AC3.4 Flashcards
what are the aims of prisons?
aims to achieve social control by punishing offenders and by rehabilitating them so they can follow a crime free life on release.
aims to exercise social control over offenders whilst they are in prison - following the rules and acting in an orderly manner.
what 4 factors impact the prisons aim to maintain social control?
staff cuts
overcrowding
disorder
drug issues
staff cuts - prison limitation
Between 2010-2018, prison officers fell by 15% as a result of budget cuts.
more experience officers leaving.
those with less experience struggled to maintain control over inmates. One third had less than 2 years experience.
overcrowding - prison limitation
prison population in 2018 = 58% of them overcrowded
more inmates to control and in crammed conditions
not enough staff to control all inmates
more rule breaking and frustration from inmates
disorder - prison limitation
HMP Birmingham Riots 2016 - worst riot in 25 years, over 500 inmates taking over 4 wings
rioting makes it difficult for prison officers to regain control
riots came as a result of dissatisfaction among inmates over access to healthcare
absence of leadership and prompt action by staff present allowed the incident to initially develop.
drug issues - prison limitation
new psychoactive substances are used more widely in prisons today (e.g spice)
this drug causes psychosis, aggression and depression
mandatory drug testing is insufficient due to staff shortages
This undermines discipline/increases
violence.
Inmates lack participation in rehabilitation activities
Leaves prisoners in
debt
what are the social control responsibilities of the police?
The police are responsible for the
majority of the detection,
investigation and prevention of
crime.
inefficiency and racism/bias - police limitation
Some claim that the police are inefficient or incompetent in investigating offences.
Example :
Macpherson Report – failings in the Stephen Lawrence case meant the family had to wait 20 years for any form of justice.
police showed a lack of expertise and professionalism in this case and they were deemed institutionally racist towards the victims friend, treating him as a prime suspect.
financial circumstances - police limitation
Over time police budgets have been cut back.
- This can affect the ability of the police to achieve social control.
- Investigations may be dropped as a result.
- Some investigations take priority over others due to a lack of funds and fewer officers.
Hartlepool case study:
- under resourced
- budget was cut by nearly £40 million
- offenders had to be taken to other places
- streets cannot be patrolled
- 500 fewer officers across 14 stations
- rise in violent crime
- police having to view certain crimes as less serious because they do not have the officers or resources to follow through with investigations.
Hillsborough Disaster Case Study - police limitation
- no co-ordination from the police
- 96 Liverpool fans died in a human crush at the FA cup semi-final.
- The 1st inquiry - authorities said deaths were accidental.
- police struggled to contain the crowds
- senior police officers pressured a special constable, Debra Martin, to change her statement so that it matched others.
- 116/164 statements were amended or removed to protect the police as a result of bias, which altered the perception of the police inquiry.
- a failure of social control because the police mishandled the situation which led to them lying to the media and blaming fans, causing further outrage.
what are the aims of the CPS?
The CPS acts as the main independent prosecutor in england and wales.
it aims to achieve social control by preparing cases and presenting them to court to secure the conviction of offenders.
CPS budget cuts - limitation
Budget cuts of 25% have led the CPS to lose one third of it’s staff.
Director of Public Prosecutions (2018), said CPS cannot sustain further cuts.
New digital technologies imposing heavy additional hours of extra work for staff eg staff analysis of smartphone data
CPS Direct - limitation
they are available 24/7 but it can take a while to get through and receive a charge so it may not happen within the 24 hour time limit.
lack of media reports - CPS limitation
Newspapers have not always reported the performance of the CPS favourably.
They are critical of their handling of rape cases.
The CPS claimed that weak cases were dropped to improve the conviction rates of rape cases.
This led to criticism that vulnerable victims might not gain access to justice.
failure to build a case - CPS limitation
In some high profile cases the CPS has failed to build an adequate case or conduct proper checks on witnesses.
This led to some cases collapsing.
Jimmy Savile:
- in 2009, there were several missed opportunities to prosecute savile which led to questions surrounding the expertise of the CPS.
- committed sexual offences against young children during his career.
- Savile associated with those in higher authority so nobody believed the rumours and charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence.
- The CPS were too friendly with Savile and allowed his power and authority to take over, so allegations were never fully investigated when they first came out. Due to this, it became too late to charge or prosecute him, leaving victims without justice for what they had suffered.
what are the Judiciary?
authority figures that ensure trials are fair and human rights compliant.
They are experienced and highly qualified lawyers.
They use a system of precedent to ensure consistency and fairness.
In the media, judges are often portrayed as old, upper class males who are out of touch with modern society.
They tend to come from a narrow, unrepresentative section of society.
are judges biased? limitation
71% are male
Over 50% are over 50 years old
among judges under 40 there is a slight majority
of females – 51%.
black, Asian and minority ethnic groups are under-represented- only 5% of judges are from minority backgrounds.
74% were educated at Oxbridge
this may mean judges are biased towards people from similar backgrounds to themselves - Class Bias
However, it is hard to find evidence of a clear pattern of bias.
Most offenders are young so it is hard to see whether judges consider age in their sentencing decisions.
However, there is some evidence of gender bias –lack of empathy for female victims and leniency towards female offenders.
Case of Lavinia Woodward - limitation of Judiciary
She escaped jail when she stabbed her boyfriend.
she was a trainee doctor and her skills were seen to be too valuable.
she went to oxford university and was deemed ‘too bright for jail’
bias - as she was a highly educated student
what are Community Rehabilitation Companies? - limitation of Probation
Community rehabilitation companies were set up – 21 in total. Part privatisation of probation.
They operated in certain geographical areas.
They were designed to deal with low-risk offenders and would make money via a payment-by-results basis.
They would have targets to reduce re-offending.
- no clear benefits so contracts were terminated
- they were supervising licenced offenders via telephone
- since 2010, 697 murders have taken place by someone on probation
- since 2010, 952 rapes
- since 2010, 3,219 serious convictions
showing they do not meet social control
limitation of national probation service
National shortage of probation officers
High workloads
Professional standards compromised
No national strategy to provide local specialist services
Shortage of places on specialist programmes to address the causes of offending.
Joseph McCann case - limitation of probation
- serial rapist
- officers were warned McCann was a sex offender as early as 2011, but probation officers missed 8 chances to keep him behind bars, according to an Independent case review.
- Dealt with 10 staff over 11 years and had 3 different probation officer in the months before he was wrongly released from prison in 2019.
- 2 months after release he raped and assaulted 11 women and children between the ages of 11 and 71.
- a case review showed repeated errors in failing to recall McCann to prison despite him posing a major risk.
- McCann was managed by an unstable team, lacking experienced and skilled practitioners.
- Prison staff did not share information about the risk posed by McCann with probation, meaning staff did not have a clear picture of who they were dealing with and were making decisions based on inadequate assessments.
what are charities and pressure groups?
charities can provide services to specific groups of people such as ex-offenders.
pressure groups campaign for change to shape government policies.
limitations of charities and pressure groups
gaps in provision:
Charities and Pressure Groups are largely voluntary.
They only exist when people are concerned about an issue.
They may be set up for victims but not for offenders and so they will
not contribute to rehabilitation.
media reporting:
Can demonise some categories of offender making it hard for charities to form. society and media may be sympathetic to certain victims.
funding:
the public may be more willing to offer funds to victims’ charities than those for offenders. opportunities to reduce re-offending may be missed if only some crimes and offender are the focus.
NACRO - Charity
End Friday Releases - campaign to release offenders on other days of the week so they can access all necessary services.
funded by public donation
NACRO support and reintegrate offenders back into society.
charities are less likely to get donations if offenders are in the media, if they don’t get donations they won’t be able to help as many offenders, meaning they are more likely to go on to re-offend.
Women in Prison - pressure group
campaigns to reduce the number of women in prison, believing that most of them are victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault.
call for government to spend money on specialist support centres.
84% of womens sentences are for non violent crimes, therefore WIP aim to make the use of prison a last resort.
provide support for women in prisons including a free support line and a care programme for those with a history of mental health issues.
