The United Kingdom

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The United Kingdom

• Crime and Punishment

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Lets start with some statistics
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Yay statistics!!!
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• Crime in England and Wales uses the British
  Crime Survey (BCS) and the number of crimes
  recorded by the police to provide a comprehensive
  account of the latest patterns and trends in high
  volume crimes. crimereduction.gov.uk

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Here are some statistics provided by
crimereduction.gov.uk
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• Since 1995, the British Crime Survey (BCS) has
  reported a fall in crime at each successive
  survey. There has been a 25 per cent fall in the
  crime measured by the BCS over the last five
  years, between 1997 and the 2002/03 BCS (see
  chart). crimereduction.gov.uk

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Trends in crime as measured by the British Crime
Survey, 1997 to 2003/03 (Indexed, 1997100)
KeyBlack All BCS crimeBlue Domestic
burglaryYellow All vehicle theftRed All
violence
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• The risk of becoming a victim of crime is still
  historically low at 27, around the same level as
  the first BCS in 1982, and one - third lower than
  the risk in 1995 (40). - crimereduction.gov.uk

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• The proportion of crimes that were reported to
  the police has been stable since the mid-1990s
  (at around 44), considerably higher than the
  reporting rate in the early 1980s (36 in 1981).
  crimereduction.gov.uk

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CRIME
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Organized Crime in the UK

• The majority of crime in the UK is from organized
  crime organizations that are primarily UK born,
  not of foreign origin.
• IRA activity has become less and less frequent,
  however, many are worried about a resurgeance.

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Organized Crime Stats

• The illegal drugs trade in the UK generates about
  8.5bn (or 1 of GDP)
• UK financial institutions reported 14,500
  suspicious transactions to police in 1999
• 52 murders (33 in London) in 1999 were thought to
  be linked to organized crime
• 56 of organized crime groups are involved in
  drug trafficking and of those, 79 are involved
  in money laundering.

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Other Crimes

• Violent crimes are on the rise
• 40 of violent crime, 78 of assaults and 88 of
  criminal damage cases are committed while the
  offender is under the influence of alcohol
• 50 to 80 of violent crime, including assault,
  rape and homicide, is committed by people who
  have been drinking. Studies of violent offenders
  have found them much more likely to be heavy
  drinkers.
• Alcohol consumption increases the tendency of
  male drinkers to project aggression onto others
  and to respond to imagined hostile behaviour more
  aggressively as a result.
• Around 125,000 people suffer facial injuries in
  violent circumstances each year in UK - in the
  majority of cases, either the victim or the
  assailant had been drinking alcohol. There are
  around 5,000 "glassings" each year, in which a
  smashed beer glass is used as a dangerous weapon.

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Introduction of Laws of the United Kingdom
Like the United States, to put it bluntly, if
the police catch you committing an illegal act,
or if their thoughts lead to it, then you will be
arrested There are several levels of courts,
each country in the United Kingdom with their own
design England and Wales, and Scotland and
Northern Ireland
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England And Wales Court System

• Most criminal cases are heard by Magistrates
  courts, which are managed by locally based
  committees
• Their decisions may be appealed to Crown Courts
  or High Courts, which also hear criminal cases
  requiring a jury trial
• Crown Court convictions may be appealed to
  Court of Appeal, which may refer cases involving
  points of law to Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (the
  Law Lords)
• Law Lords sit in House of Lords, but are
  distinct from legislative body and constitute to
  countrys final court of appeal
• The Criminal Cases Review Commission operates
  as additional appellate body in England and
  Northern Ireland, and also considers cases after
  judicial appeals process is exhausted

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Scotland and Northern Ireland

• High Court of Justiciary acts as court of first
  instance for serious crimes (i.e. rape, murder)
  also serves as an appellate body
• 49 Sheriff Courts handles all the lesser
  crimes, and have restricted sentencing power but
  can remit cases to High Court for disposal if
  they choose to
• District Courts sit in each local authority and
  handles the lesser lesser crimes involved
• The Court of Session serves as the appellate
  court for civil matters, and is also the supreme
  civil court in Scotland decisions gets appealed
  to the Law Lords in Westminister

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Tribunals

• Tribunals are a specialized group of judicial
  bodies akin to courts of law. They are set up
  under statuory powers which also govern their
  constitution, functions and procedure Tribunals
  decide rights and obligations of private citizens
  towards one another or towards a government
  department or other public authority (i.e. Higher
  tribunals or rent tribunals)

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Info on UK Prisons
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The Home Secretary and the prisons (In England
and Wales)

• The Home Secretary is accountable to Parliament
  for the Prison Service. Even though the Home
  Secretary is not involved in daily matters
  regarding prisons, it receives reports from the
  Director General regarding matters such as
• Escape of prisoners
• Apparent suicide of a prisoner
• Serious disturbances such as damage to a person
  or propery

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The Secretary of State and prisons

• The Secretary of State a.k.a. the Prison Minister
  is responsible to the Home Secretary and is
  responsible for the majority of the policies
  implemented in the prisons.

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The Director General

• The Director General is the chief Executive of
  the Prison Service.
• The Director General is appointed for a fixed
  period of time by the Home Secretary with the
  approval of the Prime Minister.
• The Director General is responsible for the daily
  management of the Prison Service.
• The Director General also advises the Home
  Secretary on matters relating to the Prison
  Service.

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Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Prisons

• The Home Secretary receives reports from Her
  Majestys Chief Inspector of Prisons regarding
  inspections of prison establishments.

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The Prisons Ombudsman

• The Home Secretary appoints a Prisons Ombudsman.
• The Prisons Ombudsman provides the Home Secretary
  with annual reports about the status of the
  Prison Service.
• The Director General will respond to any
  recommendations made by the Prison Ombudsman.

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Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

• The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974
  allows for some criminal offenses to be ignored
  after a given rehabilitation period. After the
  rehabilitation period a former offender is not
  required to mention the convictions when applying
  for a job or or when trying to obtain insurance.
  The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, however,
  does not apply to offenders who have committed
  repeating or very serious crimes.

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Info on Rehab periods

• The length of a rehabilitation period is
  determined by the original sentence of an
  offender, NOT by the crime the offender
  committed. Sentences of more than 2.5 years can
  never be ignored or spent.
• To see a chart of the sentences and their
  rehabilitation periods, visit http//www.british-p
  risons.co.uk/British20Prisons/rehabilitationofoff
  endersact.htm and scroll down a bit.

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Some interesting stories relating to UK prisons
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English prison attempts to ease anxiety of
incoming prisoners

• Due to rather recent incidents of suicide in an
  English prison housing female prisoners, a few
  changes have been made to prevent these incidents
  from happening again. Prison Service Director of
  Operations Michael Spurr, said many important
  changes have been madeincluding the creation of
  a new, dedicated first night centre as well as a
  softer, refurbished reception area, both of which
  are key initiatives in reducing anxieties of
  vulnerable women as they are received into
  custody.

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Prison chef wins award

• On November 24, a prison chef won an award for
  his cooking skills at the annual BBC Radio 4 Food
  and Farming awards. Judges not only commended the
  chef for his outstanding recipes, but also
  praised the chef for teaching the prisoners
  cooking skills and cooking hygiene. These skills
  can prove to be very useful since they can help
  prisoners find jobs when they are released.

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Chef wins award continued

• Peter Dawson, Governor of Highdown said I am
  delighted that Al (the chef) has won this award.
  He makes an exceptional contribution to both the
  health and the resettlement of offenders. Thanks
  to his leadership, the prisoners serve up some
  sumptuous dishes while at the same time learning
  valuable skills that will help them find jobs
  when they are released.

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Government launches new resettlement strategy

• On September 21, 2005 a new resettlement strategy
  was launched in London. The strategy will
  concentrate on helping ex-prisoners reintegrate
  into the community successfully. The new
  resettlement strategy will focus on finding the
  former prisoners sustainable employment.
  Additionally it will address issues such as drug
  dependency, mental health problems and debt which
  can lead to repeating offenses.

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UK prisons equipped with high-tech video
technology

• Over 50 prisons across the UK are now equipped
  with state of the art Prison Video Links (PVLs).
  The PVLs have been installed in about 54 prisons
  in England and Wales and allow prisons to connect
  directly to 30 Crown Courts and 153 Magistrate
  Courts across England and Wales. PVLs allow
  offenders to appear in court via live video link
  from prison. This not only greatly reduces the
  costs of transporting prisoners from prison to
  prison or from prison to courts but it also
  protects the witnesses and victims in court.

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Do you have what it takes to be a UK prison
officer?

• Take the self-assessment test and find out!

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The End
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• Christ, Stanley and Brandon