Unit 4 - AC3.4 - Evaluate the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control

Question 1

what are the 6 agencies of social control

Answer 1

police, cps, judiciary, prisons, probation, charities and pressure groups

Question 2

what are the social control responsibilities of the police

Answer 2

main agency for detection, investigation and prevention of crime / issue notices, cautions and reprimands / specialist departments for serious and complex cases

Question 3

offences of public concern to the police

Answer 3

police have progressed in prioritising some offences of public concern / 2017 survey showed 2/3 of DA practitioners felt police approach improved / also showed staff shortages which cause less social control

Question 4

what are the 2 police effectiveness and performance criticisms

Answer 4

current trends and racism / bias

Question 5

why are current trends a police criticism

Answer 5

more crimes but fewer solved

Question 6

by how much did crime rise march 2016 - june 2020

Answer 6

4.5 m - 5.8 m

Question 7

how much have 5% of cases charged fallen 2015-2020

Answer 7

15% - 7%

Question 8

what is the evidence to show police fail to investigate many reports

Answer 8

2013 - 2018 police dropped 2.9 times as many cases on day of report

Question 9

what is the evidence to show major funding cuts in police forces

Answer 9

budget cut by 19%

Question 10

why might police stats not show effectiveness of socialcontrol

Answer 10

crime increases may be due to better recording from police not from more crimes committed - police have made efforts to improve crime recording eg DA

Question 11

why is racism and bias a police criticism

Answer 11

creates a negative relationship so hinders ability to achieve social responsibility

Question 12

what did the Macpherson report in 1999 on Stephen lawrence death find

Answer 12

the met police is institutionally racist

Question 13

what is the relationship between the police and minority groups

Answer 13

recruitment has increased but still underrepresented / stop and searches are unproportionate

Question 14

what stats prove that the cps has been effective

Answer 14

around 80% of defendants that it prosecutes are convicted

Question 15

what are the 3 criticisms of the cps efficiency

Answer 15

media reports, budget cuts and failure to build cases

Question 16

why are media reports a criticism of the cps

Answer 16

theyre often not favourable - criticisms from the guradian in 2018 around handling rape cases

Question 17

what did the guardian say in 2018 about the cps

Answer 17

rape prosecutors were advised to drop weak cases to improve conviction rate by 61% if dropped 350 - limiting access to justice for young, student and ill victims as juries are less likely to convict so cases get dropped

Question 18

why are budget cuts a criticism of the cps

Answer 18

the cps lost 25% of its budget and 1/3 of its staff. cps cant sustain further cuts due to advanced tech for criminals - one case took 600 hours to analyse a phone - this put off cps doing thorough checks so fails to discover a lot of info

Question 19

what case shows that budget cuts are a criticism of the cps

Answer 19

Liam Allen 2018 - case collapsed as evidence was disclosed after trial began - led to 30 other cases being reviewed or halted that were supposed to go to court

Question 20

why are failures to build cases a criticism of the cps

Answer 20

it leads to case collapses

Question 21

which case shows that failure to build cases is a criticism of the cps

Answer 21

10 year old damiola taylor’s murder - case was rested on an obviously lying witness and proper checks would have revealed this

Question 22

what is the criticism about the cps and police relationship

Answer 22

too close and cps is too bureaucratic, insufficient and slow so people have to put their lives on hold for ages

Question 23

on what is the effectiveness of the judiciary in achieving social control based on

Answer 23

ability to remain impartial

Question 24

what are the three factors of the judiciary that can effect impartiality

Answer 24

biased judgements / out of touch? / too lenient?

Question 25

how may judges be biased in their judgements

Answer 25

they usually come from narrow sections of society so may have biased judgements

Question 26

what % of judges are male

Answer 26

68%

Question 27

what % of judges are 50+

Answer 27

70%

Question 28

minority ethnic groups are under-represented, but what % of judges are in these groups

Answer 28

7%

Question 29

what % of judges were privately educated

Answer 29

74%

Question 30

what do these percentages about judges suggest about judges

Answer 30

they may be biased towards people of the same background as them and a lack of empathy towards others.

Question 31

why might age not actually make a difference in sentencing decisions

Answer 31

most offenders are young

Question 32

why might judges be out of touch

Answer 32

their age, education and class makes them atypical members of society

Question 33

what portrays judges as out of touch with mainstream modern society

Answer 33

media stereotypes, especially with public views on sentencing

Question 34

who was the researcher from australia that interviewed jurors about judges

Answer 34

Warner et al

Question 35

what were the findings of warner et al

Answer 35

most jurors didnt think that judges were out of touch with public opinion or sentencing

Question 36

what is the unduly lenient sentences scheme

Answer 36

allows for an application to the attorney / solicitor general for a sentence to be reviewed if they feel it was unduly lenient

Question 37

what sentences does the unduly lenient scheme apply to

Answer 37

serious offences like murder and rape

Question 38

what happen in the process of increasing a sentence

Answer 38

1 - minister agrees that the judge made a gross error 2 - minister asks court of appeal to review sentence 3 - increase if neccesary

Question 39

in 2018, how many cases of sentences were increased

Answer 39

99/140

Question 40

what is the overall opinion on if judges are too lenient

Answer 40

judges aren't unduly lenient as sentences they pass are effective in achieving social control

Question 41

How do prisons aim to achieve social control

Answer 41

By punishing offenders and rehabilitating them

Question 42

What do critics argue about the prison system

Answer 42

It is in crisis and aren’t able to work effectively

Question 43

What are the 7 criticisms of prisons

Answer 43

Staffing cuts / overcrowding / not addressing rehab needs / a drugs epidemic / security / safety / riots and disorder

Question 44

Why are staffing cuts a prison criticism

Answer 44

2010-18 police officers fell 15%, and 1/3 of officers had less than 2 years experience

Question 45

Why is overcrowding a prison criticism

Answer 45

Population doubled from 93-2021, 2018 58% of prisons overcrowded, leads to discontent and rule breaking

Question 46

why is not addressing rehabilitation needs a prion criticism

Answer 46

leads to not adressing causes so root problems arent solved - recidivism, short sentences dont give enough time to adress complex needs

Question 47

why is a drugs epidemic a prison criticism

Answer 47

increased use of new psychoactive substances like spice- 100 x more potent than cannabis=agression, psychosis and depression, 2013-2018 117 drug deaths and no strategy to decrease use, reduces participation in rehab and creates debt amongst inmates so more violence

Question 48

why is security a prison criticism

Answer 48

low escape numbers but many security breaches like drugs, phones and other smuggled items

Question 49

why is safety a prison criticism

Answer 49

assults, self-harm and suicides have rised- since 2020 - 9800 assaults, 76 suicides 65000 self-harm (5 homicides)

Question 50

why are riots and disorder a prison criticism

Answer 50

breakdowns of order and control have risen eg, HMP Birmingham 2016 riots and many others

Question 51

what evidence is there around reoffending rates

Answer 51

36% of all offenders reoffend , 64% of those on short sentences reoffend, 37% of juvenile offenders reoffend

Question 52

what is the overall evidence for prison effectiveness

Answer 52

ineffective in achieving social control while imprisoned and rehabilitating them for post-prison life

Question 53

what are the two types of probation services that there have been

Answer 53

public sector (National probation service (nps)) ans private sector (community rehabilitation centres (crc))

Question 54

why was the nps privatised and when

Answer 54

2014 - 2020 - tories launched a 'rehabilitation revolution' to reduce rehabilitation - 21 crc's were introduced to deal with low risk offenders

Question 55

what were the results of the 21 companies

Answer 55

19/21 failed to meet targets, had extra £342million pumped in

Question 56

what did the 2018 report of crc's reveal about their housing results ans supervision

Answer 56

less housing needs met and only supervised by telephone, only 54% of cases were supervised // 70% were when nps

Question 57

what did the 2018 report of crc's reveal about their protection of vulnerable people

Answer 57

inadequate protection for victims and their children when domestic abusers returned to communities

Question 58

what did the 2018 report of crc's reveal about their staffing

Answer 58

cutting staff to save money so higher caseloads

Question 59

how do nps and prison reoffending rates compare

Answer 59

prison has double the amount of reoffending

Question 60

what are the nps criticisms

Answer 60

staff shortages / high workloads to less effective work / no national strategy to provide specialist services / shortage of specialist programmes

Question 61

why are charities and pressure groups effective

Answer 61

better at reducing recidivism as have strong passions and commitment to the group ans specialist knowledge - more motivated than crc's and nps

Question 62

what is nacro

Answer 62

a pressure group for ending friday releases as they make up 1/3 and means people have less time to access essential services // provides accommodation for ex-offenders

Question 64

how has WIP pressured agencies to change 2 policies

Answer 64

called gov to drop plans to build 5 new womens prisons but to invest that money in rehab and support centres // called courts to only use prisons as a last resort - 84% of womens prison sentences are for non-violent crimes

Question 64

what are the 3 criticisms of charities and pressure groups effectiveness

Answer 64

theyre voluntaty - only exist where there is a concern eg if no concern for abusers then missed opportunity for rehab // media reporting - if negative then harder for charities to build support and vice versa // funding - easier to get donations for some groups than others, gov will only donate if they agree