Howard Journal of Crime and Justice最新文献

This article reflects on the research process that underpinned the ESRC GCRF project ‘Mental Health, Neurological and Substance Abuse Disorders in Guyana's Jails: 1825 to the present day’. Introducing readers to a transdisciplinary team comprised of academics and practitioners, in what follows we think through how the methods of the research underpinned the production of the data used in this special issue. The article highlights the emotional labour and ethics of care among the team, and the benefits of transdisciplinary research and the mutual recipriocity and learning that took place between academics and prison staff. The goal of the project was to create equitable and ethical partnerships, and this contributed to the success of this research in terms of findings, data, and real-world impact.

The impact of intoxicating substances both licit and illicit has been integral to expressions of colonial power and the control of colonised populations, including in Caribbean societies. Historically, licensing laws and carceral institutions were used to discipline workers, and the ongoing criminalisation of certain drugs illustrates the transhistorical legacies that continue to haunt former British colonies like Guyana. Focusing on prisons and prisoners to explore the histories and lingering legacies of colonial drug policies in the country, despite a much-changed international context, this article documents experiences of, and approaches to, the management and prohibition of psychoactive substances. It reveals connections and continuities between substance use, enslavement, labour, and incarceration, and their relationship both to what we conceptualise as ‘the colonial imaginary’ and ‘booty capitalism’ of the modern age. The article will show how now and in the past, the colonisers partook in extractive booty capitalism (Weber, 1930), while in order to survive, the colonised partook in booty capitalism of the streets (Wacquant, 2003).

In this exploratory article, we look at the understudied area of prison officer's lives in the Global South and the pains of their jobs. We provide a novel and decolonial perspective on these phenomena by documenting and discussing first-hand prison officer accounts and first-person observations of the different dimensions of their experiences of work and home today. We understand how they see and understand their jobs, including what the pains of imprisonment for officers in Guyana look and feel like from the bottom up. We learn about what prison officers perceive as the pains of their employment in Guyana – working conditions; psychological pains; prison infrastructure; intimate relations; prison within prison; social pains; and insecurity – and how such issues include echoes of the colonial past and impact officers not just in their everyday lives but how these pains also impact those closest to them. In this way, we show how, and why, the legacies of colonialism continue to haunt contemporary prison officers in Guyana.

Prisoners in Guyana have been protesting about living conditions and an overtly punitive environment since British colonial rule (1814–1966). Drawing upon official investigations, colonial records and newspaper reports, this article analyses some of the key features of resistance, including uprisings, escapes and everyday breaches of prison rules from the 19th century to the present day. It argues that Guyanese society is still impacted by the punitive nature of colonial plantation society which compels and informs prisoner experiences and responses in the nation's prisons today.

The ongoing Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) is largely a response to a stream of national media scandals that exposed the illegal and unethical behaviour of undercover police officers in two secretive units. The testimony of those who were the targets of undercover operations has further exposed the human costs stemming from the personalised and highly invasive surveillance undertaken by anonymous state agents. In this article, we reflect upon the existing research on covert policing and identify new areas for conceptual and methodological engagement, with a view to better understanding the harms that these secretive operations can generate. Attending to the inherent and inescapable intimacy of covert policing offers a much-needed opportunity to explore the effects of a unique state practice that can radically alter the lives of individual surveillance subjects, and which tests our conventional understandings of the legitimacy and limits of force, coercion and police power.

I am a criminology lecturer, and I have a particular interest in the criminal courts. It is, therefore, no surprise that I found Townend and Welsh's book an important and fascinating read. As set out in the opening chapter, the book is ‘about the principle and practice of open justice in criminal courts in what is often characterised as the “digital age”’ (p.1). Attention is on how court hearings and information are made publicly accessible in the 21st century. The authors specifically focus on the magistrates’ courts due to these courts being ‘under interrogated as a part of open justice’ (p.4). This is of importance given that research tends to focus on the Crown Court, despite the majority of cases being heard in the summary courts.

Throughout the book, when discussing matters relating to open justice and the magistrates’ courts, the authors draw upon their own empirical data – specifically courtroom observational data – and, also, secondary data. This includes studies done by academics, third sector organisations, and government bodies. The methodology is discussed in Chapter 1, but the methods section is short and not particularly detailed. This is, however, acknowledged and a reason for this is given – due to there being insufficent space. Furthermore, the reader is informed that they can get in touch with the authors to request more information if they wish. The structure of the book is also set out in the introductory chapter, and an overview of the remaining chapters is provided, which will now be discussed.

Chapter 2 explores the history of open justice and accountability in the criminal courts in England and Wales. A discussion about these principles is of value given that these terms are often referred to within criminal justice literature, but their history, how they are defined and why they are of importance are not always focused upon. The main theoretical rationales for the contemporary approach to open justice are considered, including the shaming and deterrence value of it, and critiques of these rationales are provided. In response, the main argument of the book is put forward: the authors suggest ‘a shift in emphasis, moving away from an account of publicity in criminal proceedings as important for shaming and/or deterrence purposes, to one that considers the broader importance of making the justice system scrutable and of its educational value in the widest sense’ (p.20).

The authors in Chapter 3 then go on to talk about the developments that have occurred in relation to the criminal courts, and the consequences of these changes on accountability and open justice. Developments discussed include the increased use of virtual courts, and the introduction of the Single Justice Procedure for minor offences and the automatic online conviction process. It is recognised that although there are benefits associated with the reforms that have occurred, there are also negatives which undermine fairness, participation

The book sets out its overall aim in the acknowledgements section, namely that the authors hope that it advances knowledge that ‘rights and research are key to advancing the progressive reform of youth justice internationally’ (p.vi). The authors are established experts in the field of international children's rights and set about to consider a range of progressive youth justice international research through the lens of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and its associated reports, comments and related treaties. The authors acknowledge that the international standards offer a wealth of detail to ‘respect, protect and fulfil the rights of children in conflict with the law’ (p.1), while at the same time a wealth of knowledge has been developed from research about this group of children, and their pathways into, through, and out of, justice systems. However, an important gap is identified which is the study of how these two bodies of knowledge overlap and relate to one another. This book seeks to begin to plug this gap by ‘bring[ing] together the best research on children in conflict with the law, mapping it against international children's rights standards’ (p.1).

I found the book to be extremely helpful in, first, highlighting how research advances the case for youth justice systems and reform to be firmly rooted in the international rights frameworks. However, I found that the book also sought to make the case that youth justice researchers should be seeking to ground and position their own research within the children's rights framework much more widely than is currently the case. I found, as a youth justice researcher, the argument to be incredibly persuasive and will use the book as a reference tool when both designing future research and also teaching my students.

Once the context and aims of the book are established, Chapter 2 then very helpfully and succinctly summarises the numerous standards and instruments related to children in the justice system, and outlines key features of a rights-based framework. I found this chapter to be extremely useful as the rights-based literature and landscape can often be complex and difficult to navigate. It first runs through some of the key principles of the UNCRC and then considers how they can be applied to children in trouble with the law. The chapter concludes by introducing the remaining structure of the book – namely, how a rights-based framework can be implemented at different stages of the justice system: prevention (Chapter 3); diversion and justice (Chapter 4); and reintegration (Chapter 5).

Chapter 3 considers child development and their experiences prior to entering criminal justice systems. An exploration of the universal rights that all children should enjoy in early childhood sets the scene for considering how some children are denied these rights, and this sets them on a pathway into criminalisation. The authors specifically focus on ov