Concerns about youth gang violence and offending have occurred in developed societies across the globe, and a plethora of youth justice sanctions have arisen in response to this. This article is focused upon an empirical study of 20 young men from socially deprived areas of the west of Scotland, whose involvement in individualized offending emerged from their earlier participation in gang violence. The article explores the impact of curfews and electronic monitoring on the social strains, support and capital experienced by the young men and their families. The findings indicate that the sanctions had some limited success in reducing anti-social capital in the young offenders’ lives, particularly when they were complemented by mechanisms for rehabilitation and care. However, when used in isolation the sanctions often failed to build pro-social capital and, in some cases, functioned as an additional social strain conducive to further criminal offending. The article ends with some suggested implications for future youth justice policy decisions, and calls for wider research into the impact of criminal justice sanctions on young offenders and families.
In recent years there has been an increased focus on prisoner resettlement in government policy in England and Wales. Two contrasting trends have been evident. Post-release supervision in the form of enhanced monitoring and surveillance for offenders on statutory licence has grown significantly, while post-release support and provision for adult short-sentence prisoners has been minimalist and remains non-mandatory. This article will examine the problematized status of resettlement in terms of: (a) differentiated meaning; and (b) policy formulation and application. It is argued that ‘resettlement’ attracts many key assumptions and that societal expectations of what can be achieved may be ideationally and conceptually flawed. The discussion centres on both theoretical connections and uncertainties, together with the respective policy implications. An indicative schema of ex-prisoner re-entry is outlined for further analytical exploration and critique. ‘Re-entry’, a ‘buzzword’ in the USA, is preferred for this schema rather than ‘resettlement’ which is the favoured term in England and Wales.
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Research Methods for Criminal Justice and CriminologyThis volume explores research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Topics covered include: crime, criminal justice and scientific inquiry; theory and criminal justice research; causation and validity; and general issues in research design.
The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, introduced by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, is portrayed as an important advance on the previous two Charters, particularly with regards to the complaints process available in cases where service providers breach these obligations. This article provides a detailed description of the Code’s complaints process as well as its functioning in order to evaluate its efficacy. The methodology behind this evaluation comprises several interviews with members of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office and analysis of legal documents such as statutes, case law, reports and the relevant academic literature on victims. The article argues that the Code’s complaints process is not an effective and adequate mechanism for victims of crime, since contrary to its aims, it is largely inaccessible, long, overly complex and does not provide sufficient guarantees of privacy and objectivity as well as adequate redress and remedies for victims when service providers breach their duties. Instead, victims of crime would benefit from the development of a new mechanism that is sensitive to their needs, values accessibility and objectivity and provides effective remedies to ensure redress and accountability.
Related Reading:
Research Methods for Criminal Justice and CriminologyThis volume explores research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Topics covered include: crime, criminal justice and scientific inquiry; theory and criminal justice research; causation and validity; and general issues in research design.
The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, introduced by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, is portrayed as an important advance on the previous two Charters, particularly with regards to the complaints process available in cases where service providers breach these obligations. This article provides a detailed description of the Code’s complaints process as well as its functioning in order to evaluate its efficacy. The methodology behind this evaluation comprises several interviews with members of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office and analysis of legal documents such as statutes, case law, reports and the relevant academic literature on victims. The article argues that the Code’s complaints process is not an effective and adequate mechanism for victims of crime, since contrary to its aims, it is largely inaccessible, long, overly complex and does not provide sufficient guarantees of privacy and objectivity as well as adequate redress and remedies for victims when service providers breach their duties. Instead, victims of crime would benefit from the development of a new mechanism that is sensitive to their needs, values accessibility and objectivity and provides effective remedies to ensure redress and accountability.
Related Reading:
Research Methods for Criminal Justice and CriminologyThis volume explores research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Topics covered include: crime, criminal justice and scientific inquiry; theory and criminal justice research; causation and validity; and general issues in research design.
The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, introduced by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, is portrayed as an important advance on the previous two Charters, particularly with regards to the complaints process available in cases where service providers breach these obligations. This article provides a detailed description of the Code’s complaints process as well as its functioning in order to evaluate its efficacy. The methodology behind this evaluation comprises several interviews with members of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office and analysis of legal documents such as statutes, case law, reports and the relevant academic literature on victims. The article argues that the Code’s complaints process is not an effective and adequate mechanism for victims of crime, since contrary to its aims, it is largely inaccessible, long, overly complex and does not provide sufficient guarantees of privacy and objectivity as well as adequate redress and remedies for victims when service providers breach their duties. Instead, victims of crime would benefit from the development of a new mechanism that is sensitive to their needs, values accessibility and objectivity and provides effective remedies to ensure redress and accountability.
This article is based on research with men who have embraced the new technological opportunities offered by the internet to sell counterfeit products and engage in forms of intellectual property crime, specifically trading counterfeit items through internet websites. It examines case studies and qualitative material generated through interviews with professional criminal entrepreneurs who have made use of the web-site ‘eBay’ in order to distribute goods while minimizing the risk of detection and prosecution. This empirical material, it suggests, provides some initial evidence of how more traditional forms of working class male enterprise crime are now being mutated and superseded, and are shifting in light of the opportunities provided by new technology, moving from traditional local marketplaces to new online settings.
Related Reading:
Research Methods for Criminal Justice and CriminologyThis volume explores research methods for criminal justice and criminology. Topics covered include: crime, criminal justice and scientific inquiry; theory and criminal justice research; causation and validity; and general issues in research design.
Effigy: Images of Capital Defendants (Issues in Crime and Justice)Effigy examines the images of a capital defendant portrayed, by the defense attorneys and the prosecutor, during the guilt and penalty phases of capit... Read More >
Crime, Gender, and Sexuality in Criminal Prosecutions: (Criminal Justice History)
Policing Protest: The Control of Mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies (Social Movements, Protest and Contention)The first international examination of how police respond to political protests. This collection analyzes a wide array of policing styles. Focusing on... Read More >
