressure groups - Weakness: Lack of funding (2 points)

A
  • E.G: Charities run on voluntary donations and must persuade people to donate so that they can provide support within the CJS. People may not want to provide funds that help criminals
  • Charities are not effective in achieving social control because they are not able to run without support & donations / memberships & without this - they will not be successful in achieving their aims for a better society

Criminology Unit 4 (23 decks)

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