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Criminology Unit 4 - Crime And Punishment > Topic 3.1 - Explain the role of agencies in social control > Flashcards

Topic 3.1 - Explain the role of agencies in social control Flashcards

1
Q

Agencies involved in social control

Name five social control agencies controlled by the government.

A
  • The Police
  • The CPS
  • The Judiciary
  • The Prisons
  • The Probation service
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2
Q

What other type of social control agencies are there?

A

Voluntary organisations such as charities and pressure groups. There are also a number of privately run prisons

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3
Q

The police

Philosophy

What were the five aspects of Sir Robert Peel’s philosophy of policing, who in 1829 founded the Metropolitan Police, the first modern professional police force in Britain?

A
  • The basic mission of the police is to prevent crime and disorder
  • The police’s ability to perform their duties depends on the public’s cooperation and approval
  • The use of physical force is a last resort
  • The police’s duty is to impartially serve the law
  • The police are the public and the public are the police. The police are just citizens in uniform, paid to do full-time what all citizens must do, that is, uphold the law
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4
Q

What code establishes the police’s procedures and handling?

A

The Police Code of Ethics which rules that the police must ensure; accountability, fairness, honesty, integrity, leadership, objectivity, openness, respect and selflessness

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5
Q

Aims and objectives

According to the Association of Chief Police Officers, what are the aims of the police?

A
  • Keep the peace and maintain order
  • Protect life and property
  • Prevent, detect and investigate crime
  • Bring offenders to justice
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6
Q

What powers do the police have to achieve their aims?

A

They have specific legal powers to stop, question, search, arrest, detain in a police station and interview a member of the public in relation to a crime. Most of these powers are given under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

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7
Q

Funding

What are the three sources of police funding?

A
  • Around 2/3 comes from the government
  • Most of the rest comes from local council tax
  • A small amount comes from charging for services such as policing football matches

These three components made up the £15.2 million budget of 2020/2021

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8
Q

What has happened to police funding in recent years?

A

The police’s funding fell by 19% between 2020 and 2018. This led to a fall of 20,000 in police numbers during the same period

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9
Q

Working practices

How many police forces are there in:

  • England and Wales
  • Scotland and Northern Ireland
A
  • 39 regional police forces in England and 4 in Wales
  • 1 police force for Scotland and 1 for Northern Ireland
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10
Q

Types of criminality and offender

Give an example of a specialist law enforcement agency and the type of crime it deals with.

A

HM Revenue and Customs deals with tax evasion and tax fraud

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11
Q

Police duties

What are the general duties of most police?

A

Patrolling a particular area, working with the local community, responding to the public’s calls for assistance, securing crime scenes, gathering evidence from witnesses and apprehending offenders

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12
Q

Specialist policing

Give five examples of specialist police departments.

A
  • Work of detectives in the Criminal Investigations Department (CID)
  • Fraud and drugs squad
  • Covert operations and surveillance teams
  • Traffic and mounted police
  • Underwater search teams
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13
Q

Why are most police unarmed?

A

It reflects Peel’s philosophy that use of force is a last resort in upholding the law. This is unlike the position of the police in most other countries, who are generally armed

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14
Q

What are special constables and what do they do?

A

They are unpaid, part-time volunteers who undergo the same training and have the same legal powers as paid officers

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15
Q

What are Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and what do they do?

A

Officers with more limited powers, often dealing with anti-social behaviour on the streets, e.g. issuing fixed-penalty notices for littering or confiscating alcohol from under-age drinkers. They can also ask a police officer to arrest a person

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16
Q

What are Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and what do they do?

A

They are elected representatives of the people of the area covered by a police force. They give the local population a voice in policing by being directly accountable to the electorate. Their aim is to cut crime and ensure efficient and effective policing. They set the local police force’s policing priorities and their budget, and they hold the Chief Constable to account for the force’s performance (including dismissing them where necessary)

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17
Q

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

Aims and objectives

Why was the CPS set up?

A

It was set up under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. It took over the prosecuting role from the police because there was a risk of bias in allowing the police to investigate and prosecute cases. The police still prosecute some very minor offences, but the CPS prosecutes all serious or complex cases

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18
Q

Outline five aspects of the CPS’s role.

A
  • It advises the police in their investigations about lines of inquiry and the evidence needed to build a case
  • It independently assesses the evidence submitted to it by the police and keeps cases under continuous review
  • It decides whether to prosecute and if so, what charges should be brought
  • It prepares the prosecution case and presents it in court
  • It assists, informs and supports victims and prosecution witnesses
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19
Q

Philosophy and values

What are the five values that underpin the work of the CPS?

A
  • Independence and fairness by prosecuting without bias and always seeking to deliver justice
  • Honesty and openness
  • Treating everyone with respect
  • Behaving professionally and striving for excellence
  • Equality and inclusion to inspire greater confidence in the CPS from victims and witnesses
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20
Q

Funding

What is the main source of the CPS’s funding? How much does it receive?

A

Most of the CPS’s income comes from the government, with a budget of around £500 million a year. The CPS recovers some of its costs when the courts award costs against defendants, and it also recovers assets confiscated from criminals

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21
Q

What has happened to the CPS’s funding in recent years?

A

In 2018, it was reported that the budget had been cut by 25% and that it had lost 1/3 of its staff. This has led to concerns that it is unable to perform its role effectively

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22
Q

Working practices

What type of crimes and offenders does the CPS deal with?

A

Apart from very minor offences, the CPS deals with the full range of offences and criminals. It takes responsibility for all serious cases

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23
Q

How many regional teams are there in the CPS?

A

There are 14 regional area teams in England and Wales with each one being headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor and works closely with local police forces and other criminal justice partners

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24
Q

What is ‘CPS Direct’?

A

A ‘virtual’ 15th area, providing charging decisions to police nationwide, 24/7, 365 days a year

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25
Q

Who is the head of the CPS?

A

The head of the CPS is the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Max Hill was appointed as DPP in 2018

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26
Q

Decisions to prosecute

What code is at the centre of the CPS’s working practices? What two tests does this code set out for prosecutors?

A

The Code for Crown Prosecutors. The evidential test and the public interest test

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27
Q

The evidential test

What criteria must evidence meet to pass the evidential test?

A
  • Prosecutors must first be satisfied that there is enough for a realistic prospect of convicting the suspect
  • They must decide that the evidence is admissible, reliable and credible

If the case fails the evidential test the prosecution must not go ahead

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28
Q

The public interest test

What are the seven questions that determine whether a prosecution passes the public interest test?

A
  • How serious is the offence?
  • What is the suspect’s level of culpability (blame)?
  • What harm has the victim suffered?
  • The suspect’s age and maturity
  • What is the impact of the offence on the community?
  • Is prosecution a proportionate response to the offence?
  • Do information sources require protecting e.g. in relation to other investigations
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29
Q

The Threshold Test

Outline two aspects of the Threshold Test which will be applied in cases where there is not currently available enough evidence for a prosecution.

A
  • There must be reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect is guilty and that enough further evidence can be obtained later to secure a conviction
  • The offence is serious enough to justify immediate charging and it would be too risky to allow bail. Any decision to charge must be kept under review
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30
Q

The judiciary

Philosophy

What are six principles in the Guide to Judicial Conduct (2016) which establish the standards for judges’ ethical conduct?

A
  • Judicial independence: judges should be independent and free from government interference in their decisions. This enables them to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the rights of citizens against the power of the government
  • Impartiality: not showing favour to one side or the other
  • Integrity: being honest with strong moral principles
  • Propriety: upholding society’s accepted standards of behaviour and morals
  • Ensuring equal treatment to everyone who comes before the courts
  • Competence: the knowledge and ability to do the job
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31
Q

What are the two oaths that judges swear?

A
  • The oath of allegiance to the Queen, her heirs and successors
  • The judicial oath to ‘do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill will’ - in other words, to treat people equally, with impartiality and according to the law
32
Q

Aims and objectives

What is the role of the judiciary in the following courts:

  • Crown Court
  • Appeal courts
A
  • In Crown Court the judge must manage the trial, ensuring fairness to all parties, explaining the legal issues and procedures to members of the jury, summing up the evidence, and passing sentence if the defendant is found guilty
  • In the appeals courts (the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court), judges make rulings on the appeals that come before them from lower courts. This may involve creating precedents through the principle of judicial precedent, which then bind the future decisions of the lower courts
33
Q

Funding

What body determines the pay of the judiciary?

A

The Senior Salaries Review Body which makes recommendations to the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor on how much judges should be paid (along with the pay of others such as MPs and senior civil servants)

34
Q

In 2020, how much were the most senior judge and district judges paid?

A

The most senior judge, the Lord Chief Justice, received £262,000, while district judges (the lowest rank of the judiciary) earned £112,000

35
Q

How much can some experienced barristers earn and how might this affect the recruitment of judges?

A

Some experience barristers working in commercial law earn in excess of £1 million. This may be a disincentive for some people to become judges

36
Q

Working practices

What two features of their position ensure that judges maintain their independence?

A
  • They have security of tenure: they cannot be removed from office except by a petition to the Queen passed by both Houses of Parliament (only happened once in 1830 to remove a corrupt judge)
  • Their salary is guaranteed
37
Q

Briefly describe the hierarchy of judges.

A

The judiciary is organised in a clear hierarchy. They can be divided into superior judges, who sit in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court, and inferior judges, who sit in the Crown Court and sometimes in magistrates’ courts

38
Q

What type of crimes and offenders do judges deal with?

A

Judges deal with all types of offences and offenders, except for the least serious cases, which are usually dealt with by magistrates, or by cautions and fixed-penalty notices issued by the police

39
Q

Which court has nationwide jurisdiction?

A

The Supreme Court has nationwide jurisdiction and settles points of law of national importance

40
Q

Approximately how many Crown Court venues are there around the country?

A

There are around 90 Crown Court venues around the country that handle local cases

41
Q

Prisons

Philosophy

What is the purpose of HM Prison and Probation Service?

A

It is the government agency responsible for the UK’s prisons. It describes its purpose as ‘preventing victims by changing the lives of offenders’

42
Q

Aims and objectives

What are the three main aims of the prison service?

A
  • To protect the public from harm
  • To help people who have been convicted of offences to rehabilitate so they can contribute positively to society
  • To hold prisoners securely and implement the sentences and orders of the courts
43
Q

Funding

Who pays for prisons?

A

Prisons are paid for by the government out of general taxation

44
Q

In 2018, what was the budget for prisons and how did this compare to 2010?

A

In 2018, the budget was approximately £3 billion - 16% lower than 2010

45
Q

What has happened due to the change in funding?

A

This resulted in cuts to staffing levels, with a 15% fall in the number of prison officers between 2010 and 2018. As a result, many more experienced officers left the service: by 2020, almost 1/3 of staff had less than 3 years’ experience

46
Q

Working practices

In 2019, how many prisons were there and who ran them?

A

In 2019 there were a total of 121 prisons, holding around 80,000 prisoners. Of these, 106 were public sector prisons run by the government and 15 were private prisons, run by three private companies - Sodexo, G4S and Serco

47
Q

What types of crimes and offenders do prisons deal with?

A

The prison service deals with higher risk offenders who are deemed unsuitable to serve their sentence in the community. However, the range of seriousness of offences varies greatly, from murder down to theft

48
Q

Summarise the level of risk posed by the following categories of prisoner.

  • Category A (high security)
  • Category B
  • Category C
  • Category D
A

A - Those who escape would be highly dangerous to the public, e.g. those convicted of murder, attempted murder, rape, terrorism or explosive offences

B - Do not require maximum security, but for whom escape still needs to be made very difficult

C - Cannot be trusted in open conditions but unlikely to try to escape

D - Can be reasonably trusted not to try to escape

49
Q

What happens to prisoners who have attempted to escape from prison?

A

Prisoners who have made escape attempts are placed on an ‘escape list’ and must be handcuffed and wear bright yellow clothing when being moved (nicknamed ‘banana suits’), must change cells frequently and have their clothes and some of their personal property removed from their cell before being locked in for the night

50
Q

Why are prisons criticised for not meeting the aim of rehabilitation of offenders?

A

Prisons have been criticised for their lack of opportunities for education, training and work experience. For example, in 2020 the chief inspector of prisons said that half the prisons inspected had too few programmes of useful activity. Under 2/5 were assessed as delivering ‘good’ or ‘reasonably good’ activities, compared with 2/3 in 2009/2010

51
Q

Why are there too few activities in prisons?

A

Due to cuts in the number of police officers, which mean there are fewer available to supervise prisoners undertaking activities

52
Q

What are incentives and earned privileges (IEPs)?

A

They are rewards that prisoners can earn by keeping to the rules. There are three IEP levels: basic, standard and enhanced. On entering prison, the prisoner is put on standard level, which might mean they are allowed to spend more of the money they earn, for example

53
Q

How are IEPs used to help control prisoners’ behaviour?

A

Misbehaviour will lead to the prisoner being reduced to basic level, where they can only have the minimum that the law says they must have, such as a limited number of letters or visits. Good behaviour will lead to being moved to the enhanced level, with additional privileges, such as a TV in their cell. Different prisons have different rules about what privileges can be earned

54
Q

The National Probation Service

Philosophy

What are the three core values and ethical principles of the National Probation Service (NPS)?

A
  • The belief that offenders can change for the better and become responsible members of society
  • Belief in the worth and dignity of the individual
  • A commitment to social justice, social inclusion, equality and diversity
55
Q

Aims and objectives

How does the NPS describe itself?

A

The NPS describes itself as ‘a statutory criminal justice service that supervises high-risk offenders released into the community and provides statutory support to victims of serious sexual or violent crime’

56
Q

What is the priority of the NPS?

A

To protect the public by rehabilitating offenders, by tackling the causes of their offending and enabling them to turn their lives around

57
Q

Who does the NPS work in partnership with?

A

Courts, police, local councils, and partners in the private and voluntary sectors. Until 2020, this included 21 private sector community rehabilitation companies (CRCs), such as Sodexo Justice Services. CRCs provided probation services for low and medium risk offenders

58
Q

Summarise how the probation service supervises the following types of offender.

  • Offenders serving a sentence in the community rather than in prison
  • Offenders who have been released on licence from prison before the end of their sentence
A
  • May include requirements like; up to 300 hours unpaid work (Community Payback), an exclusion order or curfew, or a residency requirement, and a group programme, e.g. for anger management
  • The licence will have requirements attached like undergoing drug treatment and is supervised by the probation service
59
Q

Funding

Who pays for the probation service?

A

The budget is provided by the government and comes from general taxation

60
Q

What are community rehabilitation companies (CRCs)?

A

Private businesses that had a contract with the Ministry of Justice to provide probation services. They were paid for meeting rehabilitation targets agreed in their contracts. However, 19/21 of the CRCs missed their targets for reducing re-offending and some were even supervising their offenders remotely by telephone

61
Q

What did a report in 2018 by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee find?

A

That up to £342 million had been spent on CRCs without clear benefits and by 2020 the Ministry of Justice had spent over £500 million more than expected on the CRCs

62
Q

What is planned for funding of the Probation Service in 2020?

A

The government has decided to end all private sector companies work and to reorganise the service on a regional basis. From 2022 it will be organised into 12 regions (Wales, plus 11 English regions)

63
Q

Working practices

What types of crimes and offenders do the NPS and the CRCs deal with?

A

At any one time, around 250,000 offenders are on probation. These offenders are deemed safe enough to serve their sentence in the community

64
Q

What is the NPS responsible for?

A
  • Preparing pre-sentence reports for the courts, to help them select the most appropriate sentence for the individual offender
  • Managing approved premises for offenders whose sentence includes a residence requirement e.g. that they must live in supervised accommodation
  • Assessing prisoners to prepare them for their release on licence back into the community. At that point they come under NPS supervision
  • Helping offenders serving sentences in the community to meet the requirements ordered by the courts
  • When an offender receives a prison sentence of 12 months or more for a serious violent or sexual crime, or is detained as a mental health patient, the NPS communicates with and prioritises the wellbeing of the offender’s victims
65
Q

Charities and pressure groups

How do charities and pressure groups differ from the police, prisons and the probation services?

A

They are voluntary organisations that are independent of government control. Their aim is to promote the interests and welfare of the people they are concerned with, such as ex-offenders or victims of crime

66
Q

What are charities?

A

They are organisations set up to provide help to those in need

67
Q

What are pressure groups?

A

They are organisations that campaign to achieve change

68
Q

Nacro - the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders

Philosophy, aims and objectives

How does Nacro describe itself?

A

It describes itself as a social justice charity seeking to change lives, strengthen communities and prevent crime. It aims to overcome the stereotyped view of the ex-prisoner.

69
Q

Summarise Nacro’s services.

A
  • Housing - Nacro houses over 3,000 tenants in its own properties, and also provides bail accommodation and support services. In 2018, over 2,600 left custody with secure permanent accommodation
  • Education - In 2018, 4,900 people studied through Nacro’s education services
  • Resettlement advice - Nacro provides support and advice about employment, education and accommodation to people with criminal records and to the professionals working with them
  • Outreach projects to keep young people from offending
70
Q

Campaigns

Summarise two examples of campaigns that Nacro has been involved with.

A
  • Campaign to reform the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and criminal record checks
  • It is a supporter of the Ban the Box campaign which aims to enable people with convictions to compete for jobs by removing the tick-box on criminal convictions that appears unnecessarily on many job application forms
71
Q

Funding

Where does Nacro receive funding from and how much does it get?

A

Nacro has an income of around £50 million a year. Its funding comes from public donations, government grants, and contracts for providing services for ex-offenders and others

72
Q

Working practices

What type of crimes and offenders does Nacro deal with?

A

Nacro works with a range of ex-offenders, including those released from prison. It also works with young people at risk of offending, such as those excluded from mainstream school. More broadly, it is concerned with the needs of disadvantaged young people and adults

73
Q

What is the coverage across the country of Nacro’s activities?

A

Nacro is a national organisation with local activities and projects in around 50 different parts of England and Wales at any one time. It has a large full-time staff and many unpaid volunteers

74
Q

Give an example of how Nacro have helped an individual.

A

Nacro helped Steve who was thrown out of his house at a young age and became homeless as a result and became addicted to heroin. Nacro gave him a place to stay and provided him with drug treatment for his addiction which stopped his offending and as a result has been clean for 1 year

75
Q
A

Criminology Unit 4 - Crime And Punishment (10 decks)

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