124 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Sentencing Women in the Transformed Probation Landscape
In 2013 the government promised that new reforms would ‘deliver better outcomes for women offenders’ (Ministry of Justice, 2013b, p.16). This was a bold statement and a laudable ambition. However, this strategy – called and aimed at Transforming Rehabilitation - will only be successful if sentencers are aware of (and support) the options that new providers put in place to achieve its goals. This chapter considers current levels of awareness of the new reforms among magistrates. Highlighting reservations about the suitability of community provision, and a lack of awareness about developments under Transforming Rehabilitation, it emphasises the lack of information that magistrates receive on this issue. Supplementing the findings of a recent research project conducted with 168 magistrates (see Birkett, 2016), this chapter provides a post-Transforming Rehabilitation ‘update’, drawing on 24 semi-structured interviews and a survey of 86 magistrates sitting across England and Wales. As such, it places particular focus on developments that followed the implementation of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, the legislative measures underpinning the government’s flagship Transforming Rehabilitation policy agenda
Professional decision making and women offenders : containing the chaos?
This article draws on the findings from research undertaken in south-east Scotland in 2008 which sought to identify the characteristics of female offenders and to document the views of policy makers and practitioners regarding the experiences of women involved in the Scottish criminal justice system. Despite Scotland having retained a stronger 'welfare' focus than elsewhere in the UK (e.g. McAra, 2008), this is not reflected in the treatment of women who offend, with the rate of female imprisonment having almost doubled in the last ten years and community based disposals falling short of a welfare-oriented system. This article explores why the treatment that women offenders receive in the criminal justice system may be harsh and disproportionate both in relation to their offending and in relation to the treatment of men. It is argued that interventions with women need to be initiated earlier in their cycle of offending and at an earlier stage in the criminal justice process but also that the wide-ranging health, welfare, financial and behavioural needs of women who offend cannot be met solely within an increasingly risk-averse and punitive criminal justice environment
'Prove me the bam!': victimization and agency in the lives of young women who commit violent offences
This article reviews the evidence regarding young women’s involvement in violent crime and, drawing on recent research carried out in HMPYOI Cornton Vale in Scotland, provides an overview of the characteristics, needs and deeds of young women sentenced to imprisonment for violent offending. Through the use of direct quotations, the article suggests that young women’s anger and aggression is often related to their experiences of family violence and abuse, and the acquisition of a negative worldview in which other people are considered as being 'out to get you' or ready to 'put one over on you'. The young women survived in these circumstances, not by adopting discourses that cast them as exploited victims, but by drawing on (sub)cultural norms and values which promote pre-emptive violence and the defence of respect. The implications of these findings for those who work with such young women are also discussed
Target, audit and risk assessment cultures in the probation service
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
The Effectiveness of Support and Rehabilitation Services for Women Offenders
There is a large body of research evidence suggesting that support, rehabilitation, and supervision programs can help offenders to reduce recidivism. However, the effectiveness of these services is dependent upon the extent to which the workers who deliver them comply with "what works" principles and practices. Because most of this research has been conducted with men, this study focused on the extent to which these principles and practices apply to women. In particular, the study examined services offered to a group of women in prison in Victoria, Australia, and following their release to the community; and the relationship between these women's views about the services, recidivism, and the characteristics of the services. Results were generally consistent with earlier research. The women favoured services that are delivered by workers who are reliable, holistic, collaborative, who understand the women's perspective, and that focus on strengths. They did not support services that challenged the women, focused on their offences, or on the things they did badly
Myopia and misrecognition : the impact of managerialism on the management of compliance
This article explores the construction of a particular form of compliance in probation practice during a period in which policy shifted from enforcement towards compliance. The article uses four concepts from Bourdieu's field theory (habitus, field, misrecognition and symbolic violence) to highlight the way in which the shift in policy was attuned to the subjective structure of probation practitioners' habitus but resulted in a form of compliance which was myopic in nature and thus did not adhere to what we know about habitus in probation from other research. The article explores this phenomenon through Bourdieu's notion of misrecognition suggesting that whilst the policy change was regarded generally positively, it is an example of 'symbolic violence'. In turn, this tells us about practitioners' position in the field which is useful in terms of future analyses of how changes to the delivery of community sanctions will manifest in the coming years
Women, resettlement and desistance
With the numbers of women imprisoned increasing across Western jurisdictions over the last 15 or so years, so too have the numbers of women returning to the community following a period in custody. Despite increasing policy attention in the UK and elsewhere to prisoner resettlement, women’s experiences on release from prison have received limited empirical and policy attention. Drawing upon interviews with women leaving prison in Victoria, Australia, this article discusses the resettlement challenges faced by the women and highlights their similarity to the experiences of women leaving prison in other jurisdictions. Women had mixed (and predominantly negative) experiences and views of accessing services and supports following release, though experiences of parole supervision by community corrections officers were often positive, especially if women felt valued and supported by workers who demonstrated genuine concern. Analysis of factors associated with further offending and with desistance, points to the critical role of flexible, tailored and women-centred post-release support building, and, where possible, upon relationships established with women while they are still in prison
Sentencing drug offenders under the 2003 Criminal Justice Act: Challenges for the probation service
For the most part the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, which came into effect in England and Wales in April 2005, was accepted by the probation service with relatively little opposition. Given the enormity of its impact acquiescence to this degree of change ought to come as something of a surprise. The 2003 Act changed fundamentally the nature of community supervision, it brought to an end the traditional range of non-custodial penalties and replaced them with a single community order to which sentencers could add any of 12 possible requirements. This paper considers the impact of the 2003 legislation on one particular offender group - drug misusers. Drug misusing offenders have the potential to pose serious difficulties for probation officers; the habitual nature of drug addiction and a tendency toward an irregular lifestyle make drug misusers particularly susceptible to breach. Under the new legislation courts have significantly fewer options available to them when responding to incidents of offender non-compliance. This paper argues that many of the provisions of the 2003 Act together with developments elsewhere in the UK are likely to have impacted disproportionately on those groups whose lifestyles are chaotic and whose routines are incompatible with the terms and conditions of modern day probation practice. It concludes that greater flexibility towards non-compliance, supported by regular and consistent judicial review, would encourage improved rates of compliance and retention in treatment and improved outcomes for offenders
Women and community sentences
Despite the increasing numbers of women given community sentences in the UK and in other jurisdictions in recent years, there has been relatively little research into women’s experiences of these disposals. This is particularly surprising given what is known about the distinctive characteristics of women in conflict with the law and the gendered nature of pathways to crime. This article draws upon the experiences of women made subject to a range of community sentences to identify recurring themes including the complexity of women’s problems, the significance of stigma, trauma and abuse, the importance to women of their supervisory relationships, the relevance of self-efficacy and the nature of barriers to compliance. The article considers the consequences of the discourses of ‘penality’ when underpinned by ideological assumptions and expectations based on gender relations. The implications for the supervision of women in the community are considered, while acknowledging that community sanctions are unlikely in themselves to be capable of addressing broader issues that bring women into and retain them in the criminal justice system
Recommended from our members
Transforming Women’s Rehabilitation? An Early Assessment of Gender-Specific Provision in Three Community Rehabilitation Companies
Following the implementation of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms expanded the offender management market to include several private providers, known as Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). The TR reforms have been the subject of intense debate since the outset. Political, academic and campaign-group commentary has critiqued the rapid implementation of the new agenda and examined its likely impact on existing services (particularly those run by the charitable sector). A growing body of research has also questioned the likely impact of the legislation on community provision for women, a field already beset with precarious funding streams. Lamenting the ‘lack of strategic focus’ on women, a recent review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) revealed that ‘dedicated funding for women’s community services has virtually disappeared, and provision is mixed and uncertain’ (2016a: 4). Drawing on 36 interviews conducted with probation officers and practitioners (keyworkers) working for women’s services, this paper validates such concerns. While the supposed subjects of an established government strategy, it is particularly regretful to report such findings in the tenth anniversary year of Baroness Corston’s seminal report
- …