Limitations of Agencies in Social Control

• Recidivism


  The relapse of an offender into criminal behaviour
• If offenders fail to rehabilitate and continue to commit crime, then social control will never be achieved
• Recidivism is one of the reasons that the prison population has dramatically increased over the last 20 years
• Prisons - Access to Resources


  • Access to resources and support limits prisoners from being able to rehabilitate and therefore limits social control
  • Upon release from prison an offender will face problems with finance, accommodation and employment or training opportunities
• 37% of former prisoners reported having nowhere to live. One respondent described how the only way to avoid sleeping rough was to fund his B&B accommodation by reverting to drug dealing.
• Between 1993 and 2015 the prison population in England and Wales has nearly doubled, with an extra 41,000 people behind bars, taking the number of people in custody at the end of June 2016 to 89,332
• Prisoners who


  • Worked while in prison
  • Attended vocational training
  • Enrolled on programmes to address offending behaviour and to reduce drug or alcohol
  • Reported holding qualifications (GCSE and A levels) were more likely to be in employment shortly after release (compared with those with no qualifications)
• Anyone leaving custody who has served two days or more, is required to serve a minimum of 12 months under supervision in the community
• The recall population is now 19% higher than when the changes were introduced in February 2015, with nearly 1,100 more people
• Public sector funding is inevitably limited and cuts in budget will impact on the effectiveness of agencies providing social control
• Prospects for Prisoners


  • Factors associated with increased reporting of employment after release were identified
  • Factors independently associated with reduced employment after release: Homeless prisoners after release, Prisoners reporting a long-term limiting illness, Prisoners attending treatment or counselling for a drug or alcohol problem after release
• Re-conviction rates within a year of release from prison is very high at 48%
• Police Funding


  The police service has faced cuts in its budget over recent years and sees no sign of money being increased over the next few years
• Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway


  The Government announced plans to introduce it to give prisoners opportunities that count towards completion of a formal apprenticeship on release
• Those serving short sentences of less than 12 months have higher re-conviction rates at 63% for adults
• Cuts to Policing


  • Fewer officers recruited
  • Fewer training opportunities
  • Reduced physical resources
  • Fewer call handlers
• Re-conviction rates for women who were released within the last year after serving a short prison sentence jumps to 73%
• National Policies


  • Government will set policies that influence policing priorities
  • Government may introduce new offences
  • Government funding may be allocated to support in a certain area of crime
• CPS Funding


  According to The Law Society Gazette (Baksi, 2014), 'staff cuts at the Crown Prosecution Service have led to a marked decline in its performance with inadequate case progression and preparation'
• 11% of those released from custody in 14/15 had no settled accommodation.
• Re-conviction rates for children released within a year from prison and serving a short sentence is 77%
• Discharge Grant


  • £76 given on day of release
  • From 1997-2021, the value was only £46
  • Ineligibility: Prisoners released on remand, fine defaulters and people serving less than 14 days
• Post-covid, the Government pledged to provide further investment in the CPS to get through the backlog of people awaiting trial as a result of the pandemic
• National Policies


  • 2010 - 2015 the government promoted a policy to tackle knife, gun and gang crimes
  • Gang injunctions
• The annual total economic and social cost of re-offending is estimated to be £18.1bn
• Charity and Pressure Group Funding


  • With fewer public donations, they are unable to function
  • Government grants that can be claimed also are being reduced
  • Charities have lost more than £3.8 billion in grants from the government over the last decade
• It may seem as though the Police are focusing on some crimes, but not others, which can be criticised
• Housing Benefit


  • Entitlement stops for sentenced prisoners expected to be in prison for more than 13 weeks
  • Many have little chance of keeping their tenancy until the end of their sentence and lose their housing
• Social Learning Theory


  Offenders learning and copying from others in the prison system, becoming 'better' criminals and encouraged to continue offending upon release
• National Policies - the CPS


  • CPS also focuses on certain policies in crime and prosecution
• Charities and pressure groups focusing on social control have their effectiveness limited, as they are substantially dependent on voluntary contributions
• According to the social justice charity NACRO (National Association of the Care and Resettlement of Offenders), out of the 38,000 people they helped in 2016/2017, 48% had a primary or secondary support need to manage the risk of offending
• Civil liberties


  Basic rights and freedoms granted to citizens of a country through the law, including freedom of speech, movement, assembly, association, and religious worship
• Nacro loses 103 staff to cuts and contracts winding up
• National Policies - the CPS


  • August 2017 = Former head of the CPS, Alison Saunders, indicated there would be a crackdown on social media hates crimes
• Risk Management


  Lack of support or resources available may mean that prisoners are tempted to return to crime
• Official figures showed a 20% rise in hate crime reported in the first quarter of 2017. However, hate crimes are believed to be significantly under-reported
• There are foreign Nationals with criminal convictions who cannot be removed from the UK due to international regulations. Deportation cannot take place due to prisoners being in danger in their home country
• Likely impact of lack of charity funding


  • Prisons and Probation
  • Police
  • CPS
  • Charities/Pressure groups
• Prison Overcrowding and Budget Cuts


  • The costs resulting from these shortcomings are "immeasurable", MPs found
  • Prison funding cuts 'are putting vulnerable prisoners at risk'
  • Budget cuts affect lack of resources and support for ex-offenders
  • Budget cuts also negatively effect the welfare of the prisoners
  • Prison population has more than doubled in the 25 years
  • Capacity has not kept pace with demand
  • Prisons are over-crowded
  • Staffing shortages
  • Fewer rehabilitation efforts, programmes, treatment