Campaigns affecting policy making Flashcards
Sarah's law and all that (25 cards)
How did Sarahs law come around
Successful campaign to allow parents, carers and others to ask police if convicted sex offender has contact with specific child.
How did the news if the world newspaper help back Sarah’s parents
They championed it
What did the newspaper do in July 2000 to help sarahs law
Named and shamed fifty people it claimed are pedos and said they would continue until they identified every pedo in britian
How was the campaign successful
Succeeded in persuading the government in introducing the child sex offender disclosure system throughout England and Wales in 2011
With the Child sex offender Disclosure Scheme anyone can ask the police if someone has a offence record but whats the catch
They aren’t obliged to disclose info and will only do so if they judge hat the child is at risk of harm and disclosure is necessary to safeguard the child
What is the year and a day rule
Michael Gibson was 20 when assaulted by David Clark in April 1992. Michael died after being in coma for 22 months. Clark only be charged with grievous bodily harm and jailed for 2 years. Free before Michael died
Dated back to 1278 and that if victim of assault lived for a year and a day their attackers couldnt be tried for manslaughter
With the campaign to get rid of the year and a day but what happened when it reached house of commons
That it got narrowly defeated. However following delivery of Northern Echo’s petition to law commission a bill passed parliament to become 1996 law reform act
What are individual campaigns
Although have a possibility to be taken up by newspapers, politicians and pressure groups are started by lone individual who feels strongly enough about a particular policy they take actions themselves
How did clare’s law come about
2009 Clare Wood in greater Manchester was beaten, raped and strangled and body set on fire by George Appleton (who was ex partner) ended 2008 but Appleton still harassed her
what was Clare unaware of whilst alive
Appleton had history of convictions for violence against women, 5 year prison sentence for holding ex at knifepoint, had convictions for repeated harassment and threats, includes 4 non-molestation orders relating to other women
What was discovered by Clare’s father after death
That she did serval complaints to Manchester police, alleging that after the relationship ended Appleton had harassed threatened to kill and tried to rape her and police had taken no action
What is meant by DVDS
Domestic Violence disclosure scheme
In the DVDS what is meant by the right to ask
Allows member of the public to apply to the police to disclose information. They can ask about their own partner or the partner of someone they know
What is meant by the right to know in the DVDS
allows police to disclose info to protect a potential victim, even without having been asked to do so
in 2018 how many times was the Right to ask request were made and how many got granted
6,496 right to asks request made and 2,575 were granted, average of 40%
What’s the difference in countries for the DVDS acts
Cumbria police disclose info 96% of cases while Bedfordshire police did so in 7%, Critics say this is ‘justice by geography’
What is double jeopardy
stops people being tried again for crime of which they have been acquitted. Prevents injustice by stopping the state persecuting someone by repeatably re-prosecuting them until they managed to secure convictions
What happened in Billy Dunlop
Julie murdered in 1989 and Billy Dunlop was charged with crime. However, 2 successive juries failed to reach a verdict, Dunlop was acquitted. By convention, two juries failed to reach verdict, prosecutors drop the case..
Dunlop got arrested for savage attack on former lover and while in prison admitted to prison officer he also murdered Julie hogg. Got reported his admission and convicted for committed perjury. Sentenced to 6 years in prison but nothing for action of murder because of double jeopardy
What is the Anng Mings campaign
Campaign to see Dunlop arrested for murder. Used press, tv and radio to publicise the case
What changed in the 2003 criminal justice act with dbl jeopardy
Result of Ann Ming’s successful campaign. Permitted certain serious crimes to be re-tried. These include murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, major drug offences and armed robbery. But only if new and compelling evidence emerged and director of public prosecutions gives go-ahead
What happened in the Stephen Lawrence case
calls in change in rule also supported by Sir William Macpherson in his report on 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence. Police mishandling of this investigation had resulted in a failed prosecution of three of the five original suspects in 1996. Subsequently, new DNA evidence emerged to link one of the three , Gary Dobson, to killing. Donson re-tried and convicted of the murder, along with another suspect, David Norris, who has been tried in 1996
what are pressure groups
Organisations that try to influence government policies in the interest of a particular cause. Play important role in policy making, both gaining pubic support for change and persuading the politicians who make the laws change is needed. Campaign by protection against stalking is good example of a pressure group persuading the politicians to change policy
what is the 2011 protection against stalking campaign
Introducing new law making stalking a specific offence. 1997 anti-harassment law did not refer specifically to stalking. One estimate puts the number of victims at 120,000 a year
how many cases were prosecuted under the 1997 act in 10 years
70 prosecutions
