Howard Journal of Crime and Justice最新文献

This paper aims to explore how staff members in women's prisons understand their role in relation to the food practices. Given the budgetary restrictions, staff shortages and overall concerns around the quality of food in prison, there is a critical gap in engaging with these staff perspectives which urgently needs addressing. Drawing on a qualitative study conducted in four women's prisons in England, this paper will explore the food practices in prison from a range of staff (n = 10). The paper focuses on the following themes: (i) understanding the different ways in which staff navigate structural issues in serving food practices; (ii) examining how staff manage the expectations of women in prison around food; (iii) analysing how they link food practices to notion of normality; and (iv) exploring the ways in which staff navigate the debates on whether food should be seen as a form of punishment or rehabilitation.

Probation staff attrition in England and Wales has been a cause for concern, yet there is limited research exploring why probation staff choose to leave. Utilising Walker, Annison and Beckett's ‘workplace harm’, and Robinson's ‘post-traumatic organisation’, this research addresses this gap through a survey (n = 47) and interviews (n = 4) with staff who have left the service. Themes identified were (1) identity and values, (2) emotional impact of the job and (3) organisational climate. The possibility of a return to the service is also explored, as well as implications for the organisation and retention of staff.

This study explored how courtroom design and jurors' ideological attitudes influence guilt perceptions and sentencing. It hypothesized that defendants in secure docks would be perceived as more likely guilty and receive harsher sentences than those at the bar table, with stronger ideological attitudes increasing guilt likelihood. In a between-subjects design, 556 participants reviewed courtroom sketches and case summaries, then rated guilt and sentencing. Defendants in secure docks were more often seen as guilty, and ideological attitudes partially influenced assessments. The findings highlight the need for interventions to reduce bias in legal proceedings and inform policy on courtroom design.

This article explores a pivotal moment where active community engagement plays a crucial role in the criminal process. It argues for the consistent representation of the community by prosecutors, emphasising their role in holding fellow citizens accountable or deciding not to prosecute based on various discretion criteria. This necessitates that prosecutors engage in discussions with the community on specific issues. Drawing on a deliberative democracy approach, the article aims to demonstrate the importance of public participation in the criminal process and to reshape the role of prosecutors.

Osgood et al. (1996) established a reformulated theory to better explain patterns of situational offending, coined the routine activity theory of general deviance or more commonly known as unstructured socialising with peers (USWP). The present study seeks to explore whether the association between USWP and delinquency/substance use may influence one another over time in a reciprocal manner. Results showed that although not happening instantly, property delinquency and USWP form a reciprocal relationship, Similar findings were reported for substance use. Violent delinquency, however, influences USWP but not in a reciprocal manner. The study concludes with theoretical implications, limitations and directions for future research.

As the most common framework for rehabilitation internationally, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been the subject of an enormous amount of evaluation research assessing its effectiveness. Drawing on the philosophical methodology of ‘provocation’ in a series of dialogue-based workshops with CBT experts, this article assesses whether CBT is a theoretically coherent approach for rehabilitation in criminal justice. With a focus on underlying theory, we outline four key ‘adaptations’ of CBT that we argue represent a systematic shift away from the original ideas of CBT. We conclude that, while drift and adaptation can be expected in any large-scale intervention, theoretical drift has occurred without sufficient interrogation of the consequences. More specifically, in the case of CBT as practised in criminal justice systems (CJSs) today, the basic premise of how CBT works is called into question, threatening its potential value.

The challenges of prison work and the impact on the well-being of prison officers is widely publicised. However, less is known about the well-being of prison governors, and what may impact this: the focus of this research. Semi-structured interviews (n = 63) with prison governors across England, Scotland and Wales, analysed using thematic analysis, indicated core themes around poor well-being, limited work-life balance and feelings of disenchantment. The well-being climate was underpinned by challenges within the occupational culture including the relentless workloads, a so-called ‘macho culture’, competing expectations, a dissonance between responsibility and autonomy, and a lack of role understanding between staff within prisons and those working from HM Prison and Probation Service headquarters. The challenges were exacerbated, but not caused, by Covid-19 and a lack of perceived value among staff, but mitigated to a degree by individual coping and some access to governor-specific support. Implications and future directions are discussed.