Showing papers in "Criminology & Criminal Justice in 2013"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed data from 16 offenders to understand the process of reintegration from their perspective and found that those who were successful tended to have both a personal desire to change and a support system that helped them reintegrate and desist from drug use and crime.
Abstract: Qualitative data from16 offenders were analyzed to understand the process of reintegration from their perspective. The offenders identified six factors that they felt influenced their ability to reintegrate and desist from crime: (1) substance abuse; (2) employment; (3) family support; (4) types of friends; (5) personal motivation to change; and (6) age. A large majority indicated that drug abuse was a major contributor to their criminal activities. Most said supports from family, friends, and treatment services were important for successful reintegration. Those who were successful tended to have both a personal desire to change and a support system that helped them reintegrate and desist from drug use and crime. Support had more impact among those who desired to change and those who received support were more likely to perceive that change is possible.
107 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, human agency is conceptualized as a transformative aspect of desistance from crime, and it is argued that existing conceptualizations of agency are vague or undirected.
Abstract: This article provides a discussion of human agency, conceptualized as a transformative aspect of desistance from crime. It is argued here that existing conceptualizations of agency are vague or und...
106 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that normalization theory fails to recognize the existence of a distinct cannabis culture because it has a traditional understanding of subcultures as groups of people, and suggest that a definition of subculture as a collection of rituals, stories and symbols is better for understanding contemporary subculture and especially the cultural aspects of cannabis use.
Abstract: In criminological and sociological studies of illegal drugs, the thesis of normalization suggests that when a drug goes from being a marginal to a widespread phenomenon, theoretical and methodological approaches that rely on subculture theory fall short. This article argues that normalization theory fails to recognize the existence of a distinct cannabis culture because it has a traditional understanding of subcultures as ‘groups of people’. The article suggests that a definition of subculture as a collection of rituals, stories and symbols is better for understanding contemporary subcultures and especially the cultural aspects of cannabis use. The conclusion is that although many use cannabis, it still signals opposition and cultural difference. A subcultural theoretical framework is thus crucial to understand illegal drug use. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 100 cannabis users in Norway.
99 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the motives and actions of regular citizens who use their computer skills to identify, track and collect information on the activities of suspected criminal offenders, and suggest that these collectives and their members are a potentially useful, if under-valued, component of cyber-security networks.
Abstract: The distributed nature of the Internet requires that security issues be addressed through collaborative efforts within and across various sets of public and private actors. Drawing on nodal governance theory, this article explores one aspect of the role that the general public can and does play in the field of cyber-security: civilian policing of the Internet. In particular, we examine the motives and actions of regular citizens, who use their computer skills to identify, track and collect information on the activities of suspected criminal offenders. Whereas some groups use such information to engage in vigilante acts, the groups that we study work cooperatively with police, collecting information to pass onto criminal justice agencies. We suggest that these collectives and their members are a potentially useful, if under-valued, component of cyber-security networks.
82 citations
TL;DR: The role of the police has been distilled down to criminal catching and accountability has become accountancy as mentioned in this paper, under the auspices of New Public Management, under the British Coalition government's tendentious ‘austerity’ measures.
Abstract: This article critically analyses two key debates about police and policing: the problematic definition of their role, and how they can be rendered democratically accountable. Both issues have been radically altered through the profound transformation of policing produced by the last three decades of neo-liberal hegemony. The article focuses on how this has developed in England and Wales, although there are parallels with other jurisdictions. The complex role of the police has been distilled down to criminal catching. Accountability has become accountancy, under the auspices of New Public Management. The current British Coalition government’s tendentious ‘austerity’ measures make these perennial problems especially acute. The Coalition purports to be democratizing police accountability through elected Police and Crime Commissioners. These claims are critically analysed in principle, but how they work out in practice is hard to prophesy. It is suggested they may play out in ways that frustrate their architects’ hopes, due to the continuing baleful consequences of neoliberalism.
68 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the expansion of the state police is examined, expansion that is all the more remarkable coming at a time of increased competition and falling levels of recorded crime, reflective of Simon's (2007) governing through crime meta-narrative and symptomatic of the criminalization of social policy.
Abstract: Over the past four decades the police service strength in England and Wales grew by nearly a third. This was at a time when the population grew by just 10 per cent. This sustained period of growth came to an end with the 2010 spending review which called for a 20 per cent cut in government funding of the police. In this paper the expansion of the state police is examined, expansion that is all the more remarkable coming at a time of increased competition and – from the mid-1990s onwards – falling levels of recorded crime. But not only did the number of police officers increase, so too their roles and responsibilities, reflective of Simon’s (2007) governing through crime meta-narrative and symptomatic of the criminalization of social policy – or more specifically the ‘policification’ (cf. Kemshall and Maguire, 2001). In this context it is argued that enforced contraction could be a positive opportunity to reappraise what the state police ought to be doing. The policing task is conceptualized as being eithe...
59 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a typology of styles of policing that contrast procedural justice with adversarial policing is presented, and the factors that can trap police in adversarial style of policing and suggestions about how best to move towards policing grounded on principles of procedural justice.
Abstract: This article draws on a study of differential treatment of young people in the youth justice system to present a typology of styles of policing that contrasts procedural justice with adversarial policing. It considers the factors that can trap police in adversarial styles of policing and offers suggestions about how best to move towards policing grounded on principles of procedural justice. It argues that ideas about procedural justice may be able to gain more traction in times of austerity, given that changing policing style does not necessarily incur significant costs.
55 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the infra-structure of support for victims of fraud in England and Wales using a new model for examining support through what the authors call a "fraud justice network" which acknowledges the multiple state and private systems of justice alongside the criminal justice system that fraud victims interact with.
Abstract: This article explores the infra-structure of support for victims of fraud in England and Wales using a new model for examining support through what the authors call a ‘fraud justice network’, which acknowledges the multiple state and private systems of justice alongside the criminal justice system that fraud victims interact with. Using evidence from interviews with victims the article explores the different levels of support for fraud victims at the reporting, reported and criminal justice stage and how the different systems within the ‘fraud justice network’ impact upon this. Finally the article briefly assesses Action Fraud which has been launched by the National Fraud Authority as a means of addressing some of the gaps in support for victims.
47 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the application of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a research methodology in the field of probation research is considered, and the authors describe why and how AI was applied in an exploratory study of quality in probation practice.
Abstract: This article considers the application of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a research methodology in the field of probation research. Although AI has previously been used in prisons research it has not to date been applied to research on probation. In this article we describe why and how AI was applied in an exploratory study of ‘quality’ in probation practice. The article includes some reflections from us as researchers and from the participants in our study (staff in three English Probation Trusts). It is argued not only that AI served our project well (in terms of furnishing us with a wealth of relevant, good quality data) but also that our choice of methodology rendered visible aspects of contemporary probation culture which, we believe, would have remained hidden had we not chosen to explore quality through an ‘appreciative’ lens. It is further argued that in organizations experiencing challenging times, an appreciative stance has ethical as well as instrumental advantages. There are, thus, both instrume...
39 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the rise of third sector agencies as key criminal justice providers within the context of the marketization of probation and other crime management responses and argue that government policy is being driven by a behavioural economics of risk that attempts to push the sector in discrete directions through the use of incentivization, market competition and steers toward entrepreneurship.
Abstract: This paper considers the rise of third sector agencies as key criminal justice providers within the context of the marketization of probation and other crime management responses. We posit that the ‘rehabilitation revolution’ has significant implications for the voluntary and community sector in particular and criminal justice provision in general. Pointing towards incremental colonization of the third sector by criminal justice concerns, we trace the creeping discourse of economic risk, exemplified by the commodification of provision, increased contractualization of services and the application of cost–benefit measures. We argue that government policy is being driven by a behavioural economics of risk that attempts to ‘nudge’ the sector in discrete directions through the use of incentivization, market competition and steers toward entrepreneurship. In such a context, the position of marginal groups with high needs but potentially poorer outcomes may be perilous, consigning high risk and ‘at-risk’ groups ...
33 citations
TL;DR: The shortcomings of the economic approach are demonstrated by presenting findings from the Dutch Organized Crime Monitor, an ongoing research project based upon systematic analysis of closed, extensive police investigations into 120 cases of organized crime as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The illegal enterprise-model has become very popular in the research of organized crime. However, the theoretical foundations of the economic analysis of organized crime can be criticized in a fundamental way, since two key explanatory principles, the model of 'homo economicus' and 'efficient markets', do not seem to fit the empirical phenomena to be explained. The shortcomings of the economic approach are demonstrated by presenting findings from the Dutch Organized Crime Monitor, an ongoing research project based upon systematic analysis of closed, extensive police investigations into 120 cases of organized crime. These findings highlight social embeddedness (also in cases of transnational organized crime), social relations, work relations, leisure activities and sidelines and life events shaping involvement in organized crime and developments in criminal careers, and manipulation and violence embedded in social relations. The latter demonstrate that offender behaviour is not so much driven by market mechanisms (or the 'invisible hand'), but rather by the 'visible hand' of social relations, and the 'visible hand' of manipulation and violence. Language: en
TL;DR: The point of probation is to administer community punishment, reduce reoffending and protect the public as mentioned in this paper, which is the dominant punitive and instrumental understandings of probation's work in criminal justice.
Abstract: Policy debate assumes the point of probation is to administer community punishment, reduce reoffending and protect the public. Dominant punitive and instrumental understandings of probation’s work ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the operation of these processes in practice, focusing on the nature of resident participation in neighbourhood policing; the extent to which police officers organize their priorities around those of residents who participate; and the ways in which officers work with other state agencies and residents themselves to tackle certain problems.
Abstract: Neighbourhood policing, a contemporary form of community policing developed in the United Kingdom (UK), has sought to increase public participation in policing and to develop processes through which residents work in co-production with partners and other state agencies to tackle problems. The aim has been to create mechanisms through which residents can hold the police service to account in dealing with the problems that matter to them. Drawing on interviews with neighbourhood policing officers, this article examines the operation of these processes in practice. We focus on the nature of resident participation in neighbourhood policing; the extent to which police officers organize their priorities around those of residents who participate; and the ways in which officers work with other state agencies and residents themselves to tackle certain problems. Ultimately, this article questions the notions of accountability embedded in neighbourhood policing and whether the neighbourhood policing approach offers an effective mechanism for holding officers to account by residents. © The Author(s) 2013.
TL;DR: The resurrection of former prisons as museums has attracted the attention of tourists along with scholars interested in studying penal tourism as discussed by the authors, and this work expands on previous research on prison museums, such as as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The resurrection of former prisons as museums has caught the attention of tourists along with scholars interested in studying penal tourism. This work expands on previous research on prison museums...
TL;DR: In this article, a special issue of Criminology and criminal justice takes as its starting point the nature and scale of the fiscal challenge facing state-funded police forces in Britain following the financial crisis.
Abstract: This special issue of Criminology and Criminal Justice takes as its starting point the nature and scale of the fiscal challenge facing state-funded police forces in Britain following the financial crisis. Public sector cuts need little introduction and whether fiscal constraint and contraction are the appropriate remedies to the financial crisis is open to debate (e.g. Davidson, 2009; Krugman, 2012; Skidelsky and Wigstrom, 2010). However, the immediate implications are clear enough and for the police service in England and Wales this has meant a 20 per cent reduction in funding by 2014/2015 (HM Treasury, 2010). This has led to widespread public and political debate regarding what the police service can realistically deliver at a time of austerity, the implications for ‘front line’ officers and ultimately for crime control (Millie and Bullock, 2012).
TL;DR: The Prolific and Other Priority Offender (PPO) program was introduced in 2004 to target the most prolific and persistent offenders within Community Safety Partnership areas as discussed by the authors, based on identifying offenders through local crime analysis, intensive supervision and targeted intervention.
Abstract: The Prolific and Other Priority Offender (PPO) programme was introduced in 2004 to target the most prolific and persistent offenders within Community Safety Partnership areas. Based on identifying offenders through local crime analysis, intensive supervision and targeted intervention, evaluations have shown promising results. By using a ‘theory of change’ approach as an analytical framework and a local PPO project as a case study, this article begins to question whether the rationale behind the PPO programme can be viewed as ‘plausible’, if key strands of implementation are ‘doable’ and if the desired outcomes are ‘testable’. The article argues that although the rationale for the PPO programme might be plausible, doubts are raised over its likely impact on local crime rates and the extent PPO projects might be able to target prolific offenders effectively. Finally, it suggests that although testable outcomes can be established, the extent to which the programme has enhanced our understanding of desistance...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors briefly outline the notion of a criminal justice "techno-fix" as a potential attempt by criminal justice agencies to use technology as a source of legitimacy.
Abstract: Technology plays an increasing role in policing and other aspects of the criminal justice process. This article will briefly outline the notion of a criminal justice ‘techno-fix’ as a potential attempt by criminal justice agencies to use technology as a source of legitimacy. It will then go on to explore a range of alternate scenarios focusing on the possibility that increasing use of technologies in general, and surveillance technologies in particular (both in terms of formal surveillance by criminal justice agencies and informal surveillance of these agencies by sections of the general public) may actually contribute to challenges to the legitimacy of criminal justice agencies, in part because of deeply embedded but unrealistic cultural assumptions about the capabilities of technology.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take the opportunity to reflect upon the trajectory and consequences of the anti-social behaviour policy framework in the United Kingdom (UK) from its inception to date.
Abstract: This paper takes the opportunity to reflect upon the trajectory and consequences of the anti-social behaviour policy framework in the United Kingdom (UK) from its inception to date. It contends tha...
TL;DR: Findings from the last few years of data from the Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES) suggest that the VPS scheme is being inconsistently implemented across the country.
Abstract: Crime victims and victims’ advocates have for many years called for greater input into the criminal process, and in particular at the stage of sentencing. Today, victims in almost all common law countries have the opportunity to participate in the sentencing process, usually by providing information about the impact of the crime. This impact evidence is placed before a sentencing court in the form of a victim impact statement (VIS) or victim personal statement (VPS) as it is known in England and Wales. This article reviews findings from the last few years of data from the Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES) which was conducted by the Ministry of Justice. We review findings from the last administrations of the survey. In the most recent administration of the survey (2009–2010), less than half (43%) of victims recalled being offered a statement. Over the most recent three-year period (2007–2010), a comparable percentage (42%) of the victims recalled being offered the opportunity to make a VPS; almo...
TL;DR: The movement towards localism, partnerships and governing "networks" has renewed academic interest in the voluntary sector role in multi-agency work in criminal justice fields, the authors argues.
Abstract: The movement towards localism, partnerships and governing ‘networks’ has renewed academic interest in the voluntary sector role in multi-agency work in criminal justice fields. This article argues ...
TL;DR: In this article, a logistic regression was used to assess five different police actions that an investigating police officer can choose to employ when handling a domestic violence call and found that each significantly increases the likelihood the prosecutor will file charges: obtain photographs (60 percent); find and arrest the defendant (94 percent); obtain an emergency protective order (87 percent); locate additional witnesses (68 percent); and list more than one criminal charge in the police report (284 percent).
Abstract: Logistic regression was used to assess five different police actions that an investigating police officer can choose to employ when handling a domestic violence call. Each significantly increases the likelihood the prosecutor will file charges: obtain photographs (60 percent); find and arrest the defendant (94 percent); obtain an emergency protective order (87 percent); locate additional witnesses (68 percent); and list more than one criminal charge in the police report (284 percent). Three optional police actions increase the likelihood of criminal conviction: find and arrest the defendant (78 percent); obtain an emergency protective order (102 percent); list more than one charge (142 percent). Survival analysis shows a sixth action, completing the investigation the same day, to significantly increase rates of criminal case filing and also rates of criminal conviction. A strong case, best practices model for the investigation of domestic violence incidents was validated and is presented. Police discretion is discussed. Lawmakers should consider making these optional investigative actions mandatory. Language: en
TL;DR: In British politics, it is clear that the idea of the Big Society encompasses many aspects of state activity and civil society, including the work of constabularies as mentioned in this paper, and it is also clear that this idea can be seen as a form of social engineering.
Abstract: In British politics, it is clear that the idea of the ‘Big Society’ encompasses many aspects of state activity and civil society, including the work of constabularies. Implications of ideas related...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the generative processes that influence perceptions of the police in the context of an inner-city neighbourhood in Northern Ireland that has been affected by increases in crime and disorder in the aftermath of the peace process.
Abstract: Drawing upon original survey research this article seeks to identify the generative processes that influence perceptions of the police in the context of an inner-city neighbourhood in Northern Ireland that has been affected by increases in crime and disorder in the aftermath of the peace process. Conceptually we draw upon recent research from England and Wales that outlines confidence in the police in terms of instrumental and expressive dimensions. We apply this framework and consider whether it provides a useful template for understanding the post-conflict dynamics of police–community relations in our study area. Contrary to much received wisdom our analysis suggests that instrumental concerns about crime and illegal activity are a more influential predictor of attitudes to the police than expressive concerns with disorder and anti-social behaviour. Consequently our discussion points to the variance in local and national survey data and questions the degree to which the latter can usefully inform our un...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on one young man's self-presentations in a secure care unit for young offenders in Denmark, and explore how his contradictory and incoherent selfpresentations can be analyzed as meaningful.
Abstract: By focusing on one young man’s self-presentations in a secure care unit for young offenders in Denmark, this article explores how his contradictory and incoherent self-presentations can be analysed as meaningful. Drawing on Stephen Lyng’s theory of high-risk edgework and Loic Wacquant’s theory of advanced marginalization, it is argued that this young man’s engagement in youth crime cannot be fully understood by focusing only on the criminal experience itself. Also, specific social and symbolic relations must be integrated into the analysis to understand his engagement in crime. The article argues that although edgework theory is compelling, it needs further development if it is to capture the full complexity of young people’s motivation for crime.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether the imposition of a mandatory life sentence for murder is still in the best interests of justice or whether English homicide law would be better served by a discretionary sentencing system.
Abstract: In 1965, alongside the abolition of capital punishment, a mandatory life sentence for murder was implemented in England and Wales. The mandatory life sentence served as a signal to the public that the criminal justice system would still implement the most severe sanction of life imprisonment in cases of murder. Nearly 50 years later, this article examines whether the imposition of a mandatory life sentence for murder is still in the best interests of justice or whether English homicide law would be better served by a discretionary sentencing system. In doing so, the article considers debates surrounding the political and public need for a mandatory life sentence for murder by drawing upon interviews conducted with 29 members of the English criminal justice system. This research concludes that a discretionary sentencing framework is required to adequately respond to the many contexts within which the crime of murder is committed.
TL;DR: The authors examined secondary school teachers' own narratives in depth and identified that a number of factors influence the meanings that they attach to their own experiences of workplace violence, including their professional identity, feelings about their pupils and their role as a teacher, their own sense of vulnerability, levels of experience and general feelings about schools and young people today.
Abstract: Violence against teachers is seen as a growing problem by both professional bodies and the media However, this account fails to acknowledge differing views about what actually constitutes violence and how those that experience violence comprehend it Drawing on literature on workplace violence and fear of crime, this article seeks to identify how we can begin to understand better violence against teachers Furthermore, by examining secondary school teachers’ own narratives in depth, it is identified that a number of factors influence the meanings that they attach to their own experiences of workplace violence This includes their professional identity, feelings about their pupils and their role as a teacher, their own sense of vulnerability, levels of experience and general feelings about schools and young people today
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare the enactment of Football Banning Order legislation in Scotland to that in England and Wales, and compare the two versions of the same law in both countries.
Abstract: This article compares the enactment of Football Banning Order legislation in Scotland to that in England and Wales. Football Banning Orders evolved in England and Wales through the 1990s into a par...
TL;DR: The 2006 Co-ordinated Prostitution Strategy recommended local needs-based responses to target street sex work, and to this end consultation with members of the wider community was conducted as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The 2006 Co-ordinated Prostitution Strategy recommended local ‘needs’-based responses to target street sex work, and to this end consultation with members of the wider community – an approach that ...
TL;DR: The influence of judicial denunciation during sentence summation and how this equates with wider criminal justice attempts to change offending behaviour through re-education and re-moralization app.
Abstract: The influence of judicial denunciation during sentence summation and how this equates with wider criminal justice attempts to change offending behaviour through re-education and re-moralization app...
TL;DR: Evidence-Based Policy contends that the dominant methods which are in use now – methods that imitate standard practices in medicine like randomised control trials – do not work and policymakers should engage in the kind of critical and analytical processes advocated by this book before rolling out social changes.
Abstract: Over the last twenty or so years, it has become standard to require policy makers to base their recommendations on evidence. That is now uncontroversial to the point of triviality – of course, policy should be based on the facts. But are the methods that policy makers rely on to gather and analyse evidence the right ones? Evidence-Based Policy contends that the dominant methods which are in use now – methods that imitate standard practices in medicine like randomised control trials – do not work. Michael Bassey believes policymakers should engage in the kind of critical and analytical processes advocated by this book before rolling out social changes.