AC3.3

Question 1

what is a moral imperative?

Answer 1

an overriding sense of what is right- so strong that it compels a person to act to uphold
it- even if it means breaking the law.

Question 2

what are the consequences of moral imperatives?

Answer 2

It can be difficult to change the mind-set of offenders with a moral imperative.

• Punishment is unlikely to alter their views- eg Suffragettes
• Sometimes they may also gain public support.eg Stansted 15.

Question 3

Kay Gilderale - Crimes committed by those with moral imperatives

Answer 3

Kay Gilderdale broke the law when she assisted the suicide of her daughter who had been seriously ill for 17 years. This crime was committed with a compassion motive.

She admitted the charge of aiding and abetting the suicide of her bed-ridden daughter- suffered a severe form of ME for 17
years.

In such cases, the jury may struggle to reach an agreement about whether someone is innocent or guilty.

In these cases, the offender may be charged leniently or be acquitted.

Kay Gilderdale was acquitted.

Question 4

how does Functionalism (Durkheim) link to moral imperatives?

Answer 4

argues that without deviance,
new social values could not
emerge-no change would be
possible and society would
stagnate. (not change)

Question 5

what is recidivism?

Answer 5

refers to an individuals relapse into criminal behaviour after they have received a sanction for criminal behaviour.

the tendency of a
convicted criminal to reoffend.

Question 6

recidivism rates - statistics

Answer 6

46% of adults re-convict within one year of being released.

60% of those adults serving less than 12 months.

69% of children re-convict within one year of being released.

77% of those children serving less than 12 months.

In 2017 there was an overall recidivism rate of 30%- of all offenders given a warning, fine, community sentence or suspended
sentence in the previous 12 months and all of the prisoners released during this period, a further 500,000 crimes were committed between them.

The average number of re-offences per offender is four but this has been increasing since 2009

These statistics show how short sentences do not work.

Question 7

how does recidivism impact prison population?

Answer 7

The prison population has grown -almost doubled since 1993.

Repeat offending is one reason for this increase.

Those on licence will be recalled to serve the rest of their sentence if they commit further offences during this period

Question 8

who is most likely to re-offend?

Answer 8

The more previous convictions a person has the more likely they are to reoffend.

2017: almost half of offenders with 10
previous convictions reoffended)

Offenders who serve time in prison are more likely to offend.

Males are more likely to re-offend than females

Dark Figure: The trends in re-offending only refer to proven re-offending.There are likely to be offenders who re-offend who
have not been processed by the courts.

Question 9

how does right realism link to recidivism?

Answer 9

they think prison works.

Offenders are rational actors and so prison acts as a deterrent- a cost of offending.

However, high
rates of offending shows that this is not the case

Question 10

how does Marxism link to recidivism?

Answer 10

Not surprising people re-offend.

they have little chance of meeting their basic needs if they are to solely rely on
benefits.

Question 11

how does social learning theory link to recidivism?

Answer 11

This theory would explain re-offending as a product of modelling by criminals in prisons.

younger criminals especially may learn criminal techniques from older role models.

differential association theory - ‘prisons are schools for offending’

whereby offenders are exposed to further pro-criminal attitudes which results in re-offending upon release.

Question 12

how does finance impact the police in achieving social control?

Answer 12

2010-2018: Budget was cut by 19%.

The central government funds were cut by 30% but funds from council tax offset this.

The cuts have led to a fall
in 20,000 police officers
and national shortage of
detectives, meaning there are less officers to protect and safeguard the public.

This also results in some cases being dropped eg sex offences and arson to
“balance the books.” Due to a lack of staff and resources to be able to investigate them properly.

Question 13

how does finance impact the CPS in being able to achieve social control?

Answer 13

2010-2018: CPS budget cut by a quarter.

budget cuts lead to less staff in CPS Direct, meaning cases can’t always be processed in the 24 hour time limit.

This led to staff losses of one-third.

Head of the CPS said it and the police were failing to investigate thousands of cases efficiently as staff lacked skills and resources to deal with some crimes eg. Rape , fraud and
modern slavery cases.

Question 14

how does finance impact prison in being able to achieve social control?

Answer 14

2010-2018: Budget was cut by 16%.

Staff levels have fallen by 15%-more experienced officers have left the service.

rising levels of assaults, self-harm and suicides. Overcrowding and staff cuts have affected access to rehabilitation opportunities.

In 2016 the HMP Birmingham riot raised concerns about private companies running
prisons.

BUT Unlocked charity now recruiting graduates onto a 2yr training programme

Question 15

how does finance impact the probation service in being able to achieve social control?

Answer 15

Part privatisation – National Probation Service and private CRCs. The CRCs have not been a
success and will be taken back under public control.

There was a national staff shortage and over-reliance on agency staff.

There was sub-standard performance of the private CRCs.

There were shortcomings in keeping victims safe.

Concluding that this part-privatisation was flawed and created a lack of confidence in the
service - Stacey 2019

Question 16

what is the impact of local and national policies on social control?

Answer 16

These policies limit the ability of agencies to achieve social control.

When a new law makes a crime a priority, this means other offences are neglected - as police are instructed to focus on a new one.

Question 17

what are national government policies?

Answer 17

laws and policies that the government introduce that affect the work of agencies such as the police and CPS.

Question 18

examples of a national government policy x2

Answer 18

April 2019:

The Home Secretary made it easier for police to stop and search anyone for an offensive weapon without having reasonable
suspicion they were carrying one.

This power is available to the police under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

The ‘Serious Violence Strategy’ was brought in to increase police powers and collaborations with agencies, such as schools to support at risk children.

Question 19

what are local policies?

Answer 19

local policies can be brought in to support the local needs of an area.

Question 20

examples of local policies x3

Answer 20

if there is an increase in burglaries in an area, increased police presence may be a policy that is implemented.

weapon amnesties are another example of local policies, where people can surrender illegal weapons without fear of prosecution. In London 2017: A 2 week gun amnesty : 350 guns and 40,000 rounds of ammunition were handed in. This helps to reduce the use of weapons in a local area.

There may be a higher incidence of knife crime and so there may be a greater need for stop and search.

Question 21

how do moral panics impact local and national polices?

Answer 21

On a local and a national level, the priorities of the police and other agencies such as the CPS can be affected by media moral panics.

Dangerous Dogs moral panic led to law changes that have turned out to be ineffective in protecting the public.

One response of local police forces is to de-prioritise an offence if they think it is too trivial, a waste of resources or too
difficult to enforce.

Question 22

what are civil liberties?

Answer 22

basic rights and freedoms guaranteed to every individual by law.

e.g: freedom of speech, freedom to protest peacefully, freedom to move and a right to privacy.

Question 23

what are legal barriers?

Answer 23

Many of these civil liberties are aspects of the due process model of justice.

The legal processes involved in due process are a barrier to the state
exercising control over it’s citizens without good cause. This may prevent people from exercising their human rights. For example, although we have the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest, the police have legal powers to arrest anyone if they claim reasonable cause.

Question 24

how does Marxism link to civil liberties and legal barriers?

Answer 24

More working class people find themselves being arrested and convicted of crimes than members of the ruling class.

They would say that these laws are needed to
protect the interests of the working class.

Question 25

how does access to resources and support limit agencies in achieving social control?

Answer 25

most offenders are released on a friday. This occurs just before the weekend so many individuals will sleep rough as support services will be closed. This makes them more likely to re-offend.

Question 26

how does access to resources and support in prison limit agencies achieving social control?

Answer 26

Inside prisons, prisoners require access to a range of support ad resources as part of their rehabilitation.

short sentences:
The offender does not have enough time in prison to deal with the issues that brought them into prison eg addiction, illiteracy and anger management.There are limited numbers of places on courses within prison.

Inadequate resources for
education and training:
2018 report of the Chief Inspector of prisons- half of prisons had too few programmes of “useful activity”. Only two-fifths were delivering “good” or “reasonably good” activities-down from two-thirds in 2010. Perhaps due to lack of funding or planning.

A 15% cut in the number
of prison officers:
There are fewer officers to supervise the rehabilitation of offenders.
Prisoners are often locked up by 6PM due to staff shortages.
This period of leisure time could have been spent accessing educational facilities such as libraries.
Staff shortages means that running the support is difficult.

Release on temporary
licence:
The intention of ROTL is to allow trusted prisoners out of prison to attend courses and training. They can also attend job interviews or work in the community.
However, there are now staff shortages that means very few prisoners can benefit from this

Question 27

how does access to resources and support in the community limit agencies from achieving social control?

Answer 27

lack of money:
Prisoners only receive a £46.00 discharge grant on release. They will also earn very little from working in prison.

lack of a job:
Only a quarter of prisoners
have a job to go to on release.

homelessness:
Nacro figures suggest 1 in 9 prisoners has no settled
accommodation to go to on release. Prisoners lose housing benefit if they are expected to spend more than 13 weeks in prison. They will lose any tenancy they had.

Question 28

NACRO ‘End Friday Releases’ Campaign

Answer 28

Individuals that are released on a friday face an almost impossible challenge to get the support they need before the weekend. This is because many services will be closing for the weekend.

Often, offenders are released on licence and need to be managed by probation. however, probation do not work weekends either so many struggle to see their probation officer. This essentially is setting people up for failure.

Highlighted the issues facing offenders released on a Friday.
Race to gain access to services before they close. Left with minimal funds and maybe on the
street- many reoffend.

Question 29

how does the environment that a prisoner returns to influence social control?

Answer 29

The environment a prisoner is released into can affect whether a
person stays in or out of prison.

Prison Reform Trust (2016) stated that people are less likely to reoffend if they receive family visits in
prison but 68% of prisoners don’t have them.

Offenders are less likely to reoffend if they live with their immediate family on release- only 61% do.

more needs to be done to encourage family support of prisoners if we want to improve the effectiveness of social control.

purposeful activity reduces the risk of reoffending.

44% of prisons received a positive rating from inspectors in 2015-2016 for purposeful activity work.

finding employment after release has an impact on an effective environment for offenders.

only 27% had a job to go to after prison and only 12% of employers said that they had employed someone with a criminal record.

Question 30

how does Marxism link to access to resources and support?

Answer 30

The bourgeoisie construct the rules of society to prevent the proletariat from achieving in life and so they have no other option but to commit crimes

Question 31

how does the labelling theory link to access to resources and support?

Answer 31

Once labelled an offender the individual will find it hard to be treated fairly by
others in the community and gain access to employment. They will live up to the label (self-fulfilling prophecy) which
creates the deviant career.