Ac3.1 - Explain The Role Of Agencies In Social Control Flashcards
THE POLICE
- the police are the main way that the gov achieves social control over the people
- the Metropolitan (London) Police, was the first force to be established, was set up by the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel at the start of the 19th century
- philosophy
The philosophy of the police was created by Sir Robert Peel this includes:
1) the basic mission of the police is to prevent crime and disorder
2) the police’s ability to perform the duties depends on the public’s cooperation and approval
3) the use of physical force is the last resort
4) the police’s duty is to impartially serve the law
5) the police are the public and the public are the police, the police are just citizens in uniform, paid to do the full time what all citizens must do, that is, uphold the law
Aims and objectives
1) keep the peace and maintain order
2) protect life and property
3) prevent, detect and investigate crime
4) bring offenders to justice
Remember the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Funding
In 2020/21 the total budget was £15.2 billion.
1. Two thirds come from central government
2. Most of the rest from local council tax
3. Small amount come from charging for services such as policing football matches
Funding fell by 19% between 2010 and 2018 high resulted in a loss of 20,000 officers by 2020 there are 123,000 police officers
working practices
Police forces include branches such as detectives in the CID (criminal investigation department), fraud and drug squads, covert and overt.
1) unarmed policing - The Police in Britain are largely unarmed - reflect Peel’s philosophy.
2) special constables - are unpaid, part time officers (undergo training and have same powers as paid officers)
3) police community support officers - have limited powers, aim is to deal with anti-social behaviour
4) police and crime commissioners - are elected representatives of the people of the area covered by a police force
CPS
- philosophy and values
The CPS says that the values that underpin it’s work are:
- independence and fairness (prosecuting without bias and always seeking to deliver justice)
- honesty and openness
- treating everyone with respect
- behaving professionally and striving for excellence
- equality and inclusion (to inspire greater confidence in the CPS from victims and witness)
Aims and objectives
The aims and the objectives of the CPS are:
- to decide which cases should be prosecuted, keeping them all under continuous review
- to determine the appropriate charges in more serious or complex cases and advise the police, particularly during the early stages of investigations
- prepare cases and present them at court using a range of in-house lawyers and self - employed specialists
- provide information, assistance and support to victims and prosecution witnesses
Funding
- most of the CPS’s income comes from the government, with a budget of around half a billion pounds per year
- in addition, the CPS recovers some of its costs when the court awards costs against defendants- and it also recovers assets confiscated from criminals
- however, the CPS has also suffered significant funding cuts. In 2018, it’s budget had fallen by 25% leading to a loss of a third of its staff. This has led to concerns that it is unable to perform its role effectively
Working practices
- the CPS is a national body throughout England and Wales with 14 regional tea,s prosecuting cases locally
- each area is headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor works closely with local police forces and other criminal justice partners
- CPS Direct is a virtual 15th area, providing charging decisions to police nationwide, 24/7, 365 days a year
- Stephan Parkinson is the current head of the CPS and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). He was appointed in November 2023
PRISONS
philosophy of prisons
‘Preventing victims by changing the lives of offenders’
Aims and objectives
1) to protect the public from harm
2) to help people who have been convicted of offences to rehabilitate so they can contribute positively to society
3) to hold prisoners securely and implement the sentences and orders of the court
Funding
- paid - gov taxation
- 2021/24 - £5.39b
- cuts to staffing levels, 15% fall in the number of prison officers between 2010-2018
- cost of keeping a prisoner in prison in 2024 was £51,724 per year
- HMP Oakwood was £17,006, while at HMP Aylesbury it was £44,723
Working practices
- 2024 there were a total of 122 prisons in England and Wales and 87726 prisoners in England and Wales
- 109 public sector
- 13 - private prisons
- 2019 - HMP Birmingham is to be returned to a public sector prison following failing by G4S, including Britain’s worst prison riot in 2016
Prisons
- prison service is nationally organised, with prisons situated throughout the UK. When sentenced to prison, an offender is first placed in a local prison and given a security classification based on risk assessment. They may then be moved to a more appropriate prison elsewhere
- those who try and escape prison are placed on the escape list.
HMP BERWYN 1
2
3
4
WANSDWORTH PRISON
Prison activities
- there are a lack of opportunities for education, training and work experience
- 2020 Chief Inspector of Prisons said that half of the prisons inspected had too few programmes of useful activity
- 2/5 were assessed as delivering ‘good’ or ‘reasonably good’ activities, compared with 2/3 in 2009-10
Incentives & earning privileges
- there are three levels - basic, standard and enhanced
- when a person enters prison, they’re put on standard level - they’re allowed to spend more of the money they earn
- misbehaviour - basic level - they can only have the minimum I.e limited number of letters/visits
- good behaviour - enhanced level - additional privileges I.e TV in their cell/more phone calls etc
JUDGES
- philosophy
The philosophy of the judiciary is summed up in 6 principles in the Guide to Judicial Conduct. These lay down the standards of judges ethical conduct.
- philosophy continued
Name the 6 principles
- Judicial independence
- Impartiality
- Integrity
- Propriety
- Ensuring equal treatment
- Competence
- Judicial independence
- judges should be independent and free from gov interference in their decisions. This enables them to uphold the rule of law and safeguard for rights of citizens against the power of the gov
- Impartiality
Not showing favour to one side or the other
- Integrity
Being honest and with strong moral principles
- Propriety
Upholding societies accepted standards of behaviour and morals
- Ensuring equal treatment
To everyone who comes before the courts
- Competence
The knowledge and ability to do the job
- the judicial oath
- on appointment, judges swear two oaths
- the first is the oath of allegiance (loyalty) to the king, his heirs and successors
- the second is the judicial oath which promises to treat people equally, with impartiality and according to the law
- aims and objectives
- the basic role is to interpret and apply the law to the vases that co,e before them in the courts
- in the Crown Court, the judge must manage the trial, ensuring fairness to all parties, explaining the legal issues and procedures to members of the jury, summing up the evidence and passing sentence if the defendant is found guilty
- in appeal courts, judges make rulings on the appeals that coke before them from the lower courts in the Hierarchy. This may involve interpreting the law and creating precedents which can bind the future decisions of the lower courts
- funding
• The pay of the judiciary is based on the advice of an
independent body called the ‘Senior Salaries Review
Body’ (SSRB) which makes recommendations to the Prime
Minister and Lord Chancellor about how much judges
should be paid (this body also makes recommendations
about how much MPs and senior civil servants should be
paid)
• In 2024, the most senior judge (The Lord Chief Justice)
received £312,510 while District Judges (the lowest
ranking judges) received £134,105.
• a successful solicitor or barrister can earn more than even a senior judge (some successful commercial law barristers can earn over £1 million in a year).
- working practices
- the position of judges reflects the importance of maintaining their independence so that they can uphold the rule of law and defend the rights of citizens. For this reason:
They have ‘security of tenure’. This means that they cannot be removed from office except by a petition to the King passed by both Houses of Parliament (this has only happened once, in 1830, to remove a corrupt judge). This means that they are free from political control and cannot be dismissed by the gov - the judiciary is organised in a clear hierarchy. They can be divided into ‘superior’ judges’ (who sit in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court) and ‘inferior judges’ (who sit in the Crown Court and sometimes in Magistrates courts). (Offence type will depend on the court it is tried in)
- The Supreme Court has nationwide jurisdiction and settled points of national importance. Crown Courts around country, handle local cases
THE NATIONAL PROBATION SERVICE
- philosophy
- The belief that offenders
can change for the better
and become responsible
members of society. - Belief in the worth and
dignity of the individual. - A commitment to social
justice, social inclusion,
equality and diversity.
- aims and objectives
• They are a statutory criminal justice service that supervises high risk offenders released into the community they provide statutory support to victims of serious sexual or violent crime
• Their priority is to protect the public by rehabilitating offenders, by tackling the causes of their offending and enabling them to turn their lives around.
• Probation services supervise two types of clients
1. Offenders serving a sentence in the community
2. Offenders who have been released on license from prison.
• Probation services also work with a range of organisations such as the courts, police, councils and partners in private and voluntary sectors.
- funding
• NPS is part of HM Prison & Probation Services,
which in 2018 had an overall budget of £4.6 billion, shared
between prisons and probation
•Budget - Gov through general taxation
• In 2020 probation had 21 private sector community
rehabilitation companies (CRC) focusing on low risk
offenders
•CRCs are private businesses that have contracts with the
Ministry of Justice to provide probation services. They were
paid for meeting rehabilitation targets agreed in their
contracts.
• A report in 2018 concluded that up to £342 million had
been spent on CRCs without clear benefits. Following this -
Conservative gov announced it would end all private
contracts.
• From 2022 it is organised into 12 regions ( 1 in Wales and
11 in England)
- working practices
• 250,000 Offenders are on probation in 2018 - 40% of offenders was supervised by the national probation and 60% by CRCs
• Offenders are deemed safe enough to serve their sentence in the community
- working practices continued
• Probation are national and local reach they are responsible for:
1. Preparing Pre-sentence reports
2. Managing approved premises for offenders whose sentence includes a residence requirement
3. Assessing prisoners to prepare them for release
4. Helping offenders serve sentences in the community
5. Probation can communicate with wellbeing support for some offenders such
as mental health patients.
CHARITIES AND PRESSURE GROUPS
- Are voluntary organisations that are
independent of governmental control. - The aim is to promote the interests and
welfare of the people they are concerned
with, such as ex-offenders or victims of
crime. - Charities are organisations set up to
provide help to those in need. - Pressure groups are organisations that
campaign to achieve change.
National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders
Macro was created in 1966 it is a charity that provides help to ex offenders and also campaigns as a pressure group to change gov policies
Philosophy, aims and objectives
Nacro is a social justice charity seeking to change lives, strengthen communities and prevent crime.
It’s aim is to overcome the stereotyped view of the ex prisoner
1. Housing - houses over 3000 tenants in their own properties, provide bail accommodation and support services in 2018 2600 people
left custody with secure accommodation
2. Education - in 2018, 4900 people studies through Nacro’s education services
3. Resettlement advice - provides support and advice about employment, education and accommodation to people with criminal convictions and professionals working with them
4. Outreach projects - to keep young people from offending
Ban the box
- ban the box is a campaign in unlock.org
- the campaign aim is to enable people with convictions to complete for jobs by removing the tick-box on criminal convictions
- this is supported by Nacro’s
- 150 employees have now banned the box e.g Asda
Funding
- income of around £50m a year
- funding comes from public donations, gov grants and contracts for providing services - ex offenders
Working practices
- types of criminality and offenders - ex offenders, young people at risk offending and the needs of disadvantaged young people and adults
- National and local reach - is a national organisation with local activities and projects in around 50 different parts of England and wales
