Unit 4 AC3.3

Question 1

What is the overall recidivism rate in 2021?

Answer 1

24.3%
53.9% with a custodial sentence thats less than 12 months

Question 2

Why is recidivism rate so high?

Answer 2

• Lack of rehabilitation opportunities due to budget
• Ratio between staff and prisoners has widened causing more violence
• Social provision is limited so the offender has little options but to reoffend

Question 3

What are the consequences of recidivism?

Answer 3

• Overcrowding in prisons
  Prison population has doubled since 1993 which creates a viscous cycle of reoffending as it limits rehabilitation opportunities

Question 4

Who reoffends?

Answer 4

• Those with the most previous convictions (2018- 47.5% of those with 10+ convictions reoffended)
• Prison sentences have higher reoffending rate
• Rate higher for males than females
• Rate higher for drug addicts/homeless

Question 5

What theories link to recidivism rates?

Answer 5

• Right realism. Rational choice theory. Believes prison works as offenders weigh up costs and benefits but recidivism rates show this isnt true.
• Marxism. Working class commit crime since they have little chance of meeting needs. Recidivism rates suggest this is true.

Question 6

What are civil liberties?

Answer 6

Basic rights and freedom guaranteed to every individual by law

Question 7

What are examples of civil liberties?

Answer 7

• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of movement
• The right to privacy
• Freedom from arbitrary arrest

Question 8

What is the link between civil liberties and due process model?

Answer 8

Civil liberties act as an obstacle course and a barrier to the state, exercising social control. E.g. right to privacy limits search for evidence

Question 9

What are human right abusers

Answer 9

In some authoritarian states, social control agencies have few restrictions on their power so the public are punished for going against the government.
For example, North Korea and Syria

Question 10

How is lack of resources a barrier for social control within prisons?

Answer 10

• Fail to rehabilitate due to inadequate resources for education and training.
• 15% staff cut so confined to cells and cant be released on temporary licence to attend training.
• Leads to re offending as they cant get a job so limits social control

Question 11

How does lack of resources limit social control in the community?

Answer 11

• Little support when released. Receive £47 and 1/4 of released prisoners have a job. 1/9 of prisoners have no accommodation
• 1/3 released on a Friday stopping them from accessing resources e.g. accommodation and medication.
• Leaves them vulnerable so they reoffend, limiting social control.

Question 12

How does finance limit social control?

Answer 12

Agencies do not receive adequate funding to successfully do their jobs leading to less social control. This is an increasing problems as budgets continue to be cut.

Question 12

How does finance limit social control for police?

Answer 12

• 2010-18 there has been a 19% budget cut leading to a 20,000 decrease in staff.
• Forced to prioritise and drop crimes
• 2018 2.9X more cases dropped than 2013.
  Reduces social control

Question 12

How does finance limit social control in the CPS?

Answer 12

• Budget cut by 25% so 1/3rd of staff lost
• Prevents social control due to failure to investigate cases efficiently, charges are downgraded so sent to Magistrates court (faster and cheaper).

Question 12

How does finance limit social control in prisons?

Answer 12

• 2010-18 16% budget cut so 15% of staff lost.
• Leads to lack of rehabilitation due to widening ratio leading to reoffending (limited social control)

Question 13

How does finance limit social control in the national probation service?

Answer 13

• Budget cuts
• 2019- Staff shortages and lack of confidence in the service by others
• 2020- Chief inspector warned ‘must be properly funded, vacancies for probation officers must be filled’.
  Limits social control

Question 14

How does environment limit social control?

Answer 14

Environment ex-offenders return to can have a significant impact on recidivism
- Family
- Purpose

Question 15

How does family affect social control?

Answer 15

• Prison reform trust found less reoffending with family visits but 68% do not receive visits.
• Less reoffending if they live with immediate family but only 61% do.
  Lack of family support limits social control

Question 16

How does purpose affect social control?

Answer 16

Purposeful activity reduces recidivism but less than 44% received a positive rating from inspectors in 2015-16 for purposeful activity.
- 12% of employers employed an ex offender but unemployment increases re offending.

Question 17

How does local policies limit social control?

Answer 17

• Have their own set priorities based on local crime e.g. Knife crime in London so introduced a weapon amnesties in 2017 including knife bins.
• Set priorities based on moral panic from local news but focusing on one crime forces the police to ignore others, leading to reduced social control

Question 18

How does national policies limit social control?

Answer 18

• Set by central government and applied by everyone
• New policies can make social control easier e.g. ability to stop and search anyone for an offensive weapon without reasonable suspicion
• However, social control limited until police are given more powers

Question 19

What are moral imperatives?

Answer 19

Overriding sense of what is right so break the law to uphold it

Question 20

Why do moral imperatives limit social control?

Answer 20

If a person is acting on moral imperatives, there is little agencies can do to control their behaviour
- Offenders break the law as their conscience told them to

Question 21

What are two examples of moral imperatives on an individual level?

Answer 21

• Kay Gilderdale. Assisted suicide for her terminally ill daughter. Believed it was morally correct for her daughter
• Alan Blythe. Cultivated cannabis to reduce wife’s pain. Believed it was morally right

Question 22

What are three examples of moral imperatives on a societal level?

Answer 22

Based on Durkheim’s theory that social crime progresses society
- Nelson Mandela. Committed crime to stop apartheid
- Suffragettes. Broke the law for women’s rights
- Stansted 15. 15 individuals chained themselves to the plane so it couldn’t take off to deport victims of human trafficking.

Question 23

What limits social control for police?

Answer 23

• Civil liberties
• Finance
• Local priorities
• Moral imperatives

Question 24

What limits social control for the CPS?

Answer 24

• Finance
• National policies

Question 25

What limits social control for the judiciary?

Answer 25

• Civil liberties (due process rules in court)

Question 26

What limits social control for the prison service?

Answer 26

• Recidivism
• Civil liberties
• Access to resources
• Finance

Question 27

What limits social control for the national probation service?

Answer 27

• Civil liberties (right to privacy)
• Finance
• Access to resources (Friday release)
• Environment