criminology unit 4 ac 3.4
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ac 3.4 - evaluate the effectiveness in achieving social control
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what are 3 strengths of the police in achieving social control
offences of public concern
recording crime
preventing crime from getting worse
how are offences of public concern a police strength
the police will prioritise things, such as domestic violence in 2017 - an increased number of cases are reported and 2/3 domestic abuse practitioners felt an improvement
how does the police strength of offences of public concern achieve social control
raises the public trust in police so they will be more likely to cooperate in police investigations, helping the police solve more crime
how is recording crime a police strength
police faced criticism in 2014 and since have made an effort and recorded more crime
how the the police strength of recording crime achieve social control
in 2021-22 there was a 6% increase in domestic violence reporting meaning more crimes are being stopped, and people may be deterred due to bigger risk
how is preventing crime from getting worse a police strength
in 2019 the london bridge terror attack was very quickly put down, in comparrison to the 2011 london riots which were widespread and enduced fear. police were praised in 2019 for their ability
how does the police strength of preventing crime achieve social control
increases the risk of punishment so according to rational choice theory people wont commit crime
what re 3 weaknesses of the police in achieving social control
inefficiency and incompetancy
abuse of power
current trends
how is inefficiency/ incompetency a police weakness
some claim the police show this in investigations such as in the macpherson report following the stephen lawrence case as the family had to wait 20 years for justice
how does the police weakness of inefficiency/ incompetence limit social control
people will lose faith and trust in the police so they wont cooperate or aid in investigations, as it leaves people alienated which causes resentment
how is abuse of power a weakness of police
police have been found to apply their powers unlawfully, such as in the case of wayne couzens who murdered sarah everard, this case made 47% of women and 40% of men lose trust in the police
police brutality is also clear in the case of ian tomlinson when he was attacked by police despite not being part of the protest
how does the police weakness of abuse of power limit social control
leads to a lack of public trust as police are not policing by consent
how are current trends a weakness of the police
shows that there are more crimes reported with fewer being solved, with only 5.75 of cases being solved in 2025 and 2.3 million cases being dropped without a suspect
how does the police weakness of current trends limit social control
people will lose faith in the police so may not bother reporting the crimes so criminals can get away with it
what are 3 strengths of the cps
brings an independant element to the charging and prosecution process
succeed in prosecution
increased in funding
how is bringing an independant element a strength of the cps
allows the due process model to be implamented free from bias, the full code test ensures reliability
how does the cps strength of being independant affect social control
ensures a strong case so ensuring a prosecution which can act as a deterrent
how is succeeding in prosecutions a strength of the cps
the cps works on about 80000 crown and 450000 magistrates cases in just 3 months with an 80% conviction rate
how is the strength of cps succeeding in prosecuting effecting social control
criminals are coerced into abiding by the law via fear of punishment
how is increased funding a strength of the cps
they suffered budget cuts in 2019, which effected their performance and it improved when the budget did, such as in 2023-4 their budget was £894 million compared to £567 million in 2019-20
how does the cps strength of increased funding effect social control
they can have more staff and resource leading to swifter prosecutions which creates a fear of punishment
what are 3 weaknesses of the cps
realistic prospect of conviction
lack of focus on justice
close working relations with the police
how is a realistic prospect of conviction a weakness of the cps
sometimes they fail in building a case due to not applying the full code test as the cps sometimes focus on meeting targets and not finding justice so will pass cases through the evidential test that shouldnt. this was seen in the case of liam allan who was on trial for rape, but due to evidence issues the case was massively delayed
how does the cps weakness of realistic prospect of conviction limit social control
can lead to delays meaning the offender is still out, risking the public such as the damilola taylor case that took 6 years and cost £7 million
how is a lack of focus on justice a weakness of the cps
the cps make decisions on prosecution based on figures, so may not prosecute if its to hard as it may ruin their statistics - the guardian reported that the cps only prosecuted to boost figures. in 2023 the police recorded 68387 rape cases but the cps only prosecuted 5.4% of these (3717)
how does the cps weakness of a lack of focus on justice limit social control
people arent being prosecuted so feel they are getting away with it so they may reoffend
how is close working relations with the police a weakness of the cps
sometimes faces criticism for being too close with the police leading to some cases going to court with insufficient evidence. in the stephen lawrence case, the cps favoured the police as ion 2024 they decided to not prosecute the 4 main detectives responsible for the initial investigation
how does the cps weakness of close working relations with the police limit social control
people may lose trust in the cps as they turn a bling eye to police crime, so people wont report it leading to corruption amongst the police
what are 3 strengths of the judiciary
current reduction in gender bias
public support for judges
low number of appeals
how is a current reduction in gender bias a strength of the judiciary
51% of judges under the age of 40 are female, which is much higher than it used to be
how does the judiciary strength of a current reduction in gender bias affect social control
it deters crime against women as there isnt the issue of male judges favouring male offenders agains women victims
how is public support for judges a strength of the judiciary
some believed judges to be out of touch, but werent saying so as a criticism and karen walker et al found that most jurors simply remained independant, and didnt act/ think out of touch
how does the judiciary strength of public support affect social control
the public can trust judges which can increase deterrence and act as a fear of punishment
how is low number of appeals a strength of the judiciary
they pass thousands of sentences every year and in 2023 out of 106000 cases in the crown court, only 3.2% appealed
how does the judiciary strength of a low number of appeals affect social control
shows how they are accurate and can be trusted to incriminate and imprison the right people
what are 3 weaknesses of the judiciary
judicial bias
being out of touch
unduly leniant sentences
how is judicial bias a weakness of the judiciary
68% of judges are male
50% of judges are over 50
7% of judges are from ethnic minorities
74% went to oxford or cambridge, so were of a high social class
these people may favour people from a similar background to themselves, which is proven in conviction rates, such as in wcc for example the oxford student lavinia woodward stabbed her boyfriend but the judge deemed her ‘too clever’ for prison so she only recieved a suspended sentence
how does the judiciary weakness of judicial bias limit social control
certain groups will discover they can get away with crime and wont be deterred and can lead to repeat offenders
how is judges being out of touch a weakness of the judiciary
the media often portray this as a sentencing issue as their background may not aline with public opinion
how is the weakness of the judiciary of being out of touch a limitation of social control
it will lead to a lack of trust by the public and people wont abide by the law due to a lack of respect
how are unduly lenient sentences a weakness of the judiciary
the unduly lenient sentence scheme (ulss) allows people to apply to the atourney general for review, and in 2018 140 cases applied and of this 99 of them had the sentece increased, for example ian patterson (the doctor who opperated fake cancer on patients) was increased from 15 to 20 years
how does the judicial weakness of unduly lenient senteces limit social control
leads to no fear of punishment and a lack of deterrence
what are 3 strengths of the prisons in achieving social control
excellent prison security
clearly effective in preventing crime
responds to new threats well
how is excellent security a strength of prisons
physical, dynamic and procedural security clearly works due to the fact there are low escapes, in 2022-3 there was only 1 in england and wales
how does the prison strength of excellent security effect social control
prevents reoffending and acts as a deterrent as people wont get out of prison if they still pose a threat to the public
how is being effective in preventing crime a strength of prisons
it physically detains criminals, protecting the public and it works for rehabilitation as only 3% of people who take part in recycling lives reoffend
how does the prison strength of being effective in preventing crime affect social control
acts as a deterrent
how is responding to new threats well a strength of prisons
as security and technology evolve, prisons quickly adapted and put in place policies, such as in 2023 prisoners in liverpool were found to be hiding drones that snuch in contrabandd - there were 191 sightings in 12 months
how does the prison strength of responding well to new threats effect social control
it prevents crime in prison such as adding no fly zones in a 400 meter radius around prisons
what are 3 weakness of prisons in achieving social control
prison procedures are not always followed
overcrowding
high reoffending rates
how is prison procedures not always being followed a weakness of prisons
it can lead to an increase in dangerous prison conditions for example zahid mubarek was convicted of a minor shoplifting - £6 - and was sentenced to 90 days at Feltham Young offenders institution but his racist cell mate attacked him and he died - robert stewart (the attacker) was known to be dangerous and racist but the prisons didnt aknowledge this and let him share a cell
how does the prison weakness of not following procedures limit social control
prison crime indicates a lack of social control and as the prisons let it happen, people will lose faith
how is overcrowding a weakness of prisons
living conditions and opportunities available were bad making dynamic security difficult. 21600 people were kept in overcrowded accomodation and many offenders were released early
how does the prison weakness of overcrowding limit social control
reduces rehabilitation and people who are released early may reoffend
how is high reoffending rates a weakness of prisons
its higher than community sentences so long term social control was not met
how is the prison weakness of high reoffending rates limiting social control
crime is still taking place once prisoners are released and sutherland claims that prisons are universities of crime
what are 3 strengths of the probation service
the remodeling in 2021
inspections have had positive feedback
reoffending rates
how was the 2021 remodeling a strength of the probation in achieving social control
it was put back into the hands of the ministry of justice which came with an increase in funding so the quality of staff, supervision and rehabilitation improved
how does the probation strength of the 2021 remodeling affect social control
ensured offenders were properly monitored and recalled if needed, increasing public protection and individual deterrence
how is positive feedback from inspectors a strength of the probation
it was found to have good leadership, especially durham in 2016
how does the probation strength of positive feedback from inspections affect social control
achieves the aim of preventing reoffending as offenders are successfully coerced and rehabilitation is supported
how are reoffending rates a strength of the probation
they oversee community orders which have lower reoffending rates than prisons
how does the probation strength of reoffending rated affect social control
more likely to achieve rehabilitation than prison when it comes to short term sentences
what are 3 weaknesses of the probation in achieving social control
failings from 2014-20
criticisms since 2017
part privatisation
how are the failings from 2014-20 a weakness of the probation
performance of the crc did not live up to expectations and rehabilitation targets had not been met for example only 54% of housing needs were met, there were also safeguarding issues due to open offices
joanna denney murdered 3 men while on probation as she missed meetings and was inadequately risk assessed
conner marshall was murdered by david braddon who was on parole and he missed meetings, the probation were overworked
how does the probation weakness of failings from 2014-20 limit social control
poor riak assessment can lead to a lack of social control leading to reoffending
how is criticisms since 2017 a weakness of the probation
some probation services are not secure and they have a high workload, with high staff sickness and turnover rates
jordan mcsweeney followed zara aleena home from a bar and attacker her, he had 28 previous convictions and was on liscence at the time but the probation planned to revoke it due to missed meetings but were too late
how does the probation weakness of criticisms limit social control
inadequate offender monitoring prevents individual deterrence and encourages reoffending
how is the privatisation of the probation a weakness
it became profit focused instead of justice, dame glenys stacey (head of the probation in 2019) said the core workings was to engage, monitor and rehabilitate - the privatisation was ‘incredibly flawed’ as this was not in the hands of the goverment
how does the probation weakness of the privatisation limit social control
many end up reoffending so the probation did not rehabilitate or discourage crime
what are 3 strengths of charities and preassure groups in achieving social control
a strong commitment to their cause
addresses the root causes of crime
preassure group campaigning
how is a strong commitment to the cause a strength of charities
they have specialist knowledge as they address one issue so they will go further than a private company would
how does the charity strength of a strong commitment affect social control
addresses root causes so rehabilitation can be focused on these issues and moulded to the offender
how is addressing the root cause of crime a strength of charities
aims to prevent crime through this, such as nacro who offer educational programmes and employment services
how does the charity strength of addressing the root cause effect social control
aids rehabilitation, preventing crime
how is preassure group campaigning a strength of charities
preassures the goverment to make a real change with national reach through laws and policies such as nacro’s end friday releases/ women in prison saying to scap plans for 5 new prisons and instead make womens centres - community based solutions to crime
how does the charity strength of preassure group campaigns aid social control
helps rehabilitation
what are 2 weaknesses of preassure groups and charities in achieving social control
funding
gaps in provision
how is funding a weakness of charities
they rely on donations to operate, which is not guarenteed so the scale of theior effectiveness is limited
how does the charity weakness of funding limit social control
rehabilitation can be expensive so limited
how are gaps in provision weaknesses of charities
they are voulentary so only exist for areas of public concern so offenders may get neglected and rehabilative chariteis may recieve public backlash
how is the charity weakness of gaps in provision limiting social control
doesnt address the root cause of crime or rehabilitate, the media may also be more sympathetic to the victim not the offender so may no recieve support, which a charity needs to function so offender support charities cant operate and offenders cant be rehabilitated