Showing papers in "Howard Journal of Criminal Justice in 1991"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the factors associated with the halving in the number of custodial sentences made on male juveniles since 1981 and discussed the reduction in the general population and the numbers being sentenced.
Abstract: An examination of the factors associated with the halving in the number of custodial sentences made on male juveniles since 1981. The paper discusses the reduction in the general population and the numbers being sentenced, the role of new legislation and changes in sentencing practice brought about by disillusionment with custody, systemic intervention by welfare agencies and the injection of resources into community based alternatives to custody by the DHSS IT Initiative.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the characteristics of the regime have a significant role in the etiology of violent incidents in British jails, and conclude that regimes which allow more inmate participation, increased contact with the outside world and which are operated by more highly trained prison officers, are likely to have a positive effect on the rising tide of violence.
Abstract: Violence in British jails is increasing. Explanations of this rise are often couched in terms of the psychological characteristics of the perpetrators. This paper argues that the characteristics of the regime have a significant role in the etiology of violent incidents. The evidence relating to violent incidents in prisons, special hospitals and secure units is reviewed. It is concluded that regimes which allow more inmate participation, increased contact with the outside world and which are operated by more highly trained prison officers, are likely to have a positive effect on the rising tide of violence in British jails.
39 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of male imprisonment on the lives of wives and girlfriends of prisoners are examined in terms of financial arrangements, existing poverty and relationships in the period following sentencing, when approaching the probation service for assistance.
Abstract: In this paper we examine the effects of sentencing on the lives of women partners of prisoners. Whilst criminological theory has advanced in acknowledging issues surrounding women as offenders and as victims of crime, the effects of male imprisonment on the lives of wives and girlfriends remains little researched. The effects on partners' financial arrangements, existing poverty and relationships in the period following sentencing, when approaching the probation service for assistance, are presented. They are analysed in the context of the role stereotyping which ascribes guilt to wives and girlfriends for their partners' crimes; and in the light of the ‘criminalisation of social policy’ which ensures partners' needs will become even more marginalised.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the central legal issues on which the defendants were convicted, the way in which the case and subsequent appeals were depicted by the ‘popular’ as well as ‘qualiy’ news media, the considerations that affected sentencing and parole, and the social and economic consequences of conviction for the defendants.
Abstract: This article reflects upon the sentences imposed in the most heavily publicised UK white-collar crime trial since the 1960s, if not this century. It examines the central legal issues on which the defendants were convicted, the way in which the case and subsequent appeals were depicted by the ‘popular’ as well as ‘qualiy’ news media, the considerations that affected sentencing and parole, and the social and economic consequences of conviction for the defendants. It concludes that even after reduction by the Court of Appeal, longer sentences were not appropriate and that in (rare) cases of this kind, we might consider imposing lengthy community service allied with weekend imprisonment.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed from Canada, Great Britain, and the USA, which suggests that offenders granted parole are reconvicted less than those not so released, and concluded that the most likely explanation is in terms of a treatment effect rather than a consequence of the selection of better risk prisoners alone.
Abstract: Research is reviewed from Canada, Great Britain, and the USA, which suggests that offenders granted parole are reconvicted less than those not so released. The competing explanations for this uniformly observed difference are evaluated. It is concluded that the most likely explanation is in terms of a treatment effect rather than a consequence of the selection of better risk prisoners alone. Something about the grant or process of parole seems to work to reduce reconviction. This could be something as disreputable as the use of delaying tactics to postpone a further conviction until after licence expiry. There could also be a negative effect of parole denial to offset any positive effect of the grant of parole. Research is suggested which would clarify these points. Assuming remaining doubts are resolved in ways favourable to parole, there appears to be some grounds for optimism for parole schemes to develop into criminal justice procedures which have the net effect of crime reduction.
13 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the Home Office's attempts to apply the Financial Management Initiative to the probation service in England and Wales, with particular emphasis being given to the use of private sector management consultants in the development of a Financial Management Information System (FMIS) for the Service.
Abstract: This paper examines the Home Office's attempts to apply the Financial Management Initiative to the probation service in England and Wales, with particular emphasis being given to the use of private sector management consultants in the development of a Financial Management Information System (FMIS) for the Service. The details of the FMI's application are set out and the processes whereby the aims of the initiative were attenuated and deflected are identified. In consequence, the case adds support to the literature questioning the application of such initiatives in the public sector by illustrating how even the ‘experts’ cannot provide simple solutions for the complex problems facing public sector managers.
12 citations
TL;DR: A study of Scottish community service schemes revealed that the quality of work placements was more important than the setting in which the work was carried out or the broad nature of the work performed, and a positive experience of community service was associated with increased compliance with the requirements.
Abstract: The attitudes and responses of offenders on community service orders to different types of work have been largely undocumented. A study of Scottish community service schemes revealed that the quality of work placements was more important than the setting in which the work was carried out or the broad nature of the work performed. Placements with certain characteristics were most valued by the offenders and a positive experience of community service was associated with increased compliance with the requirements. The implications are discussed in relation to the National Standards that have been introduced in Scotland and in England and Wales.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider whether the high rate of guilty pleas is a function of pressures, appropriate or otherwise, brought to bear on the young defendant, and employ the South Australian system of juvenile justice as a case study.
Abstract: Analysts of criminal justice have become increasingly sensitive to the question of the voluntariness of the defendant's plea. In England, the United States and Australia it has been argued that pressures are applied to defendants to admit guilt. Although these studies have focussed predominantly on the adult jurisdiction, there is ample evidence to suggest that the majority of children also plead guilty, thereby waiving their right to a trial and its associated procedural protections. Employing the South Australian system of juvenile justice as a case study, this paper considers whether the high rate of guilty pleas is a function of pressures, appropriate or otherwise, brought to bear on the young defendant.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a diversion scheme was developed whereby alleged offenders can be offered treatment in lieu of prosecution, and the evolution and operation of the scheme based at the Douglas Inch Centre in Glasgow is described.
Abstract: Within Scotland the procurator fiscal decides whether to prosecute individuals accused of committing crimes and offences. A new ‘diversion’ scheme has been developed whereby alleged offenders can be offered treatment in lieu of prosecution. The evolution and operation of the scheme based at the Douglas Inch Centre in Glasgow is described. The type of offenders referred to the scheme is examined. The policy issues raised by the scheme are analysed in detail.
9 citations
TL;DR: It is held that the Canadian system is developing a dynamic for achieving its stated goals, while the English system is failing to do so.
Abstract: The parole system of England and Wales is contrasted with that of Canada. Recent reviews of the system have taken place in both countries. There is agreement between the reviewing bodies on the centrality of risk assessment to parole. In the Canadian case, this concern extends to the development and maintenance of statistical predictors to make the system consonant with its stated purpose. Despite the existence of an excellent statistical basis for similar developments in England, the possibilities are all but unmentioned by the review there, and are neglected by the system as it operates. It is held that the Canadian system is developing a dynamic for achieving its stated goals, while the English system is failing to do so.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the Pigot Report proposed a series of additional reforms including the admission of videotaped evidence and some of these recommendations were incorporated into the 1990 Criminal Justice Acts and the cumulative impact of these changes could assist greatly the gathering of evidence from children and its presentation in courts of law.
Abstract: Traditionally, the British legal system has exhibited great caution in its treatment of children's testimony and this has been reflected in the laws of evidence as they have applied to juveniles. Recent research by psychologists has challenged the view that children are necessarily incompetent witnesses and contributed to the changes in the law embodied in the 1988 and 1990 Criminal Justice Acts. The 1988 Act set up a system of live video links designed to reduce the trauma of testifying for children. The impact of those changes has been the subject of both experimental and observational research by the author, the latter commissioned by the Home Office. The Pigot Report proposed a series of additional reforms including the admission of videotaped evidence and some of these recommendations were incorporated into the 1990 Act. It is argued that the cumulative impact of these changes could assist greatly the gathering of evidence from children and its presentation in courts of law.
TL;DR: An examination of the available evidence relating to deaths in prison and police custody for Britain and for Australia reveals that the Australian prison crude death rate is twice as high as the equivalent rate for England and Wales.
Abstract: An examination of the available evidence relating to deaths in prison and police custody for Britain and for Australia reveals that the Australian prison crude death rate is twice as high as the equivalent rate for England and Wales There were equal proportions of suicides in both groups, but the prison deaths from England and Wales were much more likely to be among remandees than was the case in Australia The Scottish prison death rate was found to be slightly higher than that of England and Wales, but also much lower than the Australian rate A comparison of the rates of death in police custody also produced interesting differences with the Scottish rate being the highest This was followed by Australia, with England and Wales again being found to have the lowest rate A closer examination of the data for England and Wales and Australia revealed that a higher proportion of the Australian deaths in police custody was self-inflicted and that proportionately many more of the British deaths in police custody occurred in hospitals rather than in police stations An examination of the figures for each year showed that 1987 was a particularly bad year for prison suicides in both countries There were also higher than expected numbers of other deaths in custody in 1987 in Australia, but this pattern was not reflected in the British data of deaths in police custody Possible explanations for these findings are considered together with their implications for reducing deaths in custody
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how one group of business offenders is sentenced and argued that both the seriousness of offences and the culpability of offenders are important factors, but that their effect is influenced by the absence of relevant information and the ability of defendants to neutralise blameworthiness.
Abstract: This paper examines how one group of business offenders is sentenced. It is argued that both the seriousness of offences and the culpability of offenders are important factors, but that their effect is influenced by the absence of relevant information and the ability of defendants to neutralise blameworthiness. The status of offenders may be less significant than the general appeal of defendants to business values. The apparent leniency of sentences arises in large part from the ambiguous criminal status of offences. On occasion however offences can be more harshly viewed and this shared set of values can be challenged.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the major findings of more than a decade's work on the development, implementation and evaluation of bail guidelines and emphasises the value of a guidelines approach to pretrial decision-making and serves to dispel the popular notion that guidelines are simply an informational tool founded on the belief that more is better.
Abstract: Despite the many differences in the criminal justice systems of Britain and the United States, both countries face common problems in the field of pretrial decision-making. The bail decision is a difficult, possibly high-risk, decision that occurs in a very short period of time with little reliable information. Bail information schemes recently tested in Britain suggest that policy-makers recognise the need to classify cases on something other than mere intuition. Recent bail reform in the United States has been built on this premise and has progressed to the point of developing empirically derived, voluntary judicial guidelines for pretrial release. This work has implications for pretrial decision-making in general and the bail information schemes in particular. Accordingly, this paper presents the major findings of more than a decade's work on the development, implementation and evaluation of bail guidelines. In particular, it emphasises the value of a guidelines approach to pretrial decision-making and serves to dispel the popular notion that guidelines are simply an informational tool founded on the belief that ‘more is better’.
TL;DR: Aage M. ‘Safe-Breaker’, as he was known in the media, was a well-known safe-breaker whose personal story reveals him almost as a relic of a parochial, cohesive, and largely non-violent domestic underworld that has largely disappeared as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: This article records an interview with a professional Dutch criminal that illuminates certain aspects of the traditional Dutch underworld. The aim was twofold; to explore the nature of the underworld and to encourage fieldworkers to explore criminality through the biographies of criminals. The traditional underworld in The Netherlands has been replaced by ‘organised’ crime in the hands of Chinese, Turks, Israelis, Colombians, etc. ‘Aage M.’, as he was known in the media, was a well-known safe-breaker whose personal story reveals him almost as a relic of a parochial, cohesive, and largely non-violent domestic underworld that has largely disappeared. The paper is written as a contribution to the small literature on criminal biographies. And as a plea for more direct involvement in the world of crime (short of committing crime!) by qualitative research that is an antidote to the policy-based, pragmatic, atheoretical mainstream of current crime and deviance material.
TL;DR: The early release of prisoners has been under review in both France and England and Wales in recent years as discussed by the authors, and this was a criticism levelled at the developments which occurred in parole in the 1980s.
Abstract: The early release of prisoners has been under review in both France and England and Wales in recent years. ‘Penological pragmatism’ was a criticism levelled at the developments which occurred in parole in the 1980s. Is this a criticism which French early release procedures will face in the 1990s?
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the main findings of a local study which compared sentencing outcomes for offenders sentenced in the Crown Court with and without social inquiry reports and found that for middle-risk adults aged over 20, the availability of a report can increase the likelihood of a custodial sentence.
Abstract: This paper reports the main findings of a local study which compared sentencing outcomes for offenders sentenced in the Crown Court with and without social inquiry reports. The results suggest that for middle-risk adults aged over 20, the availability of a report can increase the likelihood of a custodial sentence. This may have implications for report writers' approach to recommendations.
TL;DR: In 1990, Victim Support, the National Organisation of Victims Support Schemes, inaugurated a programme of demonstration projects to assist prosecution witnesses attending seven Crown Courts in England and Wales.
Abstract: In January 1990, Victim Support, the National Organisation of Victims Support Schemes, inaugurated a programme of demonstration projects to assist prosecution witnesses attending seven Crown Courts in England and Wales. The article focusses on the special experiences and position of prosecution witnesses at one such Crown Court, the initial phases of the ‘victim in court project’ established there, and emerging patterns of interaction between witnesses and the project's volunteers. The chief role of volunteers was to diminish the isolation encountered by witnesses as they waited to appear in court.