Dropping your Guard: The Use of Boxing as a Means of Forming Desistance Narratives Amongst Young People in the Criminal Justice System

This paper discusses the relationship between the sport of boxing and desistance from crime. Working with young men in the English youth justice system, we co-developed a boxing workshop to explore the ways in which boxing creates avenues for the accomplishment of masculinity, and how these masculine scripts map onto desistance narratives and vice versa. We suggest that the sport of boxing is beneficial as an engagement tool, and demonstrates the power of sport in working with young men at risk of, or currently entrenched in criminal justice systems. We propose that the development of desistance narratives allowed the young men in this study to situate their masculine accomplishments in a hyper-masculine sport, and construct a narrative identity that reflected an openness to change. We propose that while boxing can be a beneficial vehicle for change, youth justice systems and funders of boxing programmes need to think more strategically about the use of the sport

“Look who is laughing now”: Physical capital, boxing, and the prevention of repeat victimisation.

This paper’s aim is to further current thinking around young men’s perceptions and understanding of violence, and the use of boxing as a vehicle in the prevention of repeat victimization. The focus is on the use of bodily or physical capital, and the ways in which men draw upon this resource to ward off attacks to identity and psyches, especially those perceived as disrespectful. It will draw on data from The Criminology of Boxing, Violence and Desistance (Jump 2020), and present overarching ideas from Tyrone, a psychosocial case study highlighting the underpinning theory and its development. This paper disrupts common discourses that argue that boxing is a panacea for all violence, and thus presents more subjective nuanced accounts of men’s lives in the gym, and the streets. In using the term “physical capital”, I employ Wacquant’s (1995) theory, and suggest that boxers not only use their body as a “form of capital” (p. 65), but that the physical capital accrued through the corporeal praxis of boxing, is actually a way to disavow prior victimization, and invest in the prevention of repeated traumatic scenarios

Boxing: can the sport really help turn young men away from violent crime

Boxing is often praised as a way of teaching discipline, anger management and teamwork. Now, with violent crime on the rise in English cities – especially among young men and boys – the sport is being used to support those at risk of being drawn into knife crime and gang activity. For instance, Channel 4 News recently featured a boxing academy in London, which provides alternative education for young people excluded from school, led by mentors who have experienced similar challenges

Getting out for Good : Preventing Gangs through Participation HM Inspectorate of Probation Academic Insights 2021/12

This Academic Insights paper is a timely opportunity to share learning by describing one of the UK IDM projects, the ‘Getting out for Good’ (GOFG) project which has been overseen by the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University. We describe the parameters of GOFG, discuss some of the evidence used to design the project and its theory of change, and detail its evaluation, learning and development. We discuss the most important learning that has emerged; the dominance of presenting emotional and mental health needs of the G&YW. We then describe how the project developed its focus beyond gangs to an understanding of criminal and sexual exploitation, paralleling the developing evidence base and policy response. Most importantly, it tells the stories of some of the G&YW involved in GOFG, in their own words, and how the GOFG fits with their individual and unique storie

Unmasked and Exposed: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Youth Custodial Estate. A Compelling Case for Ideological Change

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on custodial institutions has been the subject of intense scrutiny. During the pandemic, many international jurisdictions failed to develop clear and child-focussed plans for the management of children in custody, instead relying on strategies developed for adult populations. Presenting the findings from the United Kingdom’s (England Wales) first empirical in-depth exploration of the impacts of COVID-19 on children at each stage of the Youth Justice System, this article discusses the devastating effect on incarcerated children. The pandemic exacerbated existing failures in the children’s secure estate, eradicated children’s rights and exposed children to increased vulnerabilities. We present an urgent need for a fundamental ideological reconsideration of the purpose of custody for children

Phase One Process Evaluation Report The Getting Out for Good (GOFG) Project

This report presents the findings of the independent phase one, process evaluation of the Getting Out for Good (GOFG) project at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) which operated between January 2017 and July 2019. This section introduces the GOFG project, its context, and explains the aims and objectives of the evaluation and the evaluation methodology. The GoFG project is funded by ‘I Define Me’ and was established in spring 2017. It seeks to engage with G&YW (14 – 24 years) at risk of gang involvement in the Greater Manchester area. Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) was the lead organisation of the GoFG project. The project was co-designed by MMU with The Averment Group. The project specifically targets G&YW who have been identified as being at risk of serious gang related youth violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, and modern slavery. The G&YW who are referred to the project are given an intensive three-month programme of mentoring, advice and activities by the charity Positive Steps together with local sport, art and cultural providers. With a focus on boxing and football, supported by youth theatre and film-making, the G&YW help their peers to address pathways into and out of gang involvement, devising their own solutions through up-skilling and resilience buildin

Serious youth violence and its relationship with adverse childhood experiences

Serious youth violence (SYV) is a growing concern in England and Wales. While overall crime continues to fall, SYV has been rising. Across Manchester, SYV offences have risen by over 200 per cent from 2016/17 to 2018/19. This research report presents the findings from a Youth Justice Board pathfinder project to investigate the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and SYV in Manchester. This mixed-methods research project adopted a participatory approach with youth justice professionals and justice-involved children. The methods included the re-design and delivery of a quantitative ACEs assessment tool, interviews with youth justice professionals, the training of youth justice professionals to undertake narrative interviews with children, and a series of participatory workshops with children. The report highlights the prevalence of ACEs amongst perpetrators of SYV and the complex relationship between ACEs and SYV, as well as providing an insight into ACEs and SYV from the perspective of justice-involved children

The Youth Justice System's Response to the Covid 19 Pandemic: the impact in a secure children's home

This research project aims to understand the unprecedented implications that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on each stage of the youth justice system. Delivered in partnership between the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies (MCYS) at the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ), the project documents the impact of the pandemic on policy and practice responses, barriers and enablers to effective adaptation, and children’s perspectives. While the Greater Manchester (GM) region provides an in-depth case study for the project, we additionally draw heavily on the national literature and in-depth interviews with national stakeholders from the youth justice sector. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. Findings and recommendations from the 18-month project will be shared widely with practitioners and decision-makers to shape future policy and practice

Isolation of polymorphic microsatellites in the stemless thistle (Cirsium acaule) and their utility in other Cirsium species

The genus Cirsium includes species with both widespread and restricted geographical distributions, several of which are serious weeds. Nine polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from the stemless thistle Cirsium acaule. Eight were polymorphic in C. acaule, six in C. arvense and seven in C. heterophyllum. One locus monomorphic in C. acaule showed polymorphism in C. heterophyllum. The mean number of alleles per locus was 4.1 in C. acaule, 6.2 in C. arvense and 2.9 in C. heterophyllum. These nine loci were also amplified in C. eriophorum and C. vulgare, suggesting that these markers may be of use throughout the genus

The Youth Justice System's Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: research paper

This research paper presents the initial findings from 74 interviews with professionals from eight of the nine Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) across the Greater Manchester (GM) region. The interviews took place between January 2021 and May 2021. The paper focuses on adaptations to practice and service delivery. It is the first in a series of papers that will be produced over the life of the project