3.4 Flashcards
strengths of police
- vital role in maintaining law and order which can be highly effective
- first on scene
- successful in bringing cases to court and issuing cautions
- lots of work on anti-social behaviour and keeping peace
- many important specialisms so can tackle more crime
- lots of work on unreported crime such as hate crime and domestic abuse and as a result more of these crimes are being reported
an example of how the police have improved
a report done by HM inspector of police in 2017 found that 2/3rds of people working with victims of domestic abuse think that the police approach has improved in the last 3 years
weaknesses of the police
- police are institutionally racist
- ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the police force
- stop and search powers and tasers are still used disproportionately on minority ethnic groups
- dropping cases without full investigations
- playing moral panics and wanting public approval which means that police funding and attention is focused on some crimes and not others
example that the police are institutionally racist x2
MACPHERSON REPORT 1999 - after charges were dropped against two youths for murdering Stephen lawrence, there was massive campaigning and a report was done which found that the police were institutionally racist
The LOUISE CASEY REPORT 2023 - found there was a blindness to racism on all levels and mass discrimination - this was a massive report because it completely broke the public trust and confidence in the met - especially after the murder of sarah evrard who was murdered by a police officer
example of police dropping cases without full investigation
the office of national statistics in 2017 found that 48% of cases were being dropped without a suspect - this could be due to a lack of time and funding
example of police playing to moral panics
2014 South Yorkshire police asked the BBC if they wanted to film the raid on the home of Sir Cliff Richard after allegations of hisotrical child abuse. he was cleared of all charges and the police and BBC had to pay huge amounts in damages costs
positives to the CPS
- full code test gives a standard and fair approach to decision making
- helps to ensure lack of bias and more efficient use of public funds
- in 2018 it prosecuted 80,000 cases in crown court and more than 450,000 im magistrates court
drawbacks to the CPS
- criticised for dropping ‘weaker’ cases to improve the conviction rate
- the CPS shouldn’t use the likelihood of conviction as the basis for its decisions
- cuts to funding
- critical mistakes
- being too close to police
- too slow and poor at communicating
example of where the cps dropped weaker cases
the Guardian accused the CPS on not taking ‘weaker’ rape cases which denies vulnreable victims from justice
example of the CPS using the likelihood of conviction for decisions
2014-18 rape reports doubled but prosecutions fell which is not proportional
the evidential test may not serve the interests of justice
positives to the judiciary
-knowledge and expertise
- ensure fairness
- correct application of the law
- independent of politics, objective to the cases in front
drawbacks to the judiciary
-over lenient sentencing increased
- harsh sentencing
- bias
example of over lenient sentencing from judiciary
in 2016: 141 sentences were increased by the Unduly leniant sentences scheme - which means that the judges were being so easy on criminals that people had to go back and review the cases
this scheme applies to most serious cases such as rape and murder
example of the judiciary giving harsh sentences
london riots 2011 which was politically influenced to put people off committing riots again
example of judiciary being bias
50% over 50
68% male - which means that my lack understanding for female victims of sexual assault
95% white
