AC 3.1

• what is ac 3.1 about? (briefly describe/ explain)

  • role/agency question
  • either 4/6 marker
  • talks about social control (stopping crime)
• how do You format a 4/6 marker question for ac 3.1 (roles and agencies)

  • Para 1: Aims and philosophy, plus any key act
  • para 2: working practices - specific to outreach and type of crime /offenders
  • (6 marks) Para 3: funding
• what are the agencies

  • Police
  • charities/pressure groups
  • prisons
  • probation
  • judiciary
  • cps
• Roles of the police

  Protect, preserve and prevent
• Statutory powers of the police

  • Arrest
  • Search
  • Detain
  • Interview
• Police philosophy


  • Peel came up with it
  • Physical force should only be used as a last resort
• Police working practices


  • Specialist units such as anti-terrorism
  • PCSOs focus on anti-social behaviour
  • PCCs regional elected
• Police outreach


  • National outreach - work together through police database
  • Local outreach - 39 forces all over England
• The police deal with all crime and types of offender
• Police funding sources


  • Central government grant
  • Council tax
  • Charging for services at events such as football events
• The 2018/19 police budget was 12.3 billion
• CPS


  Crown Prosecution Service
• Aims of the CPS

  • Review cases
  • Check evidence
  • Decide who to prosecute
• The CPS was introduced under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985
• CPS philosophy


  Values such as being independent and fair
• CPS working practices: CPS Direct

  1. Available 24/7 to police

  2. Full Code test to see if they should prosecute

  3. Test 1: Evidential test (reliable, credible, admissible)

  4. Test 2: Public interest test (worth time and money)
• CPS working practices: Outreach


  • National: All decisions overseen by head of CPS (Stephen Parkinson)
  • Local: 14 areas in England and Wales
• Types of crimes and offenders the CPS deals with

  • All but minor crimes that the police deal with (e.g. traffic violations)
• CPS Funding


  • Mainly from government but also from confiscated assets
  • Budget approx half a billion per year
• Aims of probation

  Police protect the public by the effective rehab of offenders, by reducing the causes which contribute to offending and enabling offenders to turn lives around
• Philosophy of probaion

  Belief offenders can change got the better and become positive members of the community
• Working practices of the probation service

  • Preparing the pre-sentence reports
  • Managing premises
  • Assembling offenders for release
• National Probation Service (NPS)

  • Deals with high risk offenders
  • Works to the same standards throughout the country
  • Split into 7 sections across the county to ensure they both have local and national outreach
  • Proposed to reorganise into ten sections
• Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs)

  • Dealt with low risk offenders
  • Private sector companies
  • Gained money from the government by meeting rehab targets
• The whole of the probation service deals with a variety of different offences but all offenders that they work have been deemed as safe to be in the community
• Around 250,000 people are under probation service at any given time
• Funding of the probation service

  • Provided by the government
  • Shares the budget with the prison service
• Judiciary aims 


  Interpret and apply the law to cases in court
• Crown court

  • Judge must manage the trial, ensure fairness to all parties, explain the legal issues and procedures to members of the jury, sum up the evidence and pass sentence if defendant is found guilty
• Appeals court


  • Judges make rulings on the appeals that come before them from lower courts in the hierarchy, may involve creating precedents which bind future decisions to lower courts
• Philosophy of judiciary


  • Judicial independence
  • Impartiality
  • Integrity
• Working practices of judiciary 


  1. Security of tenure

  2. Judicial precedent- make rulings that other courts following

  3. Statutory rule- whitely vs Chappell (absurd ruling)

  4. Golden ruling and mischief rule
• Supreme Court


  • Has nationwide jurisdiction and settle points of law or national importance
• Crown courts


  • Handle local cases
• Types of criminal cases judiciary deals with 


  • All types of offences and offender, except for least serious cases, which are usually dealt with by magistrates or by cautions and fixed penalty notices issued by the police
• Judiciary is government funded, the pay awarded to judges based on the advice of an independent board (senior salaries review body) who make recommendations to the prime minister
• 2021- lord chief of justice (highest judge) payed £267,000 and district judge (Lowest) £114,000
• Aims of charities and pressure groups

  • General aim- help with rehab and supporting safer communities
  • Howard league for penal reform: less crime, safer communities, fewer people in prison and seeks to transform poison
• NARCO's philosophy


  Everyone deserves a good education, a safe and secure place to live, the right to be heard, and the chance to start again, with support from someone on their side. We see your future, whatever the past
• Narcos- ban the box campaign


  1. Stop the tick box of criminal conviction- partial success, civil service

  2. Narco and Howard league- end of Friday releases- don't release prisoners on a Friday

  3. Howard league- book for prisoners - stopped books being a perk- won an award