AC 3.3 Flashcards
Examine the limitation of Repeat offenders/Recidivism in agencies achieving social control
o If offenders fail to rehabilitate & continue to commit crime then social control will never be achieved.
o Recidivism is one of the main reasons why the prison population has increased over the past 20 years.
o Recidivism rates & recalls to prison have increased over recent years with nearly 50% of those convicted returning to prison within a year.
Examine the limitation of Civil liberties and legal barriers
in agencies achieving social control
o Basic rights and freedoms granted to citizens of a country. These include: freedom of speech, movement, religious worship etc.
o These can limit social control as they restrict police from achieving social control i.e. foreign nationals with criminal convictions who cannot be removed from the UK due to prisons being in danger in their home country.
Examine the limitation of Access to resources and support in agencies achieving social control
o Limit prisoners from being able to rehabilitate & therefore limits success of social control.
o Prisoners face problems with finance, accommodation and employment once released from prison.
o Lack of support/resources may mean prisoners are tempted to return to crime in order to survive.
Examine the limitation of Finance in agencies achieving social control
o Funding is limited and budget cuts have impacted the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control.
o This then leads to a shortage of police officers on the streets, a lack of prison staff and specialist teams.
o This impacts the experience of prisoners by having less ‘free time’, more time in cells and higher rates of suicide/mental health issues.
Examine the limitation of Local & National Policies in agencies achieving social control
o Local police forces prioritise certain crimes over others depending on the scale of the problem in that area. This can mean some crimes are not investigated.
o National Government policies focus on certain crimes at times i.e. Knife Crime, Gang related crimes.
o Can lead police to focus on certain crimes over others, leading to unreliable crime data.
Examine the limitation of Environment in agencies achieving social control
o When prisoners are released their home environment can have a large impact on whether or not they stay out of prison.
o If an offender returns to the same environment with limited opportunities for social mobility and with criminal friends then it is likely an offender could return to prison.
o If an offender moves to a new environment, they may have more opportunities.
Examine the limitation of Crime committed by those with moral imperatives in agencies achieving social control
o A moral imperative is a strongly felt principle that compels a person to act.
o Offenders can commit crime as they believe they are doing the right thing from a moral point of view.
o Assisted suicide is an example of a crime that could be argued has been committed with a compassionate motive.
o When this happens, social control is limited as a person’s moral compass surpasses rules of social control.
