AC3.4 Effectiveness of Agencies Flashcards
How effective are the police in achieving social control?
They are the the main agency for detection, investigation and prevention of crime. Their work results in a huge volume of cases being brought to trial. They are held to account by the Police and Crime Commissioner and show willingness to change to be more effective. Their work in the community, issuing notices and specialist units help achieve social control. However, the media tends to report the negative aspects of the police, such as the Macpherson Report (1999), leading to them being labelled institutionally racist.
Case Study: In 2017, during a weekend of disorder by a group of people, police recorded 37 crimes including rape, theft and assault. They failed to provide support to the locals and called it is a ‘low-level’ disturbance.
How effective are the police in achieving social control? (Statistics)
Office for National Statistics:
Police forces closed almost half of offences with not suspect identified
The proportion of offences that resulted in a charge or summons decreased from 14% to 11%, a lack of effectiveness
The reliability of data should be considered, ONS was criticised for falling behind other countries and provide poor quality data.
Home Office Statistics:
As of July 2017, police believe crime has risen by 10%, including a 20% increase in gun and knife crime, and a 26% rise in homocide rates.
Accuracy of Statistics:
The 10% rise in police recorded crimes contrasts with the 7% decrease in the Official Crime Survey.
Sources differ in population and offences they cover.
How effective are the CPS in achieving social control?
The CPS is the main independent prosecutor for England and Wales, aiming to achieve social control by preparing and presenting cases in court to secure conviction. The Full Test Case provides consistency and a fair approach to its role.
- In 2018, they prosecuted 80,000 cases in the Crown Court and over 450,000 in magistrates.
- 84% of defendants that it prosecuted were convicted
However, the CPS have also failed to achieve social control by not successfully prosecuting offenders, such as the Damilola Taylor case, where they relied on a lying, 14-year-old witness, when proper checks would have established the reliability of this source.
The CPS have also suffered from budget cuts of 25%, meaning they have lost a third of their staff. They cannot sustain further cuts as Digital technology is imposing additional workloads on staff, in one case it took over 600 hours to analyse the content on one phone.
They have also been criticised for their lack fo communication. There have been cases where the defendant has found their case to be dropped by seeing it in the media.
How effective are the judiciary in achieving social control?
The Judiciary are authority figures that are highly experienced and qualified, they ensure trials are fair and human rights compliant. However, due to judges tended to come from narrow, unrepresentative section of society, they are sometimes bias in their judgement:
- Judges background
- 71% of judges are male
- More than half of judges are aged over 50
- Among judges who are under 40, 51% are female
- Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups are under represented, 5%
- 74% of judges were privately educated and attended Oxford or Cambridge
One aspect of the criminal justice system that may suggest a lack of effectiveness by the judiciary is the increasing number of appeals alleging an unduly lenient sentence. 141 prison terms were increased in England and Wales in 2016 under the ‘Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme’, a 17% rise from the previous year and cases included sex offence, robbery and GBH.
The media is quick to report cases suggesting the judiciary are ineffective in achieving social control. There has been many occasions when judges appear to have made inappropriate comments, leading to sentences that are thought to be unsuitable given the circumstances.
How effective is the Prison Service in achieving social control?
How effective is the Probation Service in achieving social control?
