bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Responsible Prisoner: Rehabilitation Revisited1
Authors: COYLE ANDREW
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper was first delivered to a meeting of the Howard League in Scotland in March 1991. The Scottish tradition of imprisonment has always betrayed a healthy scepticism about the reforming value of imprisonment in itself, recognising that it is primarily a punishment which consists of the deprivation of liberty. The rehabilitation of the prisoner is likely to come about, if at all, as a result of personal change. Future recidivism is likely to be affected, positively or negatively, by external features, such as accommodation, support and employment. This realism has now been translated into a set of ideals. The challenge facing bodies such as The Howard League is to ensure that the Prison Service translates these fine ideals into fine deeds.
Effectiveness Measurement in Probation: A View from the Troops
Authors: HUMPHREY CHRISTOPHER , PEASE KEN
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper examines notions of probation effectiveness being applied in one metropolitan area probation service, and considers the impact of recent managerial and policy initiatives on the work and effectiveness criteria used by probation staff. The paper is structured around a number of key themes including: the respective prominence of input and output measures of performance; factors influencing and explaining the use of such measures; perceptions of promotion criteria and survival tactics within the service, and the role of management and management information systems. Through such themes, the paper illustrates the socially constructed nature of the concept of organisational effectiveness and of management information systems. In particular, it highlights how pressures being exerted on the service have served to deemphasise the effects of probation supervision on criminal careers. The paper adds further weight to the arguments of those who question the privileged status given to accounting‐based solutions to the problems of public sector management.
The Guilty Plea Discount: Rule of Law or Role of Chance?
Authors: ROBERTSHAW PAUL , MILNE ALAN
Published: January 2009

Abstract: In this article we reconsider the ‘discount’ for pleading guilty. This stems from our discovery that about one in eight Crown Courts in five Circuits were awarding more custodial sentences to those pleading guilty than for those convicted at trial (Reverse Differential). Multiple regression analysis (MRA) of four administrative variables showed overall the ‘Not Guilty plea’ rate was significant; for remanded defendants other administrative variables were relevant. It was evident that in terms of the MRA there were deviant localities from both ‘High’ and ‘Reverse Differential’ courts. To examine this further we resort to descriptive statistics, which show that the MRA significance is produced by a minority of courts; the majority of ‘High’ and ‘Reverse Differential’ courts have, administratively, much in common. We then examine the specific administrative characteristics of all these courts and discover a paradox: ‘High’ and ‘Reverse Differential’ courts rarely share administrative characteristics, but they also vary greatly within each group. Finally we consider whether there are further advantages to defendants opting for trial in the RD courts in terms of their acquittal rates. In general there are. On this evidence we are unable to account fully for the two modes of criminal process discovered.
Probation and Community Crime Prevention1
Authors: SAMPSON ALICE , SMITH DAVID
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper considers the involvement of the probation service in crime prevention in the light of research which suggested that probation officers find it difficult to make practical sense of the idea of a ‘community’ orientation. The traditional client focus of the service, its concern with the social dimensions of crime, and the effect of gender relations on inter‐agency working all tend to inhibit officers from becoming wholeheartedly involved in this area of work. It is argued, however, that recent changes in thinking about crime prevention may increase the opportunities for the service to participate, and that it is possible to identify ways in which its contribution might be a distinctive and useful one, though the extent to which the Home Office will encourage greater involvement is not clear. The paper concludes with suggestions on how inter‐agency co‐operation might be managed more effectively, on evaluation, and on the relevance of some recent work in criminology.
Governing the Probation Service: Probation Committees and Policy‐Making
Authors: HOLDAWAY SIMON , MANTLE GREG
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Probation committees are the statutory employers of all probation staff and have a responsiblity for the efficient running of area probation services. In this article the role of probation committees is investigated through detailed interviews with probation committee members and chief probation officers. It is argued that while the Home Office and probation professional associations have attempted to develop within probation areas notions of systematic management, which include the initiation, development and implementation of policy, the role of probation committee members has been neglected. The assumptions magistrate members of committees bring to their consideration of policy are of particular importance. The implication of these assumptions for race issues and crime prevention policies is analysed.
The End of an Era1
Authors: PITTS JOHN
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article examines the new enthusiasm among some criminologists, sections of the probation service and junior ministers in the Home Office for the rehabilitation of ‘heavy end’ offenders through programmes of community ‘treatment’ based on a ‘justice model’. It contends that the ‘Nothing Works' doctrine which emerged in criminology and penal politics in the mid‐1970s has been supplanted by a ‘Something Works' doctrine, the function of which is to give legitimacy to the government's attempts to rationalise expenditure on criminal justice. It argues that this has required the probation service to adopt a mode of intervention with offenders which is no more effective than the discredited methods it has replaced and less responsive to the problems of addiction, mental ‘illness' and poverty experienced by the majority of the clients dealt with by the service.
The Socially Bounded Decision Making of Persistent Property Offenders
Authors: SHOVER NEAL , HONAKER DAVID
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The rapid ascendance of deterrence theory and other rational‐choice interpretations of criminal behaviour in the 1970s was matched until recently by a failure to examine empirically the criminal decision making of serious offenders. This paper reports the results of an ethnographic investigation of criminal decision making by a sample of persistent property offenders. Following brief introductory comments, we describe our research objectives and methodology. Then we describe salient features of the decision‐making processes employed by members of the sample. We argue that improved understanding of criminal decision making by persistent property offenders is gained by exploring how their utilities are shaped and sustained by the lifestyle characteristic of many of them. We suggest that offenders' efforts to acquire the financial and social capital needed to enhance, sustain, or restore enjoyment of this lifestyle may generate a bounded rationality in which they discount or ignore the formal risks of crime.
The Victim's Charter: A New Deal for Child Victims?
Authors: MORGAN JANE , ZEDNER LUCIA
Published: January 2009

Abstract:Help and support for victims of crime have become key platforms of the government's criminal justice policy in recent years. TheVictim's Charter, published by the government in 1990, is the first official statement on how victims of crime should be treated and what they are entitled to expect. It addresses, in particular, the three issues which have caused most concern during the last decade: the unsympathetic treatment of victims by the police and courts; obtaining financial compensation; and the need for welfare services such as Victim Support. It may be seen both as the official seal of approval and the culmination of years of endeavour on behalf of victims of crime. In all this discussion there is very little mention of children. The way in which the criminal justice system responds to children and young persons under the age of 17 was the subject of research commissioned by the Home Office and carried out by the authors at the Centre for Criminological Research, University of Oxford. Although a number of innovations have been introduced which relate specifically to child victims, it is argued that much remains to be done to ensure that children receive such help as they may need in the aftermath of crime, and that they are not further victimised by the criminal justice process.
From Prediction to Presumption? The Results of a Pilot Project in Greater Manchester on the Value of a SIR Recommendation Guidelines Matrix
Authors: LLOYD PHILIP M. , PERRY NOEL C. R.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The theme of consistency is one which is increasingly appearing at a number of points in the criminal justice system. The probation service has been in difficulty achieving consistency of practice as it has had to shadow the inconsistencies within and between courts and this effect has been compounded by using instruments which predict local outcomes in court and ties local probation practice to them. This piece of work shows that greater consistency can be achieved by using a simple recommendation matrix (SIR recommendation guidelines) based on probation officers' recommendation practice which in turn seems to influence court's disposal favourably. This could pave the way for the probation service to adopt an approach in which it presumes that staff will follow agreed practice rather than trying to predict and follow the requirements of different courts. At the same time, staff would be allowed to depart from the SIR recommendation guidelines after consultation in order to maintain their capacity to respond to unusual individual circumstances. The approach has particular relevance to the Criminal Justice Act which seeks to relate disposals to offence seriousness and offender suitability. In order to establish the new sentencing framework, both courts and the probation service will have to rely initially on their existing practice to some extent. The mechanism outlined in this paper thus provides a starting point for pre‐sentence report (PSRs) advice to courts as a guide as to sentence. The guidelines will need to be amended through periodic review so that it is in line with recent practice and government legislation.
Health Care or Punishment?: Prisoners with HIV/AIDS
Authors: THOMAS PHILIP A. , COSTIGAN RUTH S.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: We consider the reasons for and detail current changes to the prison medical service in England and Wales. We note that whilst civil society increasingly seeks redress through law, prisoners are ill equipped and relatively ineffective in using the courts. Instead, a medical paradigm might be an empowering process for prisoners to improve their quality of life. Delivery of an efficient health care service is a prisoner's right. This is of particular importance to HIV positive and AIDS prisoners for whom the standard of health care is literally a matter of life or death.
Prosecuting the Victim? A Study of the Reporting of Barristers' Comments in Rape Cases
Authors: SOOTHILL KEITH , SOOTHILL DEBBIE
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This study focusses on how the media portrays barristers' comments in rape trials. It examines shifts in reporting since the Second World War. The importance of the contributions of the prosecuting counsel is noted. In fact, it is not simply assumptions of the defence taken up by the media which sustain sexist attitudes but on occasions the prosecuting counsel can also be seen as colluding. This has legal and media implications. It not only questions assumptions concerning the adversarial legal systems but also it is argued that an implicit consensus is reflected by unified ‘real‐life’ accounts of the rape trial.
Partnerships Between the Independent Sector and the Probation Service
Authors: SMITH DAVID , PAYLOR IAN , MITCHELL PETER
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article examines the concept, strongly promoted in recent Home Office policy, of partnerships between the probation service and the independent sector. Its aim is to discuss the implications of this concept for probation policy and practice. It is argued first that current debates have tended to lose sight of a long tradition of joint work between the service and the voluntary sector, and examples are given of past partnerships' which may help inform present thinking. Five central issues are then identified ‐ the divisibility of probation tasks, accountability, compatibility of aims, organisation, and funding. It is suggested that their resolution may depend upon enhanced local participation and co‐operation in criminal justice.
Crime Prevention and the Safer Cities Story
Authors: TILLEY NICHOLAS
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The aims, administrative stuctures, funding, evaluation requirements and immediate origins of Safer Cities are described. A detailed explanation of each of the major elements of the programme is then attempted, focussing in particular on the complex interrelationships between politics, Home Office sponsored criminology and policy formulation. There follows an analysis of the context and logic of the programme as it has emerged and may develop in the future. A series of summary statements describing the antecedents of concerns with crime prevention as a policy issue and of safer Cities as a particular expression of this reveal the essentially contingent character of the initiative.
Reflections on Criminal Policy
Authors: CROFT JOHN
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Taking, as its starting point, the manifestos published by the three main political parties during the 1992 General Election, this article considers the principles that underly criminal policy and the bearing thy have on the institutions of criminal justice and their effectiveness.
Parole and the Life Sentence Prisoner
Authors: PADFIELD NICOLA M.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The Criminal Justice Act 1967, which introduced parole into this country for those sentenced to determinate sentences, did not establish parole for those sentenced to imprisonment for life, but inserted the Parole Board into the chain of advice which the Home Secretary had to take before releasing a lifer. A number of recent cases have brought the discrepancies between the way different categories of life prisoners are treated to the attention of the courts, yet the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the most radical review of the parole system since 1967, fails to deal adequately with the release of those serving life sentences. This article, whilst avoiding the wider argument for the abolition of indeterminate sentences, suggests that even within the current sentencing structure, parole for lifers could be made significantly fairer. In particular, the same procedures should be followed for those serving mandatory (for murder) and discretionary life sentences.
Responding to Youth Crime in Norway: Suggestions for England and Wales
Authors: ALLEN ROB
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper describes recent development in youth justice in Norway and compares some of the key issues with those in England and Wales ‐ in particular measures proposed or undertaken to deal with severely persistent juvenile offenders. The paper offs explanations of recent changes in policy and practice.
Implementing the Young Offenders Act in Ontario: Issues of Principles, Programmes and Power
Authors: CLARK BARRY M. , FLEMING THOMAS O'REILLY
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article explores the implementation of the Young Offenders Act in the most populous of Canada's ten provinces, Ontario. It argues that the original principles and programmes upon which the Act was based were not followed when the legislation was introduced. Research has demonstrated that rather than adopting alternative measures approaches which emphasise the special needs of delinquents, the approach is increasingly one of imprisonment. Increasing levels of investment in the carceral response has meant that community programming has not been implemented in any meaningful way. The Community Options Programme is described as a direction for future treatment of youth under the law. It is suggested that collaboration between social control agencies to co‐ordinate approaches is long overdue. The economies of community based responses on both the economic and human level are suggested.
From Punishment to Diversion and Back Again: The Debate on Non‐Custodial Sanctions and Penal Reform in the Netherlands
Authors: van SWAANINGEN RENÉ , BEIJERSE JOLANDE
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Post‐war Dutch penitentiary policy has been characterised by the principle of rehabilitation. In the 1980s, the optimism of reaching this ideal by ‘improving’ prison conditions has been tuned down. Sanctions which are executed ‘closer to the community’, as it is currently called, are now considered to have a greater rehabilitative potential. Many of these so‐called ‘alternative sanctions’ currently function in a model of diversion from the penal system in early phases of the penal process. Recent white papers indicate, however, a tendency to develop such ‘alternatives’ further by transforming them into principal modes of punishment ‐ that is, codifying them and having them imposed by a judge. The basis of this article is, that this move from diversion back to punishment might well diminish intended rehabilitative effects, because in this way the negative (side‐) effects of a fully penal execution are taken aboard. Eight guiding principles are outlined to safeguard the status of alternative sanctions as a possible impetus of penal reform.
Adjudications in Prison: Custody, Care and a Little Less Justice?1
Authors: QUINN PETER M.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The writer considers the Home Office responses to Lord Justice Woolf's report on the 1990 prison disturbances insofar as they affect one aspect of prison lift, nameb, the adjudication. He fears that, with the removal from boards of visitors of their adjudicatosy function, elements of natural justice have been placed in jeopardy. It may not be possible for a governor to come to a hearing without bias or without hints that the governor is a judge in his or her own cause not being sufficiently independent. Lord Bridge's dictum in ex parte Leech (1988) to the effect that the governor adjudicates as something other than a servant of the Secretary of State is diyficulty to sustain in practice. The adjudicating governor may be in breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The writer offers a way forward whereby discipline may be maintained in prisons through the application of a redrafted Prison Rule 47 and a revision of the present procedure.
The Scottish Prison Service: Changing the Culture
Authors: FRIZZELL E. W.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Disorder in prisons in the 1980 led to a searching debate within the Scottish Prison Service, which produced a commitment to change from a reactive and defensive culture into a more open, proactive one. The aim now is a ‘quality service’ in which prisoners will be viewed as responsible persons and be presented with opportunities about how they wish to use their period of imprisonment. A cultural change of this kind affects the way in which the service organises itself, takes decisions and treats staff. Changes are now in hand which ‘migrate’ tasks to establishments and empower Governors‐in‐Charge ‐ and their staff. Inevitably this mw style of prison management will take time and emounter difficulties. The Scottish Prison Service is committed, however, to its goal of a more enlightened Prison Service.
SUICIDE AMONGST WOMEN PRISONERS
Authors: LIEBLING ALISON
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The rate of suicide amongst women prisoners is seriously underestimated. The relatively small numbers of women in prison often leads to the neglect of their specific needs and concern. Their suicide rate in prison has been increasing. Women prisoners talk about family and child‐care concern more often than male prisoners do. There may also be other reasons for their greater vulnerability in prison. It may be that the fact of imprisonment has a different and more specific impact on women than upon men. The subjective, qualitative aspects of the prison experience are rarely investigated. As a result, the pains of imprisonment are tragically underestimated.
Drug Crime, Drug Problems and Criminal Justice: Sentencing Trends and Enforcement Targets
Authors: COLLISON MIKE
Published: January 2009

Abstract: In the latter half of the 1980s official criminal justice policy on drug misuse in the UK began to take on an increasingly bifurcated form. An emphasis on harm reduction and diversion into treatment and away from the penal system has (in theory) come to inform the approach to those implicated in drug or other crime because of dependency (cultural, pharmacological and psychological). However, at the same time proactive enforcement measures have been encouraged and the courts have been provided with extra retributive powers ‐ both changes targetted on the traffickers whose commitment to profit and enterprise enables the illicit market to function and flourish. By looking at recent statistical trends in sentencing and law enforcement it is argued that the courts and the police have not followed injunctions to divert the user and punish the cynical dealer in clear cut ways and that the criminal justice and penal systems continue to deal, in judicial forms, with the users of drugs rather than the ‘demons’ of populist and political mythologies.
Drug Diffusion and Social Change: The Illusion about a Formal Social Control
Authors: SOLIVETTI LUIGI M.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Evolution of the Italian penal legislation on illicit drugs. The ‘autonomous’ evolution of the spread of drugs and the lack of substantial response to the attempts at legal control. Structural socio‐economic change in the country. The connection between this change and the spread of drugs. The influence of public opinion and its effects on the legislative refonn. Western culture's illusion as to the feasibility of social control in terms mereb of penal sanctions.
Pre‐Trial Reviews, Court Efficiency and Justice: A Study in Leeds and Bradford Magistrates' Courts1
Authors: BROWNLEE IAN D. , MULCAHY AOGAN , WALKER CLIVE P.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article discusses briefly the role that might be played by pre‐trial review (PTR) hearings in promoting the efficient handling of criminal cases in the magistrates' courts. It then summarises some of the findings of an evaluation study undertaken by the authors in two busy inner‐city courts which have slightly different systems for pre‐trial review. Efficiency gains are measured in tern of case‐settlement and case‐streamlining and the results are discussed in the context of whether the observed outcomes of PTRs have had an unacceptable impact on the delivery of substantive justice to the defendants in the cases involved.
The Swansea Listener Scheme: Views from the Prison Landings
Authors: DAVIES BRIAN
Published: January 2009

The Swansea Listener Scheme is based on the belief that Samaritan principles of sympathetic listening can be applied formally within a prison setting. Samaritans are ordinary people trained to befriend others in confidence, without administering advice or judgment. Ordinary prisoners can also befriend, within a confidential setting, those who feel vulnerable or suicidal. Trained and supported by the Samaritans, the services of a volunteer Listener can mean the deference between coping with prison, or simply giving up. Since its inception at Swansea Prison in August 1991, the incidence of recorded self‐harm has been halved. This study, based on extended interviews with Listeners and staff, suggests that the implications of the scheme go well beyond the prevention of suicide, and have a positive effect on relationships between stag, prisoners and caring agencies within the community.
An Analysis of a Guideline Case as Applied to the Offence of Rape
Authors: RANYARD ROB , HEBENTON BILL , PEASE KEN
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Guideline judgments in English sentencing have been subjected to little scrutiny by criminologists. This article provides a cognitive psychological perspective on one particularly important guideline judgment, Regina v. Billam and Others which concerns the sentencing of rapists. The authors analyse Billam's internal logic, the kind of sentencing practice prescribed and how the guideline is being applied. A sample of post‐Billam cases where a sentence for rape was appealed is analysed and the results reported. The authors conclude that in appealed rape cases the Court of Appeal appears to have scaled its sentences apparently unconstrained by the Billam scaling implications.
Compensatory Work Programme, a Way of Limiting Prison Use? The Québec Experience
Authors: LANDREVILLE PIERRE
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article gives an account of the compensatory work programme in the province of Québec, Canada, which is a success in the sense that, to a certain extent, it checked admissions for non‐payment of fines (the flow), and improved the quality of justice administration, but it has had no perceptible impact on the prison stock. It also discusses the danger of the political discourse and that of agencies that have an immediate interest in painting a glowing picture of the savings that would be realised by such programmes in reducing the prison population
Renunciation, De‐Stigmatisation and Prevention of Crime in Hong Kong
Authors: HUQUE AHMED SHAFIQUL
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Governments around the world seek to devise methods and mechanisms for preventing crime as well as rehabilitating offenders. The Triad Renunciation Scheme in Hong Kong presents an interesting case study of a positive innovation in this area. The scheme was intended to arrest the growth of triad societies by allowing a chance for members to sever ties with illegal organisations. While considerable interest was generated, political and economic pressures defined the scheme as minimally successful. The Triad Renunciation Tribunal could not be effective because of its temporary nature and shortage of staff. However, the scheme demonstrated the willingness of the government of Hong Kong to deal with the problem of stigmatisation and prevent and control criminal activities through a novel approach, using an independent tribunal outside the network of traditional anti‐crime agencies.
Community Alternatives Reconsidered
Authors: Middleton Kath
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Beginning in 1988 government policy as regards incarceration of offenders appeared to move away from custody towards punishment in the community. This piece of research examines two community initiatives which purport to provide viable alternatives to custody which could be utilised by the courts in place of a prison sentence. The work describes and compares a community project based in Dumbarton, which is administered and partially financed by Save The Children Fund in partnership with Strathclyde region social work department; with an initiative in Middlesbrough which is administered by probation officers and forms part of the statutory resource unit for the area of Cleveland. The paper examines the aims of such projects, the programmes they have adopted and their outcomes. It is suggested that the Home Secretary should reconsider such ‘alternatives’.
Dangerous Trends in the Sentencing of Mentally Abnormal Offenders
Authors: Henham Ralph
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the recent trend towards protectionist sentencing has seriously compromised the due process rights of mentally abnormal offenders. The failure to clarify the rationale for sentencing mentally abnormal offenders has produced anomalous sentencing provisions and it has become acceptable sentencing policy that in certain circumstances a mentally abnormal offender may be given a custodial sentence which exceeds the ‘normal’ sentence for that type of offence.
Probation Values for the 1990s
Authors: Nellis Mike
Published: January 2009

Abstract:The task of re‐assessing probation values assumed a new urgency when even its own Chief Inspector (Chief Inspector of Probation 1994, p. 4) complained that the probation service (in 1993) was still ‘clinging to its welfare ethic and had not fully integrated the notion of punishment in the community into its repertoire’. But the way forward is not easy. Those who seek to re‐affirm social work values, (to which welfare is supposed to be central), against the punitive inclinations of the Home Office, do so without regard to the limitations which the new managerial culture in the service ‐ benevolent corporatism ‐ imposes on the expression of personal care and concern. The ‘social work’ school have also, repeatedly and perversely, failed to draw on normative debates within criminology which have prim a facie relevance to the future of the probation service. It will be argued here that a more criminologically sophisticated value‐base, built around the linked notions of anti‐custodialism, restorative justice and community safety will serve the probation service better than a simple restatement of ‘the welfare ethic’, and, by developing its role as a community justice agency, provide it with a means of resisting a wholly punitive identity.
The Development of the Prison Library and its Role within the Models of Rehabilitation
Authors: Stevens Tony , Usherwood Bob
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The evolution of the prison library is outlined in relation to the various models of rehabilitation which have been developed. The failure to develop all the functions that prison libraries can fulfil and to wholly appreciate the unique environment in which they operate are identified as major factors which have had a significant influence in determining both the nature of contemporary prison libraries and their contribution to the rehabilitative process. However, the recent development of the cognitive‐behavioural model requires a library service able to assist rehabilitation in three principal ways: empowering the inmate with information, providing help with a range of practical skills and helping change inmates' attitudes and behaviour. To achieve these objectives prison libraries must cease to be regarded as a peripheral resource, must be better funded and equipped, and must develop as a pro‐active and integrated service.
Silence in Court? Language Interpreters in the Courts of England and Wales
Authors: Noaks Lesley , Butler Ian
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article reports findings from a national study of interpreting practice in the courts of England and Wales. It begins with an account of the legislative and regulatory framework that governs interpreting practice in England and Wales before exploring some conceptual issues concerning the role of the interpreter in a court setting. Selected findings from the study are reported and the paper concludes with a disussion of the wider policy and practice issues raised by the study.
The Continuing Story of the ‘Appropriate Adult’
Authors: Thomas Terry
Published: January 2009

Abstract:Examines the evolution and present role of the ‘appropriate adult’ attending police interviews with ‘vulnerable’ suspects as defined in the Codes of Practice to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. In particular it explores the role as played by local authority social workers, the training and experience that prepares them for this role and whether changes are needed in the light of the 1993 Royal Commission on Criminal Justice findings.
Foreign Nationals in English Prisons: I. Family Ties and their Maintenance
Authors: Richards Martin , McWilliams Brenda , Batten Nikki , Cameron Claire , CUTLER JENNY
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Fifty male and 55 female prisoners who were normally resident outside the UK were interviewed in twelve English prisons. All were convicted with sentences of 18 months or more and had been in prison for at least two months. Twenty‐four nationalities were represented but prisoners resident in the Republic of Ireland were excluded from the study. All had been convicted for offences related to the import of illegal drugs though had not been selected for this reason. Compared with UK prisoners those from abroad were older, had wider family responsibilities and were on average serving much longer sentences.

Non‐UK prisoners receive few visitors. Most of those they do see are relatives or friends who live in the UK or people from religious or other voluntary groups. Only two of the 42 mothers had seen their children. In both cases their children happened to be living in the UK. Most prisoners felt isolated and very cut off from their families. Letters were the main method prisoners used for keeping in touch with family and friends. There was wide variety in the number of free or subsidised letters available to prisoners. Though most, in theory, had access to card phones, the cost of these made them of little value to most prisoners.

The difficulties in speaking English and lack of knowledge of English culture in general, and prison culture in particular (almost all claimed to be first offenders), coupled with factors such as lack of availability of familiar food, videos or reading material in their own language, contributed to the sense of social and cultural violation of most non‐UK prisoners. Recent initiatives to help support the family ties of prisoners have, in the main, had little relevance for this group of prisoners.
Foreign Nationals in English Prisons: II. Some Policy Issues
Authors: Richards Martin , Mcwilliams Brenda , Batten Nikki , Cameron Claire , Cutler Jenny
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper draws on the results of the Cambridge Family Ties Project which investigated ties from prisoners' points of view. It argues that current policy and practice in relation to foreign national prisoners can be improved. The neglect of this group means that there are no accurate statistics concerning them. However, all the indications are that they form a significant proportion of the UK prison population, especially among those with longer sentences. Because of their distance from their families, lack of fluent English, and cultural isolation, these prisoners often experience a much harsher prison regime than their UK counterparts. Many of the recent policy changes intended to support the family ties of prisoners have little or no impact for foreign national prisoners. A number of suggestions are made about steps that might improve matters. Finally, the policy leading to the long prison sentences that most non‐UK prisoners receive as drug couriers is questioned. While such policies can be devastating, not only for those imprisoned, but also their families, there seems little evidence that they have any deterrent effect. It has been suggested that arrested couriers should simply be deported and that the British tax payer would thus be spared the considerable cost of maintaining these people in UK prisons.
Black and Asian Prisoners' Families
Authors: Light Roy
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper presents the findings of a pilot study of the particular needs of black and Asian prisoners' families. It is in two parts. First, a survey of support groups to assess the use and provision of services for black/Asian families. Secondly, a series of interviews conducted with black and Asian family members.
Sentencing Policy and the Role of the Court of Appeal1
Authors: Henham Ralph
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper examines the key role which the Court of Appeal has played in shaping sentencing policy in the last 20 years. It is argued that the continued divergence between judicial objectives and executive policy‐making provides a significant obstacle to penal reform. The analysis examines the interpretation of government legislation and initiatives by the Court of Appeal, Court of Appeal sentencing initiatives, and the impact of the Attorney Generals reference procedure. It is suggested that the solution to the problem lies in the establishment of flexible national guidelines which have judicial and executive approval based on agreed sentencing objectives
Restorative Justice for Juveniles: Just a Technique or a Fully Fledged Alternative?
Authors: Walgrave Lode
Published: January 2009

Abstract: In most industrialised countries a specialised justice system for juvenile crime exists. The discussions which surround this approach revolve around the balance to be struck when combining educative aims with penal justice principles. The continued quest for an ideal combination seems to be a ‘mission impossible’. A way must be found to resolve this impasse. Experiments with restorative justice are an extremely promising avenue for further exploration. In doing so, far more than a simple alternative technique seems to be at issue, but goes to the roots of the social and ethical governance of our societies.
The Garland Thesis and the Origins of Modern English Prison Discipline: 1835 to 1939
Authors: Forsythe Bill
Published: January 2009

Abstract: In this article David Garland's (1985) seminal work Punishment and Welfare is discussed in relation to English prisons between the above dates. I suggest a rebuttal of Garland's critique of Michel Foucault's (1979) earlier work on 19th century penal developments because this critique is a foundation stone of Garland's general thesis about the origins of modern penality. Secondly it is argued that Garland took insufficient account of the influence of positivist evolutionist theory on penal thought in the mid‐ Victorian era and that his assumptions about the classical foundations of the totality of Victorian penality are oversimplified. Lastly, I argue that, notwithstanding, Garland was wrong to emphasise eugenic and neo‐Darwinian theory as a dominant intellectual and operational foundation of penality between 1895 and 1914.

In fact the empirical case of prisons shows that traditional moral reformatory methods and classicism were the major theoretical foundations of prisons and borstals between 1895 and 1914 although significant projects based on the new mental science and neo‐Darwinian positivism were cautiously and experimentally tried.
Mentally Disordered Offenders: Finding a Focus for Diversion
Authors: Burney Elizabeth , Pearson Geoffrey
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The paper is based on an ongoing evaluation of a court‐based diversion scheme for mentally disordered offenders in a busy inner‐London magistrates' court. It begins'with a review of the field, in particular the different decision‐making points at which diversion schemes of this kind might be situated. This is followed by an account of the early experience of the Islington Mentally Disordered Offenders Project which began in the early 1990s. Attention isfocussed on four areas of special need: homelessness; drug misuse; personal violence, and race and ethnicity.
Probation Values for the 1990s — and Beyond?
Authors: James Adrian L.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: In a recent article, Nellis (1995) undertook a detailed analysis of factors which have served to undermine the ‘traditional’ value‐base of the probation service and outlined a new set of values for the 1990s which, he argued, were more appropriate to the changed role of the service within the criminal justice system and better suited to its changed organisational context. In this reply, the author argues that Nellis has not gone far enough, either in terms of analysing and responding to the changed political context in which criminal justice policy exists or in terms of building on recent developments in criminological theory and that the values he proposes contain and conceal a number of problematic and unresolved tensions and ambiguities. An alternative approach, building on the notion of relational justice, is therefore proposed.
‘Reflexivity Run Riot’: The Survival of the Prison Catch‐All1
Authors: Quinn Peter M.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: The writer argues for the removal of Rule 47(21) from Prison Rules. It is contrary to the principle o/nulla poena sine lege and also to that of legal certainty. It is unnecessary in that acts constituting offences against good order and discipline may already be punished under other paragraphs of the Rule. An opportunity to review the question will arise with the drafting of new primary and subordinate legislation.
Doctors, Rape and Criminal Justice
Authors: TEMKIN JENNIFER
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article considers the medical examination of women who report rape to the police. Fourteen women who reported rape to the Sussex police between 1991 and 1993 were interviewed in depth about their experience of the medical examination. Eighty‐six per cent of them were wholly, mainly or partly negative about it whilst 36% were wholly or partly positive. The article considers those factors perceived as positive and those perceived as negative. It offers some suggestions as to how medical services for victims of rape might be improved.
Kirkholt Revisited: Some Reflections on the Transferability of Crime Prevention Initiatives
Authors: CRAWFORD ADAM , JONES MATTHEW
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Little attention has been paid to the transferability of ‘successful’ crime prevention projects. The Kirkholt Burglary Prevention Project has been hailed by academics (Forrester et al. 1988, 1990; Bottoms 1990) and policy‐makers (Burns 1990; Home Office 1990) as one of the most successful crime prevention projects undertaken in the UK. In this paper we report on an ethnographic research case study of a crime prevention project which sought to transfer the mechanisms – both processual and those aimed at desired preventative outcomes – used in the Kirkholt Project to a different location. In doing so we develop a critique of dominant understandings of what constitutes ‘success’, ‘multi‐agency co‐operation’ and ‘evaluation’ in the field of crime prevention.
Users' Rights and the Probation Service: Some Opportunities and Obstacles
Authors: BROAD BOB , DENNEY DAVID
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article examines the opportunities and obstacles facing the possible extension of legal and social rights for users of probation services. It is argued that the notion of users' rights in the community punishment context promotes a view of users as citizens with responsibilities rather than feckless offenders. It is further argued that extended user rights should act as a check against forms of new managerialism which now permeate the probation service, providing a means whereby users of the probation service could be treated more openly and equitably. The article concludes with some preliminary proposals for a service users' charter, making reference to the victims' and prisoners' rights movement.
An Evaluation of the Craigmillar Youth Challenge
Authors: KARABINAS A. , MONAGHAN B. , SHEPTYCKI J. W. E.
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper offers an evaluation of a youth diversion project which ran during the 1994 Easter vacation for young people on one of Edinburgh's partly run‐down model housing estates. Through reference to detailed field observation, it offers an overview of the process of multi‐agency co‐ordination. The evaluation is made by reference to competing professional discourses employed by the representatives of the various involved agencies. The emergence of a ‘hybrid discourse’, a shared vocabulary, is postulated and tested for. The authors conclude that, within the context of this particular programme, the linguistic practices of various different professionals did not constitute an insurmountable barrier to co‐operation.
Ex‐Offenders and Enterprise
Authors: RIEPLE ALISON , HARPER MALCOLM , BAILEY ANDY
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This paper reports on an exploratory study which has investigated the potential which offenders may have for entrepreneurial activities. The research found that prisoners appear to be more entrepreneurial than other occupational groups, although probationers are not. The study suggests that a high proportion of both groups of offenders had worked in their own businesses in the past, and as such may benefit from specialist small business training or support which can address their particular needs. Prisons in general offer training, but probation services do not, and there appears to be little co‐ordination of this training between agencies.
Democracy and Minority Rights1
Authors: van DIJK THEO
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article attempts to deal with the problems related to the presence of ethniccultural minority groups within a predominantly white Dutch society. Even though rightextremism has not as yet reached the level of support it has in some other countries, in the Netherlands there seems to be a growing tendency towards discrimination and racism. In this respect it seems of great importance to try and find ways to turn these developments round. Two ways are discussed here which might contribute to a more positive development. On the one hand it is argued that more room for different kind of cultures, also within the legal culture, could result in a better understanding and acceptance of different cultural groups within society. On the other hand the question is posed whether or not a political party that does not show any respect for important material features of democracy (including minority rights) and intentionally tries to disturb the public order and aims at destroying democracy itself, should ultimately be banned from the political platform.
Prison Privateers: Neo‐Colonialists in NSW
Authors: BALDRY EILEEN
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Private for‐profit prison corporations are expanding in Australia faster than in any other country. These corporations are based in the USA and form part of the correctionscommercial complex. It is the contention of this paper, from observations in NSW, Australia, that the nature of these newly internationalised private prison corporations is neo‐colonialist, both economically and culturally. It can be compared with the expansion of the nuclear power industry by transnational US corporations in the 1960s and 1970s and other transnationals more recently. Using this perspective, the appropriateness of transnational private for‐profit prison corporations running prisons in Australia is severely questioned.
People Talking About Punishment
Authors: HOUGH MICHAEL
Published: January 2009

Abstract: Using focus groups, this study has investigated public attitudes to sentencing. Respondents emerged as highly cynical about the ability and performance of sentencers, and thought that in general sentences are far too soft. They tended to be systematically misinformed about sentencing practice, often substantially overestimating sentencers' leniency. They found a series of Court of Appeal judgments broadly acceptable, and advocated sentences that were often in line with current practice, at least with regard to the type of sentence. But many expressed highly punitive views about serious crimes, and wanted longer prison sentences for these. Respondents lacked any clear understanding of probation and rehabilitative sentences. The findings imply an urgent need for action to correct public misunderstanding about the leniency of sentencing, as this is an important source of frustration with sentencing.