CR1013: CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
(Policing, courts, prisons & community)
TOPIC A01 (KNOWLEDGE) A02/3 (EVIDENCE+EVAL)
- 1950s-60s: Crime was a central issue to politicians and govt. - 1974, American academic Martinson: researched into rehabilitative
- 1960s: rehabilitative focus. End of 60s: focus changes to police + political power programs & found that ‘nothing works’
THE to prevent crime.
POLITICIZATION - 1970s: Economic crisis, failures of CJS policing. - Thatcher years: increased support + funding for police, higher prison
- 1979-90s Thatcher years: Right shift from offender (welfare approach) to offence numbers & ‘zero tolerance’ for crime + disorder.
OF CRIMINAL (law&order approach) - John Major 1993: “Society needs to condemn a little more and
JUSTICE - 1990-97 Major’s govt: reassertion of L&O focus. understand a little less” (Huge repudiation of welfare approach).
- 1997-2010: New Labour (Tony Blair) “Tough on crime. Tough on it causes” - Labour party manifesto (1997) “We will tackle the unacceptable
- 2010-15: Coalition govt (David Cameron) Austerity following 2008 economic level of anti-social behaviour and crime on our streets” (0 tolerance)
crisis. Budget cuts for policing, prisoning & welfare. Rising crime rates.
- BJ government (2019-): Rise in populism - Populism: protests! Eg. BLM. Record low of rape convictions.
POLICING: PAST & PRESENT - Shakespeare’s comic constable: Dogberry. Stupid, does a bad job.
- B4 THE POLICE: Medieval constables. Represented ‘collective responsibility’ - Statute of Westminster (1285) ordered boroughs to appoint men.
POLICE and were ordinary people chosen by the king. - Title of ‘JOTP’ was introduced in 1361
(history & development; - Watchmen: Organized watches, comprising of 4-12 men who patrolled in - 1737: Act of parliament for a “better regulated night watch”
strategies & structure; groups to maintain peace. - 1749: Henry & John Fielding employ professional ‘thief-takers’ &
organizational culture; - Justices of the peace: Socially superior royal officials who were paid. Presided establish Bow Street Runners.
accountability) at courts, decided innocence/guilt. (medieval magistrates) - Wealthy: resented high cost, interference in freedom and property
- 1700s: abundance of crime and disorder. Food shortages riots, gin crisis, etc. rights. Workers & radicals: police are repressive agents, targeting
1740s: Increase in thieving leads to rise of ‘thief-takers’. 1749: BSR are a semi- lifestyle & activities.
professional policing unit. - Robert Peel (home secretary) passed 1829 Metropolitan Police Act:
- Early 1800s: widespread resistance to organized policing across classes. that established the modern police in London (only).
- 1829 Act: Police were ‘independent’ but must maintain public’s willing - Rowan & Wayne (commissioners of MetroPolice) “The ability of the
cooperation. police to perform their duties is dependent on public approval”
- 1839/56: policing moves to borough & county levels due to civil conflict & - 1839: County Police Acts, 1856: County & Borough Police Act
resistance to the police force.
- 1950s+ : cultural issues changed relations between police & public. Decline in - POLICE LEGITIMACY: Bureaucracy, chain of command (have to
deference, growth of counter-culture (youth/liberation movements, civil report to someone above), Laws (that check their powers), Minimal use
disobedience, more questioning of authority). of force (reserved for desperate occasions), Accountability.
,Rise in policing issues: corruption, accountability, concerns of efficiency, rough - 1970s-80s (under Thatcher): Firearms issue increased by 400%
treatment, etc. - Violence: deaths of Kevin Gateley, Blair Peach, Stephen Lawrence.
- Challenges to policing: Corruption scandals (eg. drugs/robbery), violent public - Brixton riots: as a result of harassment and racism alleged by black
order tactics, communities.
- (2010-) Neo-liberal policing: Budget cuts, declining numbers, rising crime, POLICE CULTURE & CHANGE
- Current challenges: reform of police structure (responding to online/border - Skolnick (1966): “working personality” of police is linked to
crime) budget & staffing, recruiting & training, increasing diversity, etc. social/political context & work pressure: 1) exposure to danger, 2)
- Current issues: policing COVID, responding to mentally ill, domestic violence, problems of authority, 3) need for efficiency. As police are socially
knife crime, county lines drug offending, terrorism. isolated & alienated from the public, they heavily depend on each
other. They judge by appearances ‘symbolic assailants’ (stereotypes)
POLICE CULTURE & CHANGE - Evaluation of ^ : presents a negative and monolithic view of PC, when
- PC affects how they interact w/ various individuals & groups (eg. aggressive it just focuses on street cops.
ppl) - Reus-Ianni: “there is a range of PC which compete & conflict with one
- Affects how they do their job whether they ignore behaviour, make an arrest, another.”
etc) = Street cop culture: action-orientated, danger & excitement of crime
- Whether they will back up corrupt behaviour among colleagues = Management cop culture: organized, movement beyond ^ to secure
- Women In policing: 30% of police in England and Wales are women. promotion, lose trust of SC.
- Race and ethnicity: Very few black and minority ethnic officers are in senior
ranks. (From 2007-2010, only a +0.9% increase) - Skolnick (1966): Ethnic minority citizens are among the symbolic
- Police tend to assume that racial minorities are more suspicious. assailants identified by police.
- Sexuality & the police: - Scarman (1981): “police are not institutionally racist” but due to the
= Mark Burke (1993): Gay communities historically subjected to police rise of crime they assume that “all young black people are potential
harassment and discrimination. Research has found that gay Male officers face criminals”
widespread hostility in the workplace. Officers who don't conform to (white, - institutional racism proof: murder of Stephen Lawrence who was
hetero, male) culture Often lead dual lives, disguising sexual orientation at work. stabbed to death by 5 white youths but police initially saw S as the
= 21st century: More diversity, LGBT recruitment is part of police reform agenda. offender rather than the victim. No arrests were made, case was
Diversity training, legal protections, etc. dropped.
= Jones & Williams (2013) Survey of 836 LGB officers found that 20% report - Macpherson report (1999): “collective failure of an organisation to
discrimination from groups & senior ranks. deliver service to ppl because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.”
- Fear in police culture: officers are trained to believe that their lives are
constantly in danger since they’re always exposed to it. Eg. PC Outten was PLURAL POLICING
attacked with a machete in a routine stop. - The proportion of black and minority ethnic officers (BAME) has
PLURAL POLICING written from 4.7% in 2010 to 6.3% in 2017.
- Ethnic diversity in police forces: overall population of just 14%. So even though - The proportion of female officers has increased from 25.7% in 2010
numbers are increasing, they are still underrepresented. to 29.1% in 2017.
- The highest share of Female offices are in the lowest rank of constable. - Cressida Dick who was appointed in 2017, is the first female
- Five UK forces have only one BAME officer: (Cleveland, Durham, North Wales, commissioner of the Metropolitan police service.
Warwickshire & Dyfed-Powys).
, - BAME officers in senior ranks= 3.7% (2018) - (Oct 2020) Bug caught police unit making racist and sexist remarks.
- Policing & Crime Act 2009: aimed to increase accountability of local forces. - Beer QC: “..Isolation and a lack of leadership..appears to have led to
Police reform through regulations of alcohol, improving efficiency & focus on sex a toxic, apparent culture developing in the unit which is inconsistent
offending & gang activity in local areas.
with 21st century values.”
- Police accountability:
= Prior 2012: tripartite arrangement between home secretary, local police
authorities & each chief constable. Public liase with police authority to make sure
they had particular priorities. Police authority then hold chief constable to
account.
= After 2012: Public elects police & crime commissioner. They’re overseen by a
police and crime panel.
- Three types of accountability:
- Upwards (to higher authority) - Downwards (to citizens) - Horizontally (to
partner in contract)
- 2010 govt wanted to improve downwards accountability. Introduced elected - Interferes w/ operational discretion of chiefs; increases politicization.
PCCs and gave public greater access to police data.
- Private security: “Protection against depredation, & in particular the protection
of info, persons, and property” - Defining characteristic: exist to serve employers rather than public
- Types: - PS workers now outnumber police officers in many countries. (Private
= Manned private security: personnel engaging in security (eg. your home guards, schools, hotels, etc.)
guards) - UK, 2015 policing employment: 151,000 police officers.
= Hardware sector: anything installed to increase protection at home/belongings = 232,000 private guards.
- Relationship w/ public: PS industry aims to avoid police hostility by - PS favours the rich as it provides security for people who can pay.
emphasizing prevention over investigation. (Shearing & Stenning 1981) Inequality between classes. Ps takes over police security only for those
- “Complementary thesis” PS is filling the vacuum of police employment. rich enough.
POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY DILEMMAS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- IPCC was established in 2004 (by Police Reform Act). Independently
investigate into all deaths following police contact. Was replaced IOPC in 2018.
- 1967 Criminal Law Act: “A person may use such force as is reasonable in the
prevention of crime.”
- Jean Charles De Menzes: was killed in the (failed) 2005 suicide bomb attacks
by the police after he was wrongly deemed as one of the fugitives. No individual
officers were disciplined. Commissioner of Met Police were forced to resign by
the mayor.
