3.3 Flashcards
what does recidivism mean
(limits on agencies to receiving social control)
repeat offending rates
what was the recidivism in 2019
2019- 28%
the average number of re-offences per offender has risen since 2009
why has recidivism rates risen
the rising prison population - has almost doubled since 1993 because of reoffending
longer sentences have increased the prison population, NOT repeat offending
sentence length changes
2018, sentences for serious offences were on average over 26 months longer than they were 10 years earlier
the average minimum sentences for murder, increased from 12.5 years in 2003 to 21.3 years in 2016
who reoffends?
the more previous convictions you have the more likely you are to reoffend
eg in 2018 almost half of offenders who already had more than 10 convictions, offended again
why do people reoffend
drug/alcohol/homelessness more likely to reoffend
males more likely than females
serving a prison sentence you are more likely to reoffend compared to if you had got a community service or a fine
what is the dark figure if reoffending
the figure only refer to PROVEN reoffending where the offender was investigated and found guilty. there is probably more reoffending of people that havent been caught
what is the theory behind recidivism
right realists : ‘prison works’ and offenders are rational actors and so the fear of being jailed acts as a deterrant to reoffending
however… increased reoffending rate shows that its not a deterrent and they fail to explain this
Marxists: its not surprising that unemployed offenders are more likely to reoffend since they have little chance of meeting their needs if they are just on benefits
what are civil liberties
basic rights and freedoms guaranteed to every individual by law - eg freedom of speech + the right to privacy
how have human rights been abused
authoritarian states have few restrictions on their power to force citizens to behave as the state wishes eg not being able to express their opinions and risk being locked up
example of where human rights have been abused
protests against the turkish govs unlawful unlawful detention of jounalists - “suspicious deaths of persons in custody; forced disappearances and detention of tens of thousands of persons”
2018 US department of states annual report on human rights following abuses in turkey
whats the due process model do in terms of civil rights
it holds many of these civil liberties and important protections for the individual against the states abuse of its power
it’s the assumption of not guilty until proven otherwise with evidence
why does access to resources and support limit agencies achieving social control
offenders need resources and support to help rehabilitate and prevent re-offending particularly in prison
however short sentences don’t give enough time to address deeper problems such as drug treatments
what are the other reasons prisons lack resources which limit their social control
poor education and training resources - by a 2020 report on prisons had fewer than 2/5ths delivering ‘good’ or ‘reasonably good’ activities which was down 2/3rds in 2010
15% cut in number of prison officers - less supervision with rehab
release on temporary licence - intended to allow trusted prisoners out of prison to attend training but this cant happen a lot because of staff shortages
why does the community fail to support offenders
lack of money - prisoners only get 46£ as a discharge grant when they get released
lack of a job - only 1/4 of prisoners have a job to go back to on release
homelessness - NACRO say 1 in 9 have no settled accommodation when released
what is a campaign to do with the day prisoners are released
THE ‘END FRIDAY RELEASES’ CAMPAIGN
- over 1/3 of all releases happen on a friday
- being discharged on a friday makes it hard to access services such as accommodation, drug medication or benefits before the community shuts down for the weekend
- people have to sleep rough and makes them vulnerable to reoffending
how does finance in the POLICE put limits on the amount of social control that agencies can have
between 2010 and 2018 the budget was cut by 19%
this lead to a decrease of 20,000 detectives and national shortage of detectives. This means that police are dropping investigations
examples of limits to finance to police
- the met police dropped 2.9 times as many cases on the day they were reported than they did in 2013 because serious cases take longer to investigate
- rape cases take an average of 129 days to solve compared to two days for theft and criminal damage
how does finance put limits on the CPS
- 2010 - 2018 the budget was cut by 25%
- lost 1/3 of staff
- this meant that they were failing to investigate cases effectively eg rape
- accused of downgrading cases to decrease costs to take to court
how does finance put limits on prisons
2010-2018 the budget fell by 16%
- lost 15% of staff
this meant that prisons are now in a ‘crisis’ - overcrowding and an increase in assaults and suicides
how did privatisation contribute to the crisis in prisons
2016 there was the worst prison riot in 25 years in a private peison because staff had been worn down by ‘chronic’ staffing shortages
prisoners were policing themselves
in 2020 the gov took the prison back into public control
how does finance put limits on probation
staff shortages and failures of privatisation and the lack of confidence in the service
