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Unit 12 Crime and its effects on

society

BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

169 Pearson Education Ltd 2010. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free.

Unit overview Credits: 10

The aim of this unit is to give learners an awareness and understanding of crime and criminal behaviour,and their impact on individuals and communities. This unit will give learners the opportunity to explorehow public and third sector organisations work together to reduce crime and support the victims andwitnesses of crime.

Crime and disorder legislation is the backbone of the work of a large number of public services who play avital role in how society deals with crime and the way in which crime impacts on society. Public servicessuch as the police, probation and prison services are responsible for not only catching the criminals andsupporting the victims of crime but making sure that crime figures are reduced and that offenders aremanaged effectively. Catching the criminal is only one part of the story. Crime needs to be managedeffectively by combating crime, reducing public anxieties and fears about crime, managing and punishingoffenders. When working in the public services it is important to understand crime and its effects onsociety and how to deal with the victims of crime in a sensitive and responsible way. An understanding ofwhy people commit crime and the range of theories behind this is an integral part of this unit.

This unit will enable learners to acquire an understanding of crime and disorder legislation as well as theeffects crime has on a victim and the society as a whole. It explores theories of criminal behaviour as well

as the approaches to crime reduction and ways of addressing anti-social behaviour. In this unit learnerswill identify service providers who offer support to both victims and witnesses of crime.

PLTS and functional skills are both incorporated into the unit and linked with assessment activitiesproviding learners with the opportunity to generate evidence for additional qualifications.

On completion of this unit, learners should:

LO1 know crime and disorder legislation, sentences and orders

LO2 know the effects of criminal behaviour on communities

LO3 understand approaches to reduce crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour

LO4 understand how the public services support victims and witnesses of crime.

Unit contentsThe scheme of work (page 172) links to the following resources to help you deliver Unit 12.

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4

Lesson plan LP

Activity sheet AS1 AS2 AS3, AS4, AS5, AS6 AS7

Stretch and support E1, E2 E3 E4, E5

PowerPoint PPT PPT PPT PPT

All of these resources can be found on the accompanying CD-ROM, as well as an editable version of the

scheme of work, and answers to questions in the Student Book.

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BTEC Level 3 National Public ServicesUnit 12 Crime and its effects on society

Links to other units

Unit 12 links to other units in this public services qualification as shown below and provides lots ofopportunities to cross-reference and combine assignment work for these units.

BTEC National Public Services units

Unit 17 Police powers in the public services

Unit 18 Behaviour in public sector employment

Unit 22 Aspects of the legal system and the law making process

How to deliver the unit

For LO1 learners need to know about the legislation relating to crime and disorder, and so should beinformed on the current legislation and Government measures surrounding it. Input from court personnel(such as a magistrate or legal advisor) and from members of local crime reduction partnerships and visitsto both Magistrates and Crown Courts will assist in developing learner understanding. Learners should beencouraged to research sentences given in a range of current high profile cases and compare these with

the sentencing options available. Involvement in a mock trial process could also be arranged.

To gain an understanding of the effects of criminal behaviour for LO2, learners should be aware of therange of criminal behaviour theories (sociological, biological and psychological). They should look at otherpotential causal factors such as poverty, lack of education and unemployment and be able to discussthese. Learners need to be aware of the effects that criminal behaviour has, not just on the victim of thecrime but also in its widest sense, looking at the costs to society. Individual case studies (compiled fromreports of real experiences of the impact of crime on individuals and communities) should be developed.

LO3 requires learners to understand the approaches and strategies in place that deal with the reduction ofcrime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. When looking at supporting victims of crime, learners shouldunderstand the wide range of victims and look at vulnerable members of communities. Learners shouldbe aware of the victims statutory rights, and how public services ensure rights are upheld. They should

also understand the importance of witnesses in the criminal justice system and the importance of ensuringwitness protection and safety.

Care should be taken when delivering LO4 as any learner who has been a witness to crime or a victim ofcrime may find this topic sensitive. Crime and disorder television programmes (both factual and fictitious)will provide a useful source of material for classroom discussion. Contact with crime reduction and crimeand disorder partnerships is strongly advised. This can be done by arranging visits to or visiting speakersfrom a variety of agencies, for example: local crime reduction/prevention officers local authority (town/citycentre managers, tackling disadvantage team, crime and disorder team) victim support scheme andwitness care.

In order to be able to effectively deliver this unit, centres will need to consider accessing guest speakersfrom organisations such as the police, probation and court service. This contact with practitioners within

the criminal justice system will assist learners to formulate their knowledge and understanding of the keyconcepts of this unit.

The activity sheets will support your delivery and can be adapted to suit individuals, pairs and smallgroups. The scheme of work also includes suggestions for delivery.

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Unit 12 Crime and its effects on societyBTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Useful resources

There are many different sources of help and resources that are available online. Some of the websitesthat may support learning for this area are listed below. It may also be possible to use websites in classthat will bring up-to-date public service issues into the classroom such as BBC News or YouTube.Learners should also have access to a range of newspapers and relevant trade journals

Websites

Most local authorities and police services have a website offering information and advice concerning

community safety and crime and disorder. This can be accessed via

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm

Home Office publications at www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications.htm

Crime and Justice statistics at www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/crime-justice/index.html

Crime and Victims Home Office www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/

Crime Concernwww.crimeconcern.org.uk

Crime reduction news and advice www.crimereduction.gov.uk

Crimestoppers www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Current law reports (appeals, trials, etc.)www.lawreports.co.uk

Crown Prosecution Service Witness Charter

www.cps.gov.uk/legal/v_to_z/witness_charter_cps_guidance/#Toc194480764

Home Office www.homeoffice.gov.uk/anti-social-behaviour/

HM Prison Service www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk

National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders www.nacro.org.uk

Police initiatives introduced to target crime at the front line www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operational-

policing/crime-disorder

Providing information and resources for people working to reduce crime www.crimereduction.gov.uk Public Acts of the UK Parliamentwww.opsi.gov.uk/acts.htm

Sentencing guidelines for judiciary www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/

Information for witnesses and victims www.protectingyourself.co.uk/

Books

Joyce, P. Criminal Justice (Willan Publishing, 2006)

Moss, K. and Stephens, M. (eds) Crime Reduction and the Law (Routledge, 2005)

Mutchnick, R. Criminology Interactive (Text + Access Code) (Pearson, 2009)

Newburn, T. (ed.) Criminology(Willan Publishing, 2007)

Articles from journals and magazines The British Journal of Criminology

Policing and Society An International Journal of Research and Policy
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htmhttp://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications.htmhttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/crime-justice/index.htmlhttp://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/http://www.crimeconcern.org.uk/http://www.crimeconcern.org.uk/http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/http://www.lawreports.co.uk/http://www.lawreports.co.uk/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/v_to_z/witness_charter_cps_guidance/#Toc194480764http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/anti-social-behaviour/http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/http://www.nacro.org.uk/http://www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operational-policing/crime-disorderhttp://www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operational-policing/crime-disorderhttp://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts.htmhttp://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts.htmhttp://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/http://www.protectingyourself.co.uk/http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications.htmhttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/crime-justice/index.htmlhttp://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/http://www.crimeconcern.org.uk/http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/http://www.lawreports.co.uk/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/v_to_z/witness_charter_cps_guidance/#Toc194480764http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/anti-social-behaviour/http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/http://www.nacro.org.uk/http://www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operational-policing/crime-disorderhttp://www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operational-policing/crime-disorderhttp://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts.htmhttp://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/http://www.protectingyourself.co.uk/http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm

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