Listening to women: relational approaches to female offender management

Purpose: To explore women’s experiences of criminal justice systems to inform the development of guidance on working with women.Design/methodology/approach: A two-part, independent samples, qualitative study utilising semi-structured interviews incorporating both IPA and Thematic Analysis was conducted. In study 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six women on probation in the community and data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Interviews in study 2 were conducted with seven women in custody with data analysed using inductive-deductive thematic analysis. The applicability and expansion of study 1 themes was then explored.Findings: Seven emergent themes indicated relational approaches to offender management may improve experiences of judicial systems for female offenders and for their probation officers. This approach may help prevent common systemic issues from perpetuating negative interactions between these groups. Specific suggestions for developing relational security and consistency of care within these relationships are provided. Practical implications: Taking a relational approach to female offender management may help remedy some of the systemic difficulties faced by female offenders and their probation officers. Originality: By focussing on the experiences of women screened in to the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway this study provides insight as to how this service can assist in the development of relational security between probation staff and their clients

Gender and police leadership: time for a paradigm shift?

Despite a number of initiatives aimed at improving the representation and progression of women in the police service in England and Wales, the number of women in leadership ranks remains low. At the same time, concern over the quality of police leadership has been at the forefront of much public debate in recent years. This article focuses on recent proposals to reform the way in which senior officers are recruited through a discussion of the appointment of non-sworn/'outsider' officers through the adoption of direct and multiple entry models of recruitment as outlined by the Winsor Review (2012, Independent review of police officer and staff remuneration and conditions. Part 2. http://review.police.uk/part-two-report/). Hailed as an opportunity to secure an alternative face to police leadership, we reflect on the growing disquiet over police leaders and leadership and consider the possibilities of such a reform agenda for the representation and progression of women in policing. We propose that although a multipoint system of entry for specialisation or leadership roles may offer a number of opportunities to a service in crisis, such a reform agenda may ultimately serve to threaten and further undermine women's participation and status in policing as 'outsiders'

Grouping practices in the primary school: what influences change?

During the 1990s, there was considerable emphasis on promoting particular kinds of pupil grouping as a means of raising educational standards. This survey of 2000 primary schools explored the extent to which schools had changed their grouping practices in responses to this, the nature of the changes made and the reasons for those changes. Forty eight percent of responding schools reported that they had made no change. Twenty two percent reported changes because of the literacy hour, 2% because of the numeracy hour, 7% because of a combination of these and 21% for other reasons. Important influences on decisions about the types of grouping adopted were related to pupil learning and differentiation, teaching, the implementation of the national literacy strategy, practical issues and school self-evaluation

Characteristics of prisoners with neurodevelopmental disorders and difficulties

Background Previous studies have found high rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) within the criminal justice system (CJS). However, little is understood about prisoners with neurodevelopmental disorders and difficulties (NDD) or their needs. This study aimed to identify prisoners with NDD and compare their characteristics with prisoners without NDD on a range of socio‐demographic and social functioning measures. Method This was a descriptive, cross‐sectional study carried out using face‐to‐face interviews with 240 participants in a London Category C prison. Standardised tools were used to assess prisoners for ADHD, ASD and ID. Results The study identified 87 prisoners who screened positive for one or more type of NDD. Participants with NDD were significantly younger and more likely to be single [(odds ratio) OR = 2.1], homeless (OR = 3.4) or unemployed (OR = 2.6) before they came into prison. They also had poorer educational achievements that those without NDD. Over 80% of those with NDD had a previous conviction or imprisonment. Conclusions The findings confirm the presence of significant numbers of people with NDD in a male prison. Services across the CJS are required for this group; specifically, there is a need for raised awareness among those working in the CJS to improve the recognition of offenders with NDD. Services in the community need to work with individuals with NDD who are at risk of offending, targeting those who are homeless, unemployed and have poor employment opportunities

Exploring the dynamics of compliance with community penalties

In this paper, we examine how compliance with community penalties has been theorized hitherto and seek to develop a new dynamic model of compliance with community penalties. This new model is developed by exploring some of the interfaces between existing criminological and socio-legal work on compliance. The first part of the paper examines the possible definitions and dimensions of compliance with community supervision. Secondly, we examine existing work on explanations of compliance with community penalties, supplementing this by drawing on recent socio-legal scholarship on private individuals’ compliance with tax regimes. In the third part of the paper, we propose a dynamic model of compliance, based on the integration of these two related analyses. Finally, we consider some of the implications of our model for policy and practice concerning community penalties, suggesting the need to move beyond approaches which, we argue, suffer from compliance myopia; that is, a short-sighted and narrowly focused view of the issues

Police liaison officers at football: Challenging orthodoxy through communication and engagement

AbstractThis paper expands upon research on the use of Police Liaison Teams’ (PLTs) within public order policing operations surrounding football fixtures. Using a Participant Action Research approach, the paper reports on PLT use across multiple events and locations with different police forces, different personnel and fans and divergent command perspectives as well as comparative data from PLT and non - PLT events. It identifies how accountability dynamics associated with the classification and management of risk in the policing of football may explain the continued reliance on more coercive policing tactics, as well as a number of other barriers that hinder the development of PLT use at football. Despite this, the paper provides evidence that PLTs can offer similar benefits to the policing of football as they do to the policing of protest. In particular we argue that developing such approaches will make the policing of football more human rights complaint. Key words: Police Liaison Teams, Public Order, Risk Classification, Human Rights, Football

Measuring IPDE-SQ personality disorder prevalence in pre-sentence and early-stage prison populations, with sub-type estimates

Understanding the prevalence and type of personality disorder within prison systems allows for the effective targeting of resources to implement strategies to alleviate symptoms, manage behaviour and attempt to reduce re-offending. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of personality disorder (PD) traits within a local urban high-turnover adult male prison with a remand/recently sentenced population in London, UK. The International Personality Disorder Examination–Screening Questionnaire (IPDE-SQ) self-administered questionnaire (ICD-10 version) was completed by 283 prisoners (42% completion rate). 77% of respondents reached the threshold for one or more PDs. The most common PD types were Paranoid PD (44.5%), Anankastic PD (40.3%), Schizoid PD (35%) and Dissocial PD (25.8%). These results confirm and extend existing knowledge regarding the prevalence of PD in prison populations into a high-turnover, urban, remand population. The stark comparison with community samples indicates that a more equitable standard of service delivery within the criminal justice system, focussing on preventive and early intervention services, is now required