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AC 3.4 - Evalute the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control…
AC 3.4 - Evalute the effectiveness of agencies in achieving social control
The police
Social control resposniblities - The police are the main agency for detection, investigation and prevention of crime. Their work results in a huge volume of cases being brought to trial every year along with many out of court disposals by the police suing their powers to issue 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 - The police aren't the only agency repsonsibke for investigating crime. For example, HM Revenue and Customs deals with tax evasion, the Department of Work and Pensions delas with benefit fraud and the Boarder Force deal with immigration offences. The are also specialist forces such as the British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary who protect nuclear installations
Strengths
Offences of public concern - In recent years police have made progress in prioritising some of the concerns to the public such as domestic abuse.
Survey evidence form 2017 annual report of HM Inspector of Police shows that 2/3 of domestic abuse pratitioners felt the police's approachh had improved in the past three years
However, the same report shows shortcomings in the police's performance on domestic abuse:
the arrest rate has been falling
Police are not using bail conditions to protect victims
Staff shortages are causing delays in responding to incididents, putting victims at risk
Body-worn video cameras are not always being used to gather evidence
Once reason for the apparent increase in crimes over the years could simply be because the police have become better at recoridng them
Recuritment of officers from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased
Limitations -
There have been numerous criticism of the police's inefficiency and incompetence in investigating offences successfully. For example, 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 successful prosecution of the five leading suspects in the case
The amount of reported cases have been rising but the police clear-up rates have been falling
Police are failing to investigate reported crimes including some serious ones duet to staff shortages
Racism and bias - Macpherson report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence young the Metropolitan police to be institutionally racist. Stop and searches as well as tasersare still disproportionately used against black people and other ethnic minority groups
Minority groups continue to be under-represented in the police force
The police have been accused of playing up to the media as well as over-reacting to the media (moral panics)
The CPS
Strengths
The CPS prosecuted 80,000 cases in Crown Court and over 450,000 cases in magistrates court - 81.4% of the defendants that it prosecuted were convicted
Limitations - The CPS fails to prosecute successfully prosecute some iffenders
Cristsims of CPS handling of rape cases, by dropping a number of supposedly 'weak' rape vases
Critics argue that the CPS should be focused less on trial outcomes and less on bringing cases to justices
The number of rapes reported more than doubled between 2014 and 2018 while the number of prosecutions fell
A number of rape and other prosecutions have collapsed as a result of the CPS and police's failure to disclose evidence such as text messages. After the collapse of a rape case against Liam Allen in 2018 due to evidenced only being disclosed after the trail had started, around 30 other cases that were due to go to court had to be reviewed and some halted
In some high profile cases, the CPS has failed to build an adequate case which as led to the prosecution collapsing. For example in the case of Damilola Taylor, the CPS rested its case on a obviously lying witness, when proper checks would have easily established the unreliability of her veidence
The CPS has been criticised for being to c lose to the police despite its indecent status
Been criticised for being too slow and inefficient in proceeding with cases meaning victims and defendants have to put their lives on hold
Failure to communicate with relevant parties. In some cases, suspects have only found out that a case has been dropped through the media
The judiciary
Strengths - Gender bias less common today
Limitations
As judges tend to come from a narrow unrepresentative section of society, they are sometimes suspected of making biased judgements
Minority ethnic groups are under represented (5%)
Gender bias - In 1989 Judge Games Pickles sentenced a man to probation after he was convicted of sexually asaulting a 6 year old girl. Later that year he jailed a women for contempt of court for refusing to give evidence against her ex-boyffriend, who had assaulted her. In 990, he sentenced a 19 year old single mother with a 10 week old baby to 6 months on a charge of theft
Class bias (those of a higher class received lenient punishments)
It is questioned whether judges are out of touch with mainstream modern society and therefore with the public's views on sentencing
Handing out too lenient or too harsh sentences
Prisons
Strengths - Security - There have been almost no espcat from close prisons since 2010 although there have been s number of breaches of security such as drugs, sim cards etc. being smuggled into prisonsn
Limitations -
Staff cuts by 15% (between 2010 and 2018) harder to maintain control over inmates
Overcrowding - Prison population almost doubles which contributes to discontent and rule-breaking
Not addressing rehabilitation needs - Prisoners reciting short sentences do not have enough time to be rehabilitated, not enough staff to educate, help prisoners with mental health issues, education and drug and alcohol dependency
In recent years drugs used amongst prisoners has risen rapidly, drug testing programmes not running effectively due to staff shortages
Incidents of assaults, self-harm and suicide have risen - In 2018, 8,400 assaults on staff, 22,000 assaults on prisoners, 69 suicides
Riots and disorder has increased (HMP Birmingham) all due to staff shortages
Reoffending rates very high 37.5%, increasing to 64.1% of those with short sentences
Probation - National probation service and Community rehabilitation programmes (part privatisation)
Strengths -
Part-privatisation of the probation service was set up in 2014 to deal with low risk offenders and would earn their profits on a payment-by-results basis, with targets to reduce reoffending by their clients
NPS more successful (half the rate of reoffending than prisons)
Limitations
The community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) failed to meet the government's expectations. Of 21 companies, 19 failed to meet their targets
Offenders housing needs were met less often by CRCs (54%) compared to NPS (70%)
Offenders often supervised by telephone
CRC's provided inadequate protection for victims ands their children when domestic abusers were returned to the community
A critical national shortage of probabtion officers
High workloads have led to professional standards being compromiosed
Probabtion premises are dated and in some cases not secure
Shortage of places on specialist programmes - no National strategy to improve this
Charities and pressure groups - Non-governmental voluntary organisations
Strengths -
Charities provide services to specific groups such as ex-prisoners
Pressure groups campaign for changes to government policies to benefit those whose interest they serve
Strong commitment and are strongly motivated to help and therefore go the extra mile in a way that government or privatised agencies may not do
Nacro (end Friday releases) provides accomodation for those who have been released so they do not sleep rough
Women in prison (WIP) over half of women prisoners are victims of domestic or sexual violence. WIP is committed to tackling the root causes of women's offending
WIP campaigns for money to be invested in specialist women's centres and community based solutions to reduce reoffending, also flow sentencing guidelines and use prison as a last resort - IP has won the support of a number of MPs and the public
WIP provides a helpline to provide support and guidance, referring women to specialist agencies, delivering the CARE programme
Limitations - Pressure groups/charities are only voluntary organisations meaning that they only exist where there is an issue eg. pressure groups for victims of abuse but not support and rehabilitation for the abusers - media plays a role in this
Funding is also limited meaning they may lack resources and cannot provide enough help to all that need it