ac3.3: examine the limitations of agencies in achieving social control Flashcards
recidivism
- if offenders continue to commit crime, social control will never be achieved
- recidivism has caused the prison population to rise drastically over the last 20 years
- anyone who has served 2 days to 2 years is required to serve minimum 12 months on probation
- the number of people recalled to custody has increased by 19%
supporting statistics
- around 3 in 5 prisons (61%) are overcrowded - 74 in 122 prisons
- inspectors found that safety wasn’t good in 6 of 10 men’s prisons they visited during 2021-22
- 16,300 prisoners are held in overcrowded accommodation
which theory is relevant?
social learning theory
- offenders may learn further negative behaviour in prison by copying others
how is recidivism a limitation for prisons?
- a high reoffending rate leads to overcrowding
- this causes safety issues, increased violence and aggression towards staff and other inmates
- limited access to jobs, education and rehab opportunities, which all help reduce reoffending
- an already stretched budget is further impacted
- staff to prisoner ratio is increased
- supporting stat: around 3 in 5 prisons (61%) are overcrowded
how is recidivism a limitation for probation?
- more people coming in and out of prisons
- causes staff to be overworked - there isn’t enough staff to cope with the demands on the probation service
- this could lead to mistakes and a potential MOJ
how is recidivism a limitation for police?
- a higher reoffending rate takes more time and resources for the police
- is this a waste?
how is recidivism a limitation for courts?
- recidivism increases the number of people in the CJS
- this may cause a backlog in the court system, affecting other agencies
- if the case takes a long time to get to court, eyewitnesses may forget their statements
civil liberties and legal barriers
- civil liberties are basic rights and freedoms granted to people through the law. e.g. freedom of speech, movement, from arbitrary arrest, assembly, association
- these freedoms may limit agencies’ ability to achieve social control
- e.g., foreign nationals with criminal convictions can’t be removed from the UK due to EU regulations. deportation cant happen as they are a threat to their home country
the case of abu qatada
- he was arrested for terrorist offences in the UK
- he couldn’t be deported as he claimed he wouldn’t have access to a fair trial
- he was held in the UK for 8 years until he was eventually deported
how are civil liberties and legal barriers a limitation for the police?
- they have rules about when they can and can’t arrest people - they have to read people their rights, give them a phone call and a lawyer
- they must follow these to ensure they don’t infringe on civil liberties
- this means they might miss people who should have been convicted
how are civil liberties and legal barriers a limitation for prisons?
they must comply with rules and human rights issues
access to resources and support
- if prisoners don’t get resources and support to prevent reoffending, social control won’t occur and they will reoffend
- 36% of prisons received pos rating in 2019-20 for purposeful activity work
- 35% of offenders spent less than 2 hrs out their cell a day
- 50% of people released march 2019-20 had settled accommodation on release
how is access to resources and support a limitation for prisons?
- lack of resources contributes to reoffending
- this increases prison pop and adds to neg state of prisons
- 62% of people entering the prison system were assessed as having literacy skills of 11-year-old (4x higher than general population)
how is access to resources and support a limitation for probation?
- they try to help ex-offenders get jobs and housing
- if they lack the necessary resources they won’t be effective - causing less chance of rehabilitation
how is access to resources and support a limitation for charities?
- they rely on public donations
- without this their resources will be limited
finance
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how is finance a limitation for prisons?
- without money to provide support, reoffending will increase
- this can increase the chance of attacks on staff, as well as self-harm and suicide
- the prison officer association warned that inmates with mental health problems are in extra danger without a boost in resources
how is finance a limitation for charities?
- if they don’t receive public donations (increasingly in cost of living crisis) they cannot function
- they’ve lost more than £3.8 billion in recent years
how is finance a limitation for the police?
- cuts to officers, pay cuts and limited funding all reduce the chance of social control
local and national policies
- local police prioritise certain crimes, so some arent investigated
- allegations say they focus on ‘trivial crime’ rather than serious offences to meet gov targets
- from 2010 to 2015 the gov gave £1.2 mil to fund workers to tackle knife, gun and gang crime
- however this could lead to them focusing on certain crimes
how are local and national policies a limitation for the police?
- encouraged to tackle crimes so others may go unpunished
- it could easily lead to inconsistencies in policing
- this could affect the whole cjs
how are local and national policies a limitation for prisons?
- if areas focus more on certain crimes then certain prisons may have higher populations
environment
- an ex-offenders home environment impacts if they reoffend (they often return to the same social circle)
- there’s a lack of employment or a focus to lead them from crime
- people are less likely to reoffend if they get family visits in prison, but 68% had none
- only 1 in 4 had a job on release
marxist perspective
the bourgeoisie construct rules of society to prevent the proletariat from achieving in life, so their only option is to commit crime
how is the environment a limitation for probation?
- their job is made harder as they must ensure people don’t reoffend when being back with the same people as before
how is the environment a limitation for charities?
- relied upon more when prisoners cannot find adequate work or housing
how is the environment a limitation for prisons?
- they’re labelled as universities of crime
- it’s an environment where they can learn more crime, meet contacts and develop possible new drug addictions
how is the environment a limitation for the police?
- could link to the broken windows theory
- this makes the police’s job harder
crime committed by those with moral imperatives
- a moral imperative is a strongly felt principle that compels people to act
- e.g. assisted suicide could be argued as a crime committed with a compassionate motive
- helping someone die is a crime in the UK, however a family member may do so at the wishes of another
the case of kay gilderdale
- he 31 year old daughter had ME - she was paralysed, couldn’t eat, sit up or swallow
- lynn gave herself a large dose of morphine and called her mum into her room, kay gave into lynn and gave her doses of morphine and other drugs
- lynn died 30 hrs later from morphine toxicity
functionalist perspective
- some crimes may be positive and serve a function
- the case of kay gilderdale may produce boundary maintenance by showing what is acceptable
how are crimes committed by those with moral imperatives a limitation for courts?
- the jury often find these crimes not guilty, e.g. assisted suicide
- this makes it hard to get the case through court and makes it hard for judges to disapprove of this crime
how are crimes committed by those with moral imperatives a limitation for the cps?
- rarely prosecutes as it’s so unlikely these cases will get convicted - “an unrealistic prospect of conviction”
- does this send a message that these crimes are okay?
