An Analysis of the UK's Serious Violent Crime Strategy in Criminology

This report provides a critical analysis of the UK's "Serious Violent Crime Strategy," examining its effectiveness in addressing the increasing number of violent crimes. The analysis explores the factors contributing to the rise in serious violent crimes, including social depravity, easy access to weapons, and the influence of media. The report highlights the strengths of the strategy, such as its focus on community development, partnership with various sectors, and alignment with the self-control theory of criminology. It also acknowledges the limitations of the strategy, such as the need for improved justice and addressing the root causes of crime. Furthermore, the report discusses the policy's emphasis on reducing homicide, knife crime, and gun crime, along with measures to address substance misuse and provide support to vulnerable individuals. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of community empowerment and awareness for the successful implementation of the strategy. This document is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib. Desklib is a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

Running head: CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE: AN ANALYSIS OF SERIOUS
VIOLENT CRIME POLICY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
As stated by Walsh (2018), criminology is the branch of study which is associated with
the scientific study of the different kinds of crimes, criminals, the factors which motivate the
individuals to undertake criminal activities and other related aspects of the same. Matters and
Done (2017) are of the viewpoint that the discipline of criminology is important since over the
years it had helped the law enforcement authorities to adequately understand the behavior of the
different criminals and thereby to take effective steps for the prevention of various kinds of
crimes. The discipline of criminology is of great importance from the perspective of the
contemporary society or for that matter the modern world because of the ever-increasing number
of crimes which are being committed by the individuals (Freestone, Ullrich and Coid 2017).
More importantly, it had been seen that the large number of crimes which are being committed in
the present times while taking a toll on the lives of the different people also causes a significant
amount of property damage as well. This in turn had made it important for the law enforcement
department and also the national government of the different nations to take the help of adequate
measures for tackling the concerned issue (Carr, Slothower and Parkinson 2017). In addition to
these, it had been seen that the national government of the different nations of the world had
formulated various policies for the resolution of this particular issue. The “Serious Violent Crime
Strategy” (2018) of the nation of UK for tackling serious violent crimes in the concerned nation
is an important one in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to undertake a critical analysis of
the “Serious Violent Crime Strategy” of the nation of UK taking into account the strengths and
the limitations of the same and also to make suitable recommendations through which the
concerned policy can be improved.
Crocker et al. (2019) are of the viewpoint that the number of serious violent crimes
committed within the nation of UK had increased in an exponential manner in the last two

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decades which in turn had it an important issue which the law enforcement department of the
concerned nation is presently facing. According to Bbc.com (2020), in the last years itself the
number of violent serious crimes committed within the nation of UK had increased by more than
19% which in turn poses a major security threat to the stability of the society of the concerned
nation. As a matter of fact, in the year 2018 alone the total number of violent crimes which were
committed in the nation of UK were 5,723,182 and these are just the incidents which were
brought to the light of the law enforcement department of the concerned nation (Cps.gov.uk
2020). More importantly, it had been seen that there are various cases in which the victims of the
negative media attention, the legal complications and others do not feel comfortable to report the
concerned incidents to the law enforcement department (Freestone, Ullrich and Coid 2017). In
this regard, the statement of John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation wherein he said that
“Society just isn't as safe as it once was, and although the police service is doing everything
within its power, we are swimming against the tide and it is the public who are being let down”
is important to note (Bbc.com 2020). An interesting trend seen within the different violent crime
incidents is the fact that the majority of these crimes are being committed by the juveniles,
teenagers and also by the individuals who are below the age of 35 years of age (Carr, Slothower
and Parkinson 2017). This is in complete contradiction to the trend which was seen in the earlier
times wherein the majority of the crimes were being committed by the individuals who were
over the year of 35 years of age (González et al. 2016).
Coleman, Almond and McManus (2018) are of the viewpoint that there are various
factors which have directly contributed towards the exponential increase in the number of serious
violent crimes that are being committed within the nation of UK presently. Adding to this,
Dandawate et al. (2019) have noted that an important which had directly contributed towards the

3CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
increase in the number of serious violent crimes is the increasing amount of social depravity that
the individuals from middle-class background and the lower middle-class backgrounds had to
face within the societal structure of the concerned nation. For instance, the gulf between the
different economic classes of the nation of UK had increased in an exponential manner and the
resultant effect of this is that the people from the middle-class background and the lower middle-
class backgrounds do not get adequate economic, employment, educational and other kinds of
opportunities within the concerned nation (Rahman 2019). This in turn had lead to the ineffective
fulfillment of the basic psychosocial needs of the individuals which in turn had substantially
increased their discontent and thereby propelled them to indulge in various kinds of serious
violent crimes. Another important factor which had contributed towards the increase in the
serious violent crimes within the nation of UK can be attributed to the aspect of easy availability
of guns and other kinds of weapons which are being used by the individuals while undertaking
serious violent crimes (Coid et al. 2017). As a matter of fact, unlike the earlier almost every
alternate individual within the nation of UK presently owns a gun and even the teenagers have
the option to purchase guns from online websites at cheaper prices without having to undergo
any sort of verification for the same (Crocker et al. 2019). The different kinds of violent movies,
television series and others which are being presently released within the nation of UK had
adversely affected the psychology of the teenagers (Dobash et al. 2018). This in turn had created
the mindset among the individuals that violent crimes are something cool and a common part of
the lives of the individuals which in turn propels them to undertake different kinds of serious
violent crimes. The limitations or for that matter the shortcomings of the different serious violent
crime prevention strategies or the policies used by the law enforcement department is another
important factor which had substantially contributed towards the increase in the number of

4CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
violent crimes committed in the present times. For instance, many times it is seen that the victims
fail to get the required justice which in turn had made the perpetrators of the crimes to take
advantage of the loopholes in the policies or the strategies which are being presently by the UK
law enforcement department for the control of serious violent crimes.
The national government of UK in April, 2018 formulated the “Serious Violent Crimes
Strategy” for the reduction of the ever-increasing number of serious violent crimes within the
concerned nation (Parliament.uk 2020). In this relation, it needs to be said that this particular
policy of the national government of UK tried to overcome the shortcomings or for that matter
the limitations of the earlier policies or the strategies which were being formulated for mitigate
the concerned issue. For instance, at the time of introducing the new policy, Amber Rudd clearly
stated that the approach of the UK government “is not solely focused on law enforcement, very
important as that is, but depends on partnerships across a number of sectors such as education,
health, social services, housing, youth services, and victim services” (Service.gov.uk 2020).
More importantly, the policy under discussion here rather than formulating any stringent had
tried to address the issue from the very grass root level and because of this particular focus is
being given to the aspect of community development and also forming an effective partnership
with the different community members for reducing the number of serious violent crimes which
are being committed in the present times (London.gov.uk 2020). This is turn is the major reason
for the community empowerment approach which is being presently undertaken by the law
enforcement department of the nation under discussion here.
The precepts of the policy under discussion here are also in synchronicity with the self-
control theory of criminology. Coleman, Almond and McManus (2018) are of the viewpoint that
the major precept of the self-control of criminology is the fact that the majority of the individuals

5CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
who indulge in different kinds of criminal activities often lack the required self-control which is
required for the purpose of curbing the desire to indulge in anti-social activities. Adding to this,
Crocker et al. (2019) have noted that the attribute of self-control helps the individuals to stay
within the boundaries of law and order and thereby indulge in the kind of activities which would
not only be well within the permissible limits of law but would also respect the fundamental
rights of the other individuals as well. Thus, it is seen that the policy brief of the policy under
discussion here clearly outlines the need on part of the individuals to have the required amount of
self-control which in turn would help them to refrain from indulging in different kinds of anti-
social activities or for that matter the serious violent crimes as well. For the attainment of this
particular end, proposal for the formation of an effective partnership with the local communities
had been proposed through which the different communities would not only be empowered but
also the community members would be taught to inculcate the virtue of self-control as well
(Cps.gov.uk 2020). Furthermore, the policy also outlines the need for educating the different
community members and also making them aware of the different legislations, policies,
mandates and others that they are required to follow for the purpose of reducing the number of
serious violent crimes (London.gov.uk 2020).
In addition to the above mentioned approaches, the policy under discussion here declares
that it would focus effectively on the reduction of the crimes like homicide, knife crime and gun
crime. More importantly, the policy also outlines the fact that an important reason for the high
number of crimes related to gun violence, knife violence, homicides and others are related to the
misuse of drugs and substances (Service.gov.uk 2020). Thus, measures have been undertaken for
the reduction of the misuse of drugs and various kinds of substances within the concerned nation.
Moreover, a “Early Intervention Youth Fund” had also been created as per the mandates of this

6CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
policy through which adequate support would be offered to the individuals from poor economic
backgrounds, the minor offenders and others so that they do not turn towards the different kinds
of serious violent crimes (Parliament.uk 2020). Furthermore, provisions have been made so that
the first offenders are not being dealt with too serious and adequate support is also being offered
to them as well like advocates and others so that they can defend themselves and thereby get the
required legal support (London.gov.uk 2020). In addition to these, various departments and
services like Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS),
PEEL Inspections, “Serious Violence Taskforce” and others have also been created so as to help
the law enforcement department to adequately deal with the different cases of serious violent
crimes (Service.gov.uk 2020).
The most important strength point of the policy under discussion here is the fact that it
not only tries to overcome the limitations or the shortcomings of the earlier policies which were
formulated by the UK government for tackling the issue of serious violent crimes but also tries to
address the grass root causes which had given rise to the concerned issue. Another important
strength point of the policy is that it articulates the need to empower the different communities
and also spread adequate amount of awareness among them for the resolution of the issue of
serious violent crimes (Parliament.uk 2020). In addition to these, different bodies as well as
services have also been created which will be primarily entrusted with the work of managing as
well as the controlling the serious violent crimes. However, at the same time it needs to be said
that there are various negative aspects of the policy under discussion here as well which in turn
had substantially narrowed down the effectiveness of the same. For instance, the precepts or for
that matter the mandates of the policy are very difficult to implement in an effective manner and
as such no implementation plan had been formed till now for the implementation of the same

7CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
(Cps.gov.uk 2020). Another important limitation of the policy is the fact that the focus of the
policy is solely on the first offenders and helping them so that they do not become repeat
offenders and thereby undertake serious violent crimes. Thus, no effective focus had been given
to the repeat offenders who are the major culprits of the different serious violent crimes and thus
just like the other earlier policies this policy as well fails to effectively resolve the issue of
serious violent crimes.
There are various ways through the policy under discussion here can be improved so as to
effectively tackle the problem of serious violent crimes in the nation of UK. Firstly, an effective
implementation plan needs to be formulated which in turn would facilitate the implementation of
the different changes that been recommended by the concerned policy. Secondly, adequate
measures need to be taken for resolving the threat presented by the repeat offenders who are
mainly responsible for the different kinds of serious violent crimes. For instance, more stringent
penalties or punishments needs to be given to them which in turn modify the errant behavior
displayed by them. Thirdly, rather than just punishing the criminals, the focus of the law
enforcement department should be on the modification of the behavior of the criminals and thus
adequate education needs to be offered to them. Fourthly, the national government needs to offer
adequate opportunities to the individuals from the middle-class backgrounds and the lower
middle-class background individuals so that they do not feel discontented and thereby turn
towards the different criminal activities. Lastly, effective authorities needs to be created which
would be solely responsible for handling cases related to serious violent crimes for the resolution
of the issue under discussion here.
To conclude, serious violent crime is a major issue that the nation of UK is presently
facing and it had been seen that in the last five years the number of cases related to the same had

8CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
increased in an exponential manner. More importantly, the different initiatives as well as the
policies formulated by the national government of UK over the years for the resolution of this
particular issue had failed to yield the desired results and thus the issue is adversely affecting the
stability of the society of the concerned nation. The “Serious Violent Crime Strategy” of the
national government of UK had tried to overcome the different limitations or the shortcomings of
the earlier policies related to the resolution of the concerned issue by focusing on community
empowerment, education, stopping the misuse of drugs, creation of special task force and others.
However, in the absence of any effective implementation plan, too much focus on the first time
offenders, disregard of the repeat offenders and others this policy fails to attain the desired
results. Thus, in order to enhance the effectiveness of this policy and also to completely resolve
the issue improvements need to be made in the concerned policy.

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10CRIMINOLOGY IN POLICY AND PRACTICE
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