Campaigns on policy making

• Newspaper campaigns to affect policy making

  • Newspapers can play an important role, especially through campaigning to change the law
  • Newspapers can shape the law by mobilising public opinion so that the government takes action
• Sarah's Law


  • The News of World backed Sarah's parents in the campaign for Sarah's law and was central to the campaign's success
• Individual campaigns to affect policy making

  Many campaigns that are later taken up by newspapers, politicians and pressure groups are started by a lone individual, who feels strongly enough about a particular policy to take action themselves
• Pressure group campaigns to affect policy making

  Organisations that try to influence government policies in the interests of a particular cause. They play an important role in policy making, both by gaining public support and by persuading politicians who make laws that change is needed
• BLF


  • The BLF aims to prevent lung disease and raises awareness about the dangers that cause it and how to look after your lungs
  • In 2011 the BLF petitioned for a change in the law for smoking in cars with children. It gathered 50 000 signatures which were presented to 10 Downing street
  • The BLF carried out research into the dangers of second-hand smoke and the lasting damage it can do
  • This research showed 430 000 children were being exposed to second-hand smoke in family cars each week
  • On 1 October 2015 the government brought in a new law that made it an offence to smoke in a car in which children under 18 years of age were present
• Howard League


  • The Howard league campaign for change in the Criminal Justice System (CJS)
  • It has been campaigning for over 150 years
  • It aims for: Less crime, Safe communities, Fewer people in Prison
• UR Boss Campaign


  • Aim: to improve young people's experiences in the CJS offering support to young people in custody and the community
  • UR Boss change policy in several areas: Ending strip searching on arrival at a young offenders institution (YOI), Ensuring there is a framework young people have the right to have a complaint about their treatment in YOI reviewed by an independent complaints system, Closing all YOI for girls, Girls are now only held in secure units or residential care in a few UK cities, A change to remand legislation so that 17 years are treated as children
• One estimate put the number of victims of stalking at 120 000
• Stalking


  • In 2005 Claire Bernal was shot dead by her stalker when she was at work in a London department store
  • The police lacked a clear and consistent framework for investigating stalking and investigations were often left to the officer's discretion
  • Campaigned for harassment laws to be reformed
  • PAS created pressure for an independent parliamentary inquiry into stalking
  • The inquiry lasted several months and heard evidence from victims, relatives, academic experts, lawyers, police and probation officers
  • The inquiry heard about the intimidation, fear and psychological and physical harm that stalkers inflict on their victims and about the inadequate response from the authorities
  • The report was published in February 2012, with the support of 60 MPs, the police federation and the magistrate association
• Sarah's Law


  • Newspapers can play an important role, especially through campaigning to change the law
  • Newspapers can shape the law by mobilising public opinion so that the government takes action
  • The News of World backed Sarah's parents in the campaign for Sarah's law and was central to the campaign's success
  • In July 2000 it 'named and shamed' fifty people that it claimed were paedophiles
  • It promised to continue until it had revealed the ID of paedophiles in Britain
  • The level of public support made politicians take notice. Controversial as there is a right to anonymity
  • The campaign eventually succeeded in persuading the government to introduce the Child Sex Offender Disclosure scheme throughout England and Wales in 2011
  • Anyone can ask the police if someone in contact with a child has a record of sexual offences. However the police are not obliged to disclose the information and will only do so if a child is at risk of harm and a disclosure is necessary to safeguard the child
• Clare's Law


  • The official name is the domestic violence disclosure scheme
  • The focus and aim of the campaign was to give women the opportunity to see if their partner has a history of domestic abuse and it therefore allows them to make choices and seek help
  • It can also be concerned parents, siblings, aunties etc wanting to help a family/ friend
  • It is available in England and Wales
  • Clare met George Apleton on Facebook, she broke her relationship with him after finding he had an affair with numerous women on Facebook
  • She went to the police and told them he made threats to her about burning her house or killing her
  • The police did not do a lot to help Clare and did not inform her of his history of domestically abusing women
  • George killed Clare, by strangling her and setting her on fire
  • Michael then protested and fought to have the law changed so people in a relationship have the opportunity to see if their partner has a history of domestic abuse
  • As Michael said the police should have told Clare of his history, it would have saved her
• Support for the Clare's Law campaign

  • Michael attended the Houses of Parliament to explain his campaign
  • Hazel Blears (the local MP of Salford) arranged a parliamentary launch
  • Women groups e.g. the independent domestic abuse service
  • Greater Manchester police
  • Domestic violence charities also supported the campaign
• Clare's Law pilot scheme

  • Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire and Gwent
• Political support for Clare's Law

  • Teresa May who was the Home Secretary at the time
• Media support for Clare's Law


  • A journalist got in touch and asked to interview Michael on the campaign
  • Information of the campaign was on the Radio news Bulletin
  • Fabulous Magazine which published polls, finding 91% of women agreed that people should have the right to know of their partners history of domestic abuse
  • Petitions
• Clare's Law was rolled out on National Women's day
• 90 applications of disclosure in Greater Manchester
• 1,335 disclosures made across England and Wales
• Ann Ming


  • Ann Ming's daughter Julie Hogg (22 years old) was murdered
  • She married Andrew Hobb, they broke up, their son lived with her
  • She went missing, her house was neat and tidy (unusual) police began their search after 4 days
  • They searched the house and failed to find Julie's body under the bath, she was only found after her husband described a smell in the bathroom
  • She received 10k compensation
• Further support for a change in the double jeopardy rule came from Sir William Macpherson in his report on the police mishandling of Stephen Lawrence's murder investigation, which resulted in the failed prosecution of the 5 original suspects
• 2003 Criminal Justice Act


  • Permitted certain serious crimes to be retried, including: Murder, Manslaughter, Rape, Kidnapping, Major drug offences, Armed Robbery
  • A retrial can only take place if 'new and compelling evidence' emerges and the director of public prosecutions gives the go ahead
  • Only one retrial is allowed
• Michael Gibson


  • Michael Gibson was 20 when he was assaulted by David Clark in Darlington town centre in April 1992
  • Michael died after being in a coma for 22 months
  • David Clark could only be changed with GBH
  • He was jailed for 2 years and was free before Michael died
  • Michael's mother Pat campaigned to end the 'Year and a day rule'
  • This was a law dating back to 1278 that if victims of an assault lived for a year and a day their attackers could not be tried for murder or manslaughter
  • However, this law didn't take into account the advances in medicine that have been made since the 2000s
• The northern echo


  • Pat's local newspaper the Northern Echo launched the 'Justice for Michael' campaign'
  • They published a picture of Michael in a coma on the front cover and urged readers to sign a petition demanding for the year and a day rule to be scrapped
  • Thousands of readers signed the petition, and the local MP supported the campaign in parliament
• In 1996 a Law Reform (Year and a Day rule) Act was passed, which ended the year and a day rule