National Evaluation of Weed & Seed

Unveiled in 1991, Operation Weed and Seed represents an ambitious attempt to improve the quality of life in America’s cities. The ultimate goals of Weed and Seed are to control violent crime, drug trafficking, and drug-related crime in targeted high-crime neighborhoods and to provide a safe environment, free of crime and drug use, in which law-abiding citizens can live, work, and raise their families. Weed and Seed, administered by the Executive Office for Weed and Seed (EOWS), is grounded in the philosophy that targeted areas can best be improved by a two-pronged strategy of “weeding” out violent offenders, drug traffickers, and other criminals by removing them from the targeted area, and “seeding” the area with human services and neighborhood revitalization efforts. Community policing is intended to serve as the “bridge” between weeding and seeding

Peace Incentive Fund 2021-2022

Launched in September 2020, Kroc IPJ\u27s Peace Incentive Fund supported cities and local organizations as they worked to advance health while simultaneously reinforcing public safety amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.https://digital.sandiego.edu/ipj-research/1003/thumbnail.jp

Inertia

The early days of the post-birth experience have been described as the art of stillness, during which the female body slows down and sinks into stillness to respond to the infant’s need for the mother to be with them. Frequent night awakenings to care for the newborn result in a kind of sleep inertia, where one exists in the transient state between sleep and awake. Such occurrences of stillness, sleeplessness and night-time solidarity provide a silent space for reflection and self-redefinition during the early days of motherhood. This collection considers the transitional identity of the new mother as a symbolic form of inertia, which retains its state of rest in spite of being acted upon by external forces. The complex dynamics of such forces become apparent in a series of visual artworks and poems. Placed side by side, words and images form a kind of curated dialogue, which just like mothers conversing with each other, unravels points of convergence and divergence in the breadth of maternal experience

Theatre Hullabaloo Baby Play Pack Evaluation

Conducted by the Institute for Social Justice, this evaluation was commissioned by Theatre Hullabaloo to consider the impact of the Hullabaloo Baby Play Pack Programme on the experience of new parents and their babies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The evaluation used a quantitative survey (N=189), conducted before and after the distribution of the play pack, alongside qualitative interviews with parents (N=10) and health and culture sector professionals (N=7)

Basic Human Needs: Concept or Slogan, Synthesis or Smokescreen ?

SUMMARY Basic Human Needs/Basic Needs emerged in the middle 1970s as a widely debated way of analysing and formulating development. It has a number of elements and has drawn upon a number of country experiences and is to many proponents an attempted synthesis rather than a slogan. BHN and BN are only partly compatible with each other because of their quite different emphases on participation and equality versus organisation and minimum standards, reflecting broadly divergent political economic goals and perceptions. BHN as a strategy goes further than the provision (production and distribution) of basic goods and services to include full and fairly remunerated employment and participation. RESUMEN Necesidades humanas básicas: Concepto o slogan, síntesis o constructo artificial? Los conceptos de necedidades humanas básicas/necesidades básicas (NHB/NB) aparecieron a mediados de los años 1970 como manera ampliamente debatida de analizar y formular el desarrollo. Comprenden varios elementos y se han enriquecido de las experiencías de numerosos países, constituyendo a los ojos de sus proponentes una especie de síntesis más bien que un slogan. NHB y NB son sólo en parte recíprocamente compatibles a causa del énfasis tan diferente que ponen en la participación y en la igualdad por oposición a la organización y a los niveles mínimos, reflejando fines y concepciones político?económícas considerablemente divergentes. NHB en cuanto estrategía va más allá de la mera provisión (producción y distribución) de bienes y servicios básicos para comprender el empleo y la participación remunerados de manera plenamente equitable. RESUME Besoins fondamentaux de l'homme: concept ou slogan, synthèse ou écran de fumée? Besoins fondamentaux de l'homme/besoins fondamentaux, cette formule est apparue aux alentours de 1970 comme un moyen fort controversé d'analyser et de formuler le développement. Elle contient un certain nombre d'éléments et a fait appel aux expériences d'un certain nombre de pays: elle est pour beaucoup de ses défenseurs un essai de synthèse plutôt qu'un slogan. BFH et BF ne sont qu'en partie compatibles puisqu'ils mettent un accent tour à fait différent sur la participation et l'égalité face à l'organisation et les standards minima, reflétant des objectifs et des perceptions divergeant grandement politiquement. BFH en tant que stratégie va plus loin que la fourniture (production et distribution) de produits et services de base pour inclure le plein emploi bien rémunéré et la participation

From ‘poor parenting’ to micro-management:coalition governance and the sponsorship of arm’s-length bodies in the United Kingdom, 2010–13

The delegation of public tasks to arm’s-length bodies remains a central feature of contemporary reform agendas within both developed and developing countries. The role and capacity of political and administrative principals (i.e. ministers and departments of state) to control the vast network of arm’s-length bodies for which they are formally responsible is therefore a critical issue within and beyond academe. In the run-up to the 2010 General Election in the United Kingdom, the ‘quango conundrum’ emerged as an important theme and all three major parties committed themselves to shift the balance of power back towards ministers and sponsor departments. This article presents the results of the first major research project to track and examine the subsequent reform process. It reveals a stark shift in internal control relationships from the pre-election ‘poor parenting’ model to a far tighter internal situation that is now the focus of complaints by arm’s-length bodies of micro-management. This shift in the balance of power and how it was achieved offers new insights into the interplay between different forms of governance and has significant theoretical and comparative relevance. Points for practitioners: For professionals working in the field of arm’s-length governance, the article offers three key insights. First, that a well-resourced core executive is critical to directing reform given the challenges of implementing reform in a context of austerity. Second, that those implementing reform will also need to take into account the diverse consequences of centrally imposed reform likely to result in different departments with different approaches to arm’s-length governance. Third, that reforming arm’s-length governance can affect the quality of relationships, and those working in the field will need to mitigate these less tangible challenges to ensure success

Only available to a selected few? Is it feasible to rely on a volunteer workforce for complex intervention delivery?

yesThis paper recounts the process of undertaking a randomised controlled trial which was designed to examine the effectiveness of an intervention for socially isolated older people aged 75 years and over. It describes the reasons for early cessation of the study and raises the implications of this outcome for policy, practice and research. The intervention under investigation was designed to alleviate loneliness and foster companionship. It involves participants being linked with a small group of others through a teleconferencing system with each group being facilitated by trained volunteers. There was a requirement to recruit and train a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 60 volunteers over 1 year to facilitate 20 friendship groups to meet the number of older people required to be recruited to the study. Problems with recruiting and retaining the volunteer workforce by the voluntary sector organisation, who were commissioned to do so, led to the study closing even though older people were recruited in sufficient numbers. The paper draws upon analysis of various data sources from the study to identify the potential reasons. The discussion raises considerations regarding the extent of infrastructure required to deliver community services to vulnerable user groups at scale, identifies some of the issues that need to be addressed if such volunteer-initiated services are to be successful and informs future research programmes in this area.Public Health Research programme (PHR 09/3004/01). Commissioned by NIHR

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

Putting victims first? : a critique of Coalition anti-social behaviour policy

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) policy was not pursued by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition government with the same vigour as their New Labour predecessors. Where developments did take place a clear shift in emphasis was apparent, with the needs of ASB victims elevated to the forefront of policy. This article critically appraises two major developments that showcase the Coalition government’s attempts to overhaul ASB policy to ‘put victims first’, namely: the changes to call handling and case management processes, and the Community Trigger, which forces the authorities to review their responses to complaints of ASB in circumstances where victims feel they have been ignored. These particular policies aim to prioritise victims’ needs; however, it is argued the new victim-focus: is diluted by competing Coalition ASB agendas, demonstrates little connection between rhetoric and reality, provides limited redress for all victims and fails to coalesce with established attempts to tackle perpetrators of ASB

Engaging "seldom heard" groups in research and intervention development: Offender mental health.

BACKGROUND: People subject to the criminal justice system often have substantially different life-experiences from the general population. Patient and public involvement (PPI) of "seldom heard" groups provides valuable experiential knowledge, enhancing research. OBJECTIVE: To share our jointly developed techniques to ensure the meaningful engagement and contribution of people with lived experience of the criminal justice system (PWLECJS) in research, trial science, intervention theory development and dissemination. METHODS: Commitment to adequate financial resources, appropriate staff skills and adequate time were combined with previous learning. PWLECJS were approached through local community organizations. A group was established and met fortnightly for ten months in an unthreatening environment and had a rolling membership. Ongoing engagement was promoted by the group taking responsibility for the rules, interactive and accessible activities, feeding back tangible impacts, ongoing contact, building a work ethic, joint celebrations, sessions with individual academic researchers and pro-actively managed endings. RESULTS: The Peer Researchers contributed to study documents, training academic researchers, research data collection and analysis, intervention delivery and theory development and trial science. The Peer Researchers gained in confidence and an improved sense of self-worth. The Academic Researchers gained skills, knowledge and an increased openness to being challenged. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: PWLECJS can be meaningful included in health research and intervention development. The key elements required are listed. Challenges included differences in priorities for timescales and dissemination, resource limitations and the use of Peer Researchers' names. Further research is required to understand what might be of relevance for other "seldom heard" groups