3.3 - Examine limitations of agencies in achieving social control (FINISHED)

Question 1

Recidivism

Answer 1

• Failure to rehabilitate -> continue to commit crime -> prevents social control from being achieved
• Main reason for prison population increase

Question 2

Recidivism rates

Answer 2

46% adults re-offend within 1 year of release

Question 3

Reasons for recidivism

Answer 3

Habitual, upbringing/family/culture, homelessness (especially once released from prison), lacking money

Question 4

Theories explaining recidivism

Answer 4

+ Marxism - unequal societal structure leaves unemployed working class needing to offend to survive
- Right realism - rational choice & believe prison works as a deterrence (does not explain rates)

Question 5

Civil liberties & legal barriers

Answer 5

• Basic rights/freedoms granted to country citizens
• Inc: freedom of speech, movement, religious worship
• Limit social control as police are restricted

Question 6

Laws limiting police

Answer 6

• Surveillance laws (must hold a warrant, covert only allowed if there is a likelihood of obtaining information, must disclose existence of cameras)
• Warrants (required to search properties & only given by courts/superiors)

Question 7

Police & Criminal Evidence Acts (PACE)/rights an offender has throughout criminal journey

Answer 7

• Right to remain silent
• Right to phone call
• Right to a fair trial
• Right to legal advice
• Right to foods/medicines

Question 8

Access to resource & support

Answer 8

• Limit prisoners being able to rehabilitate
• Issues with finance, accommodation & employment once released
• Tempted to return to crime to survive

Question 9

Bromley Briefings 2025 stats (only a few)

Answer 9

• 3 in 10 deaths were self-inflicted
• 47% of women left prison without accommodation
• 65% did not receive support to address finances, benefits or debts (left prison with their debts prior built up)

Question 10

Finance

Answer 10

• Limited funding & budget cuts
• Shortage of police officers on the street & prison staff/specialist teams
• Impacts experiences of prisoners (less free time, more cell time = mental health/suicide issues)

Question 11

Police: finance

Answer 11

• Prioritising of certain investigations -> limits crimes solved
• Inadequate numbers -> limited available (173,777)
• 2010 austerity cuts

Question 12

CPS: finance

Answer 12

• Overworked/understaffed -> slower process
• Lost 1/3 of their staff
• Mistakes are made

Question 13

Prisons: finance

Answer 13

• Lack of staff -> 2023 (23,273) -> impacts prisoners (less free time, higher mental health issue rates)
• Leads to recidivism once released & rioting when imprisoned

Question 14

Probation: finance

Answer 14

• Lacking officers & training
• Struggle to monitor those on probation (2020 - phone calls instead of meeting)

Question 15

Local & National policies

Answer 15

• Local prioritise certain crimes based on scale of issue in the area
• Some remain uninvestigated
• National Government policies focus on certain crimes at one time (i.e. Knife crime)
• Lead to unreliable crime data

Question 16

National government policies

Answer 16

• Drive police forces to focus on offences
• 2010/15 -> knife, gun & gang-related crime
• Criminals then avoid this type of crime to avoid being caught

Question 17

Local policies

Answer 17

• Prioritise based on government policies
• Ignore/not prosecute certain crimes
• Focus on trivial crimes to meet their targets

Question 18

Crime committed by those with Moral Imperatives

Answer 18

• Strongly felt principle that compels a person to act
• Doing the right thing from a moral perspective (i.e. assisted suicide)
• Social control is limited as their moral compass > rules of social control

Question 19

Moral imperative examples

Answer 19

• Kay Gilderdale (assisted terminally ill daughter’s suicide)
• Alan Blythe (grew cannabis for his wife to alleviate her sclerosis symptoms)