Cultural Change in Community Justice

SCCJR was commissioned by the Scottish Government to prepare a brief literature review which explores cultural change in community justice. This is intended to inform the ongoing work of a Performance Improvement Strategy Group which is trying to develop the effectiveness and quality of criminal justice social work in Scotland, as part of the Reducing Reoffending agenda. The basic idea is that attempts to reform penal practices that are insensitive to the cultural dynamics of the organisations and professions who deliver those practices, and of how these cultures change (and resist change), are unlikely to succeed.  The work was undertaken with Ros Burnett (University of Oxford) and Trish McCulloch (University of Dundee). This report will be available on our website in summer 2010.

A brief outline of the scope of the review can be found in project documents and the final report is available here.

Project Documents

• Cultural Change Research Report

Project Contacts

• Prof Fergus McNeill