3.1. Explain the role of agencies in social control.

Question 1

What is social control?

Answer 1

Social control is organisations or bodies of people who put into place rules and regulations for people to follow to ensure society runs smoothly by preventing criminal and deviant behaviour.

Question 2

Examples of social control:

Answer 2

• the police
• the CPS
• the judiciary
• prison service
• probation service
• charity organisations
• pressure groups.

Question 3

1. the police - philosohpy.

Answer 3

Was summed by Sir Robert Peel (1829) who founded Metropolitian Police. According to Peel:
- basic mission of police is to prevent crime and disorder.
- police’s ability to perform their duties depends on public’s cooperation and approval.
- use of physical force is a last resort.
- police’s duty is to impartially serve the law.
- police are the public and public are the police. The police are just citizens in uniform, paid to do full-time what citizens must do (uphold the law).

Philsophy: the police are the servants of the public and the law.

Question 4

What is the role of the police?

Answer 4

They are responsible for enforcing the law. They investigate crimes, collect evidence, arrest and detain suspects. They can issue a caution or fixed penalty notice in minor cases.

Question 5

How is social control achieved by the police?

Answer 5

• They have right to detain and question people.
• They wear uniform that represents their role in CJS.
• Driving around the street can make people drive more safely as people are scared of being pulled over.
• If people are caught misbehaving, they may stop this behaviour when seeing the police.

Question 6

1. the police - aims and objectives.

Answer 6

Aims:
- keep the peace and maintain order.
- protect life and property
- prevent, detect and investigate crime.
- bring offenders to justice.

Question 7

1. the police - funding.

Answer 7

(2021) Total police budget = £15.2 billion.
- About 2/3 comes from central government.
- Most of the rest comes from local council tax.
- Small amount comes from charging for services e.g. policing football matches.

Question 8

How does the funding of the police affect social control?

Answer 8

Might make people angry if their money is going to police if the police don’t do a good job.

Question 9

1. the police - working practices.

Answer 9

1. National and local reach - 39 regional police forces in England and Wales, 1 in Scotland, 1 in NI.
2. Types of criminality and offender - police deal with all types of offence and offender, although some specialst law enforcement agencies do deal with certain kinds of crime.
3. Police duties - most have general duties e.g. patrolling a particular area.
4. Specialist policing - are departments with specialist duties:
   - Unarmed policing - with exception of certain specialist units, police are largely unarmed.
   - Special constables - unpaid, part-time volunteers who underego same training and have same legal powers as police.
   - Police Community Support Officers - have limited powers, often deal with anti-social behaviour on the street.
   - Police and Crime Commissioners - elected representatives of people of the area covered by a police force.

Question 10

2. the CPS - role.

Answer 10

• Advise the police on their investigation and what evidence is required for them to build a case.
• Assess the evidence the police submit and decide whether or not to prosecute and what the charges would be.
• Prepares and presents prosecution case in court.

Question 11

2. the CPS - How to they achieve social control?

Answer 11

Through their role as prosecuting suspects, they reinforce the norms and moral codes of our society by attaching a criminal label to behaviour.

Question 12

2. the CPS - aims:

Answer 12

• Took over prosecuting role of the police as there was risk of bias in allowing police to both investigate and prosecute cases. Police still prosecute minor cases, but CPS prosecutes all serious or complex cases.
• Advise police in their investigations about lines of inquiry and evidence needed to build case.
• Independently assesses evidence submitted to it by police and keeps cases under continuous review.
• Decides whether to prosecute and if so, what charges should be brought.
• Prepares prosecution case and presents it in court.
• Assists, informs and supports victims and prosecution witnesses.

Question 13

2. the CPS - philsophy.

Answer 13

Values that underpin the work are:
- Independence and fairness
- Honesty and openness
- Treating everyone with respect
- behaving professionally and striving for excellence.
- Equality and inclusion.

Question 14

How is the CPS funded?

Answer 14

• Government
• Recover some costs when courts award costs against defendants, and it also recovers assets confiscated from criminals.
• However, CPS has suffered significant funding cuts. In 2018, budget had fallen by 25% and lost ⅓ of staff.

Question 15

How might the way the CPS is funded affect social control?

Answer 15

• Funding allows them to provide the services to offenders which enable them to achieve social control.
• Without funding, they would be unable to do this.

Question 16

2. the CPS - working practices.

Answer 16

• Types of criminality and offender - CPS deals with full range of offences and criminals. Takes responsibility for all serious cases.
• National and local reach - National body throughout England and Wales; 14 regional area teams prosecuting cases locally.

Question 17

3. The Judiciary - role.

Answer 17

• Role of judge in the CC is to make decisions about the law including it’s interpretation and application.
• Also generally manage the trial to ensure that it is human rights compliant and that a fair trial is given.
• Must also explain evidence and information regarding the case with the jury
  they pass a sentence that is appropriate

Question 18

3. The Judiciary - How is social control achieved?

Answer 18

A court has the power to use coercion, with reasonable force if necessary to compel people to abide by the law.

Question 19

3. The Judiciary - philosphy.

Answer 19

6 principles in the Guide to Judicial Conduct (2016):
1. Judicial independence - should be free from government interference in their decisions. Enables them to uphold rule of law and safeguard rights of citizens.
2. Impartiality - not showing favour to specific side.
3. Integrity - being honest and with strong moral principles.
4. Propriety - upholding society’s accepted standards of behaviour and morals.
5. Ensuring equal treatment - to everyone who comes before the courts.
6. Cometence - the knowledge and ability to do the job.

Question 20

3. The Judiciary - Aim:

Answer 20

• Interpret and apply the law to the cases that come before it in the courts.
• CC = judge must manage trial, ensuring fairness to all parties, explaining legal issues to jury, summing up evidence, passing sentence if defendent is guilty.
• Appeal courts = make rulings on appeals that come before them from lowercourts. may involve creating precedents through principle of judicial precedent, which bind future decisions of lower courts.

Question 21

How are the judiciary funded?

Answer 21

• judicial salaries are decided using the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body who provide independent advice to the prime minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Defence on the remuneration (budgeting) of the judiciary
• Glenn - highly qualified lawyers rejected High Court because they could earn up to three times more in their current post

Question 22

How might the way the judiciary are funded affect social control?

Answer 22

• The court can use coercion, with reasonable force if it is necessary to make people abide by the law.
• The judiciary is made up of judges from over the country and therefore they are the group of people who decide on the sentencing and level of punishment for the offender

Question 23

3. The Judiciary - working practices.

Answer 23

• Position of judges reflect importance of maintaining their independence so they can uphold rule of law and defend right of citizens.
• Judiciary is organised in clear hierarchy. Can be divided into superior judges (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court), and inferior judges (Crown Court).
• Judges deal with all types of cases, except least serious cases.
  -National and local reach - Supreme court has nationwide jurisdiction, Crown Court = local.

Question 24

4. Prisons - role

Answer 24

Responsible to UK prisons. Describes its purpose as ‘preventing victims by changing the lives of offenders’.
- Prisons hold offenders in custody when they have been given a guilty sentence by the court/pending trial.
- Prisons provide a secure place for offenders to serve their sentences. Probation monitors offenders once they are released from prison.

Question 25

4. Prisons - How is social control achieved?

Answer 25

• the consequence of people that break the law or rules.
• Imprisonment used coercion to get prisoners to follow set rules. This is when the prisoners are forced to do something by the fear or threat of force, this could be through physical or psychological means.

Question 26

4. Prisons - philosophy.

Answer 26

HM Prisons and Probation Service is the government agency responsible for the UK’s prisons. It describes its purpose as ‘preventing victims by changing the lives of offenders’.

Question 27

4. Prisons - aims:

Answer 27

THREE MAIN AIMS:
1. To protect public from harm.
2. To help people who have been convicted of offences to rehabilitate so they can contribute positively to society.
3. To hold prisoners securely and implement the sentences and orders of the courts.

Question 28

How are prisons funded?

Answer 28

• Government out of general taxation.
• Tax payers pay around 47,000 pounds to house a prisoner for 1 year, that is 130 pounds a day.

Question 29

How might the way prisons are funded affect social control?

Answer 29

• People may riot against paying to keep criminals in prison.
• Prisons help to punish offenders correspondent to their crime. E.g. the more severe the crime the longer sentence

Question 30

4. Prisons - Working practices:

Answer 30

• 2019, total of 121 prisons, holding around 80,000 prisoners at any one time.
• Types of criminality and offender - deal with higher risk offenders deemed unsuitable to serve their sentence in community.
• National and local reach - nationally organised, prisons situated around UK. When sentenced, offender placed in local prison, but may be moved to more appropriate prison elsewhere. Prisoners who attempted to escape and placed on list and singled out by a yellow uniform.
• Prison activites and routines - cuts in number of prison officers means there are fewer available to supervise prisoners undertaking activities.
• Incentives and earned privilges - are rewards that prisoners can earn by keeping to the rules.

Question 31

5. The National Probation Service - role.

Answer 31

Is a statutory criminal justice service that supervises high-risk offenders released into the community. Probation service is an executive agency, sponsored by HM Prison and Probation Service.

Question 32

5. national Probation Service - How is social control achieved?

Answer 32

Through monitoring and supporting offenders e.g. through drug and alcohol treatment as part of rehabilitation which aims to reduce reoffending.

Question 33

5. National Probation Service - philsophy.

Answer 33

Core values and ethical principles:
- belief that offenders can change for the better and become responsible members of society.
- Belief in worth and dignity of individual.
- Commitment to social justice, social inclusion, equality and diversity.

Question 34

5. National Probation Service - Aim:

Answer 34

• Priority is to protect the public by rehabilitating offenders, by tackling causes of their offending and enable them to turn their lives around.
  Supervises 2 types of client:
  1. Offenders serving sentence in the community rather than prison, as result of Community Order by court. May involve requirements such as: up to 300 hours unpaid work, an exclusion order/curfew, a group programme.
  2. Offenders who have been released on license from prison before the end of their sentences. The licence has requirements attached and is supervised by probation service.
• Works in partnership to manage offenders with range of organisations (police, courts, local councils, and partners in private and voluntary sectors).
• CRCs provided probation services for low and medium risk offenders.

Question 35

How are probation services funded?

Answer 35

• Part of HM Prison Service, which in 2018 had overall budget of £4.6 billion. Budget provided by government and comes from general taxation.
• Community rehabilitation companies were private businesses that has contract with Ministry of Justice to provide probation services. However, 19/21 CRCs missed targets for reducing reoffending and some were even supervising their offenders remotely by telephone. As result, government decided to end all private sector contracts for probation work in 2020.

Question 36

How might funding process of probation services affect social control?

Answer 36

Funding allows them to provide the services to offenders which enable them to achieve social control. Without funding, they would be unable to do so.

Question 37

5. probation service - working practices.

Answer 37

• Types of criminality and offender - 250,000 offenders on probation. These offenders deemed safe enough to serve their sentence in the community.
• National and local reach - NPS is national service working to the same standards throughout the country, but delivering the service regionally and locally.

Question 38

6. Charities and pressure groups - role:

Answer 38

• Voluntary organisations that are independent of government control.
• They promote the interests and welfare of the people they are concerned with - ex-offenders/victims
• Charities help those in need, pressure groups campaign to achieve change
• Nacro provides help to ex-offenders and campaigns to change government policies that affect them

Question 39

6. Charities and pressure groups - How is social control achieved?

Answer 39

achieves social control as can keep offenders away from situations which could lead them back into offending such as homelessness. This could lead to new addictions or further addiction which has been shown to influence crime.

Question 40

6. Charities and pressure groups - Philosphy:

Answer 40

Narco describes itself a a social justice charity seeking to change lives, strengthen communities and prevent crime.

Question 41

6. Charities and pressure groups - Aim:

Answer 41

• Aims to overcome stereotyped view of ex-prisoner.

Provides range of services, including:
- Housing: houses over 3000 tenant in its own properties, also provides bail accommodation and support services.
- Education: In 2018, 4900 people studied through Narco’s education services.
- Resettlement advice: provides support and advice about employment, education and accommodation to people with criminal records and to professionals working with them.
- Outreach projects: to keep young people from offending.

Question 42

How are charities and pressure groups funded?

Answer 42

• Narco has income of £50m a year.
• Comes from public donations, government grants, and contracts for providing services for ex-offenders and others.

Question 43

How might the way charities and pressures groups are funded affect social control?

Answer 43

• Focus on rehabilitation of offenders which prevents reoffending.
• Allows them to integrate back into society, thus maintaining social order.

Question 44

6. Charities and pressure groups - Working practices.

Answer 44

• Types of criminality and offender - Narco works with range of ex-offenders. Also works with young people as risk of offending. Concerned with needs of disadvantaged young people and adults.
• National and local reach - Narco is national organisation with local activities and projects in 50 different parts of England and Wales. Has large full-time staff and many unpaid volunteers.