Causes of crime
Name the 3 categories of causes of crime
Social, economic and Biological
Who can be impacted by crime (name the categories)
perpetrator, victim, family, community, wider society
What are the 3 levels of courts
Justice of the peace, sheriffs and high
What is the difference between a role and a power of the police, give one of each
Power: Detain and arrest, stop and search, enter a premise.
Role: prevent crime, protect people and property, investigate crime
Name 3 alternatives to prisons
CPO
Fine
Home detention
Describe a social cause of crime
Peer pressure, lack of role models and lack of education
Describe how the community can be impacted by crime
Value decrease, environmental poverty, loss of community spirt
What is the maximum fine and jail sentence of all 3 levels of courts
Justice of the peace - £2500, 60 days
Sheriff - summary: £5000, six months, solemn: no maximum fine, five years
High - unlimited
What are the 3 aims of prisons with examples
Punish (Andrew Wallace)
Keep public safe (Arron Campbell)
Rehabilitate (education programmes in Scottish prison)
What is this an example of
For example, Janine O’Neil spoke about how spending so much of her youth in prison saw her learn more about committing crimes than being a positive member of society.
Name all 3 biological causes of crime
hormones, mental disorder, brain development
with an example, how can a perpetrator be impacted by crime
loss of freedom, social exclusion, unemployment
How are the courts effective (use PEE)
They keep the public safe.
By locking up dangerous criminals the courts keep people off the streets who might otherwise commit horrific crimes.
For example, by locking up Aaron Campbell, the murder of Alesha MacPhail.
They can imprison perpetrators of crime in Scotland.
All three criminal courts are able to send someone to prison for the crimes that they have committed as a good way of punishing them for their crimes.
Kevin Guthrie to prison after he sexually assaulted a woman in Glasgow is an effective way that the courts have responded to this crime.
They deter people from committing crimes.
A key role of the courts is to punish offenders for what they have done so other potential criminals might be put off committing crimes after seeing how others were punished.
For example, the courts can issue tougher punishments for people who commit hate crimes as a way of deterring people from being racists or homophobic.
How are prisons effective, with examples (2)
Rehabilitate (Scottish prisons offering hair dressing)
Keep public safe (Arron Campbell)
Deter crime (Arron Campbell)
Who is this example about: ______________, a minister from Laurencekirk, was ordered to complete 300 hours of community service after he stole £31,000 from church funds.
Ronald Gall
How can hormones cause crime, with an example
Another biological cause of crime is hormones.
Hormones in our body affect our growth and also our brains. Men have higher levels of the hormone testosterone than women which often make them historically more aggressive and prone to higher risk tasking.
This aggression or risk taking could make them more likely to take part in violent crimes.
For example, around 90% of all prisoners in a Scottish prison are male compared to 10% who are female.
How can families be impacted by a crime, name 2 days with examples
One social consequence of crime for families is loss. For example, Alesha MacPhail’s family were devastated after the loss of their six year old daughter.
Another social consequence for families is embarrassment.For example, Aaron Campbell was disowned by his mum as she was so disgusted and ashamed of his actions.
One economic consequence of crime for families is financial loss.For example, Craig Mclelland was a father of 3, who died after a fatal attack in Paisley. Well-wishers’ charity raised more than £5,000 to help the family pay for funeral costs.
Give an example for guilty people getting away (ineffectiveness of courts)
51% of rape/attempted rape cases that go to trial get a conviction compared to 91% for all other crimes.
Give 2 PEE's for how prisons are ineffective
One argument that prisons are not effective is because they have high reoffending rates.
This suggests prisoners are not getting the correct support they need both in and when they leave prison to enable them to not need to turn to crime.
For example, around 70% of prisoners who are released from prison after short term sentences commit another offence within a year in the UK.
Another argument that prisons are not effective is that they have a negative impact on families.
Prison can cause the breaking up of marriages and families. This can cause long-term damage to the child and makes them statistically more likely to commit crime themselves (Adverse Childhood Experiences).
For example, statistically children of criminals are 2.4 times more likely to commit crime.
Another argument that prisons are not effective is because they are very expensive.
It’s also much harder to get a job when you have been in prison, which means that many released offenders live on benefits, costing the taxpayer even more money.
For example, it costs around £35,000 per year to keep someone in prison in Scotland.
How can alternatives to prisons to effective (with an example)
Reduce overcrowding in prisons, For example, Janine O’Neil spoke about how spending so much of her youth in prison saw her learn more about committing crimes than being a positive member of society.
Reduces overcrowding, Rufus McLean who domestically abused his partner, was spared jail meaning he can continue to work and may be less likely to be a burden in the future on society while having the opportunity to learn from his crimes.
Cheaper than prisons, For example, it costs around £35,000 per year to keep someone in prison in Scotland.
How can unemployment and poverty cause crime? Make a PEE
One economic cause of crime is poverty.
Those who cannot afford the basics to survive in life may turn to crime to provide what they can’t afford.
For example, around 25% of all crimes of dishonesty are known as “survival shoplifting”, where people steal items like food and clothing from shops to help themselves and their family survive.
Another economic cause of crime is unemployment.
If someone doesn’t have the skills they need to get a job that pays enough to have a good life then they would be unemployed. This means that they may have fewer options to make a living legally.
For example, in areas like Glasgow’s Maryhill where unemployment is high, there are also more gangs who sell drugs and other illegal produce to make a living.
physical harm (Julie Wallace), anxiety (Eve Aston, Manchester bombing), cost of repair (former Celtic boss' home was broken into and robbed they had to pay for repairs to their £2 million home.)
Give one role and one power of the children's hearing system (2 x PEE)
Role: Make legal decisions (compulsory supervision order), deal with young people committing offences (75% of referrals come from police), Support vulnerable children (between 2021-22 the CHS held over 21,000 hearings to protect and support nearly 11,000 children.)
Power: supervise a child in their home (skipping school leading to social worker visit), Remove a child from their home (unsafe), Warrant to Secure Attendance (take into police custody)
Explain 2 roles of the police (2 x PEE)
One role of the police is to prevent crime from happening. In order to be effective, the police will often launch campaigns to make people more aware of crime. It either targets the general public to help them prevent becoming a victim or targets potential perpetrators to stop them committing crimes. For example, Police Scotland have launched a few campaigns each year and in 2020 they were raising awareness of disability hate crime as part of the #DontTolerateHate campaign.
Another important role of the police is to protect people and property from crime. The police try to protect the public and property in many different ways. Police presence is often a major deterrence of crime. For example, during Old Firm matches between Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow, police presence is high in order to protect the public in case any violence breaks out.
One final important role of the police is to investigate. Depending on the crimes that have happened or are suspected to happen, Police Scotland will utilise the resources that it has to investigate such crimes. This includes the different departments and the powers that they have. For example, Police Scotland spent over a year investigating the murder of Julie Reilly.
Give 2 PEE's of how prisons are ineffective
perpetrators may not be able to pay back the true costs of their crimes. (For example, Colleen Muirhead will likely not be able to ever earn the £1.5 million she embezzled to repay the victims so jail is maybe more appropriate.)
leave perpetrators free to keep offending. (For example, James Wright had been put on home detention curfew after having been found carrying a knife but went on to murder a father of 3 in Paisley after breaking his tag 6 months before.)
victims often feel that they don’t provide justice. (For example, Rufus McLean was given a Community Payback Order of 120 hours after abusing his former partner for almost two years.)