3.1✅

• social control involves getting people to conform to society's norms and laws
• there are a range of agencies involved in maintaining social control = some are sponsored + controlled by the government e.g. Police, The CPS, the judiciary, prisons + probation service
• other agencies take place outside of government control e.g. voluntary organisations for example charities and pressure groups = there are also many that privately run prisons
• police-philosophy: the philosophy of the police was summed up by Sir Robert Peel, who in 1829 founded the Metropolitan Police = the 1st modern professional force in Britain
• police-philosophy: according to Peel the basic mission of the police is to prevent crime and disorder
• police-philosophy: according to Peel the police's ability to perform their duties depends on the public's cooperation and approval
• police-philosophy: according to Peel the use of physical force is a last resort
• police-philosophy: according to peel the police's duty is to impartially serve the law
• police-philosophy: according to Peel the police are the public and the public are the police, the police are just citizens in uniform, paid to do full-time what all citizens must do = this being to uphold the law
• police-philosophy: in Peel's philosophy = the police are the servants of the public + the law, policing relies on the consent of the public and this is to be achieved by upholding the law w/ the minimal use of the force
• police-philosophy: Peel's principles are embedded in the Police Code of Ethics = which stresses that the police are public servants who need to maintain the respect and support of the public in order to perform their duty
• police-aims + objectives: according to the Association of Chief Police Officers the aims of the police are to keep the peace and maintain order
• police-aims + objectives: the aim of the police is to protect life and property
• police-aims + objectives: the aim of the police is to prevent, detect and investigate crime
• police-aims + objectives: the aims of the police are to bring offenders to justice
• police-aims + objectives: the police seek to achieve these aims using the powers seen in Unit 3 Topic 1.4
• police-aims + objectives: they have specific legal powers to stop, question, search, arrest, detain in a police station and interview a member of the public in relation to a crime
• police-aims + objectives: most of these powers are given under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
• police-funding: in 2020/21 the total police budget was £15.2 billion = this comes from 3 sources
• police-funding: about 2/3 comes from central government
• police-funding: most of the rest comes from local council tax
• police-funding: a small amount comes from charging for services such as policing football matches
• police-funding: the police's funding fell by 19% between 2010 and 2018 = this led to a fall of 20,000 in police numbers during the same period, by 2020 there were 123,000 police officers in England and Wales
• police-national + local reach: in the UK currently there are 39 regional police forces in England and 4 in Wales e.g. the Metropolitan Police, South Wales Police
• police-national + local reach: in the UK currently there is 1 police force for Scotland and 1 for Northern Ireland
• police-national + local reach: there are also specialist police organisations w/ the UK-wide reach such as the National Crime Agency, the British Transport Police + the Border Force
• police-types of criminality + offender: the police deal w/ all types of offence and offender although some specialist law enforcement agencies do deal w/ certain kinds of crime and criminal e.g. HM Revenue + Customs deal w/ tax evasion + tax fraud
• police-duties: most police have general duties including patrolling a particular area or 'beat', working w/ the local community, responding to the public's calls for help (both routine + emergency), securing crime scenes, obtaining evidence from witnesses + apprehending offenders
• specialist policing: there are also departments w/ specialist duties including the work of detectives in the CID (criminal investigations department), fraud + drug squads, and Special Branch, these are found in most police forces
• specialist policing: some police forces also have other specialist units such as covert operations and surveillance teams, traffic and mounted police, air support, river police, underwater search teams + dog handler units
• specialist policing: some other policing specialists operate nationally as a part of the National Crime Agency such as child exploitation and online protection (CEOP), or as a part of the Metropolitan Police e.g. SO15 = the counter terrorism command ('SO' stands for special operations)
• unarmed policing: w/ the exception of certain specialist units, the police in Britain are largely unarmed
• unarmed policing: this reflects Peel's philosophy that use of force is a last resort in upholding the law, this is unlike the position of the police in most other countries who are generally armed
• special constables: they are unpaid, part-time volunteers who undergo the same training and have the same legal powers as paid officers
• police community support officers (PCSOs) have more limited powers often dealing w/ anti-social behaviour on the streets e.g. issuing fixed-penalty notices for littering or confiscating alcohol from under-age drinkers, they can also ask a police officer to arrest a person
• police + crime commissioners (PCCs): elected representatives of the people of the area covered by a police force (e.g. Bedfordshire, West Yorkshire), they give the local population a voice in policing by being directly accountable to the electorate
• police + crime commissioners (PCCs): their aim is to cut crime and ensure efficient and effective policing
• police + crime commissioners (PCCs): they set the local force's policing priorities and their budget and they hold the Chief Constable to account for the force's performance (including dismissing them when necessary)
• CPS-aims + objectives: the CPS is the main public prosecutor in England and Wales, it was set up in 1986 under the Prosecution of Offences Act in 1985
• CPS-aims + objectives: it took over the prosecuting role from the police because there was a risk of bias in allowing the police to both investigate and prosecute cases