The latest publications added to the SCCJR database. http://www.sccjr.ac.uk (C) SCCJR http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=342 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT This article examines projections, or statistical forecasts, of prison populations from a social perspective, treating them as social actors in their own right. Linear regression – the almost universal foundation of prison population projections – is in simple terms the act of drawing a straight line through the data at an angle which best ‘fits’ the observed data, that is, what has already happened. In this way, population projections work as a narrative device, finding order, patterns and normality to tell a story of growth or decline. A hidden feature of this technology of knowing the future is the imposition of narrative coherence on the past. However, a review of the past projections reveals their own inherent instability, volatility and chronic inaccuracy. The paper suggests that the accuracy of prison population projections is less important than their power to create a sense of control and legitimacy to penal policy makers. The paper concludes by characterising forecasts as an act of imagination and argues for counter-discourses and imaginaries that might balance the power of the numbers. http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=340 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT This research evaluates two forms of ‘conditional liberty’ in Scotland, home detention curfew and open prison, in terms of how they operate, their contribution to community reintegration, and cost. http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=341 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT In November 2011, a group of postgraduate students from the MRes Criminology, the MSC Criminology and Criminal Justice, and the MSc Transnational Crime, Justice and Security programmes at the University of Glasgow had the opportunity to attend the annual Scottish Association for the Study of Offending (SASO) Conference held in Dunblane, Scotland. This is what they made of it......... http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=339 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT   The purpose of this review was to examine the available research evidence on criminal justice interventions in Scotland in terms of "effectiveness", (measured by rates of reconviction/reoffending, and reductions in drug use) and costs. The review also recognises the current policy emphasis on "recovery", which requires a wider acknowledgement of the possible mechanisms for measuring "success" and a wider vision for the process of recovery itself. The review was undertaken between August and November 2010. http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=336 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT Evaluation of the Up-2-Us Time for Change Project This is an evaluation of the pilot Up-2-Us Time for Change Project, which is a gender-specific service targeted at young women aged between 14 and 18 years deemed to be at significantly high risk of admission to secure care or custody.  The research takes a multi-dimensional perspective, by undertaking a set of qualitative interviews with young women attending the project, the professionals or stakeholders working with them as well as the practitioner’s of the Time for Change project itself.  In addition, documentary analysis of the agency’s casefile data of young women has also contributed to the assessment and evaluation of the project’s principal approaches namely: holistic intensive support, gender-specificity, person centred premise and relationship based practice. The research has taken place over the course of the project’s pilot year from April/May 2010 with fieldwork being conducted from August 2010 –March 2011. On 30th June 2011 we hosted a launch event to both raise awareness of this often marginalised area and to present our key findings within the local practice and policy arena.   http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=328 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT   This publication reports on the contributions to a one-day conference held in Glasgow on the 2 December 2010.  Across the globe, the phenomenon of youth ‘gangs’ has become an important and sensitive public issue. In communities from Chicago to Rio, Capetown to London, the local realities of violent groups present complex dangers and instabilities for children and young people, and generate high levels of public fear and anger. At the same time, myths and stereotypes relating to gangs circulate through the global media of film and TV, feeding a heightened global consciousness of gangs as a fundamental social evil. Added to this, a range of global and local actors – police, youth workers, academics, journalist and policy-makers, as well as young people themselves – define and respond to youth ‘gangs’ in different and often contradictory ways. Increasingly, multifaceted issues surrounding youth violence are viewed through the narrow lens of the ‘gang complex’, in which representation and reality merge and blur, making it difficult to determine fact from fiction. The conference sought to explore the issues outlined above by examining the past, present and future of the gang phenomenon in the city of Glasgow, through dialogue between relevant academic, community, media, policy, and practitioner audiences. The seminar brought together cutting-edge criminological, sociological and historical research on the development of the gang phenomenon in Glasgow alongside key figures in public, media, policy and practitioner communities; in an effort to comprehend the competing demands of these diverse groups, and work towards more informed, evidence-based collaborations. These local responses were located within the global exchange of knowledge on the ‘gang complex’ through dialogue with international experts.   http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=327 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Women in Focus was introduced in South West Scotland as a partnership between Criminal Justice Social Work Services and Barnardo’s, aimed at supporting women on court orders to complete these orders and to avoid custody through breach.  Support workers from Barnardo’s were located in criminal justice social work offices, and using a mentoring-style approach, Women in Focus provided support for women to meet the requirements of court orders and to access community resources aimed at supporting them in the longer-term. The development and operation of Women in Focus resulted from the concerns that many practitioners, policy-makers and others have expressed in relation to the increasing imprisonment of women in Scotland (and internationally).  The report sets out the mentoring approach introduced and examines issues arising from the implementation and operation of the service. The report also attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of the service in terms of increased community re/integration and reductions in breach and reoffending. However, innovative attempts, while making a significant difference to the individual women who are able to access them, are introduced and required to operate within, a wider social, political and economic context that can influence how services operate (i.e. short-term funding imposes its own constraints) and how 'effective' these innovative services can be seen to be.   http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=326 Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT This User Guide is intended to provide a comprehensive introduction for anyone wishing to know more about or use the data from the 2008/09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS).  The Guide is structured in four sections: Section 1: provides a short historical account of the development of crime surveys in Scotland, followed by technical information on the background, sample design and methodology of the 2008/09 survey in particular.  This includes details of the sample design and methodology, structure and content of the questionnaire, use of weighting and some limitations of the data.  Section 2: provides practical guidance on using the data, including how to access it, data file formats and levels of analysis, how to choose the appropriate dataset, selecting and using weights and defining variables.  Section 3: provides further support for users, which uses illustrative examples to answer common analytical questions and demonstrates how to merge datasets.  The examples provided include SPSS syntax and output, which are intended to allow users to replicate analysis contained in the published reports.   Section 4: identifies some useful resources for survey users.   http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=325 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT     Purpose – This paper aims to analyse and critique common performance indicators for the policing of organised crime, and to propose a new approach. Design/methodology/approach – This paper was based on key respondent interviews with staff at an organised crime-policing agency; literature review; analytical work and construction of a new model. Findings – KPIs and other targets drive the policing of organised crime. Often these ultimately constitute numerical targets – amount of drugs seized; number of key nominals arrested, etc. – which are crude and which the research evidence base on the reduction or prevention of organised crime activity does not support as being suitable measures of success. Success in contemporary organised crime policing is increasingly becoming defined in terms of “harm reduction” (often at the “community level”). A new performance management framework for organised crime-policing agencies is proposed, which is more sensitive than traditional measures to harm reduction. The proposed model comprises three components: programme logic; a pathway approach; and the use of evaluation panels. Research limitations/implications – The empirical research was only conducted in one organised crime agency and therefore provides a case study approach to performance management. The literature review suggests that the performance management framework of that agency was similar to other comparable agencies around the world, but more comparative research would be needed to confirm that. The model proposed would benefit from piloting and evaluation. Practical implications – The analysis and modelling provided in this paper create the groundwork for the development of more effective performance indicators and targets in organised crime policing. Originality/value – This lies in the attempt to tie business model drivers into policing that is more sensitive to reducing the adverse social outcomes of organised crime than traditional drivers that tend to create formal, rather than substantive, police interventions.   http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=313 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT Book Abstract: The theft, trafficking, and falsification of cultural property and cultural heritage objects are crimes of a particularly complex nature, which often have international ramifications and significant economic consequences. Organized criminal groups of various types and origins are involved in these illegal acts. The book Crime in the Art and Antiquities World has contributions both from researchers specializing in the illegal trafficking of art, and representatives of international institutions involved with prevention and detection of cultural property-related crimes, such as Interpol and UNESCO. This innovative volume also includes an Appendix of the existing legal texts, i.e. international treaties, conventions, and resolutions, which have not previously been available in a single volume. This work is a unique and useful reference for scholars and private and public bodies alike. http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=315 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT This article examines responses to young runaways in Scotland. Based on the findings of a scoping study commissioned by the Scottish Coalition for Young Runaways, it highlights the challenges of defining young runaways and assessing the scale and nature of running away from home and substitute care. Specifically, the article critically considers constructions of ‘risk’ and ‘responsibility’ that have come to be applied to distinguish ‘genuine’ runaways from others and the problems this distinction creates for appropriate responses aimed at meeting the needs of all young people who run away. http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=316 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT This report explores the experience of community sentences from the perspective of those subject to them and is part of a larger project on ‘User Views of Punishment’ in which we attempt to document what the punished think of punishment: how it works, what it means and how it fits into the larger context of a person’s life. Where a previous SCCJR research report (No.04/2010) explored research findings with a particular focus on the experience and effects of short prison sentences from the perspective of those serving them (Armstrong and Weaver 2010), this research report provides highlights of findings from the analysis with a specific focus on the experience and effects of both prison and community sanctions from the perspective of those currently subject to community sanctions, whose penal experience includes short prison sentences.     http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=310 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT Fuelled by contemporary concerns of risk and majoritarian calls to adhere to ‘the values the majority hold dear’, there can be said to be a ‘crisis of criminalization’ in liberal democracies. Whilst criminalization is clearly an important theme in criminology, there has been little attention on the value judgments behind processes of criminalization.  By drawing on elements of moral philosophy and by applying these ideas to everyday criminalization in Toronto, this article takes a first step towards addressing this omission.  The article adopts a pluralist and social constructivist perspective where differential interpretations lead to the same behaviour being celebrated, tolerated or censured, depending on context and power.  A model of value judgment and criminalization is offered that includes consideration of moral, prudential, economic and aesthetic judgments.  Value consensus is questioned and the political capital required to dictate values is considered.   http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=309 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT Female imprisonment has increased significantly in recent years in Scotland and internationally. This report considers possible explanations for this increasing trend. The authors investigated whether the growth in female imprisonment is attributed to more women getting involved in crime, more serious crimes being committed by women or changes in prosecution and sentencing patterns. The analyses presented here focus on women only, and no comparisons with trends for male offenders were made.   http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/view_pub.php?id=307 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT