Topic 3.4 - Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control Flashcards
The police
Social control responsibilities
What is the police responsibilities surrounding social control?
The police are the main agency for the detection, investigation and prevention of crime. Police have the powers of issuing fixed penalty notices, cautions and reprimands. Police forces have specialist departments, units and sections dealing with serious and complex cases, such as terrorism
Specialist policing
Give three examples of agencies apart from the police that are responsible for investigating crime. What types of crime are they responsible for?
HMRC - Deals with tax evasion
The Department of Work and Pensions - Deals with benefit fraud
The Border Force - Deals with immigration offences
Name two specialist police forces.
- The British Transport Police
- The Civil Nuclear Constabulary, who protect nuclear installations
Offences of public concern
According to the 2017 report of HM Inspector of Police, what have been the four shortcomings of the police in dealing with domestic abuse cases where the number of cases being reported and recorded is ever increasing?
- The arrest rate has been falling
- Police are not using bail conditions to protect victims
- Staff shortages are causing delays in responding to incidents, putting victims at risk
- Body-worn video cameras are not always being used to gather evidence
What do these findings illustrate?
The fact that police are not always successful in achieving social control
Inefficiency
Outline one example of police inefficiency in investigating an offence.
The Macpherson Report noted the failure of the Metropolitan Police to gather evidence and investigate leads in the murder of Stephen Lawrence that could have led to a successful prosecution of the five leading suspects in the case
Current trends: More crimes but fewer solved
By what amount did the number of offences recorded by the police increase between March 2016 and June 2020?
Rose from 4.5 million to 5.8 million
In the period of 2014 to 2020 by how much did recorded knife and firearm offences grow by?
Knife crimes rose from 24,000 to 35,000 and firearm offences rose from 4,900 to 9,800
What percentage of cases resulted in someone being charged with an offence in 2015 compared to 2020?
15% to 7%
Summarise the trend in cases being dropped by the Metropolitan Police.
In 2018, the Metropolitan Police dropped 2.9 times as many cases on the day they were reported as they had done in 2013. Over the period of 2013-2018, the Metropolitan Police screened out a total of 525,000 crimes on the same day as they were reported
What has happened to police funding since 2010?
Since 2010, the government made major cuts in police budgets and this has been a cause of police decisions to drop investigations. With limited budgets and fewer officers, some investigations and prevention measures have had to be prioritised over others
What did the Baroness Casey report highlight?
The misconducts of the police and showed Met Police as institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic with serious police failings including colleagues raping others and staff urinating on others. The report described the Met Police Force as a ‘boys club’ which was full of homophobia and discrimination
Accuracy of the statistical evidence
What does the statistical evidence suggest about the police?
Suggests that the police are becoming less effective in achieving social control
Improved recording procedures
Why might there been an increase in the total number of crimes on the statistics?
This increase could be because the police have become better at recording them. In 2014, police recorded statistics were deemed to not meet the standards required by the Office for National Statistics. Since then, the police have made some efforts to improve crime recording, for example in the area of domestic abuse, and this had led to a greater proportion of offences now appearing in the statistics
Counter-evidence from the CSEW
How does the evidence from the CSEW contradict the police statistics?
The CSEW shows that the overall crime rate has generally been level or falling in recent years, rather than increasing as police statistics indicate. For example, in the year ending March 2020, the rate fell by 9%
Outline three ways in which the two sets of statistics differ in how they deal with different crimes.
- The CSEW does not include crimes against business (such as shoplifting and fraud) or crimes against children aged under 10
- The CSEW surveys only a sample of the population, so it under-represents some less common but more serious crime, such as weapon offences. Police and other statistics, such as hospital admissions for knife wounds, are more accurate
- Police statistics tend to pick up more serious crimes as they are more likely to be reported and ones where a police crime number is needed for insurance claims e.g. burglary and vehicle theft
Other criticisms of police performance
Outline three concerns about the relationship between the police and minority ethnic groups
- Recruitment of officers from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased, but minority groups continue to be under-represented in the police force, including in senior ranks
- Stop and searches are still disproportionately used against Black and other minority groups
- Tasers are used disproportionately against people of minority backgrounds
Give an example of the police using the media to portray a ‘crime-busters’ image of themselves.
In 2014, South Yorkshire Police invited the BBC to film their raid on the home of Sir Cliff Richard in connection with historical child abuse allegations. No charges were eventually brought and both the police and the BBC had to pay damages to the singer
Why has the police’s response to moral panics led to criticism?
The police have been criticised for over-reacting to media-driven moral panics and calls for crackdowns on whatever crime the media chooses to focus on. This can draw police resources away from other areas of criminality that may be more serious or widespread
The Crown Prosecution Service
Give two examples of the success of the CPS in 2018.
- In a typical three-month period, it prosecutes around 80,000 cases in Crown Court and 450,000 cases in magistrates’ courts
- Around 80% of the defendants that it prosecutes are convicted
Lack of effectiveness
Give an example of unfavourable media reporting of the CPS’s performance.
There have been criticisms of its handling of rape cases. On 24th September 2018 The Guardian reported that the CPS’s specialist rape prosecutors had been advised to drop a number of supposedly ‘weak’ cases
According to one prosecutor, how could the CPS improve its performance?
The aim was to improve the CPS’s overall performance by ensuring that a higher proportion of its prosecutions would succeed. One prosecutor said they were told if they took 350 weak cases out of the system, their conviction rate would go up to 61%
Why was this move to remove weak cases out the system criticised?
Criticised by experts and campaigners, who warned that it would limit victims’ access to justice. For example, it could lead to cases involving younger victims, students and those with mental health problems being dropped, because these were cases where juries have been shown to be less likely to convict
Realistic prospect of conviction
What is meant by a ‘realistic prospect of conviction’?
The evidence would be more likely than not to convince a jury to convict
What do critics argue that the CPS should be focused on?
Critics argue that the CPS should be focused less on trial outcomes and more on bringing cases to justice. The number of rapes reported rose by 1/3 from 2016 to 2020, but the number of prosecutions actually fell by 60%
Budget cuts
What has been the impact of budget cuts on the CPS?
In recent years the CPS has suffered budget cuts of 25% and it has lost 1/3 of its staff. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill QC, has said that the CPS cannot sustain further cuts because digital technology is imposing heavy additional workloads on its staff, with the need to analyse content of smartphones in the search for evidence and to comply with rules for its disclosure to the defence. In one case, it took 600 hours to analyse the content on one phone
Evidence disclosure
Why have a number of rape trials and other prosecutions collapsed?
As a result of the CPS and police’s failure to discover and disclose evidence such as text messages stored on victims’ or defendants’ phones. After the collapse of a rape case against Liam Allen in 2018 due to evidence being disclosed only after the trial had started, around 30 other cases that were due to go to court had to be reviewed and some halted
Failure to build the case
Give an example of the failure of the CPS to build a case.
In some high-profile cases, the CPS has failed to build an adequate case and this has led to the prosecution collapsing. For example, in the murder of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor, the CPS rested its case on an obviously lying witness, when proper checks would easily have established the unreliability of her evidence
Other criticisms of the CPS
Give three other criticisms of the CPS.
- Despite its independent status, the CPS has been criticised for being too close to the police
- It has been criticised for being too bureaucratic, inefficient and slow in proceedings with cases. In some cases this can mean victims and defendants have to put their lives on hold for many months
- Failure to communicate with relevant parties. There have been examples of cases where suspects have only found out that the case against them has been dropped by reading about it in the media
The judiciary
Media images of the judiciary
How are judges often portrayed by the media?
Old, White, upper-class males who are out of touch with modern society. They are often described as being too ‘soft’, handing down lenient sentences for serious offences
Are judges biased in their judgements?
Give four ways in which judges’ backgrounds might make them biased in their judgements.
- 68% of judges are male
- More than half of judges are aged over 50. However, among judges under 40, a slight majority (51%) are female
- Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups are under-represented: only 7% of judges are from minority backgrounds
- They are from higher classes. 74% of judges were privately educated and the same percentage went to Oxford or Cambridge. 2/3 of judges are former barristers
This may meant that judges are biased towards people from similar backgrounds to themselves, or against people who are different from themselves
Evidence of gender bias
Describe how the decisions of Judge James Pickles in 1989 could be seen to show gender bias.
Gender bias is clearly present in certain cases. In 1989 Judge James Pickles sentenced a man to probation after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl. Later that year, he jailed a woman for contempt of court for refusing to give evidence against her ex-boyfriend, who had assaulted her. In 1990 he sentenced a 19-year-old single mother with a 10-week-old baby to 6 months on a charge of theft. He commented that getting pregnant was no reason to escape custody
Currency
Give an example of a case that represents class bias in sentencing.
In 2017, 24-year-old Lavinia Woodward was convicted of stabbing her boyfriend. Woodward was an Oxford University medical student. Judge Ian Pringle QC told her that a jail sentence could damage her prospects of a medical career so instead gave her a suspended sentence. The judge said that prison would be too severe a punishment because it would prevent her from being able to be a heart surgeon. The journalist and barrister Afua Hirsch argues that Woodward’s treatment sharply contrasts that of other women in the justice system due to the fact that Woodward didn’t come from a deprived background with the majority of those who do come from these backgrounds receiving custodial sentences
How is black crime treated differently to white crime by the media?
When one Black youth stabs another, the media call it ‘Black on Black crime’ but when White youths commit crime to other White youths the media never calls it ‘White on White crime’
Are judges out of touch?
In what ways are judges not typical members of society?
Their age, education and class backgrounds
According to Karen Warner et al, do jurors think judges are out of touch with public opinion on sentencing? If so, was this a problem?
Warner interviewed Australian jurors about judges. They found that most jurors did not think judges were out of touch with public opinion on sentencing. Even some of those who did think judges were out of touch said this was not a criticism, or said that while they thought judges in general might be out of touch, this did not apply to the judge in the trial they themselves had been involved in
Why might it be a problem if judges are ‘in touch’?
This could mean being swayed or unduly influenced by public opinion, media outrage and moral panics. Being out of touch might just mean remaining independent
Are judges too lenient?
The Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme
What does the ULS scheme allow for? For which crimes?
The scheme allows victims, prosecutors and members of the public to apply to the Attorney General or Solicitor General (government law ministers) for a sentence to be reviewed if they feel it was unduly lenient. The scheme applies to sentences for serious offences such as murder, rape, robbery, child sex crimes and people trafficking
Who will review the sentence?
If the minister agrees that the judge made a gross error in their sentencing decision, they will ask the Court of Appeal to review the sentence and if necessary increase it. If the Court of Appeal finds that the sentence is significantly below the one that the judge should have passed, they will increase it
In 2018, how many cases were referred and how many of these had changes made to their sentences?
140 were referred, of which 99 had their sentences increased. These figures need to be set against the many thousands of sentences passed each year for serious offences. This suggests that in general, judges are not being unduly lenient in their sentencing
Unduly severe sentences
Give an example of when judges and magistrates have imposed what might be considered unduly severe sentences.
There are examples of judges and magistrates imposing what some regard as unduly severe sentences, as in many cases arising out of the 2011 riots, when offenders often received custodial sentences for minor theft offences
Prisons
How do prisons aim to achieve social control over prisoners, both when they are inside and when they are released?
The prison service aims to achieve social control by punishing offenders and by rehabilitating them so that they follow a crime-free life after they released. It also aims to exercise social control over offenders while they are inside prison so that they follow the prison’s rules and behave in an orderly manner
Social control within prisons: the evidence
What has been the impact of budget cuts on prisons? How has this affected the ability to control inmates in prison?
Between 2010 and 2018, the number of prison officers fell by 15% as a result of budget cuts. More experienced officers were more likely to leave and by 2018, 1/3 of prison officers had less than two years’ experience. This has made it harder to maintain control over inmates
What has been the impact of the increased prison population?
The prison population has almost doubled from 43,000 in 1993 to around 80,000 in 2021. This has meant more prisoners to control as well as overcrowded conditions for many inmates. In 2018, 58% of prisons were overcrowded. In turn, overcrowding contributes to discontent and rule-breaking
Why are prisons unable to deal with the rehabilitation needs of prisoners?
Increased numbers of prisoners, staff shortages and budget cuts means that prisons are often unable to deal with the causes of prisoners’ offending. This is made worse by the fact that many prisoners are serving short sentences, so there is not enough time to address their often complex needs
What is ‘Spice’ and what effect does it have on an individual’s behaviour?
Spice is a ‘new psychoactive susbtance’ which is synthetically produced and can be 100 times more potent than cannabis and can cause aggression, psychosis and intense depression. Between 2013 and 2018, 117 deaths in prison were linked to NPS use
Why has the mandatory drug testing programme not been effective in some prisons?
Due to the availability of drugs which undermines prison discipline and control by reducing inmates’ participation in rehabilitation activities, creating debt among prisoners and increasing levels of violence
What type of security breaches have there been in prisons?
There have been almost no escapes from closed prisons since 2010 but there have been numerous breaches of security, with drugs, sim cards and other forbidden items being smuggled into prisons, sometimes by the use of drones
Note the statistics for incidents of assaults, self-harm and suicide in prisons in 2017.
- 9,800 assaults on staff
- 32,000 assault incidents
- Five homicides
- 76 suicides
- 65,000
- Self-harm was particularly high among women prisoners, with an average of 3.2 incidents per prisoner recorded
Give examples of riots and disorder in prisons in 2016 and 2018.
- HMP Birmingham 2016 - worst riot in 25 years in a UK prison due to staff shortages
- In 2018 there was serious disorder at several prisons, including The Mount, Long Lartin and Bedford
After release : the evidence on re-offending
What are the statistics for re-offending within one year of release?
- 36% of all ex-prisoners re-offended
- Among ex-prisoners with many previous convictions (11 or more), nearly half re-offended
- 64% of those on short sentences (less than 12 months) re-offended
- Around 37% of juvenile offenders re-offended
Conclusion
Overall, how effective are prisons in achieving social control?
The evidence shows that the prisons are ineffective both in achieving social control over offenders while they are in prison, and that they are ineffective in rehabilitating them so that they lead a crime-free life after they have left prison
Probation
Privatisation
What was the ‘rehabilitation revolution’ launched by the Conservatives in 2014?
Aimed at reducing re-offending. A key part of the policy was the part-privatisation of the probation service
What were the community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) set up to deal with?
The CRCs were to deal with low-risk offenders and would earnt their profits on a payment-by-results basis, with targets to reduce re-offending by their clients
What evidence did the 2018 probation service inspection report present about CRCs after it was discovered that 19/21 companies failed to meet their targets for rehabilitating offenders?
- Offenders’ housing needs were met less often: only 54% of cases supervised by CRCs, compared with 70% of NPS-supervised cases
- Offenders were often supervised by telephone-only
- One CRC held meetings with clients in open-plan offices, playing ‘white noise’ to prevent people from eavesdropping
- CRCs provided inadequate protection for victims and their children when domestic abusers were returned to the community
The government decided to terminate the CRCs’ contracts early, bringing them to an end by 2020
Bias
Why was the Conservative government in favour of privatisation? What do Conservatives see as the benefits?
The political ideology of the Conservative government biased it in favour of privatisation. Conservatives see privately-owned commercial companies as the most effective means of achieving social control in the justice sector. They believe that private companies can provide both a more efficient and a more cost-effective service. For this reason the Conservatives followed a policy of privatisation in both probation and the prison service
Evaluation
What does the evidence from the most current official reports indicate about the CRCs?
The evidence indicates a failure by the CRCs to achieve social control of offenders. This failure also undermines the objective of keeping the community safe, for example where domestic abusers are returned to the community without adequate supervision
The National Probation Service
What are the limitations of the NPS?
- A critical national shortage of probation officers
- High workloads have led to professional standards being compromised
- A lack of professional leadership
- Probation premises are dated, shabby and in some cases not secure
- There is no national strategy to provide enough local specialist services
- There is a shortage of places on specialist programmes to address the causes of offending
Charities and pressure groups
Strong commitment
Why are charities sometimes better placed to reduce offending and re-offending?
This is because they have a strong commitment to one particular group or issue and specialist knowledge of people’s needs. They are also strongly motivated to help and may therefore go the extra mile in a way that government or privatised agencies may not do
Pressure groups - Nacro
Give an example of a campaign by Nacro.
It campaigns along with other organisations to end Friday releases from prison. 1/3 of all releases take place on a Friday, which means people have no time to access vital services and may end up sleeping rough, going without medication and re-offending
Give an example of charity work carried out by Nacro.
Nacro provides services for ex-offenders and those in danger of offending. For example, it provides accommodation for those released from prison and supports them to find long-term accommodation. Homelessness is a major driver of re-offending and tackling it helps to achieve social control
Women in Prison (WIP)
What is WIP?
A pressure group that campaigns to reduce the numbers of women in prison. It presses government and criminal justice agencies to change their policies
Give two examples of campaigns by WIP.
- WIP calls for the government to drop its plans to build five new prisons for women. Instead it calls for the money to be invested in specialist women’s centres and community-based solutions such as housing and mental health support that would reduce re-offending
- WIP calls on the courts to follow the Sentencing Guidelines and use prison only as a last resort, for the most serious offences and to protect the public from harm. Yet 84% of women’s prison sentences are for non-violent offences, including non-payment of council tax or TV licences
Support for women in prison
What support does WIP provide for women in prison?
- A freephone helpline to provide support and guidance to women prisoners
- Referring women to other specialist agencies
- Delivering the CARE programme (Choices, Actions, Relationships, Emotions) for women in prison for violent offending who have a history of self-harm, suicide attempts, mental health problems or substance misuse
Gaps in provision
What is a limitation of charities and pressure groups in achieving social control?
They are voluntary organisations. This means that they only exist where people are concerned about a particular issue or group. For example, people may be concerned enough about victims of child sexual abuse to set up charities to support them. They may be less concerned about the abusers and less likely to set up organisations to support them. This may mean that opportunities to prevent re-offending are missed
What impact does media reporting have on the work of charities?
If a group of victims is portrayed sympathetically, this may increase support for charities that work with the group. If the media demonise a particular category of offender, it will be harder for charities that work with them to build support
How does media reporting affect the funding for groups?
It is easier to persuade the public to donate funds for some groups or causes than for others that might be equally (or more) important or deserving
What types of groups will local or national government fund to provide services?
Groups that fits with their political and financial priorities
