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WJEC Unit 4- CRIME & PUNISHMENT Criminology Notes
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WJEC Unit 4- CRIME & PUNISHMENT Criminology Notes Full unit 4 notes
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Criminology: Crime & Punishment——— ( 1.1 Describe processes used for law making) ———
Government Parliament Democracy:
Parliament is made up of:
House of Commons: made up of MP’s voted in by the public from their constituency
House of Lords: contains hereditary peers whose families are born lords as well as individuals who have
been appointed Lords i.e Lord Sugar.
Monarch: The Queen/King who is head of state in the UK. All bills have to get approval from the monarch
before being passed as a law.
To create a new law, it starts with:
A Green Paper: Allows public consultation on a potential new law to be discussed.
White Paper: After consultation a White Paper is created with formal proposals. This allows a draft act (a bill)
to be created & presented to Parliament.
Government Processes
1. First Reading: Name of the bill and main aims read out. Formal vote taken.
2. Second Reading: Main debate of bill followed by another vote.
3. Committee stage: A group of representatives look at the bill to address any issues and suggest possible
changes.
4. Report stage: Committee reports back to the House who then vote on any proposed amendments.
5. Third Reading: Final vote on the Bill takes place.
6. Royal Assent: The Monarch signs the bill. She cannot refuse as it is now only a symbolic stage as the Head
of State.
7. The Bill then becomes an Act of Parliament.
Examples of criminal statutes:
The Criminal justice act 2003- removal of the double jeopardy rule, after the Stephen Lawrence case the
murder was tried again for the second time and was convicted.
The crime sentences act 1997- introduced minimum sentences for a range of repeat offences ie. rape and
violent offences having automatic life sentences.
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, Criminology: Crime & Punishment
Judicial Processes: ‘Judge made law’
Two ways of making laws in the UK
- Through parliament (statutory interpretation)
- Through judicial precedent.
Judicial precedent
● Law made by judges in courts. When a case appears before them they must make a judgement and
this forms the law. It must be followed in similar cases in the future.
● This is called ‘common law’, that is judge made law.
● There is a court hierarchy system and lower courts (magistrate courts) must abide by the decisions
and rules made by higher courts.
Exceptions to precedents:
● Distinguishing- if the case facts are different enough the court does not need to follow the precedent
of the earlier case.
● Overruling- courts higher up the status i.e Supreme court, can decide that the lower court had made
a wrong decision and can overturn it. By overruling the lower court's decision when the case reaches
appeals.
Example: R V R 1992 Overruled:
● Facts:husband attempted to rape his wife, man used his marriage contract to show she gave consent.
● Overruled: rape within marriage 2003.
● had been made illegal after this case, as couples have equal rights.
Statutory interpretation:
This is where judges in superior courts (Court of Appeal) are called upon to interpret words and phrases
within a law. They have the ability to interpret the meaning of the law and make a verdict on the case.
They do this by interpreting it the following ways:
● Literal Rule- judges using meanings and definitions of words in a statute
I.e. R V Maginnis 1987 case involving illegal drugs, and the judges interpret the word ‘supply’
● Golden Rule - expanded interpretation of the literal rule, and allowing us to widely interpret the
definition to suit the case.
I.e. if someone says they were ON the property i.e outside, rather than IN the property, court would use the
golden rule to avoid confusion.
● Mischief Rule - allows the court to enforce what the statue indented to say and achieve, rather than
what the actual words state.
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, Criminology: Crime & Punishment
——— ( 1.2 Describe the organisation of the CJS in E&W ) ———
Agencies involved in the Criminal Justice system in England & Wales
Police:
● Arrest and charge individuals, attend and secure crime scenes.
● Ensure legislations are not being violated or breached by the public
Ministry of Justice:
● organisation/agency that review and monitor legislations
● Ensures laws are up to date, and manage the law department
HMC & TS:
● Responsible for the administration side
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service:
● Prosecute individuals, independent service.
● They review evidence if it is valid enough to take to court
His Majesty's Prison Service:
● Manage most of the prisons in the UK
National Probation Service:
● Manages those on probation to ensure they don’t break any rules, or risk harm to others.
Sentencing Council:
● Produce guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and aims to increase public understanding of
sentencing
Campaign for Change (Pressure Groups):
● Work in the public's interest, by protesting and campaigning for changes with faulty/outdated/unfair
laws
Overview of the Criminal Justice System:
● Law creation & Administration- passing of criminal law by parliament and running of the justice
system by the government departments.
● Law Enforcement- mainly by the police on a daily basis.
● The courts- includes the prosecution and defence, by decking the outcome of a criminal case
● Punishment of convicted offenders- by the prisons and probation services.
Describe the organisation and role of agencies involved in the CJS:
Police:
● Work with courts to ensure defendants in custody are brought before them.
● Give evidence in court.
● Work with probation in managing an offender nearing release.
● Work closely with the CPS in trying to charge and prosecute offenders.
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, Criminology: Crime & Punishment
Ministry of Justice:
● Oversee the work of Courts
● Oversee the work of probation services
● Oversee the prison systems
● Deal with legislation and guidelines for working in different organisations of the CJS
Courts/Sentencing Council:
● Contributes to law creation through judicial precedent and statutory interpretation
● Liaise with police and prisons to ensure the safe delivery of prisoners to court.
● Arrange video links if a prisoner cannot attend court
● Prisoners held in court cells pending their court hearing & return to prison
HM Courts & Tribunal service:
● Work w/ police, for the safe delivery of suspects/prisoners to court. And can act as a witness
● Tribunal service fund the courts and judges, and supervise the effective running of the court system
Crown Prosecution Service:
● Advise the police on charging a suspect.
● Work with the police to check evidence collated & if there is enough evidence to charge a suspect.
● Appear in courts to conduct the advocacy of a case.
HM Prison Service:
● Work with probation services when a prisoner is to be released
● Lawyers may ask for prison visits to have legal consultations with client
● Defendants denied bail by courts and police are remanded to prison.
● Judge & courts decide prison term for offenders
● Police Facilitates interviews as part of ongoing investigations
National Probation service:
● Arrest a prisoner recalled to prison whilst on probation
● Liaise with police should there be any issues whilst a person is on probation
● Work with other charity organisations to help prisoners leave prison successfully & have support
● Involved w Voluntary organisations & campaigns: to change the justice system
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