WJEC Criminology Year 2 Unit 4: Crime and Punishment - Knowledge Organiser

1.1 Law Making Processes

  • Parliamentary Law Making Processes
    • Green Paper: Allows public consultation on potential new laws.
    • White Paper: Presents formal proposals after consultation, leading to a draft act (bill).
    • First Reading: Bill name and aims read out; a vote occurs.
    • Second Reading: Main debate followed by another vote.
    • Committee Stage: Representatives address issues and suggest changes.
    • Report Stage: Committee reports back, and the House votes on amendments.
    • Third Reading: Final vote on the Bill.
    • House of Lords: Process repeats (or starts) in the House of Lords.
    • Royal Assent: Monarch signs the bill, making it an Act of Parliament (legislation).

Judicial Law Making

  • Judicial Precedent
    • English and Welsh courts operate hierarchically.
    • Supreme Court: Decisions are binding on all lower courts and can overrule its own decisions.
    • Court of Appeal (CoA): Decisions are binding on itself and lower courts, but Supreme Court can reverse them.
    • Crown and Magistrates’ Court: Must follow Supreme Court and CoA decisions, but can distinguish circumstances to avoid precedent.
    • Donoghue v Stevenson: Landmark case establishing the ‘neighbour principle’ in tort law, creating a duty of care to those affected by one's actions, even without a contractual relationship.
  • Statutory Interpretation
    • The Court of Appeal and Supreme Court interpret legislation, binding lower courts.
    • Literal Rule: Interpreting wording based on its ordinary meaning.
    • Golden Rule: Adapting wording to avoid absurd outcomes, such as in R v Allen (1872), where marriage was redefined to mean the ceremony itself.
    • Mischief Rule: Examining the problem Parliament aimed to solve. Example: Smith v Hughes (1960), where prostitutes soliciting from private balconies were found guilty because the law aimed to prevent public solicitation.

1.2 Organisation of the Criminal Justice System

  • Police
    • Deliver defendants to courts.
    • Provide witness evidence.
    • Collaborate with probation in managing offenders nearing release.
    • Work closely with the CPS.
    • Re-arrest those breaching license terms.
  • CPS (Crown Prosecution Service)
    • Act as prosecution lawyers in court.
    • Advise the police on evidence collection.
    • Make charging decisions using the Full Code Test, determining which suspects to prosecute.
    • All cases start in Magistrates’ Court.
  • Courts/Judiciary
    • Liaise with prisons and police for safe prisoner delivery.
    • Arrange video links for prisoners unable to attend court.
    • The Ministry of Justice oversees court operations.
    • The Judiciary preside in Crown and Magistrates' Courts.
  • Prison
    • Work with the probation service for prisoner release.
    • Lawyers may visit clients for legal consultations.
    • Courts set prison terms.
    • Defendants denied bail may be remanded in prison.
  • Probation Service
    • Police arrest prisoners who breach license conditions.
    • Collaborate with charities for prisoner reintegration.
    • Inform police of offenders returning to the community on license.

1.3 Models of Criminal Justice

  • Crime Control Model
    • Seeks conviction 'at any cost,' emphasizing speed and efficiency.
    • Punishment-based, with a zero-tolerance approach.
    • Rooted in right realism.
    • Focuses on victim rights.
    • Favors enhanced police powers.
    • Examples: bad character evidence, removal of double jeopardy, extended detention for terrorists, Colin Stagg case.
  • Due Process Model
    • Prioritizes fairness and protecting defendant rights.
    • Innocent until proven guilty.
    • Aims to prevent wrongful convictions.
    • Advocates for restricted police powers.
    • Aligned with left realism.
    • Examples: recorded interviews, right to legal representation, PACE 1984, Thompson and Venables case (James Bulger killers).

2.1 Forms of Social Control

  • Internal Forms of Social Control
    • Conforming to norms and rules because one believes it's right
    • Freud’s theory: The superego dictates right and wrong.
    • Tradition and culture internalized through socialization.
    • Internalization of social rules
    • Rational ideology: Conscience guides legal behavior, inducing guilt for violations.
  • External Forms of Social Control
    • Coercion (physical or non-violent) by agents like the police or courts
    • Fear of Punishment: Deterrence for the individual and general public
    • Right Realism: Fear as a deterrent
    • Skinner’s Operant Learning Theory: Negative/positive sanctions and reinforcement of consequences

2.2 Aims of Punishment

  • Retribution: Punishing offenders for their crimes; aims for justice for victims.
    • Focuses on past actions.
    • Based on right realism and ‘eye for an eye’ philosophy.
  • Rehabilitation: Reforming offenders for reintegration into society by changing their behavior.
    • Presumes criminal behavior is free will and choice
    • Focuses on future behavior.
    • Based on left realism.
  • Deterrence: Discouraging re-offending (individual) and preventing others from committing crimes (general).
    • Suspended sentences exemplify individual deterrence.
  • Public Protection: Protecting society from dangerous criminals through incapacitation.
    • Methods: custodial sentences, electronic tagging, driving bans, curfews, whole life orders.
  • Reparation: Compensating victims or ‘paying back society.’
    • Restorative justice, apologies, community service.
    • Links to labeling theory.

2.3 Assessing Forms of Punishment

  • Imprisonment
    • Indeterminate sentences: Release based on risk management.
    • Life sentences: Minimum term before parole eligibility.
    • Determinate sentences: Fixed length, with half served in the community.
    • Suspended sentences: Prison sentence enforced upon committing further crimes.
      *Community Sentencing
    • Between 40-300 hours of unpaid community work
    • For offences too serious for a discharge but not serious enough for a custodial sentence.
    • Likely to include supervision by a probation officer plus one or a combination of other requirements: Curfew or exclusion orders (injunction)
      Residency requirement: Offender must live at a specific address or bail hostel
      Group programmes such as anger management
      Treatment for addiction and mental health support
  • Fines
    • Financial penalties proportional to the offense, circumstances, and offender's ability to pay.
    • Magistrates’ Court has a maximum fine.
  • Discharges
    • Absolute/Unconditional: No penalty, as punishment is inappropriate (e.g., Thirsk Rail Crash).
    • Conditional: Punishment only if another offense is committed within a set period.

3.1 Role of Agencies in Social Control

  • Police
    • Aims: Keep peace, protect life/property, prevent/detect crime, bring offenders to justice.
    • Philosophy: Sir Robert Peel's principles focus on using force as a last resort and serving the law impartially.
    • Funding: Primarily from central government and local council tax.
  • CPS
    • Aims: Prosecute independently, advise police, apply the Full Code Test.
    • Philosophy: Independence, impartiality, delivering justice, equality, and inclusion.
    • Funding: Mostly government-funded, supplemented by costs awarded against defendants.
  • Judiciary
    • Aims: Interpret and apply the law, manage trials fairly, explain legal issues to juries, pass sentences.
    • Philosophy: Judicial independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety, equal treatment, professional competence.
    • Funding: Salaries determined by the Senior Salaries Review Body.
  • Prisons
    • Aims: Protect the public, rehabilitate offenders, hold prisoners securely.
    • Philosophy: ‘Preventing victims by changing the lives of offenders’.
    • Funding: General taxation.
  • Probation
    • Aims: Supervise high-risk offenders, support victims, rehabilitate offenders.
    • Philosophy: Belief in offender rehabilitation, individual dignity, social justice, and equality.
    • Funding: General taxation.
  • NACRO
    • Aims: Change lives, strengthen communities, prevent crime.
    • Philosophy: Support housing, education, resettlement, and outreach for ex-offenders.
    • Funding: Public donations, government grants, and service contracts.

3.2 Contribution of Agencies to Social Control

  • Behavioral Tactics
    • Token economies in institutions, Skinner’s operant behavior theory.
    • Civil Injunctions replaced ASBO’s in 2012.
      Civil Injunctions – this is a civil injunction which can result in 2 years imprisonment for adults and 3 months for children. Aimed at managing low level nuisance.
      CBO’s deal with seriously anti-social behaviour. Can last up to 2 years and lead to 5 years prison or 2 years detention if u18. Can have both positive and negative requirements
  • Environmental Design
    • Gated Lanes - Gated Lanes - Prevent burglaries, fly tipping and antisocial behaviour. Lockable gates to prevent access, usually on alleyways of older terraces. Indicates cared for space (Broken Windows Theory).
  • Prison Design/Surveillance
    • The Panopticon Design - All prison cells are visible from a central viewing point. The prisoners cannot tell if they are being watched or not at any given point so must always behave to avoid punishment.
  • Gaps in State Provision
    • New Technology - Digital technology creates a new burden. Results in Failure to disclose Liam Allen.Alison Saunders (CPS), 1 rape case 600 police hours to go through digital material over a weekend.

3.3 Limitations of Agencies in Achieving Social Control

  • Recidivism
    • In 2019, 2828% of offenders would reoffend across all sentences handed down by the Courts. This increases to 3636% for custodial sentences of more than a year and for those less than one year, increases to 6464%.
  • Civil Liberties and Human Rights Abuses
    • What are Civil LIberties. Basic rights and freedoms
      guaranteed to every individual by law. They include freedom of speech, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom from detention without trial. Human Rights Abuses
  • Access to Resources and Support
    • In Prison short sentences mean that there is not enough time to tackle issues that those in custody face such as addiction and manager management. In the Community prisoners are often released with £82 discharge grant.
  • Finance
    • Police - 19% budget cuts, leading to 20,000 fall in police officers. Cases being dropped same day stats could be included. CPS - between 2010 and 2018 budget was cut by 25%. Staff loss of 1/ 3. Reports on failure to prosecute rape cases. Cost of digital technology.
  • Local and National Policies
    Policies can limit social control and impact on agencies.
    Prioritising offences created by new law can results in other offences being neglected. Enhanced powers to police to stop and search anyone for offensive weapons without having reasonable suspicion one was being carried.
  • Moral Imperatives
    • An overriding sense of what is right, so strong that it compels a person to act to uphold it, even if it means breaking the law. It can be difficult to change the mindset of a person acting on a moral imperative irrespective of them facing punishment.

3.4 Evaluating Agency Effectiveness in Social Control

  • The Police
    • Work in the community, prevent and detect crime, keep the public safe, combat antisocial behaviour. Can only investigate recorded crime and there are criticisms that they do not record all crime. Crime is on the rise in particular knife and gun crime and arrest rates falling.
  • The CPS
    • Independence from the police - although some may argue too close to the police - you could argue this point either way. Limitations can be exampled through cases such as Lord Janner and Damilola Taylor. Newspapers do not always report favourably particularly around rape cases. Due process model by implementing the full code test to making charging decisions - some would argue however that outcome should be justice focussed not success rate focussed.
  • The Courts/Judiciary
    • Karen Warner et al - Research. Despite being from different demographic group jury do not believe that bias exists. Discuss demographics of the judiciary. Age, gender, education levels, social class bias. Represented as old white upper class males.
  • Prisons
    • Public protection whilst the prisoner is in custody. Drug use whilst in prison on the rise ie spice. High smuggling rates - security. Causes of offending not being tackled. Focus on rehabilitation. Some opportunity to rehabilitate, particularly for sentences over 12 months - use statistics in support.
  • Probation Service
    • Their main job is to protect the public and to reduce reoffending. Supervise high risk offenders, often under licence arrangements. Partial privatization to Community Rehabilitation Companies saw increased reoffending and decreased support for those on probation. Frontline professionals who provide localised delivery of the supervision of offenders.
  • Charities/Pressure Groups: NACRO
    • Well established - been in existence for over 50 years. Both a charity and a pressure group. Rely on voluntary funding. Will only exist as long as people are ‘concerned’. Focussed on bringing education, training and advocacy for disadvantaged persons.