AC3.4

Question 1

Effectiveness of the police in achieving social control

Answer 1

Police have made progress in prioritising some offences, such as domestic abuse where increasing numbers of cases are being reported. In 2017 annual report of HM Inspector of Police shows that two thirds of people who work closely with victims of DA felt that the police’s approach has improved in the previous 3 years. However, the same report shows problems with the police’s performance on DA, showing that the police are not always effective in achieving social control.

Question 2

Effectiveness of the police in achieving social control

Answer 2

1. The arrest rate has been falling
2. Police are not using bail conditions to protect victims
3. Staff shortages are causing delays in responding to incidents
4. Body cams are worn but not activated / highlights the ineffectiveness

Question 3

Criticisms of police effectiveness:

Answer 3

Incompetence. There have been criticisms of the police’s inefficiency or incompetence in investigating offences successfully. The Macpherson Report criticised the police’s handling of the Stephen Lawrence case. Police were accused by institutional racism, the MET failed the investigation.

Question 4

More crimes but fewer solved…

Answer 4

According the the police’s own recorded statistics, crime appears to be increasing, particularly knife and gun crime.

Question 5

Racism and bias:

Answer 5

• Recruitment of officers from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased but minority groups are underrepresented in the police force, especially in senior ranks.
• Stop and search is used disproportionately against young black men.
• Tasers are used disproportionately against people from minority backgrounds.

Question 6

Media reports:

Answer 6

There have been accusations of the police playing up to the media to portray a positive image. A case study would be PC Wayne Couzens who kidnapped and raped Sarah Everard. This case undermines the effectiveness of the police because

Question 7

Effectiveness of the CPS:

Answer 7

Evidence of success: The aim of the CPS is to achieve social control by preparing cases and presenting them in court to secure the conviction of offenders. The CPS has had some success in achieving this aim. 2018 the CPS prosecution 80,000 cases in Crown Court and 450,000 cases in magistrates court.

Question 8

Criticisms of CPS effectiveness:

Answer 8

Media reports. The media has been critical of how the CPS handles rape cases. The Guardian reported that the CPS’s specialist rape prosecutors had been advised to drop and number of ‘weak’ cases. The aim of this was to improve the CPS’s overall performance by ensuring that a higher percentage of their prosecutions would succeed.

Question 9

Criticisms of the CPS effectiveness:

Answer 9

Budget cuts: In recent years the CPS has had its budget cut by 25% and has lost a third of its staff.

Question 10

Criticisms of the CPS effectiveness:

Answer 10

Failure to build the case. In some high profile cases, the CPS has failed to build an adequate case, leading to prosecutions collapsing. For example the murder of 10 year old Damilola Taylor, the CPS rested its case on an obviously lying witness when proper checks would have clearly shown the unreliability and lack of credibility of her evidence.

Question 11

Effectiveness of the judiciary: Judges may be biased in their judgements

Answer 11

74% were privately educated and 74% went to Oxford or Cambridge. Judges are biased towards people from similar backgrounds to themselves, or against people different from themselves.

Question 12

Gender bias:

Answer 12

Gender bias is clearly present in certain cases. For example, Judge James Pickles:
In 1989 he sentenced a man to probation after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 6 year old girl. The same year he jailed a woman for contempt of court for refusing to give evidence against her abusive ex boyfriend.

Question 13

The Hungry Judge:

Answer 13

The authors of the peer reviewed paper looked at more than 1000 rulings made in 2009 by eight judges.

Question 14

The influence of race in relation to sentencing:

Answer 14

Figures are based on the length of sentences given in court, not the length served by the offender.

Question 15

Ministry of justice data:

Answer 15

White offenders were given the shortest custodial sentences on average, and Asian or black offenders were given the longest. From 2009 to 2017, the average length of custodial sentences given to offenders increased for all ethnic groups. in 2017, among all age and ethnic groups, white juvenile offenders were given the shortest custodial sentences on average as well as those from the other group. Among female offenders, Asian offenders and those from the other group were given the longest average custodial sentences compared with all other ethnic groups.

Question 16

Effectiveness of prisons:

Answer 16

Staff cuts and overcrowding.
Between 2010 and 2018 the number of prison officers fell by 15% as a result of budget cuts. The prison population has almost doubled from 43,000 in 1993 to 83,000 in 2019. This has led to overcrowded conditions for many inmates.

Question 17

Drugs epidemic

Answer 17

Drug use among prisoners has been risen rapidly. Most of the increase has been in the use of ‘new psychoactive substances’ such as spice.

Question 18

Spice effects on the body

Question 19

Challenges to prison staff

Question 20

Between 2013 and 2016 there were 64 deaths in prison linked to NPS use.

Answer 20

Safety - Incidents of assaults, self-harm and suicide have risen in prisons. In 2018 there were 8400 assaults on staff, 22,000 assaults on prisoners, 47,000 incidents of self-harm and 5 murders and 69 suicides.

Question 21

Reoffending after release

Answer 21

In 2017:
1. 37.5% of all ex-prisoners reoffended.
2. Nearly 50% of those with many previous convictions reoffended.
3. 64.1% of those on short sentences reoffended.
4. 40% of juvenile offenders reoffend.

Question 22

Effectiveness of probation

Answer 22

2014 the government launched a ‘rehabilitation revolution’ aimed at reducing reoffending. Part-privatisation of the probation service. 21 private companies called community rehabilitation companies were set up.

Question 23

CRCs are not effective

Answer 23

19/21 companies failed to meet their targets for rehabilitating offenders and had to have an extra £342 million pumped in. 46% of offenders’ housing needs were not met.

Question 24

The National Probation Service

Answer 24

The public sector NPS has been more successful than the CRCs in achieving social control. Overall it has about half the rate of reoffending compared to prison. However, the NPS does have limitations that reduce its effectiveness for example a critical national shortage of probation officers.

Question 25

Effectiveness of charities and pressure groups: Strong commitment

Answer 25

Charities have a strong commitment to one particular group or issue and specialist knowledge of people’s needs Strongly motivated to help so are more likely to go the ‘extra mile’ in a way that the government agencies may not.

Question 26

Women in prison

Answer 26

WIP is a pressure group that campaigns to reduce the number of women in prison. It recognises that over half of women prisoners are victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence. WIP is committed to tackling the root causes of women’s offending: homelessness, poverty, mental health.

Question 27

Gaps in provision

Answer 27

Charities and pressure groups are voluntary organisations. They only exist where people are concerned about a particular issue or group. For example, many people are concerned enough about the victims of child sexual abuse to set up charities to support them, however they are less concerned about the offenders and less likely to set up charities aimed at supporting or rehabilitating them.