Showing papers in "European journal of probation in 2011"

The Good Lives Model in practice : offence pathways and case management

Abstract: During the past decade, the Good Lives Model of Offender Rehabilitation (GLM) has gained considerable momentum and popularity as a rehabilitation framework for forensic populations. The GLM is primarily applied by the treatment sector, however very recently, it has been used to generate a structured strengths based approach to case management. The purpose of this paper is multi-layered. First, we present the theory of the GLM, explaining its conceptual underpinnings and in addition, present the results of recent GLM empirical research that found two pathways to offending: direct and indirect. Next, we describe how the GLM conceptual underpinnings, together with the empirical research findings, translate into a structured and meaningful case management approach for community corrections. The process for effective case management of offenders using the GLM is outlined and further, two GLM case management tools are presented and their purpose and application to offender rehabilitation is briefly set out. Finally, we describe the necessary support factors that are vital to the integrity, success and sustainability of this case management approach.

Judicial Rehabilitation and the ‘Clean Bill of Health’ in Criminal Justice

Abstract: Drawing on an important survey of European and Australian policies toward ‘judicial rehabilitation,’ this article makes the following arguments. First, the rehabilitation movement should return to the origins of the word ‘rehabilitation’ and focus at least as much on efforts to remove and relieve ex-prisoner stigma as on treatment and reform efforts. There will be no ‘rehabilitation revolution’ without this. Second, these efforts should involve active, not passive redemption. Rehabilitation processes that require almost a decade or more of ‘crime-free’ behaviour before forgiving an individual for his or her crimes are just and fair, but they miss the point of rehabilitation. Policies should encourage, support and facilitate good behaviour and not just reward it in retrospect. Third, rehabilitation should not just be done, but be ‘seen to be done,’ ideally in a ritualised format. This sends an important message to the individual and wider society. Finally, I argue that it may be better to forgive than forget past crimes. That is, rather than burying past crimes as if they never happened, states should instead acknowledge and formally recognise that people can change, that good people can do bad things, and that all individuals should be able to move on from past convictions.

Judicial Rehabilitation in the Netherlands: Balancing between Safety and Privacy:

Abstract: This paper is part of a special edition on Judicial Rehabilitation, a topic that derived from Maruna’s work on rehabilitation and rehabilitation rituals. It addresses the possibility of such rituals in the Netherlands. It describes which data concerning criminal convictions can be stored, how long they may be preserved and which persons and organisations can get access to the criminal records. It also pays attention to the jobs and position for which a conduct certificate is needed and the conditions under which it can be issued. Conclusion of this analysis is that the stricter regulations concerning criminal records, the increase of jobs a conduct certificate is needed for and the stricter conditions under which it is issued, hinder the serious efforts that are made in prison and probation to reduce recidivism.

Judicial Rehabilitation in Germany — The Use of Criminal Records and the Removal of Recorded Convictions:

Abstract: This paper has two aims: First, it will explore the German legal system of central data collection on convicted offenders, the limited access to the data stored and the different modes of removing data. This exploration will be linked to the question of re-socialisation as a right of the offender and, more practically, to his ‘real life chances’ of finding a workplace as a decisive element of the re-integration process. Second, debates about judicial rehabilitation through the means of a formalized redemption ritual or ceremony (see Maruna, 2011) that acknowledges the desistance of ex-offenders will be examined in the German context.

Target, audit and risk assessment cultures in the probation service

Abstract: This article traces the rise of managerialism in the probation service in England and Wales before exploring the impact of these changes through reference to in-depth observation and interviews in probation. The article considers how national standards affect practice; how audits feature and their impact on accountability; and how the use of risk assessment tools are perceived and resisted in two probation teams in England Wales. The article then turns to changes implemented by the Coalition Government and highlights some tensions between managerialist occupational cultures in probation and what might occur in the near future.

‘They Were Very Threatening about Do-Gooding Bastards’: Probation's Changing Relationships with the Police and Prison Services in England and Wales:

Abstract: In recent decades the probation service has been encouraged to work closely with a range of public and voluntary sector agencies. This article examines probation‟s changing relationships with the police and prison services drawing on sixty interviews with current and former probation workers. Analysing probation-prison and probation-police relationships pre- and post-1998 and drawing on Davidson‟s (1976) typology of inter-organisational relationships, the article argues that, despite both structural and cultural transformations, there remain cultural continuities in each organisation that create tensions, the significance (both positive and negative) of which should not be under-estimated.

Judicial Rehabilitation? A View from England

Abstract: Criminal records in England are maintained by the police, and there is no possibility of ‘judicial rehabilitation’, in the narrow sense of a judicial decision which authorizes the wiping clean of the record. However, the law is complex. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, was designed, as the name suggests, to help in the rehabilitation of offenders by penalizing the unauthorized disclosure of their previous conviction(s) after a period without further conviction. An offender becomes rehabilitated and the conviction is ‘spent’. However, the public protection agenda of recent years has resulted in the expansion of numerous exceptions to this law. Many organizations have access to the data held by the police, and individuals can be asked to provide a criminal record certificate (to potential employers). This paper explores these exceptions, and some recent court decisions which seek to balance the conflicting human rights and interests apparent in this area. It concludes, perhaps optimistically, that it is possible to see the potential for judicial rehabilitation in a looser sense, and even for redemptive rituals (see Maruna and LeBel, 2003), in English courts. However, at this moment any likelihood of a formal process of judicial rehabilitation, in the sense of record erasure, seems inconceivable.

Judicial rehabilitation in France: Helping with the desisting process and acknowledging achieved desistance

Abstract: Shadd Maruna, in his masterpiece, Making Good (Maruna, 2001, 2011) advocates the creation of an institutionalized redemption ritual which would reinforce the offender's own certitude that he or she has indeed desisted successfully, and convince the community and society itself, that he/she has now become a good citizen. Such a ritual , which would preferably be judicial, exists in the French legal system, under the name of Judicial Rehabilitation. However, prior to fully acknowledging achieved desistance, the French legal systems aims at helping with the desistance process through a host of procedures that expunge all or part of criminal records. In this jurisdiction, criminal records are seen as constituting obstacles to employment and thus, as being counterproductive. Drawing on legal methodology, this article will first explain the penological grounds of criminal records, of expunging techniques and lastly, of judicial rehabilitation.

Conviction Records in Spain: Obstacles to Reintegration of Offenders?

Abstract: This paper argues that conviction records pose a serious obstacle for the reintegration of offenders, especially in the labor market. It argues that this reintegration will be different in countries where publicity of conviction records is freely available, where employers are required to carry out regular checks before hiring their employees, and where conviction records never get expunged. The first part of the paper presents the regulation of conviction records in Spain, regarding these three matters. The paper then moves on to offer some reflections on how the erasure of spent conviction records could be strengthened and how this might aid the desistance process.

Introducing the Special Edition on Occupational Culture and Skills in Probation Practice

Abstract: We are delighted to introduce this special edition of the European Journal of Probation focusing on occupational culture and skills in probation practice. As the quotations above illustrate, that culture is subject to change and to a variety of widely contrasting characterisations both complimentary and critical. This edition explores the dynamics whereby probation culture is formed, maintained and altered whilst also highlighting some variations and continuities across Europe. It might be fair to say that, in many European jurisdictions, there is currently a struggle for the power to define probation culture and that this struggle concerns practitioners intimately. It is hoped that, in this context, this edition is timely and useful.

Criminal Records and Rehabilitation in Australia

Abstract: Resettlement of former offenders and their ongoing desistance from further offending should be a priority for any community, but in many countries criminal records are increasingly accessed in employment and other decision making The criminal record then becomes an indelible brand, undermining rehabilitation and making reoffending more likely. Common law-based countries such as the UK and Australia demonstrate this phenomenon more clearly than some mainland European countries, and political and cultural factors are clearly relevant. This paper addresses the scope in Australia for rehabilitation processes that might contribute to the desistance process.

Desisting in France: What Probation Officers Know and Do. A First Approach:

Abstract: French probation services operate without much knowledge of criminological literature Thus they have never heard of desistance This research aimed at verifying whether they nonetheless had an overall idea of what it takes to desist and whether they helped offenders with obstacles to desistance Their opinions were contrasted to those of other practitioners and the views of desisters Despite the methodological limitations of this small scale study, one can nonetheless attempt to formulate a few conclusions: French probation services have a good idea of what it takes to desist, but have neither the capacity nor the will to effectively help offenders to do so Their perception is for the most part confirmed by desisters However, they differ on several desistance factors such as peers and budget Another French trait is revealed: both practitioners and desisters think that Making Good (Maruna, 2001) is irrelevant Some cultural factors are suggested in order to try and explain this surprising discovery

Practical Wisdom and the Ethic of Care in Probation Practice

Abstract: In 2003 the author interviewed 15 experience probation officers from one probation area about the nature of their work as probation officers. These participants had trained in an earlier ‘clinical mode’ of practice, when rehabilitation was to the fore and casework methods were still enshrined in practice. Now they found themselves in a ‘punitive managerialist’ mode of practice. The study found that the participants, through the use of their skills as reflective practitioners, resisted the worst excesses of punitive managerialism and continued to practice in a way that balanced the demands of justice and care. This article looks at their commitment to the worker-client relationship and suggests that it is consonant with an approach to probation practice based upon the desistance paradigm, which in turn fits within a restorative justice framework for criminal justice practice.

Signs of resistance? Swedish probation officers’ attitudes towards risk assessments

Abstract: The Swedish Prison and Probation Service has been influenced by the „What Works‟ agenda since the late 1990‟s and an orientation towards risk and risk management has gradually become visible in the organization. But there is, within the probation service, a discrepancy between two types of logics – an organizational logic and a professional logic. Although guidelines prescribe the use of risk-assessment tools, they are in reality seldom used by practitioners. Through an examination of the reasons given by the probation officers who expressed doubts or concerns about the risk-concept, we question whether this could be seen as signs of resistance based on professional logic.

Thinking in Practice: Redefining the Relationship:

Abstract: This paper examines the challenge of reconnecting probation knowledge, theory and practice throughout Europe. It will describe the history and rationale of the Thinking in Practice Seminar Series which was intended to promote thinking and debate about the supervision of offenders. It will consider how a collaborative approach might produce a greater groundswell of opinion and shared vision. The paper will draw upon practice literature and will use the seminar series as a case study to explore ways which allow probation services to continue to develop best practice. The paper will argue that the seminars have had some success in connecting with wider debates and could be replicated and developed further in other European jurisdictions.

Impact of experienced professionalism on professional culture in probation

Abstract: The level of work engagement is an important aspect of organizational culture. In this empirical study the relation between engagement and experienced professionalism of probation officers is investigated. Starting from ideal-typical theories on professionalism, a psychometric instrument for measuring experienced professionalism was developed and administered to a sample of Dutch probation officers. Two reliable scales could be constructed that account for 64% of the variance in work engagement. Of these, professional ethos (humanistic values) is the most important predictor of work engagement in probation. Professional facilitation (support from the surroundings), however, also contributes to engagement.

A Framework for a Restorative Society? Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland

Abstract: Presenting findings of an unparalleled study, mapping the extent of restorative practices in Northern Ireland, this article argues that while some examples of the use of restorative justice in Northern Ireland have been researched in detail, it is in fact being employed in a much wider range of contexts, including schools and children’s care homes. This diversity in restorative justice deployment is used to frame arguments for restorative justice to be given stronger footing by government citing the great potential for Northern Ireland to become a ‘restorative society’. Key findings from the mapping research are presented as an explanation for previous growth in restorative practices to date and as a facilitator for further growth both in Northern Ireland and in other jurisdictions. These include recognition that the definition and application of restorative justice must be determined by situation and context, and that the continued expansion of restorative practices is dependent on the cross-fertilisation of ideas both from abroad, but also between organisations within a jurisdiction.

Organisational Change, Increasing Managerialism and Social Work Values in the Belgian Houses of Justice, Department of Offender Guidance:

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of organisational change in the Belgian Houses of Justice, Department of Offender Guidance. The change that occurred in the Houses of Justice can be defined as incremental change. While Belgian probation has been managerialised in its processes and to a lesser extent its practices, it has not been subjected to the same shift in its purposes. However, one question currently remains: can the increasing emphasis on managerialism leave the social work values and aims of the Houses of Justice in place, or not?

Homecomings, Border Encounters and Hospitality: Alfred Shutz's and Jacques Derrida's Contributions to Conceptualizing a Transition from Prison:

Abstract: The journey from prison towards desistance from crime is well recognised as challenging. This paper seeks to contribute to the transitions and desistance literature through a discussion of essays by Alfred Shutz and Jacques Derrida that deal with seemingly quite different subjects. Shutz writes of Strangers entering a new society and Homecomers returning; Derrida, of borders, singularity and hospitality. Their points of connection and significance, however, lie in Shutz‟s and Derrida‟s emphasis on the relational and what it means to be human. These emphases are highly pertinent to criminological understanding and practice.

Book Review: Youth Justice Handbook: Theory, Policy and Practice:

Abstract: This book arises from a colloquium held in 2007 and organized by the Open University (UK). The purpose was to inform the curriculum for a new Foundation Degree in Youth Justice. In the process, the colloquium organizers have furnished themselves with a challenging book that, no doubt, will comprise a key text for their new degree. It is titled a Handbook but it is not a „how-to‟ manual. Taylor describes it as a „friendly companion‟ (p.xxi) and this is what the reader must expect. The coverage is extensive, with 23 substantive but relatively short chapters, and, very occasionally, the argument can be rather compressed for easy reading. However, I found this offset by the advantages of breadth and the exercise of tight editorial control.

Book Review: Exploring Modern Probation. Social Theory and Organisational Complexity

Abstract: Over the last decade the criminal justice system in the United Kingdom has been carefully scrutinized due to apparent signs of institutional change and shifts in its direction. Multiple attempts have been made to come to terms with new phenomena such as the politicization of crime, the criminal justice system and its constituent agencies. Correspondingly, there is no doubt that the probation service has moved away from social work principles such as acceptance, individuality and non-judgement towards enforcement, and offence focus which fall into the new approach to punishment (Farrant, 2006). The changes in the modern probation service have mirrored those appearing more generally in the criminal justice apparatus especially under the policy of New Labour. Prioritization of evidence based policy and practice gave rise to the new modernization agenda based on features including what works, risk management and partnership which contributed significantly to the birth of the National Offender Management Service (Burke & Collett, 2010). Although policy analysis is dominant in this area, scholars began not only to contribute to the general discussion by presenting their research findings but also to increasingly use classical theoretical reasoning in order to reach a better understanding of the current conditions of the criminal justice institutions. Amongst them is Philip Whitehead who also engages more deeply with the topic and provides valuable insight into the debate about the current form of probation in the United Kingdom.