Community Justice in the SHD Diploma - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Community Justice in the SHD Diploma

Stephen Smith for University of Nottingham

Describe the elements of the justice system

Identify the factors affecting criminal behaviour and impact of crime and disorder

Explain how practitioners could apply knowledge of the justice system to Diploma delivery – not just Unit 6

Explore the use of resources to deliver this element of the Diploma

• What issues are raised by this story?

The main records of crime in England and Wales are:

• Recorded Crime Statistics
• British Crime Survey
• The Offending, Crime and Justice Survey

Using interactive resources to explore the justice sector

• Alan has been charged with assault & bailed to appear at Magistrates Court
• He assaulted a man in a nightclub in what was apparently an unprovoked attack
• The victim sustained quite serious facial injuries

What has happened so far?

• Arrest
• Process at Police station
• Interview
• Consideration of ‘caution’
• Consideration of bail / next Court / RIC
• Charged & bailed

There are a huge range of roles within the Police service, but they can be categorised into three main areas:

Police officers.

There are many different types of Police officer, but all officers have the same over riding core responsibilities:

• The prevention & detection of crime and anti-social behaviour
• Providing support for victims of crime and witnesses
• Multi agency work to reduce crime and the fear of crime

Special Constables.

“Specials” are volunteers who work alongside regular officers for at least 4 hours per week, often more.

Police Community Support Officers.

Police Community Support Officers were introduced by the Police Reform Act 2002 with the aim of providing communities with an increased police presence on the streets.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was set up and in 1986. The CPS is responsible for:

• Advising the police on cases for possible prosecution.
• Reviewing cases submitted by the police.
• Where the decision is to prosecute, determine the charge in all but minor cases.
• Preparing cases for court.
• Presentation of cases at court.

The stated role of the CPS is to

“prosecute cases firmly, fairly and effectively when there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and when it is in the public interest to do so”

What is a Pre-Sentence Report?

A Pre-Sentence Report is written if the defendant pleads guilty or the Court finds them guilty. It is written by a Probation Officer to tell the Judge or Magistrate more about the defendant so they can decide how best to deal them.

What is in the Report?

• details of the offence and any previous convictions
• circumstances of the offence
• risk of re-offending
• assessment of risk to public safety
• a proposal for a suitable sentence
• any views the victim wants to bring to the Court’s attention

• Take on the case
• Risk assessment
• Pre Sentence Report

• Royal Courts of Justice
• Crown Court
• County Court
• Magistrates Court
• Youth Court

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 brought into force from April 2005 the ‘generic community sentence’, also known as the community order.

This allows judges and magistrates to combine what previously would have been different orders and tailor the sentence to fit the needs of the offender.

• Supervision, by the probation service
• Compulsory unpaid work
• Participation in specified activities. This may include improving basic skills or making reparation to the people affected by the crime.
• Prohibition from undertaking specific activities
• Undertaking accredited programmes, which aim to change offenders’ behaviour
• Curfew,
• Exclusion, where an offender can be excluded from specified areas
• Residence requirement,
• Mental health treatment, which can only be required with the consent of the offender
• Drug rehabilitation, again this can only be imposed with the consent of the offender
• Alcohol treatment.
• Attendance centre.

Sentencers can select up to twelve different requirements

• Sentencing

• The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) was created in 2004 following a review of correctional services.
• NOMS will also be responsible for designing interventions and services for offenders that are designed to reduce reoffending and reconviction and protect the public.
• NOMS covers a number of organisations, including prisons and probation, to ensure that a range of services are available to adult offenders and to those on remand throughout England and Wales.
• A range of organisations from all sectors work with NOM to contribute to its aims by providing services which include offender management, custody, community punishments, and programmes and interventions.

• Arrest
• Process at Police station
• Interview
• Consideration of ‘caution’
• Consideration of bail / next Court / RIC
• Charged & bailed

• Pre court
• 1st Tier
• Youth Rehabilitation Order
• Custody

• There is a YOT in every local authority in England and Wales.
• They are made up of representatives from the police, Probation Service, social services, health, education, drugs and alcohol misuse and housing officers.
• Each YOT is managed by a YOT manager who is responsible for co-ordinating the work of the youth justice services.
• Operate a ‘scaled approach’ to interventions

• Prevention
• Assessment
• Final Warnings
• PSR
• Bail support
• Supervision of orders
• Working with victims
• Anti social behaviour
• Parenting

• What issues are raised by this story?

• What are the issues from this story?

Anti-social behaviour, as defined in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, is when a person has acted in a manner that “caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself”.

verbal abuse

criminal damage

vandalism

noise nuisance

graffiti

engaging in threatening behaviour in large groups

smoking or drinking alcohol under age

substance misuse

joy-riding

begging

prostitution

kerb-crawling

throwing missiles

assault

vehicle-related nuisance

• Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were introduced by section 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in England and Wales and have been available since April 1999.
• ASBOs are civil orders to protect the public from behaviour that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
• An order contains conditions prohibiting the offender from carrying out specific anti-social acts or from entering defined areas and is effective for a minimum of two years.
• The orders are not criminal sanctions and are not intended to punish the offender.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR INJUNCTIONS

COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS

CRACK HOUSE CLOSURE ORDERS

DEMOTION ORDERS

YOUTH INCLUSION SUPPORT PANELS

DISPERSAL OF GROUPS

FAMILY INTERVENTION PROJECTS

INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT ORDERS

PARENTING CONTRACTS

PARENTING ORDERS

(INC 2003 FREE-STANDING)

PARENTING PROGRAMMES

What do we know about:

• Gender
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Lifetime Offending Patterns

Research Findings 171 - Patterns of offending behaviour: a new approach

Research Findings 281 – Criminal careers and life successes: new findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

Home Office Online Report 33/05 - Minority ethnic groups and crime: findings from the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 2003

• What are “risk factors”
• What are “protective factors”
• “Pathways out of offending”

• Tutor support pack
• Case studies (2 x Edexcel)
• News stories (in TV & radio)
• Probation service DVD
• Internet – e.g.http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ia/atlas.html

• Custody
• Victims of Crime & Witnesses support
• Restorative Justice & Victim / Offender Mediation
• Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships
• Neighbourhood Policing
• Re-integration of offenders

Describe the elements of the justice system

Identify the factors affecting criminal behaviour and impact of crime and disorder

Explain how practitioners could apply knowledge of the justice system to Diploma delivery – not just Unit 6

Explore the use of resources to deliver this element of the Diploma