UNIT 4 - AC3.3 - Examine the limitations of agencies in achieving social control. Flashcards
What is ‘Recidivism’?
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Recidivism refers to the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend.
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What are Recidivism Rates?
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The rate at which people reoffend within 1 year of prison release.
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Which countries have the highest prison rate in Western Europe?
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England, Wales and Scotland - roughly 135/136 people per 100,000 population.
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What country has the lowest prison rate in Western Europe?
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Norway (where Bastøy prison is located) - 57 people per 100,000 population.
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What percentages of males, females and children reoffend within a year of release?
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- Males: 64% when serving a sentence less than 12 months.
- Females: 58%.
- Children and Young people: 59%.
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Who are the most likely people that would re-offend?
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- Someone with previous convictions.
- People who served a prison sentence.
- Males are the most likely.
- Offenders who are alcohol/ drug dependent.
- Homeless people.
- People with few qualifications or are unemployed.
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What contributes to the rising prison population?
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The rising prison population is attributed to factors like repeat offending (increased recidivism rate).
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What are some of the limitations in prisons that prevent social control from being achieved?
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- Prison officers dont feel safe.
- Threat of violence is constant.
- They are Understaffed.
- Have limited resources.
- Prisoners unlikely to co-operate.
- Prison officers are overworked.
- Poor education/ rehabilitation.
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What are prisons called if people are in prison short term with little rehab?
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“Universities of Crime”.
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What are the factors influencing repeat offending?
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The number of previous convictions is a significant factor influencing reoffending likelihood. Also, boredom and lack of rehabilitation.
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How does the number of previous convictions affect reoffending likelihood?
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Offenders with a higher number of previous convictions are more likely to reoffend.
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What is the “dark figure” of reoffending?
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The “dark figure” of reoffending refers to unreported or undetected instances of reoffending.
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What theories does ‘Recidivism’ link to?
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- SLT (Social Learning Theory) - Skinners Operant Conditioning.
- Right Realism - Rational Choice.
- Marxism - Unemployed most likely to re-offend.
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What are ‘Civil Liberties’?
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They are rights and freedoms guaranteed to every individual by law.
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What are some examples of ‘Civil Liberties’?
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- Freedom of Speech.
- Freedom of Movement.
- Freedom of Arbitary Arrest.
- Freedom of Assembly.
- Freedom of Association.
- Freedom of Religious Worship.
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What case study links to issues with civil liberties?
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Abu Qatada - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that as he was a hate preacher he couldnt be deported to Jordan as he could of been tried on evidence obtained by torture.
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What theories does ‘Civil Liberties and legal barriers’ link to?
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- Link to Due Proccess Model - PACE 1984 (Procedural Safeguarding).
- Left Realism.
- Labelling Theory.
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What is the link between Marxism and civil liberties?
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Marxism critiques civil liberties as insufficient for meeting the needs of the working class.
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How is ‘Access to resources and support’ a weakness of agencies?
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Prisoners aren’t able to be rehabilitated due to the amount of staff and funding.
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How do ‘short sentences’ fail to rehabilitate offenders?
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They don’t give offenders enough time to be able to attend rehabilitation programs. They take too long to set a prisoner up on a rehab scheme.
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How do ‘shortages of (experienced) prison officers’ fail to rehabilitate offenders?
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Fewer officers mean inmates have to be locked up for up to 23 hours per day to maintain social control.
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How do ‘limited opportunities for release on temporary lisence (ROTL)’ fail to rehabilitate offenders?
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Staff shortages mean that there are few trusted prisoners which are allowed to attend training, employment and job interviews.
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How do ‘inadequate resources for education and training’ fail to rehabilitate offenders?
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Statistics on Prison Activity usefulness.
In 2020, the Chief Inspector said half of prisons inspected had too few programmes of useful activity. Fewer than 2 out of 5 delivered good or reasonably good activities.
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How does the reoffending rate differ whether prisoners learn in prison or not?
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The re-offending rate for prisoners which learn in prison is 34% compared to 43% for non-prison learners.
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What is the percentage like of prisoners literacy skills?
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Nearly two-thirds (62%) of people entering prison were assessed as having literacy skills expected of an 11 year old.
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What obstacles has HMP Birmingham faced, preventing them from rehabilitating offenders?
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Not enough prison staff so have to be locked up all day (23 hours a day), so inmates get very bored and turn to violence to resolve this issue, as they dont have anything else to do.
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What are some of the problems faced by newly released prisoners?
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- Lack of Money.
- Lack of a Job.
- Homlessness.
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How is ‘Lack of Money’ an issue for newly released prioners?
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Cost?
When they are released they only recieve a £76 discharge grant and any money from jobs in prison. This means they only have enough money to get food for about 1 week.
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How is ‘Lack of a Job’ an issue for newly released prioners?
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Statistics?
Only 1 in 4 prisoners have a job to go to on release. Over 50% of employers also said they wouldn’t employ an ex-offender.
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How is ‘Homlessness’ an issue for newly released prioners?
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Only half of offenders have settled accommodation on release from prison. After 13 weeks in prison, inmates automatically lose entitlement to housing benefits.
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What is the ‘End Friday releases’ campaign?
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More than 1/3 of releases from prison happen on a friday. Newly released offenders end up sleeping rough and discharge grants re-open on monday, so offenders don’t get money for the whole weekend. It’s a campaign to stop these releases on a Friday.
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What organisations are helping the ‘End friday release’ campaign?
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NACRO and Howard League are campaigning to stop this as it means that most businesses are closed at weekends and accommodation and benefits will be hard to get.
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How is the ‘End Friday release’ campaign a problem?
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It leads to newly released offenders being vulnerable to reoffending and breaching conditions of their release lisence - they are recalled to prison.
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What are some reasons for re-offending while on community sentences?
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- Inadequate support for complex needs - such as mental health issues and addictions.
- Inadequate supervision by probation services - offenders miss appointments.
- Failure by the privatised CRC’s - don’t supervise offenders closely enough.
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How is ‘finance’ a limitation of agencies?
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Not enough funding means that agencies can’t work to their standards, so are lacking.
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What ‘costs’ have the POLICE faced?
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Statistics?
Between 2010 and 2018, the police budget cut was bny 19% leading to a fall of 20,000 police officers.
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What are the consequences of underfunding for the POLICE?
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- More inexperienced officers employed.
- Not enough people to investiagate crimes.
- Staff overworked.
- Short-cuts and mistakes made.
- Failures to disclose evidence.
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What ‘costs’ have the CPS faced?
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Statistics?
Between 2010 and 2018, there was a 25% budget cut which led to the loss of a third of CPS staff.
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What are the consequences of underfunding for the CPS?
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- Heavier caseloads.
- More miscarriages of justice.
- Increased delays for courts.
- More inexperienced staff employed.
- Less disclosure - more cases collapsing.
- Downgraded charges.
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What are the consequences of underfunding for the JUDICIARY/ COURTS?
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- Fewer cases being heard - crimes dealt with at a slower rate.
- Prisoners held on remand.
- Backlogs in cases.
- Courtrooms sitting empty.
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What ‘costs’ have the PRISONS faced?
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Statistics?
Between 2010 and 2018, the prison budget fell by 16% leading to reduction in staff levels by 15%.
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What are the consequences of underfunding for the PRISONS?
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- 23-hour lockups.
- Increased rioting and attacks.
- No rehabilative systems.
- Increased suicides and self-harm.
- More inexperience officer employed due to staff leaving.
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What ‘costs’ have the PROBATION SERVICES faced?
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Supervision Statistics?
In 2018, only 40% of offenders were supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) and 60% by CRC’s.
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What are the consequences of underfunding for the PROBATION SERVICES?
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- Shortages of staff.
- More inexperienced staff being employed.
- Poor pre-sentencing/ pre-release.
- Heavy caseloads for officers.
- Increased recidivism - more prisoners.
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What ‘costs’ have the CHARITIES faced?
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Statistics? Loss?
Charities have lost more than £3.8 billion in grants from the government over the past decade.
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What are the consequences of underfunding for the CHARITIES?
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People don’t have available money to give to charity due to things such as the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’. This leads to cases not being supported.
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Who are national policies introduced by?
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The Government.
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How do national policies such as for ‘knife crime’ stop the police from achieving social control?
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Through police prioritisation, it means that some crimes are neglected and forgotten about when focusing on others.
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Who are local policies introduced by?
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Local Police Forces.
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How do local policies stop the police from achieving social control?
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Weapon amnesties - police don’t arrest people who hand in illegal weapons - can distract the police from solving real life cases.
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How does the Environment an offender is released into affect recidivism?
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Returning to the same social circle can result in the same offending behaviour.
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What are some factors that influence reoffending ?
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- Purposeful activity in prison.
- Employemnt on release from prison.
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How do family visits in prison affect re-offending rates?
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Statistics?
Prisoner who recieve family visits in prison are 39% less likely to re-offend.
This is especially important for women. [AC3.3]
How does the prison release environment link to a theory?
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Marxists suggest the bourgeoisie (rich) contruct the rules of society to prevent the proletariats (poor) from achieving in life.
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What is a ‘moral imperative’?
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A strongly felt principle that compels a person to act. (e.g the offender think (morally) its the right decision).
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What case study(s) links to a crime committed with a moral imperative?
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- London Riots in 2011 - began after Mark Duggan was shot by a police officer who abused their power.
- Kay Gilderdale - she administered drugs to her ill daughter to help her die. (Assisted Suicide).
- Banaz Mahmood - honor crime killing.
- Alan Blythe - MS (Multiple Schlerosis) treatment with cannabis - charged for supply and cultivation.
- Stansted 15.
- The Suffragettes.
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How does The Suffragettes link to ‘moral imperatives’?
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The Womens Right protest in 1905 became more militant and they started all sorts of anti-social activities such as burning houses. They believed this was morally right because of the way women were being treated.
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How does The Stansted 15 link to ‘moral imperatives’?
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60 migrants were deported to Nigeria where they were given terrorism charges, but these were overtuned in 2021.
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How does the Alan Blythe case link to ‘moral imperatives’?
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Due to Jury Equity, he was acquited of 3 charges relating to the supply and cultivation of cannabis after it was found his wife had Multiple Schlerosis (MS) and that cannabis alleviated the symptoms of MS.
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How does Functionalism link to ‘moral imperatives’? What key term - BM?
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Crimes can be seen as positive and functional in society. Without deviance, society would be stagnant. Boundary Maintenance shows whats acceptable in society. Crime is how society functions.
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