AC 3.1 Flashcards
Police and philosophy -
peelian principles
What is at the core of the peelian principles?
of policing by consent.
What are the peelian principles?
This means that the power of police to be an agent of social control comes from the consent of the public – not the power of the state.
So, police are public servants & their ability to perform their duties needs public support.
What must officers do under the peelian principle?
Use minimal force; AND
Impartially serve the law
What are the polices 4 core operational duties?
Protect life and property
Keep the King’s peace & maintain order
Prevent the commission of offences
Bring offenders to justice
Where do police get funding from? (3)
Central government - from our taxes
Council tax – collected by local councils
Funds from specialist policing operations, e.g. football matches
How to explain working practices in an exam
National & local reach of police
Types of criminality & offenders that police deal with
What individual officers can do, how police areas cooperate with each other & other agencies in the criminal justice system
Police National reach - how many territorial policing areas are there?
39 regional
one police forces for scotland and one for northen ireland
How do police have national reach?
Specialist civilian police forces in the UK:
British Transport Police (BTP)
Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC)
Ministry of Defence Police (MDP)
These forces fall outside the responsibility of the Home Office
Democratic accountability - Central government
HOME OFFICE
Democratic accountability - Local level
locally elected POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONERS
Who was the philsosophy of police summed up by?
sir robert peel
What kind of criminality and offender will a police officer deal with?
All types, specialist law agencies deal with certain types
How do police achieve social control?
Work alongside communities & community organisations to protect the public from crime.
-Prevent & investigate crime.
-Powers to investigate crime
-General beat officers respond to emergency & non-emergency calls from public. Supported by Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) (with limited powers of arrest etc.).
- Police areas have collaboration agreements to share policing responsiblities,
what legislation covers the powers of stop and search
PACE 1984
What s the cps’s philosophy?
Prosecutors must be fair, objective and independent of police & courts.
Follow the ‘Code for Crown Prosecutors’.
What act set up the CPS?
Prosecution of Offences Act 1985
Does the CPS have national or local reach?
national
How many barristers/solicitors work for the CPS?
3000
How does the CPS decide when to make a charging decision?
By independently reviewing police evidence, CPS decides whether to prosecute & what charge to bring against the suspect (using either the Full Code Test - Part IV, Criminal Justice Act 2003 – or the Threshold Test.
where does the CPS receive its funding from?
Taxes
What 2 stages must be met to satisfy the FCT?
evidential
public interest
how do the CPS exercise their working practices?
using the FCT or the Threshold test
what is the evidential stage?
. Is there sufficient evidence to ensure a ‘realistic prospect of conviction’? [Para. 4.4, FCT]
what is the public interest stage?
is it in the public interest to prosecute? Or might the case be better dealt with by way of, e.g. an out-of-court disposal?
The CPS asks specific questions to help decide this
When is the threshold test used?
Used when circumstances prevent the Full Code Test being used to make charging decisions
What 2 questions must be addressed when using the threshold test?
Is there reasonable suspicion that the suspect has committed an offence?
Are there reasonable grounds for believing that the continuing investigation will provide additional evidence within a reasonable time?
What are the judiciary’s values?
independance
impartiality
integrity
propreity
ensuring equal treatment
competence
What are the aims of the judiciary?
-To ensure the administration of justice in criminal proceedings to ensure fair trial by interpreting & applying the law in cases that come before them.
To impose formal punishments, i.e. to sentence offenders.
More senior judges sit in the higher courts – they hear appeals from the Magistrates & Crown Courts.
When making sentencing decisions, what should all judges follow?
the guidance of the Sentencing Council
Where to the judiciary receive their funding from?
the judiciary is funded by MoJ through taxation.
What type of offender will a judge deal with?
offender who has committed a triable either way offence / indicatible offence
magistrates deal with summary offences
How do the judiciary have national reach?
Supreme court settles point of law of national importance
How do the judiciary have local reach?
(77 Crown Courts handling local cases in England & Wales @ 2021).
How is the judiciary organised?
Superior judges
Inferior judges
How do the judiciary exercise their working practices?
-by following precedent and relevant legislation to make decisions.
-decide on the admissibility of evidence
-May make decisions on special measures to enable vulnerable witnesses / victims to give evidence.
-Summarise evidence for the jury and direct them on relevant law to enable them to reach a verdict.
Who decides a judges pay?
: the Senior Salaries Review Body makes recommendations on pay to the PM & the Lord Chancellor.
What is the prisons philosophy?
Public protection and rehabilitation
What are the aims and objectives of the HM prision service?
To supervise offenders convicted to custody to protect public. These are the most serious offenders who are deemed unsuitable for other forms of punishment.
To supervise those remanded by courts to custody pending trial.
To rehabilitate offenders through, e.g. education & training, whilst in custody.
Where do prisons receive funding from?
@ 2020/21: UK as a whole spent £5.63 billion on prisons.
What is the average cost of a prison place?
was £44,600 per year
Who is the government oversight for prisons?
MoJ
How many prisons are run by the HM prison service?
109
What dictates what prison an offender will go to?
each prisoner is given a security classification of A – D. This rating dictates which prison they go to serve their sentence.
What is a CAT A prison
those whjose escape would be highly dangerous to the public e.g. belmarsh
What is a CAT B prison
Do not require max security, but whom escape still needs to be made very difficult
What is a CAT C prison?
Cannot be trusted in open conditions but unlikely to escape/
What is a CAT D prison?
can reasonably be trusted not to escape
Explain the reach for prisons
both local & national - local prisons, e.g. Leicester (Category B) & more secure Category A prisons, e.g. Belmarsh, that house very serious offenders, e.g. convicted terrorists.
What are the working practices inside of prison’s?
Providing opportunities for education & training vary across the prison estate. Q: What are the implications of this for rehabilitation of offenders?
Ensuring discipline inside prison:
How is discipline ensured inside of a prison?
Token economies - 3 levels of ‘incentives & earned privileges scheme’: basic, standard & enhanced.
How many prisons are run by private companies in the uk?
14
What kind of social control does prsion provide?
coercion.
deterrent
what is the probation services philosophy?
Protect the public by the effective rehabilitation of offenders, by reducing the causes which contribute to offending and enabling offenders to turn their lives around.
what are the 3 main aims of the probation service?
To supervise high-risk offenders released from prisons into the community.
Supervises offenders given community orders.
Monitoriing completion of additional requirements of community orders & licence requirements, e.g. drug testing.
How does the probation service receive funding?
Funded by the government – the MoJ - from tax revenue.
How do the probation service exercise their working practices?
Assess needs of prisoners due for release and prepares them for release
Supervises offenders released from prison
Manages approved premises for offenders includes a residence requirement
Prepares pre-sentence reports for the court.
who is the government oversight for the probation service?
MoJ
How many people are being supervised by the probation serice as of march 2012?
220000
How do the probation service have local and national reach?
12 regions in England and Wales, each overseen by a Regional Probation Director.
12 regions divided into 42 probation areas.
How many regions are there within the probation service?
12
3 examples of charities involved in social control
Howard League for Penal Reform
Prison Reform Trust
NACRO
What is the philosophy for Prison Reform Trust?
to create a just, humane, and effective penal system
What is the aims and objectives of the Prison Reform Trust?
objectives include a reduction in unnecessary imprisonment and promoting community solutions to crime. Also, improve treatment and conditions for prisoners and their families and to promote equality and human rights in the justice system.
What are the working practices of the prison reform trust?
practices include, e.g. research on prison life and campaigns to improve the penal system, e.g. ‘Out of Trouble’, which aims to reduce the number of children and young people in detention. Works especially with ex-prisoners.
