Intensive alternatives to custody process evaluation of pilots in five areas

A qualitative process evaluation of five Intensive Alternative to Custody (IAC) pioneer areas was undertaken to assess implementation of IAC, identify approaches to implementation and capture the lessons learnt. The findings indicated that many of the persistent offenders (those with at least 29 prior convictions) targeted by pilots were positive about the IAC order. Although intensive, it provided order and stability, allowing them to move away from a criminal lifestyle. Sentencers welcomed the order as a viable alternative to custody. Probation staff and partners were equally positive about its efficacy. Only one in four IAC orders were revoked because requirements were breached, which suggests that the pilots had managed to engage many of the offenders

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

Process evaluation of five integrated offender management pioneer areas

A qualitative process evaluation of five Integrated Offender Management (IOM) pioneer areas was undertaken to assess implementation of IOM, identify approaches to implementation and capture the lessons learnt. The findings indicated that IOM enabled structural changes, transforming the delivery of offender management. There was considerable commitment and enthusiasm for IOM at the sites, whilst acknowledging barriers to development such as definition, resourcing, governance and clarity of agency roles. Since the evaluation took place, the political and criminal justice landscape has changed somewhat, supporting a more locally driven approach which can draw on the learning directly from the pioneers which were shaped and delivered locally

Process evaluation of Derbyshire Intensive Alternatives to Custody Pilot

The aim of this study was to critically assess the implementation and development of the Intensive Alternatives to Custody (IAC) pilot in Derbyshire. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Penal Policy paper (May 2007) outlined the government’s intention to develop higher intensity community orders as an alternative to short-term custody. The IAC Order was subsequently developed and piloted, first in Derbyshire and then in six other areas.* The pilots were centrally funded until March 2011

"How do I know I’m doing a good job?”:a poetic representation of stakeholder interactions on the development of practitioner identity within applied sport psychology

Contemporary research has identified identity as being an under-researched area within applied sport psychology. Concurrently, recent research has identified the micro-political nature of sport psychology contexts and the significance of stakeholder interactions in shaping the professional selfunderstanding of applied practitioners. Utilizing a multi-theoretical perspective, this study aimed to explore how interactions with key stakeholders shape and inform practitioner identity in relation to the practitioner’s current roles and responsibilities. With the institutions’ ethical approval, purposive sampling identified 7 UK-based practitioners (5 male and 2 female) who gave informed consent to participate in the research. All were either registered with the Health Care Professions Council or engaged on a professional accreditation pathway. Practitioners outlined their career histories on a timeline, highlighting key stakeholders within their current environment. These timelines informed semi-structured interviews, accruing over 18 hours of data that were then transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis process generated three themes: Out of sight, out of mind; left to my own devices; feeling a part and apart. These themes encapsulate the impact of practitioners’ interactions with key stakeholders, including athletes, coaches, support staff, and management. The themes also highlight the practitioners’ experiences of a lack of proximal line management, and their own perceived importance and contribution to their respective organisations as a result of the interactions with key stakeholders. The findings, articulated through a poetic representation, both aim to capture the emotional nature of applied sport psychology practice and identify the contextually bound nature of practitioner identity and professional self-understanding. Recommendations are made on how supervisory and peer-support processes can develop practitioner understanding around stakeholder interactions, and the subsequent impact that these can have on forming and maintaining practitioner identity. Subsequently, practitioners are encouraged to consider how the manage their interactions with key-stakeholders and line management processes. Further, through utilising Thoits (2011) notion of social ties as mechanisms for health, suggestions are made to consider how such interactions with key stakeholders can impact practitioners’ health through such mechanisms

Economic values and evidence: evaluating criminal justice policy

This chapter highlights the distinction between the morals and values of economics and the morals and values expressed in the way economics is used. Ultimately, we suggest that the choice of an economic approach is itself ideologically based