Pressure group campaigns to affect policy making Flashcards
What are pressure groups?
organisations that try to influence government policies in the interests of a particular cause, play an important part in policy making, both by gaining public support for change and by persuading the politicians who make the laws that change is needed
What is Protection Against Stalking (PAS)?
a pressure group that launched a campaign to introduce a new law making stalking a specific offence
Why is the attitude of the justice system bad towards stalking?
police were dealing with stalking in an inadequate and haphazard way, lacked a clear policy and investigations were often left to individual officers’ discretion
What happened with the campaign?
PAS set up an inquiry persuading MPs and peers from all parties to serve on it, the inquiry lasted several months hearing evidence from victims and their relatives lawyers and police, the inquiry heard about the intimidation, fear and psychological and physical harm stalkers inflict about the inadequate response of the autorities
What was the success for the campaign?
allowed voices of victims to be heard, gained support from a wide range of important organisations and groups, they lobbied individual MPs and peers who could actually change the law
What is INQUEST?
a pressure group that focuses on state-related deaths such as police custody, prisons and immigration, ensure that investigations into deaths treat bereaved people with dignity and respect
What is the casework around INQUEST?
carries out specialist casework to support bereaved people so they can establish the truth about a death that has occurred while someone was in care of the state
What is the accountability around INQUEST?
aims to ensure that state institutions are held accountable when they fail to safeguard those in their care
What are the changing policies around INQUEST?
aims to spread the lessons learnt from investigations in order to prevent further deaths, gather evidence from its casework conducts research and uses its information to press public bodies to change their policies
What are examples of successful campaigns for policy changes by INQUEST?
setting up the Independent Police Complaint Commission which investigates serious complaints and allegations of misconduct against the police
extending the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act to cover deaths in the custody of public athourities
What else does INQUEST continue for changes?
Equal funding for bereaved families and A Hillsborough Law
