ac3.4: evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control - cps

Question 1

how do the cps achieve social control?

Answer 1

• prosecute all cases in england and wales
• advise the police on what to charge the offender with
• use the full code test: evidential then public interest test

Question 2

how are the cps effective?

Answer 2

• must adhere to the full code test, this ensures that evidence is admissible and can be used in court - this reduces the chance of a moj

Question 3

statistics - effective

Answer 3

2558 prosecutions were completed, again creeping up marginally from the previous year - they are prosecuting more

Question 4

how are the cps ineffective?

Answer 4

• may not carry out the full code test properly, and may let inadmissible evidence be sent to court - this increases the chance of a moj
• they work closely with the police so there could be a risk of bias

Question 5

statistics - ineffective

Answer 5

endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk = for rape cases, on average, 706 days elapsed from the date of reporting an offence to the police to the start of the trial - 2 years to wait, evidence could be lost or forgotten

Question 6

cases - ineffective

Answer 6

• damilola taylor = they key witness was bribed to lie, the cps failed to see this was inadmissible evidence
• abu hamza = the cps refused to prosecute him

Question 7

quotations - ineffective

Answer 7

• guardian = ‘why did it take so long to bring abu hamza to justice’
• bbc - lord janner (charged with child abuse) = ‘criticising police and cps decisions not to carry on the investigation as ‘unsound and strategically flawed’’
• caroline flack - the independent = ‘cps insists prosecutions are ‘in public interest’ amid criticism of ‘show trial’’
  ‘the alleged victim did not support the prosecution and had disputed the cps version of events’
  ‘the cps should look at themselves….how they pursued a show trial that was not only without merit but not in the public interest’