AC 3.3 - Limitations of Agencies in achieving Social Control Flashcards
Outline and explain the issue of Repeat Offenders, with statistics (4 points)
- If offenders fail to rehabilitate and keep committing crime, then social control won’t be achieved
- According to the Prison Reform Trust: From 1993 to 2015, the prison population nearly doubled, with an extra 41,000
- Anyone leaving custody who served 2 days or more must serve a minimum of 12 months under supervision in the community - which has resulted in a dramatic increase in people being recalled following release
- Recall population is now 19% higher than when these changes were introduced in February 2015, with 1,000 more people
What did the Bromley Briefings Prison Fact-file (2023) show about Recidivsim? (2 points)
- 42% of all adults are reconvicted within one year of release. For sentences less than 12 months, this increases to 63%
- 58% of women are reconvicted within one year of release. For sentences less than 12 months, this increases to 73%
What are the 6 basic rights / freedoms? (6 points)
(Freedom of…)
- Speech
- Movement
- Arbitrary Arrest
- Assembly
- Association
- Religious Worship
How do Civil Liberties limit social control? (3 points)
- People have the right to freedom of speech, movement, etc. and thus it can be seen as a restriction on agencies such as the police in achieving social control
- For instance, there are foreign nationals with criminal convictions who cannot be removed from the UK due to EU regulations
- Deportation cannot take place due to prisoners being in danger from their home country
What is the case study for Civil Liberties? (3 points)
Abu Qatada
- This case demonstrates the issue of civil liberties being a limitation in achieving social control
- Due to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rules that the hate preacher couldn’t be deported to Jordan due to the risk he would be tried on evidence unlawfully obtained by torture
- The then Home Secretary, Theresea May, said he should’ve been sent back long ago as the ECHR ‘moved the goal posts’ - setting new legal ground for deportation blocking
How does limited Resources and Support limit social control? (2 points)
- Access to resources and support services limit prisoners from being able to rehabilitate and therefore bring about social control
- Upon release, an offender will face problems with: Finance, Accommodation, Employment, Training opportunities
What did the Bromley Briefings Prison Fact-file (2023) show about Resources & Support? (3 points)
- Only 8% are in employment 6 weeks after leaving. After 1 year - this rises to just 17%
- Less than half (48%) have settled accommodation on release
- Many are released with debts that have built up during their sentence - E.G: fines, phone bills, rent
(Resources and Support) What support is being made available to offenders to aid social control? (2 points)
- Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway: Prisoners are to have access to apprenticeships for the first time - to help cut crime
- Aims to provide job-based training in key industries
What issues are there with support for offenders? (Limiting social control) (4 points)
Discharge grant:
- Some are entitled to receive a discharge grant to help them on release, however, this remained fixed at £46 since 1997 & only increased to £76 in 2021
- Thousands are ineligible for this
Entitlement to housing benefits:
- Housing benefits stop for all prisoners expected to be in for more than 13 weeks
- Prisoners have very little chance of keeping their tenancy open until their sentence ends & lose their housing
What does the lack of support or resources available mean for prisoners? (2 points)
- Prisoners are tempted to return to crime
- According to the charity: NACRO, out of the 38,000 people they helped in 2016/17, 48% of those housed had a primary or secondary support need to manage the risk off reoffending
Explain the impact of Local Police forces prioritising certain crimes (3 points)
- Some crimes are then not investigated
- For instance, there would have been allegations against the police suggesting they focus on trivial crime instead of serious offences
- This would be done in order to meet government targets
(Local & National policies) Explain the key example of: 2010-2015 Police force promoted for knife, gun and gang crime (2 points)
- The government introduced new offences, such as gang injections to prevent a person from engaging or encouraging gang-related violence
- This was to help improve prosecution rates & dedicated £1.2 million funding
What is the key example for a Police local policy? (2 points)
- The Mayor of London launched policing plans in March 2017
- This outlined a series of policies aimed at tackling hate crimes & boosting the armed anti-terrorism squad
What policy did the CPS focus on? (2 points)
- August 2017: the head of the CPS, said there would be a crackdown on social media hatecrimes
- Official figures show a 20% rise in all forms of hate crimes reported in 2017
How does an offender’s home environment impact their reoffending? (2 points)
- Offenders often return to the same social circle involving drug taking or reoffending
- There is a lack of employment available or a focus to lead them away from crime