AC4.3 Discuss how campaigns affect policy making Flashcards
newspaper campaigns
sarah’s law
the year and a day rule
The Bradford Telegraph and Argus
what is a newspaper campaign
When Newspapers are used to spread the information and message about a campaign around the general public, to be able to reach wider audiences, gain interest, and help the cause of the campaign
Sarah’s law
in 2000, Sarah Payne was abducted and murdered by Roy Whiting. his name was on the sex offenders register and he’d been jailed in 1995 for kidnapping a 9 year old girl. Sarah’s parents are adamant they would’ve taken steps to protect Sarah if they knew Whiting was in the area.
the key party involved was Sarah’s parents and news of the world. Sarah’s parents started a campaign to introduce a new law to have info about sex offenders made available to the public. News of the world supported the campaign. the paper published the names and photos of 50 people they believed to be sex offenders. however, this caused a vigilante effect and the government refused to agree to the demands. this was until another young girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted leading the government to change its mind.
in 2008 a pilot scheme began in 4 areas of the UK - it let parents make enquiries about named individuals to the police who would then reveal details confidentiality. in 2011 the scheme extended to cover whole of England and Wales. the scheme is known as Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme. these changes allow parents to protect their children against sex offenders.
the year and a day rule
Michael Gibson was assaulted by David Clark in April 1992. Michael died after being in a coma for 22 months. Clark was jailed for 2 years and was free before Michael died. At the time, the ‘year and a day’ rule existed, dating back to 1278. the rule said that if victims of an assault lived for a year and a day after assault, their attackers couldn’t be tried for manslaughter or murder.
the key party involved was The Northern Echo newspaper who launched the justice for Michael campaign urging its readers to sign a petition demanding that the year and a day rule be scrapped. Michael’s mother Pat sought to abolish this law.
with Pat Gibson’s permission the Echo published a front page photo of Michael in a coma in his hospital bed, which led thousands to sign the petition
in 1994, a local MP introduced a bill into the house of commons to scrap the rule, but it was narrowly defeated. however, following the Northern Echo’s petition to the law commission a bill was passed by Parliament to become the 1996 Law Reform Act (year and a day). this act abolished the year and a day rule in English and Northern Irish law
the newspaper’s editor said “people were getting away with murder” so due to the reform act people can longer get away with murder
The Bradford Telegraph and Argus
The Bradford telegraph and argus campaigned to improve road safety. the newspaper had front pages showing the results of dangerous driving
the newspaper encouraged readers to send in dash-cam videos of examples of dangerous driving.
as a result of this, the police began ‘Operation Steerside’ to crack down on dangerous driving, which to date has led to almost 8000 drivers being caught breaking the law by the roads policing team. police say that this operation is now embedded in local force culture
In 2016, the campaign was highlighted in parliament by Bradford MPs and used as part of a national consultation about the toughening up of dangerous driving legislation
individual campaigns
Ann Ming’s campaign
Bobby Turnbull’s anti-gun campaign
Clare’s law
what is an individual campaign
A campaign that often starts from someone’s ‘individual’ experiences, which are most commonly traumatic. The campaign is introduced as a response to the experience to ensure that nobody else has to suffer from such trauma
Ann Ming’s campaign
Ann Ming’s campaign wanted to abolish the double jeopardy law. her daughter julie was killed by Dunlop in 1989 and put on trial. however, in 1991 he was cleared. he later confessed in the belief that double jeopardy prevented him going on trial again.
the key individual involved was Julie’s mother, Ann Ming, who vowed to bring her daughters killer to justice having to ensure the abolition of an 800 year old law to do so. she took her campaign to newspapers, radio and TV stations and many politicians
as a result of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 double jeopardy was abolished for 30 serious offences including murder
the change had positive impacts as the law was retrospective so Dunlop became the first person to be convicted of murder under the new law. Dunlop is currently serving life for Julie’s murder.
these legal changes have also allowed Mario Celaire to be imprisoned for murder after a retrial. this shows Ann Ming’s campaign has and will continue to bring criminals to justice.
Bobby Turnbull’s anti-gun campaign
Bobby Turnbull’s anti-gun campaign began after his mother, sister and aunt were killed by Michael Atherton, who legally owned 6 weapons despite having a history of domestic violence.
the key individual involved was Bobby Turnbull, who started a campaign to change the gun laws and he also sought to have a gun hotline established for people to report concerns.
he aimed to change laws by launching a petition which gained 20,000 signatures and he regularly appeared in the media seeking support. Turnbull also lobbied MP’s for the changes.
as a result, amendments to the Firearms Act 1968 came into effect. this prevented any person who receives a suspended sentence of 3+ months for any offence from purchasing or possessing a firearm. additionally due to the campaign every incident of domestic violence should prompt a police review of whether a firearms certificate should continue
Clare’s law
Clare’s law is a campaign to create a scheme that allows people to find out, from the police, if their partner has a history of domestic violence.
After Clare Wood was killed by heir violent partner, a campaign was introduced by her father, Michael Brown, who was sure that she would still be alive if she knew about her partners previous behaviour.
the Clare’s Law campaign introduced The Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme.
the aim of the DADS was to be able to give people the ability to make an inquiry about an individual they are in a relationship with or who is in a relationship with a person they know, and if there is a possibility that the individual may be abusive towards their partner.
it is an effective campaign as it introduced a scheme that is still available today, so has clearly informed policy and possibly saved the lives of thousands across England and Wales
pressure group campaigns
British Lung Foundation
The Howard League for Penal Reform
The Snowdrop Campaign
what is a pressure group campaign
An organisation which will campaign for changes in the law or for new policies to be introduced to approach areas such as crime
British Lung Foundation
the BLF aims to prevent lung disease by campaigning for positive change in the UK’s lung health. they raised awareness about lung disease, the dangers that cause it, and how to look after your lungs.
the BLF also worked with ASH to change cigarette packaging as they found that colourful packets is a leading reason why young people start smoking. the campaign resulted in more plain packets. this change was introduced through the Children and Families Act 2014.
BLF aimed to change policy by running a petition which secured 50,000 signatures back in 2011, and later presented it to the PM at 10 Downing Street. the research showed that 430,000 kids are exposed to second hand smoke in family cars each week.
as a result, a ban on smoking in cars with children came into force in England and Wales in October 2012. it was introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014.
the impact of these changes are that people are becoming more aware and conscious about lung disease
The Howard League for Penal Reformt
the Howard league campaigns for change in criminal justice system. the aim is for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison.
the ‘U R Boss’ campaign aimed to improve young peoples experiences in the criminal justice system. it was supported by young people both in custody and the community by involving them in campaigning for change. the campaign was supported by Big Lottery Fund for 5 years.
it tried to create change by working with police forces across England and Wales
as a result of their campaign, they ended the routine use of strip searching on arrival at Youth Offenders Institution. they also closed all young offenders institution units for girls. girls are now only held in secure units or residential care in cities such as Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. they also introduced a change to remand legislation so that 17 year olds are now treated as children in the criminal justice system.
since 2010, the Howard League has been campaigning to reduce the number of children in England and Wales, due to their work with police, number of child arrests fell by 59% between 2010 and 2015.
The Snowdrop Campaign
it is considered a pressure group due to the large number of campaigners that rallied to support the cause.
Although the campaign was started by Ann Pearston, the family and friends of the murdered children and teacher. anti-firearm supporters around the country soon got involved too.
They use their influence and support to pressure the government into legislative change relating to the private ownership of firearms.
this campaign began after Thomas Hamilton walked into the gym at Dunblane Primary School and killed 16 young children and their teacher before shooting himself on 13th March 1996. He also injured 13 other children and three teachers.
Hamilton was a gun collector and was able to legally own several firearms.
The main campaign method was a petition for the ban of private ownership of handguns which gained over 700,000 signatures. This petition was then delivered to the Houses of Parliament putting pressure on the government to take action.
To gain more supporters, campaigners took part in marches and even made a short film, voiced by Sean Connery, that played in cinemas before the movie showing celebrity support.
The government introduced the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 which banned the private ownership of handguns above a .22 calibre.
This then led to a national gun amnesty where 165,353 licensed handguns and 700 tonnes of ammunition were surrendered across the UK
