"The good days are amazing", an evaluation of the Writer's in Prison Network

The Writers in Prison Network (WIPN) was established and appointed by the Arts Council in April 1998 to administer the Writers in Residence in Prison Scheme. The Scheme places writers and creative artists into prisons across the UK to deliver creative writing, drama, video, music, oral storytelling, journalism, creative reading and publishing programmes. The Scheme employs writers who are experienced or established in particular literary fields; many have been creative writing tutors, or have worked in publishing, the theatre, television, radio or journalism. In administering the Scheme, WIPN supports up to 20 Writers in Residence at any one time (with an average of 15-16 residencies per year and a maximum of 22 residencies per year undertaken during the lifetime of WIPN). In 2010 the Hallam Centre for Community Justice at Sheffield Hallam University was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of the Writers in Prison Network. The evaluation was primarily qualitative in approach which aimed to inform and support the future development of WIPN

Guidance to working with the Armed Forces Community (including veterans) for Addaction staff

As a legacy of the Right Turn evaluation, a one-page guidance document was developed to assist Addaction staff when working with a member of the Armed Forces community. THis document was circulated to the national Addaction staff-base

Guidance for researchers interviewing those potentially suffering with PTSD

Whilst training a research team of 11 to conduct the Right Turn evaluation, this interviewer guidance sheet was developed to compliment a session delivered regarding best practice should interviewees display PTSD symptoms. These recommendations are based on the clinical and research experience of a leading Clinical Psychology lecturer who has worked at the King’s Centre for Military Health Research and Combat Stress guidance around conducting research with this client group

Evaluation of the South Yorkshire Restorative Justice programme (SYRJP)

The SYRJP was developed in partnership between South Yorkshire Police and the Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) with the aim of implementing a county wide model of Restorative Justice (RJ) for use in neighbourhood policing and other community applications. It is aimed at tackling low level crime and anti-social behaviour in neighbourhoods and gives police officers the discretion to use Youth and Adult Restorative disposals as an alternative to prosecution for low level offending behaviour where offenders have no previous convictions, make an admission of guilt and where both offender and victim consent to the RJ process

Prisoners as citizens, big society and the rehabilitation revolution : truly revolutionary?

Given the government's commitment to localism, social inclusion and transfer of power from politicians to communities embodied by the Big Society agenda, we question whether these principles have been adequately translated within 'Payments by Results' and the supposed 'Rehabilitation Revolution' Green Paper. Of all the communities in our diverse society, offenders should specifically be included to encourage them to become more responsible citizens and, therefore, participate fully in creating a more responsible society? However, accessing offender voices in the prison setting can often prove challenging, as will be discussed. The authors have been involved in using qualitative methodologies in evaluations of predominately voluntary sector arts and media projects with prison communities since 2005. With these data, this article explores opportunities for encouraging citizenship status in the prison community. Prisoners engaging with these projects report significant impacts of their engagement, including increases in their feelings of self worth, hope and belief in their own personal capacity to alter the way they behave

Veterans and violence: an exploration of pre-enlistment, military and post-service life

Despite growing criminological interest in the many ex-service personnel mired within the UK's criminal justice system, there remains a paucity of qualitative research studies examining the (violent) veteran offender. In response, this paper mobilises the voices of veterans to explore the key life events that can shape their offending behaviour. Countering reductionist explanations of violent crime committed by ex-service personnel, we contend that veterans' violence may be rooted within personal biographies and psyches, conditioned by military experiences and represent the psychosocial consequences of the socio-economic transformations of advanced capitalism

The role of the arts, humanities and social sciences in forming and informing responses to contemporary social change

Modern, liberal societies face a number of overarching challenges: demographic changes, increasing inequality, unemployment and under-employment, political instability, austerity and ecological, social and economic unsustainability are challenging established paradigms of political-economy. Current political discourse emphasises market-based approaches to these stressors: we contend it is rather the disciplines of the social sciences, arts and humanities that have more to say about the resolution of these externalities. In the following we seek to broaden the discourse regarding the role of these disciplines in interpreting and beginning to address social challenges. Our consideration of human values as a complement of monetary values is illustrated practically by three indicative projects conducted by the authors. In each case, we focus on the qualitative impact of these disciplines’ approaches on the participants and their environment. We suggest these activities have transformative potential through providing a platform for reflexion, collaboration and the building of communities