Where has all the youth crime gone? youth justice in an age of austerity

Youth justice under the Coalition government in England and Wales has been characterised by considerable gains — falling youth crime, increased diversion and substantial reductions in child imprisonment — that would generally be associated with a progressive agenda. Focusing on youth justice policy in England and Wales, this article suggests that the tensions implicit in a government of the new right delivering outcomes that demonstrate an increased tolerance to children who offend can be explained by the logic of austerity. That same logic brings with it other policy measures that are potentially less compatible with children's well-being

Offender management in and after prison: The end of ‘end to end’?

In 2013 a joint report by the Inspectorates of Probations and Prisons in England and Wales concluded that offender management in prisons was ‘not working’ and called for a fundamental review. This article considers why existing arrangements have failed and draws upon theory and research on resettlement, case management and desistance from crime, to define what a more effective system of ‘rehabilitative resettlement’ – both inside prison and ‘through the gate’ – might look like. It also comments on emerging proposals for radical change, including abandonment of the ‘end to end’ model of offender management by an outside probation officer and the development of ‘rehabilitative prisons’, in which more responsibility is placed on prisoners for managing their own rehabilitation, and a formal motivational role is created for large numbers of prison staff.10.1177/1748895816665435 Published in the Journal Criminology & Criminal Justice published by Sag

The experience of young people transitioning between youth offending services to probation services

Jayne Price, The experience of young people transitioning between youth offending services to probation services, Probation Journal (Vol. 67 Iss. 3) pp. 246-263. Copyright © 2020 (SAGE). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.This article explores the experience of transitioning from youth offending services to adult probation services upon turning age 18 years whilst incarcerated. The significant differences in the level of provision has been described as a ‘cliff-edge’ (Transition to Adulthood Alliance, 2009). Drawing upon interviews with young people held in institutions, stakeholders and survey data from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), it is argued that the drop in support is exacerbated by poor communication between institutions and services which has harmful implications for young people during this crucial period of developmental maturity and beyond custody

Disavowing 'the' prison

This chapter confronts the idea of ‘the’ prison, that is, prison as a fixed entity. However hard we, that is, prison scholars including ourselves, seek to deconstruct and critique specific aspects of confinement, there is a tendency to slip into a default position that envisions the prison as something given and pre-understood. When it comes to prison our imagination seems to clog up. It is the political solution to its own failure, and the preferred metaphor for its own representation

'Holistic' Community Punishment and Criminal Justice Interventions for Women

Calls for ‘holistic' responses to halt the increasing imprisonment of women are continually reiterated. Solutions are sought which aim to be both ‘gender-responsive' and ‘community-based'; however, the absence of meaningful definitions of ‘community' and ‘holistic' means that superficial responses are often put in place in response to failures of the system. Taking as an example one attempt to introduce a community-based service for women in Scotland, this article examines the challenges of implementing services that are located within ‘the community' and considers the consequences for feasible attempts to reduce the number of women in prison in Scotland and internationally

Incontinence in women prisoners: an exploration of the issues

Aim. This paper is a report of a study exploring the extent and management of bladder and bowel problems in order to inform the provision and practice of prison nursing services and health care services in women's prisons. Background. Nurses and general practitioners provide primary care services inside prisons in the United Kingdom. While high levels of mental health and addiction problems in women prisoners are recognized, there has been less focus on physical problems. Incontinence symptoms are perceived as shameful and stigmatizing, and frequently help is not sought from healthcare professionals. Guidance for assessing prisoner health does not refer to bladder and bowel symptoms. Methods. Women prisoners in a large, closed prison in the United Kingdom were surveyed in 2005 using an anonymous self-completed questionnaire. Women resident in the detoxification unit and the hospital unit, absent from their unit at the time of questionnaire distribution or deemed vulnerable by prison health staff were excluded. Results. Questionnaires were offered to 283 women and 246 agreed to take it. Of those taken, 148 (60%) were returned. Twenty-four per cent indicated that they disclosed information about bladder and bowel problems in the survey not previously disclosed to anyone else. Forty-three per cent reported urinary symptoms. Five per cent reported nocturnal enuresis. The majority of women with symptoms reported using sanitary pads and toilet paper for containment of leakage. Conclusion. Prison nurses and nurse practitioners involved in reception into prison assessments should ask direct but sensitive questions about women's bladder and bowel symptoms