The nature of law enforcement and punishment Flashcards

All 9 cards in this deck

What is Neighbourhood Watch?

A scheme set up in Britain from 1982 in which residents watch for and report suspicious activity, deterring criminals by showing the area is closely monitored.

Give one way the use of science and technology has made it easier for the modern police to identify criminals.

Fingerprinting and DNA evidence identify criminals even after they have left the scene of the crime.

What was the Anti-Terrorist Squad (Bomb Squad), set up in 1971?

A specialist police unit, with its own training and equipment, created to deal with terrorist threats.

In which year was the death penalty permanently suspended in Britain?

1969 (after a temporary suspension in 1965).

How did the case of Timothy Evans (1950) affect attitudes to the death penalty?

It showed that mistakes could be made in executions, creating public pressure to review the use of the death penalty.

What is an open prison?

A prison with few physical restrictions where minor offenders, or prisoners near the end of a sentence, mix with the outside community to prepare for reintegration.

What were borstals?

Separate institutions for young offenders, set up so that they were not hardened or corrupted by adult prisoners; they later became Young Offender Institutions.

Give two non-custodial alternatives to prison used in Britain today.

Community service and fines (also probation and electronic tagging).

Give one change the Children Act (1908) made to the punishment of young offenders.

It banned the death sentence for anyone under 16 (it also set up separate juvenile courts).