charities and pressure groups Flashcards
(5 cards)
what is the first strength of charities?
The Prison Reform Trust has championed many campaigns to work towards a just, humane and effective penal system. Mental health is an area that has fought for change. Working with the Women’s Institute (WI) they launched the ‘Care not Custody’ campaign to ensure people with mental illness were given treatment and not placed into the prison system. Some success was achieved in 2011 when the Secretaries of State for health and for the Justice jointly announced their commitment to develop services within police stations and courts for vulnerable suspects and defendants. This shows that charities are effective in achieving social control because by highlighting the need for treatment rather than prison for some offenders may actually reduce reoffending rates.
what is the 2nd strength of charities?
Charities are better placed to reduce offending and reoffending than the government agencies. This is due to the fact that they often have a strong commitment and knowledge of offenders’ needs. The Howard League of Penal Reform successfully campaigned to raise awareness of the lack of Approved Premises (APs) (bail hostels) for women. There are 6 in the country opposed to 94 for men. The Supreme Court ruled that this discriminated against women, forcing them to live miles away from their families. The shows that charities are effective in achieving social control as they tackle social issues that may lead to reoffending.
what is the first limitation of charities?
A weakness of charities is that they are limited by their financial resources. They are generally funded through voluntary donations and/or membership subscriptions. The Prison Reform Trust does not accept government funding. However, this income is not guaranteed and this may have an impact on their effectiveness in achieving social control.
what is the 2nd limitation of charities?
Another weakness is that media reporting can mean that some charities are promoted so get more funding and others may not be portrayed sympathetically. For example, if the media demonise a particular category, it will be harder for charities that work with them to build support. This shows that charities are not effective in achieving social control because members of the public may not wish to donate to a charity which works with offenders.
what is the 3rd limitation of charities?
Charities working in this sector must work in partnership with other agencies. For example, the Prison reform Trust works alongside prisons and maintains close links with the government departments, such as the Ministry of Justice. This can limit their effectiveness in achieving social control, as they are often dependent on those agencies’ support of their aims to impact changes within the Criminal Justice System.
