Crime And Law Modern Studies

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Explain why some people commit crimes First reason

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Some people commit crimes because they have a drug problem. Addicts need money to buy drugs and so they are forced to commit crimes such as theft, prostitution and shoplifting.they often become repeat offenders as they must constsantly finance their drug problem.such people need help to come off drugs not simply punishment

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Second reason

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Another reason some people commit crimes is because of peer pressure. This is when people do things they would not normally do in order to fit in with a group. This can often lead to involvement with drugs, alcohol and anti social behaviour such as graffiti or vandalism

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Describe the role of the police in Scotland

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One role of the police is to prevent crime. This can include giving crime prevention advice to local residents to make the areas they live in more safe and secure. For example police may work with the elderly to set up neighbourhood watch schemes or visit schools to warn children about the dangers of knife crime

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Second role of the police

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Another role of the police is protection of the public. This means that there are a police presence at large demostrations and big sporting events to ensure that the events take place safely and there is no danger to the public. For example at football cup finals the role of the police is to ensure that rival fans get to and from the stadium safely and that there are no clashes

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Describe the types of crimes most commonly commited by young people

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One crime most commonly commited by young people is joy riding. This involves stealing cars racing up and down streets and getting chased by police. However this can be dangerous as they often crash the cars and there are often fatalities

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A second crime most commonly commited by young people

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Another crime commonly commited by young people is underage drinking. You have to be over 18 years old to purchase alcohol. However some young people who are not old enough to buy alcohol from shops yet they will try to buy it anyway or get someone else to buy it for them. Young people are also more likely to commit the crime of being drunk in a public place such as a park because they cannot drink in bars.

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A third crime most commonly commited by young people

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A third crime most commonly commited by young people is anti social behaviour such as vandalism or graffiti. This means that they damage property either by breaking Windows or scratching cars. Alternatively they write football or gang slogans on walls. As a result they are seen as a nucience and this lowers the time of the area

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Explain why some parts of the country have higher crimes than others

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One reason why some parts of the country have higher crime rates than some areas is that some suburban areas have variety of lesure activities such as leisure complexes 5 a side foot ball pitches and tennis clubs to keep young people entertained. Whereas in the older more deprived areas there are few of any amenities. This means that young people get bored and get involved In petty crimes. For example the Glasgow suburb of bearsden has plenty of facilities whereas few exist in possil or garngad

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Another reason some areas of the country have higher crime rates than others

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Another reason why some parts of the country have higher crime rates than others is some areas have higher drug use than others. The large deprived peripheral housing schemes in Glasgow are known for their drug problems. Areas with drug problems tend to have problems with crime. In contrast there are many communities in which drugs have failled to make inroads so there is much less drug related crime

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Explain why crime figures need to be treated with caution

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One reason why crime figures need to be treated with caution is only crimes which are actually reported to The police are recorded. This is not the same as the number of crimes actually commited. Therefore a fall in vandalism may be due to a decrease in vandalism or because people cannot be bothered to report such petty crimes

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Another reason why crime figures need to be treated with caution

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Another reason why crime figures need to be treated with caution is some crimes are more likely to be reported to The police than others. Crimes relating to theft are more likely to be reported to the police as the victim will need to report it to make an insurance claim. On the other hand some people believe hate Crimes such as racism or sectarianism are much higher than actually reported as victims may be reluctant to report such crimes

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Describe in detail the ways in which the police try to reduce crime

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One way the police try to reduce crime is increased police patrols and police visibility. This often has the effect of making the public feel safer and reducing crime. For example this was the case in paisley after the murder of a local shop owner

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Another way police try to reduce crime levels

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Another way police try to reduce crime levels is by crime prevention in the community. This means that they will work with various groups of people such as the elderly or young people in an attempt to reduce crime. For example police visit schools to warn children about the dangers of knife crime. Many schools also have "campus cops" who work with pupils and help to direct them away from crime

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A further way police try to reduce crime

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A further way police try to reduce crime is by launching special initiatives such as knife amenities. This means youths are encouraged in a special campaign to hand in their weapons without fear of prosectution. Afterwards however there may be an increased use of stop and search by police in youths they expect to be carrying wapons. The evening times newspaper reported the police success on reducing knife crime in glasgiw after a special initative

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Explain why in some areas community policing is the best way of tackling crime whereas in others the use of CCTV is better

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One reason in some areas community policing is the best way of tackling crime is the law abiding public like to see police officers on beat . The public feel much safer when they see the police in the community and believe that this will reduce crime

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A second reason why in some areas community policing is the best way of tackling crime

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A second reason in some areas community policing is better than CCTV is community policing gives the public an opportunity to get to know local police officers. The police can build a good relationship with the public and rely on their support. The support of a community is best seen when the police are looking for a missing child for example when a young boy went missing in Edinburgh hundread of volunteers turned up to look for the boy

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Reason why in some areas the use of CCTV is the best way of tackling crime rather than community policing

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One reason why in some areas the use of cctv is the best of reducing crime is because some people prefer cctv as they know it deters criminals. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that crime levels fall when their is good cctv coverage. For example shoplifters are easily spotted by camera opperators and store security or the police will be alerted. Cctv evidence can also be used in court and lead to conviction

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Describe the Scottish court system

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One way to describe the Scottish court system is the justice of the peace court deals with relatively minor crimes such as breach of the peace, minor assults and petty theft. The cases are dealt with by justices who can impose custodial sentences up to 60 days and fines up to 2,500. The vast majority of criminal cases are dealt with user summary proccedure meaning there is no jury

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A further way to describe the Scottish court system

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A further way to describe the Scottish court system is Sherrif courts deal with cases which are too serious for justice of the peace court but not serious enough for the high court. Under summary procedure a sheriff can impose prison sentences for up to 3 months and fines up to 5 thousand pounds. There is no jury in these less serious cases. However under solemn procedure there is a jury and a sherrif can impose an unlimited financial penalty, a range of non custodial sentences such as community service or he can refer the case to high court for even greater sentencing.

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A third way to describe the Scottish court system

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A third way to describe the scottis court system Is the high court is Scotland's highest criminal court. The high court deals with the most serious cases such as murder and rape. A judge percides and a jury of 15 decide on the guilt of the accused. These cases can last week's or months as lots of evidence Is given including witness evidence. The judge can give a life sentence of the accused is found guilty if murder and suggest a number of years that must be served before parole can be considered if ever.

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Describe the sentances criminal courts in Scotland can give

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One sentance criminal courts in Scotland can give is a custodial sentence. This means that are locked up in a prison such as barlinnie or a young offenders institution such as polmont. Inside that are deprived of their freedom and liberty and must follow the prison regieme. Many find prison hard because there are limited opportunities to see your family

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Another sentence the Scottish courts can give

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Another sentence the Scottish court can give is community service. This means that have to pay something back to the community. For example by engaging in activities such as gardening or painting.This has the advantage of punishing the offender by making them give up hair time to help the community but also allows them to keep their freedem so they can continue with their job or studies. This is seen as a better less expensive option

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A third sentence Scottish courts can give

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A third sentence Scottish courts can give is tagging. This means that they must stay at home between certain hours of the day such as 7pm to 7am. This is to keep them out of trouble, break the cycle of offending behaviour and as a last chance before a custodial sentence.

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Describe the ways in which the children's hearing system in Scotland tries to help young people

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One way the children's hearing system in Scotland tries to help young people is by taking desicions in the best interest of the child. This means that whether the child is an offender or a victim the panel is interested not in punishing the child but In taking decisions in the best interest of the child. Thus if the child is in danger of physical or sexual abuse at home the panel may have no option but to place the child in care for the safety of the child

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A second way the children's hearing panel in Scotland tries to help young people

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A second way the children's hearing panel tried to help young people is by providing a relaxed atmosphere where children can talk about their offending behaviour. The panel is interested in the causes not just the symptoms of the child's behaviour. For example if a child has started shoplifting the panel wants to establish the reasons for this. It is less frightening for young people than adult court and to help there is a variety of professionals such as social workers and guidance teachers

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Explain why some people believe prisoners should serve their full sentence and why others believe that should be released early from prison

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One reason why some people believe that prisoners should serve their full sentence is that some believe that life should mean life and that prisoners should serve their full sentence. They argue that justice dictates that prisoners especially those guilty of serious offences should serve their full sentence. They argue it is wrong to give murders early release and allow them to return to their families when the families of the victim has received a lifetime of grief. This is especially sensitive in noryhen Ireland where convicted terrorists have been released as part of the peace agreement.

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Another reason why some believe prisoners should serve their full sentence and why others believe they should be released early

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Another reason some believe prisoners should serve their full sentence is that many believe it keeps the community safer for longer. They say if a prisoner "can't do the time they shouldn't do the crime". Completing the full sentence allows proper time for both punishment and rehabilitation. Early release is seen as a soft option and unfair in the victims

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Reason why some believe prisoners should be released early from prison

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One reason why some people believe prisoners should be released early is because many prisoners are of no threat to the community and have been sentanced for petty crimes or crimes of non violence. Serving long sentences in "universities of crime" is likely to make them worse not better. Furthermore early release allows prison authorites to free up space for the really violent offenders who cannot be released as they really do pose a threat to the community

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Another reason why some people believe prisoners should be released early

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Another reason some believe prisoners should be released early is it cost thousands of pounds to keep inmates locked up in prison and is much cheaper for the tax payer to have them released early. Furthermore the hope of early release encourages good behaviour and makes it easier for prison staff. It also allows staff to work with prisoners in an attempt to rehabilitate them and break the pattern of offending behaviour

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Explain why some think that the government should spend more on prisons and why some think they should spend less

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One reason why some people think that government should spend more on prisons is many prisons are old builiding with a lack of facilities. This can be a recipe for trouble between inmates as poor facilities have led to prison riots. Furthermore a lack of proper facilities may be a violation of a prisoners human rights. For example a prisoner sued the government as he was forced to "slip out"

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Another reason why some believe government should spend more on prisons

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Another reason why some people believe government should spend more on prisons is it would allow them to build newer and bigger facilities which not only solves the problem of overcrowding but also allows the government to lock offenders up for longer. This keeps the public safe and it would prevent the need for early release which is unpopular.The USA discovered that when it locked people up for longer crime levels fall.

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Reasons why some believe government should spend less on prisons

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One reason why some believe that government should spend less on prisons is many see prisons as a soft option.This means they view prison regiemes as not tough and that they believe prisoners are looked after too well with access to tv's education and sporting facilities. They believe prisoners are no longer scared of being sent back to prison.indeed some appear to have a better life inside prison rather than outside.

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Another reason why some believe government should spend less on prisons

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Another reason why some people believe government should spend less on prisons is because some believe prisons do not work. 're offending rates are very high and they have become "universities of crime." It is better to spend money on alternatives to prison such as community service or electronic tags which are not only cheaper but also have a better record of reducing reoffending.

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Explain why the prison system has been criticised in recent years

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One reason the prison system has been criticised in recent years is prison does not work. This means that attempts at rehabilitation end in failure and too many prisoners 're offend within a year or two of release. Prisons are seen as "universities of crime" in which prisoners come out with more criminal knowledge and skills than they want in with.

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Another reason the prison system has been criticised in recent years

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Another reason the prison system has been criticised in recent years is many see prisons as a soft option. This means they view prison regiemes as not tough and that they believe prisoners are looked after too well with access to tv's education and sporting facilities. They believe prisoners are no longer scared of being sent back to prison.indeed some appear to have a better life inside prison rather than outside.

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A third reason the prison s ysytem has been criticised in recent years

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A third reason prison systems have criticised in recent years is the early release of prisoners. This may appear cost effective and a good way of encouraging good behaviour but it is unpopular with the public. Many feel the wishes of the victims and their families should be taken into consideration rather than the wishes of the prisoners.

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The different crimes some people may commit

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Blue collar crime - these types of crimes are more obvious such as house breaking, vandalism and selling stolen goods.These are crimes often committed by people who are lower on the socio-economic scale. Blue collar crime often uses physical force such breaking and entering or assault. The majority of prisoners are convicted for blue collar crime, perhaps because it is more obvious and attracts police attention.

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The different crimes some people may commit

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White collar crime - this refers to crime committed in the course of your occupation by people who work in non manual jobs such as offices and sales. Key examples would be fraud, bribery, forgery, computer crime and money laundering. Many people do not see these activities as crimes and, can often be motivated by the desire for increased affluence ( wealth) . This type of crime is not visible so harder to find. It is not always reported but costs UK businesses £4 billion a year.