Showing papers in "Criminology & Criminal Justice in 2012"
TL;DR: The authors explored desistance in process among serious offenders residing in democratic therapeutic communities and argued that offender rehabilitation in therapeutic communities involves a process of purposive and agentic reconstruction of identity and narrative reframing, so that a new and better person emerges whose attitudes and behaviours cohere with long-term desistance from crime.
Abstract: Drawing upon semi-ethnographic research, this article explores desistance in process among serious offenders residing in democratic therapeutic communities. It is argued that offender rehabilitation in therapeutic communities involves a process of purposive and agentic reconstruction of identity and narrative reframing, so that a ‘new’ and ‘better’ person emerges whose attitudes and behaviours cohere with long-term desistance from crime. This is possible because the prison-based therapeutic community, with its commitment to a radically ‘different’ culture and mode of rehabilitation, socially enables, produces and reinforces the emergence of someone ‘different’. The article therefore develops existing understandings of change in forensic therapeutic communities, and reaffirms theories of desistance which emphasize the importance of pro-social changes to the offender’s personal identity and self-narrative.
135 citations
TL;DR: In a recent study, this paper found that respect was defined by prisoners not just in terms of interpersonal relationships but also "getting things done" (what might be called "organizational respect").
Abstract: Interpretations of ‘respect’ in prison have tended to be narrow, focusing on courteous and considerate staff–prisoner relationships. In a recent study, we found that respect was defined by prisoners not just in terms of interpersonal relationships but also ‘getting things done’ (what might be called ‘organizational respect’). We expected prisoners in the study, which compared quality of life in public and private sector prisons, to rate private prisons well in terms of respect, due to previous research findings and the history and self-declared values of the companies who run them. The findings from the study revealed a more complex picture. There was mixed support for previous claims that the private sector offers a more courteous prison environment than the public sector, and, among the matched prisons in our study, the public sector establishments were better than the private sector prisons at ‘getting things done’: a distinct component of respect in prison, according to prisoners. These differences in...
55 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of formal and informal regulatory orders in the development of offender identity is explored, drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from the Edinburgh Study of You and You.
Abstract: This article explores the role which formal and informal regulatory orders play in the development of offender identity. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from the Edinburgh Study of You...
48 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore debates around the increasing role of the third sector in the delivery of mainstream criminal justice services, in the context of a broader "marketization" of public services.
Abstract: The paper explores debates around the increasing role of the third sector in the delivery of mainstream criminal justice services, in the context of a broader ‘marketization’ of public services and...
45 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the first ethnographic field study of covert policing conducted in the United Kingdom is presented, and the authors show that the surveillance strategies used by law enforcement are increasingly embedded in the most mundane aspects of social life.
Abstract: This article draws upon research from the first ethnographic field study of covert policing conducted in the United Kingdom, and seeks to shed light on how covert officers carry out their surveillance work. In particular, it demonstrates how officers attempt to blend into their surroundings and render their work invisible in order to intrude into the daily lives of those people considered suspect. In so doing, we highlight some hitherto unnoticed aspects – or ‘invisibilities’ – of policing, and show that the surveillance strategies used by law enforcement are increasingly embedded in the most mundane aspects of social life. In contrast to the processes of mass surveillance that are typically the focus of surveillance scholars, the article serves as a reminder that the surveillance powers of the State are vastly intensified when individual members of the public are regarded as suspects by the police.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the applicability of regime theory to the negotiation of public safety, a governing problem which is a particular focus for political analysis within criminology, and suggest its analysis in terms of "regimes" of advocacy coalitions that struggle for the capacity to govern complex problems and populations in specific social contexts.
Abstract: Implicit in the concept of negotiated orders is an understanding of the social productivity of political power; the power to accomplish governing programmes for citizens as much as the power over citizens for the purposes of social control. This distinction is especially pertinent for the role of political analysis in critical criminological thought, where criticism of the authoritarian state has vied with studies of governmentality and governance to explain the exercise of political power beyond the State and with the distinction between politics and administration found in liberal criminology. Outside of criminology, political economists interested in the ‘power to’ govern suggest its analysis in terms of ‘regimes’ of advocacy coalitions that struggle for the capacity to govern complex problems and populations in specific social contexts. Regime formation or failure can differ in character, and in outcomes, as much within nation states as between them and in relation to different kinds of governing problems. The article considers the applicability of regime theory to the negotiation of ‘public safety’, a governing problem which is a particular focus for political analysis within criminology.
39 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider what the government says the Big Society signifies, what its crime and justice elements are or might be and whether these developments are feasible and defensible.
Abstract: It remains to be seen whether the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and senior ministers in the coalition government continue to deploy ‘Big Society’ talk. Of all the phrases coined for the 2010 Conservative Manifesto, and from time to time resurrected since, no other has been the source of as much passionate advocacy, derision, confusion and critically righteous anger. Even the Conservative press has run cartoons mocking the Big Society.1 But whether or not the phrase survives as a party political slogan, the governmental impetus behind it is unlikely to go away – nor the analysis of what was attempted and whether anything changed. In what follows I consider what the government says the Big Society signifies, what its crime and justice elements are or might be and whether these developments are feasible and defensible.
35 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a diversity agenda is used to improve relations between ethnic minority communities and the police. But, the diversity agenda has generally revolved around a "diversity" agenda, through strategies to enhance consultation, increase recr...
Abstract: Recent efforts to improve relations between ethnic minority communities and the police have generally revolved around a ‘diversity’ agenda, through strategies to enhance consultation, increase recr...
31 citations
TL;DR: A plethora of youth justice sanctions have arisen in response to this concern, such as youth gang violence and offending as discussed by the authors, and a variety of measures have been proposed to deal with them.
Abstract: Concerns about youth gang violence and offending have occurred in developed societies across the globe, and a plethora of youth justice sanctions have arisen in response to this. This article is fo...
30 citations
TL;DR: In 2009, a sex offender public disclosure scheme was piloted in England and Scotland based upon political and policy assumptions about the public's likely take-up of such a scheme as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In 2009 a sex offender public disclosure scheme was piloted in England and Scotland based upon political and policy assumptions about the public’s likely take-up of such a scheme. However, the pilo...
30 citations
TL;DR: In recent years, there has been an increased focus on prisoner resettlement in government policy in England and Wales as discussed by the authors, and two contrasting trends have been evident: post-release supervision in the form of...
Abstract: In recent years there has been an increased focus on prisoner resettlement in government policy in England and Wales. Two contrasting trends have been evident. Post-release supervision in the form ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore what the existing literature has to say about what is most important in the probation supervision: staff characteristics, staff skills or programs, in broader historical per...
Abstract: This article explores what the existing literature has to say about what is most important in the probation supervision: staff characteristics, staff skills or programmes? In broader historical per...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors draw on empirical research in two US cities to illustrate how communities control crime and what does this tell us about the problem of negotiating order at the local level.
Abstract: How do communities control crime, and what does this tell us about the problem of negotiating order at the local level? This article will draw on empirical research in two US cities to illustrate h...
TL;DR: This article examined how the media report on sentences given to those who commit serious crimes against children and how this impacts on public knowledge and attitudes, concluding that public attitudes are highly critical of sentencing but also confused about the meaning of tariffs.
Abstract: This research examines how the media report on sentences given to those who commit serious crimes against children and how this impacts on public knowledge and attitudes. Three months of press and television coverage were analysed in order to establish the editorial lines that are taken in different sections of the media and how they are promoted by selective reporting of sentencing. Results indicate that a small number of very high profile crimes account for a significant proportion of reporting in this area and often, particularly in the tabloid press, important information regarding sentencing rationale is sidelined in favour of moral condemnation and criticism of the judiciary. Polling data indicate that public attitudes are highly critical of sentencing but also confused about the meaning of tariffs. The article concludes by discussing what can be done to promote a more informed public debate over penal policy in this area.
TL;DR: Preferences of 800 randomly selected Australians for retributive and utilitarian sentencing purposes were examined in response to brief crime scenarios where offender age, offence type and offender type were examined as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Preferences of 800 randomly selected Australians for retributive and utilitarian sentencing purposes were examined in response to brief crime scenarios where offender age, offence type and offender...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the findings of an analysis of e-safety education material currently made available to UK schools, and currently being delivered to children and young people between the ages of five and 18.
Abstract: This article presents the findings of an analysis of ‘e-safety’ education material currently made available to UK schools, and currently being delivered to children and young people between the ages of five and 18. E-safety refers to the way that young people are taught about risks online, how they can protect themselves, and to whom they should report worrying activity. The article is grounded in a political understanding of education as a political strategy, and one that is conducted by multiple actors, including policing agencies. The article therefore relates e-safety education to a broader politics of surveillance, crime prevention and governmental rationalities and techniques. Formal education does not determine, but likely influences the perceptions of young people towards the digitally mediated environment – including roles of authority, appropriate behavioural norms and risk perception (currently dominated by the threat of child sexual abuse). The most commonly used and disseminated e-safety educ...
TL;DR: Community safety has often been studied from an institutional perspective as an important adaptation to late modernity, or from a practice perspective as a set of professional activities that are o... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Community safety has often been studied from an institutional perspective as an important adaptation to late modernity, or from a practice perspective as a set of professional activities that are o...
TL;DR: The evolution of the policing role over the last decade has led to 33 police forces in England and Wales integrating restorative justice practices, in one form or another, into their responses to minor crime committed for the first time by both youths and adults.
Abstract: The evolution of the policing role over the last decade has led to 33 police forces in England and Wales integrating restorative justice practices, in one form or another, into their responses to minor crime committed for the first time by both youths and adults. Most recently, this reform dynamic has been used in response to more serious offences committed by persistent offenders and expanded to include all stages of the criminal justice process. Despite the significant positive rhetoric that surrounds the adoption and use of restorative justice, there are a number of procedural and cultural challenges that pose a threat to the extent to which restorative justice may become embedded within the policing response. This article explores these developments and highlights where potential problems for implementation may arise as well as some strategies to overcome them.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the problem of systematic Europe-wide implementation of crime prevention standards in urban planning and introduce the system of standardization and then examine the particular European Standard for Crime Prevention by Urban Planning and Building Design (CEN/TR14383).
Abstract: Crime prevention standards in housing have for a long time been limited to target hardening, and in that respect European Norms were developed as guidelines for ‘burglar resistant’ doors, windows and shutters (EN1630). Recent developments include a set of supplementary crime prevention standards in the building sector, which are not limited to technical products but focus on the layout and management of urban environments and their impact on public safety. This article focuses on the problem of systematic Europe-wide implementation of crime prevention standards in urban planning. The attempt to implement common guidelines for design-led crime prevention through the development of a European Norm has failed. In this article I will first introduce the system of standardization and then examine the particular European Standard for Crime Prevention by Urban Planning and Building Design (CEN/TR14383). Instead of a harmonious application of that standard in Europe, a variety of policies have been negotiated, in...
TL;DR: The New Zealand youth justice system emerged as a new paradigm in the early 1990s and significant reforms have been made through amending legislation in 2010 as discussed by the authors, and three significant conceptual shifts underpinning the recent reforms are discussed.
Abstract: The New Zealand youth justice system emerged as a ‘new paradigm’ in the early 1990s. This model of reintegration, restorativeness, diversion and family empowerment has been highly influential worldwide. The New Zealand system has remained stable and non-punitive in the context of a volatile and punitive adult criminal justice system and the ‘punitive turn’ in the youth justice systems of similar jurisdictions. Significant reforms have been made through amending legislation in 2010. Here, three significant conceptual shifts underpinning the recent reforms are discussed. It is suggested that the New Zealand youth justice system is ‘playing catch-up’ both with the adult system, and with comparable jurisdictions. Nevertheless, those factors which allowed the youth justice system to remain non-punitive up to now may act to mitigate the potentially harsh effects of the legislative changes.
TL;DR: In the UK, drivers in the UK have become subject to increasing amounts of surveillance as they go about their daily activities, such as speed cameras and automatic number plate recognition as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Over the past decade, drivers in the UK have become subject to increasing amounts of surveillance as they go about their daily activities. Both speed cameras and Automatic Number Plate Recognition ...
TL;DR: The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, introduced by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, is portrayed as an important advance on the previous two Charters, particularly with regards to the complaints process available in cases where service providers breach these obligations as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, introduced by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, is portrayed as an important advance on the previous two Charters, particularly with regards to the complaints process available in cases where service providers breach these obligations. This article provides a detailed description of the Code’s complaints process as well as its functioning in order to evaluate its efficacy. The methodology behind this evaluation comprises several interviews with members of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office and analysis of legal documents such as statutes, case law, reports and the relevant academic literature on victims. The article argues that the Code’s complaints process is not an effective and adequate mechanism for victims of crime, since contrary to its aims, it is largely inaccessible, long, overly complex and does not provide sufficient guarantees of privacy and objectivity as well as adequate redress and remedies for victims when service providers brea...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on a study which comprised secondary analysis of 112 semi-structured interviews with 50 young people who had desisted from offending and 62 who had never offended.
Abstract: This article reports on a study which comprised secondary analysis of 112 semi-structured interviews with 50 young people who had desisted from offending and 62 who had never offended. The findings...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined co-offending groups that commit violent firearms offences within the UK, in order to develop an understanding of these groups in terms of their level of professionalism.
Abstract: The present study examines co-offending groups that commit violent firearms offences within the UK, in order to develop an understanding of these groups in terms of their level of professionalism. A sample of 69 cases was selected from two British law databases, consisting of offences that involved the utilization of a firearm in a violent crime committed by more than one offender. Cases were content analysed for offending behaviour. The presence of a three-way thematic model of criminal professionalism, previously identified in robbery, was tested using multi-dimensional scaling. Three themes of offences were identified as Targeted, Gratuitous and Reactive, which differed in the level of professionalism displayed. Gratuitous was the most common theme for the sample, demonstrating some evidence of planning but also gratuitous violence towards victims. In conclusion, while violent gun crime is typically a phenomenon involving young males, not all groups display the same behaviour or levels of professionali...
TL;DR: In the United States, for most of the industrial and post-industrial era, the main agenda of a criminal justice system has been well settled as mentioned in this paper, and the idea of a professional, rights-based justice system was well established.
Abstract: Something fundamentally new is going on with criminal justice. In the United States, for most of the industrial and post-industrial era, the main agenda of a criminal justice system has been well settled. Police were supposed to patrol and respond to crime. Courts were supposed to adjudicate accusations and impose punishments. Penal agencies were asked to punish and rehabilitate. There were, of course, quite lively debates within these paradigms. Should the police patrol in cars or by foot? Should sentences be fixed or indeterminate? Is correctional work best performed in the community or through confinement? Similar debates have taken place in the United Kingdom. How shall the orders of the court be enforced? Can expanded use of confinement strengthen the deterrent impact of criminal sanctions? What can be done to bolster the role of ‘evidence’ in justice practices? These and similar debates do not question the underlying idea of a professional, rights-based justice system. To be sure, the differing views on these issues were expressed in ways that were often heated. But the opposing views were internal to the logic of the system as we know it; they usually did not pose questions that challenged the basic assumptions of the system. They accept the given justice system as a starting point from which to build a reform agenda. In the United States (US) today, many of these standing debates about justice reform, which have been dominating the airwaves over the last 30 years, are being replaced by much more fundamental questions about the criminal justice system – even its abiding assumptions and main aims. We appear to be poised at a time of transition, in which the justice system our children will inherit may look very different from the one we received from those who went before us. It is within this context of deep shifts in justice thinking that the idea of a ‘Big Society’ can be best understood. The phrase is a sound-bite, of course, seemingly designed to make attractive an agenda that calls for a smaller governmental role in justice. But in the