Unit 4 3.4- Effectiveness of Achieving Social Control Flashcards
The Police (1): Aims and Strengths
Aim:
Strengths:
Visible Deterrence-They work within the community to prevent crime & keep the public safe. They act as a visible deterrent and can issue sanctions such as penalty notices for crimes such as shoplifting or being drunk & disorderly Police are effective in achieving social control because they are able to act as a deterrent presence within local communities, which compels individuals to conform as they are aware of their presence
The Police (2)
Weaknesses:
Funding-
Due to the lack of funding there are not enough police officers to maintain external social control
E.G: Over the past 5 years, an average of 774 burglaries have gone unsolved every day and the number of offenders facing justice has fallen by 56%
Also 20,000 police officers were lost during the 2010 budget cuts
Police are not effective in achieving social control because they prioritise certain crimes & fail to act as a deterrent in crimes such as burglary meaning offenders are ‘getting away with it’
Dropped cases-
There is evidence that police are dropping investigations into crimes
E.G: Longer investigations cost more money so police forces are tempted to drop serious cases as they take much longer to investigate - rape cases take an average of 129 days compared to 2 days for criminal damage
Police are not effective in achieving social control because whilst it saves resources, it reduces the extent of fear of potential punishment that a serious sexual offence would lead to, meaning that this particular type of behaviour isn’t controlled
Prejudice-
There are issues of racism & bias within the force
E.G: A review of the MET commissioned after Sarah Everard’s murder found institutional homophobia, misogyny & racism in the force & unwillingness to deal with failures. “This has led to a culture of poor performance where behaviours and attitudes can go unchanged”
Police are not effective in achieving social control because it leads to a lack of public trust which undermines the police’s objective of keeping the public safe
The CPS (1)
Aim:
Strengths:
Fullcode test-
The CPS is an independent body set up under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985
For example, this eliminates bias as the CPS will use the Full Code Test when deciding whether to prosecute a case. This supports the due process model of CJ because it acts as a safeguard giving consistency
CPS are effective in achieving social control because with the system being seen as fair and unbiased, the public view it to be more trustworthy and fair, meaning they are more likely to conform to its rules
The CPS (2)
Weaknesses:
Lack of Funding + Staff shortage-
Due to a lack of funding there are inexperienced staff that work for the CPS and this means that mistakes are made
E.G: in the Damilola Taylor case - unreliable 14-y-o witness: passed the evidential test but failed to notice the girl was lying. Failed to examine the evidence clearly. Resulted in it taking 6 years & 3 trials for the Freddie brothers to be convicted
CPS are not effective in achieving social control because society is not being protected from dangerous criminals, and effective social control is not being achieved on these individuals
Lack of efficiency-
They have been criticised for being too bureaucratic
E.G: in 1998, the Glidewell Report was published which stated that the organisation lacked efficiency & effectiveness and the number of Judge-ordered acquittals was far too high
CPS are not effective in achieving social control because if the CPS are unable to effectively prosecute criminals with efficiency, the these criminals will not face punishment for their actions and will not learn to conform to society
The Judiciary (1)
Aim:
Strengths:
Sentencing Guidelines-
Judges use Sentencing Guidelines for consistency & fairness
E.G: If the defendant is guilty of murder they will receive a mandatory life sentence. The Sentencing Council decides appropriate guidelines to be followed when it comes to sentencing in order to promote consistency & increase public understanding of sentencing
Judiciary are effective in achieving social control because the use of sentencing guidelines shows that the system (hypothetically) is fair and has consistency, and people are more likely to confirm to a fair system
The Judiciary (2)
Weaknesses:
Out of touch-
E.G: Judges are viewed as “Middle aged, middle minded and white”
As of 1 April 2022, 2/3s of judges were aged 50. Only 10% were of minority ethnicities
Judiciary are not effective in achieving social control because if the public are aware that they are not being reflected within the judiciary, then they’re less likely to respect & will see it to be unfair, meaning there’re less likely to conform to it
Backlog-
There is a backlog of cases awaiting court due to a shortage of Barristers
E.G: Dame Vera Baird: ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. October 2023 - Crown Court backlog hit a new record high of over 65,000 cases. Sexual offence victims face extremely long court waits; almost 4 times the wait in comparison to in 2019
Judiciary are not effective in achieving social control because victims of rape are left with little confidence in the CJS. Campaigners say the problems could result in victims dropping their cases and the judiciary being of little deterrent to potential offenders
Prisons (1)
Aim:
Strengths:
Public Protection-
The PS is that it protects the public from harm
E.G: Currently 67 people under a whole-life tariff in prison and a further 4 in secure hospitals. These are reserved for the most serious of offences - such as Lucy Letby who murdered several infants
Prison is effective in achieving social control because it displays that custodial sentences can be proportional to the severity of the offence, and we can achieve complete external social control over the most dangerous individuals
Prisons (2)
Weaknesses:
Riots- The amount of rioting within prisons. E.G: in 2016, a riot occurred in HMP Birmingham which lasted for 15 hours after a set of keys were stolen & 500 cells were opened by other prisoners - As a result, the prison was returned the public sector due to G4S’s failings
Prison is not effective in achieving social control because if prisoners are able to early overcome the staff for such a long amount of time, then they won’t learn how to conform under the authority of agencies within society
Recidivism-
The recidivism rates mean that the public are not being protected in the long-term
E.G: 42% of all adults are reconvicted within a year of being released. For short-term sentences under 12 months - this rises to 63%
Prison is not effective in achieving social control because this rate displays that prisons aren’t effectively creating law-abiding citizens, meaning social control over these individuals is not being achieved
Probation (1)
Aim:
Strengths:
Work with other agencies-
It works effectively with other agencies such as the CPS & Courts to protect the public
E.G: They provide professional, objective & relevant information so that the judge can consider the appropriate sentencing option through the pre-sentence reports
NPS is effective in achieving social control because such information ensures that probation is only considered for those offenders who can be safely monitored in the community & who are less like to reoffend are sentenced to probation to ensure that social control is maintained
Probation (2)
Weaknesses:
Shortage of Program places + lack of support-
There is a shortage of places on specialist programmes to address the causes of offending. High workloads have led to professional standards being compromised
E.G: There’s a lack of support on drug rehabilitation courses. PS are responding poorly to drug misuse & addiction cases according to inspectors, on a 2021 report: Very few drug users on probation are being tested - just 1 in 6
NPS is not effective in achieving social control because the root cause of offending is not being tackled or punished and many offenders with addiction will continue to reoffend
Inadequate Assessment-
Service is not always successful. Too many prisoners’ risk to the public has been inadequately assessed before release
E.G: Damien Bendall, who went on to murder his pregnant partner and 3 children, was rated as ‘medium risk’ rather than ‘high risk’
NPS is not effective in achieving social control because this case highlights that the PS does not always adequately monitor high risk offenders - can lead to reoffending & decreased public safety
Charities (1)
Aim:
Strengths:
Sucessful Orgs-
Organisations such as Nacro have been successful
E.G: They have campaigned to end Friday releases from prison & this is now in place fir prisoners vulnerable not addiction, mental health or homelessness
Charities / pressure groups are effective in achieving social control because when offenders are not released on Friday, the services they require will be open & available to them (weekend), meaning they are less likely to return to criminality
Charities (2)
Weaknesses:
Decreasing New Charities-
They are voluntary organisations and only exist where people are concerned about a particular issue
E.G: the number of new charities is declining, as 4021 charities were registered in 2022, which is the lowest since 1989, of 4011
Charities & Pressure groups are not effective in achieving social control because if the number of charities is not a guaranteed, consistent number, then their support they offer to the JS is also not guaranteed, limiting the impact they will have on changing behaviour
Media Demonisation-
Media reporting can mean that some charities are promoted so get more funding & others may not be portrayed sympathetically
E.G: if the media demonise a particular category, it will be harder for charities that work with them to build support
Such as making prions nicer places may not have a lot of media support
Charities are not effective in achieving social control because if charities & campaigns aren’t receiving the support they require to be successful, then they will likely fail to achieve their aims of improving society
Question Format
Introduce aims of social control.
Provide evidence to evauluate effetiveness. E.g within 12 months, recividism rate
2/3 Points on how they fail
0/1 Points on how they suceed
INCLUDE PERCENTAGES OR ANY STATISTIC
AND USE THE WORD EFFECTIVE!!!
