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Alongside the current media public preoccupation with high-risk offenders, there has been a shift towards a greater focus on risk and public protection in UK criminal justice policy. Much of the academic debate has centered on the impact of the risk paradigm on adult offender management services; less attention has been given to the arena of youth justice and young adults. Yet, there are critical questions for both theory - are the principles of risk management the same when working with young people? - and practice - how can practitioners respond to those young people who cause serious harm to others? - that need to be considered.
The distinguished contributors to “Young people and ‘risk’" consider risk not only in terms of public protection but also in terms of young people’s own vulnerability to being harmed (either by others or through self-inflicted behaviour). One of the report’s key objectives is to explore the links between these two distinct, but related, aspects of risk.
Restorative justice (RJ) and restorative approaches (RAs) are becoming increasingly valued as a way of responding to a wide range of conflicts, including problem and offending behaviours. The growth in the use of RJ and RAs has been described as a ‘global social movement’ that sets out to repair harm, reduce conflict and harmonise civil society. This report takes a close look at the implementation of an RJ approach in the challenging environment of children’s residential care homes. It will appeal to people who are interested in the use of RJ, particularly its use with children and young people, as well as those interested in problem and offending behaviours in relation to children in care.
The 2008 UK government Youth Crime Action Plan emphasises prevention and early intervention in different aspects of work with young people who offend or are considered to be ‘at risk’ of offending. Much of this approach includes targeted work with families and work to reduce the numbers of young people entering the youth justice system.
This report takes a critical look at early intervention policies. Through contributions from leading experts on youth work and criminal justice it considers the development of integrated and targeted youth support services and the implications for practice of early intervention policies; analyses the causes of serious violent crime through consideration of issues that address gangs and guns; provides an evaluation of the government’s early intervention strategy through the examination of its Sure Start programme and other family initiatives; identifies the psychobiological effects of violence on children and links them to problem behaviour; considers the impacts of family intervention projects and parenting work and compares approaches to early intervention across different jurisdictions and examines the lessons for practice in England and Wales.
This report presents the findings from the first national, representative survey of public attitudes to youth crime and youth justice in England and Wales.
Significantly, it highlights that most people are demonstrably ill-informed about youth crime and youth justice issues. It also carries clear policy implications in relation to both public education and reform of the youth justice system.
Youth crime and youth justice is essential reading for academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the fields of criminal justice, criminology, social policy, social work and probation.
Researching Criminal Justice series
Crime and justice are issues of central political and public concern in contemporary Britain. This exciting new series presents top quality research findings in the field. It will contribute significantly to policy and practice debates and aims to improve the knowledge base considerably. The series will be essential reading for politicians and policy makers, academics, researchers and practitioners.
For other titles in this series, please follow the series link from the main catalogue page.
What is policing about and who defines it? This book examines these key issues by exploring the notion of zero tolerance and its application in different settings. Following its introduction in New York, and the seemingly dramatic reduction in crime, zero tolerance policing was taken up in a number of other countries, including the UK and the Netherlands. This book examines that process. It argues that this policy was, in fact, nothing more than a return to old-style, crime control policing. While it did foster the swift analysis of crime patterns and more assertive policing of public places, it could lean towards repression and demonising of certain groups. Examining the EEE Examining the EEEExamining the negative response of leading police officers and the policy’s debatable impact on crime, the author concludes that zero tolerance in the UK and Netherlands was more of a populist political and media creation than a coherent policy. This book is far more than an authoritative analysis of zero tolerance. It is a valuable source for entering the debate about the big picture in policing which many stakeholders now wish to see. The approachable style of this book makes it ideal for students, academics, police practitioners and the lay reader to enter that debate.
“Tackling prison overcrowding” is a response to controversial proposals for prisons and sentencing set out in by Lord Patrick Carter’s “Review of Prisons”, published in 2007.
The Carter review proposed the construction of vast ‘Titan’ prisons to deal with the immediate problem of prison overcrowding, the establishment of a Sentencing Commission as a mechanism for keeping judicial demand for prison places in line with supply, along with further use of the private sector, including private sector management methods.
“Tackling prison overcrowding” comprises nine chapters by leading academic experts, who expose these proposals to critical scrutiny. They take the Carter Report to task for construing the problems too narrowly, in terms of efficiency and economy, and for failing to understand the wider issues of justice that need addressing. They argue that the crisis of prison overcrowding is first and foremost a political problem - arising from penal populism - for which political solutions need to be found.
This accessible report will be of interest to policy makers, probation practitioners, academics and other commentators on criminal policy.
This report presents the findings from one of the first evaluations of a British programme to integrate drug and alcohol treatment with mental health services, and education, training and employment support - the ‘From Dependency to Work (D2W)’ programme. It provides an invaluable insight into the challenges and difficulties of integrating services in this way and highlights important lessons for central and regional government on funding and working with the voluntary sector to deliver services. With the recent launch of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP), designed to get statutory and voluntary sector agencies working together to tackle the social factors associated with drug misuse and crime, stakeholders across the country will need to develop effective multi-disciplinary working in this field. This report provides all those involved, from a strategic level to frontline practitioners, with a clearer understanding of the issues.
Short-term prisoners have exceptionally high reconviction rates, fuelled by major social problems. Growing recognition of this, and of deficiencies in prison-probation coordination, has accelerated ‘resettlement’ of ex-prisoners up the penal agenda.
The ‘Resettlement Pathfinders’ tested several new partnership-based approaches. This report evaluates three probation-led projects which combined practical assistance with interventions to improve motivation and capacity to change. Their key feature was the delivery of a cognitive-motivational programme (’FOR - A Change’) specially designed for short-termers.
The study found this produced significant changes in attitude, as well as greater ‘continuity’ (voluntary post-release contact between offenders and project staff) than previous approaches. It also found evidence of association between continuity and reduced reconviction. Overall, the findings support resettlement strategies based on fostering and nurturing offenders’ motivation to change, facilitating access to services, and ‘through the gate’ contact with staff or volunteers with whom a relationship has already been built.
The research offers findings and insights of practical value to probation and prison officers, as well as staff of other agencies that work with prisoners and ex-prisoners. The report should also be read by penal policy-makers, criminology/criminal justice academics and students, and those engaged in staff training.
It is a key aim of current youth justice policy to introduce principles of restorative justice and involve victims in responses to crime. This is most evident in the referral order and youth offender panels established by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. However, the challenges involved in delivering a form of restorative youth justice that is sensitive to the needs of victims are considerable.
This report provides an illuminating evaluation of the manner in which one Youth Offending Service sought to integrate victims into the referral order process. The study affords in-depth insights into the experiences and views of victims and young people who attended youth offender panel meetings. It places these in the context of recent policy debates and principles of restorative justice.
The report tracks a 6 month cohort of cases in 2004; provides an analysis of in-depth interviews with victims, young offenders and their parents; highlights the challenges associated with integrating victims into restorative youth justice; offers recommendations with regard to the involvement of victims in referral orders.
This timely report will be of great value to youth justice policy-makers and practitioners, researchers and students of criminology and criminal justice, as well as all those interested in restorative interventions and the role of victims in the justice process.
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) have become the main sanction for dealing with anti-social behaviour in the UK. This book provides one of the first assessments of this sanction, which has become widely used but remains extremely controversial.
The report is based on detailed interviews with ASBO recipients, practitioners and community representatives in areas affected by anti-social behaviour. Examining its use and impact from these various perspectives, the book assesses the effects of ASBOs on the behaviour and attitudes of recipients as well as examining the various issues which arise in relation to their implementation.
The report should be read by academics and students who want to make sense of ASBOs, practitioners who are involved in implementing them as well as policy makers who are responsible for designing this sanction. It will also be of interest to all those who have an interest in addressing the issue of anti-social behaviour.
