Embargo: 00.01 hours, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 - Criminal justice policy making too often 'an evidence-free zone' (04/06/08)
The government is failing to follow the evidence or listen to expertise in the development of policies to tackle crime and improve public safety, according to contributors to the latest issue of Criminal Justice Matters, the magazine of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College London.
The magazine includes a wide range of articles examining the policy making process and the government's approach to using evidence to inform policy. It also includes articles on new proposals relating to violent crime, police reform and probation practice. Highlights include:
- Professor Simon Hallsworth, who has advised the government on `gangs' and violence, examines its approach to violent street crime set out in the recent Tackling Violence Action Plan. He dismisses it as `flat earth crime science' that is `hardly evidence driven policy' describing it as `a cold, soulless, administrative technocratic programme for mapping and managing risks wherever they appear: a post-welfare programme fit for the emergent national security state' that is unlikely to work.
- Professor Rod Morgan, former chair of the Youth Justice Board and former Chief Inspector of Probation reflects on his time working for the government. He says he was `incensed... by the incomprehension and arrogance regarding the research process which some administrators displayed'. Professor Morgan notes that `Despite the mantra about pursuing evidence-based policy, some of the politically highest-profile policy areas, such as anti-social behaviour, involved initiatives where there was little or no evidence base and no serious attempt to collect data, even to the point of not honouring government obligations to monitor ethnic impact.'
- Jan Berry as the out going Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, reflects on the government's police reform agenda and its approach to consulting police officers. She says: `Over the last 6 years, there has been a dogged attitude by this government to appear to consult while pushing ahead with their own agenda. This has been to the detriment of policing and to the detriment of the criminal justice system as a whole'. Commenting on the recent creation of the Ministry of Justice she says `Regrettably, while the Minister for Justice appears to be on an equal footing with the Prime Minister, we have been left with a Home Secretary who is doing nothing to show she understands policing, the pressures and demands placed upon us, or the unique status of the Office of Constable.'
- Professor Reece Walters of the Open University criticises the government for not listening to critical voices. He says: `civil servants in the Home Office do not want to `learn' from academics - in their minds, there is little that academics can teach them....We live in a society where government manipulates or cherry-picks criminological knowledge and produces distorted pictures of the `crime problem''.
Richard Garside, Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, said:
'All too often, the articles in this issue of CJM suggest, criminal justice policy making appears to be operating in an evidence-free zone. Striking research conclusions are ignored or distorted. Expertise appears not to be valued.'
'The implications for effective policy making and the prudent expenditure of the public's money are obvious.'
Contact:
Enver Solomon, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 020 7848 1688 or 07939 221 381.
Notes to editors:
- Criminal Justice Matters is the quarterly magazine of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, an independent charity based at King's College. The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily represent those of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.
- From 2008 CJM is being published in partnership with Routledge, part of the Taylor Francis publishing group. The magazine is edited by Enver Solomon (deputy director) and Rebecca Roberts (senior policy associate) of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. To view this issue of Criminal Justice Matters, visit the Informaworld website.
- The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies is an independent charity based at King's College London. It was established in 1931 and aims to inform and educate about all aspects of crime and the criminal justice system from an objective standpoint. It encourages and facilitates healthy debate and understanding of the complex nature of issues concerning crime.
- The full list of articles is as follows:
EDITORIAL - The policy making production line
Enver Solomon and Rebecca Roberts introduce this issue of cjm.
TOPICAL ISSUES
Reasons not to be cheerful: New Labour's action plan for targeting violence
Simon Hallsworth critiques the government's latest approach to tackling violent street crime.
A patchwork of policies
Alan Travis reflects on the Conservative's approach to crime and justice.
The Flanagan Review and the fight against (police) bureaucracy
Barry Loveday takes a critical look at the `cautious' recommendations of the recent review of policing.
Doing with or doing to - what now for the probation service?
Lol Burke and Steve Collett consider the key policy drivers which have shaped probation and what the future holds following the restructuring of the Ministry of Justice.
THEMED SECTION
The ill at ease or the uneasy fit? Mapping knowledge onto policy onto practice within a political maelstrom
Betsy Stanko introduces the section on policy making and encourages us to continue to take the opportunity to influence policy and practice.
On the relationship between criminological research and criminal justice policy
Martin O'Brien considers whether criminal justice policy is too important to be left to criminologists.
`What are we gonna do now?' Revisiting the public roles of criminology
Ian Loader and Richard Sparks examine the role criminologists play in contributing to public discourse.
From knowing to doing
Frances Heidensohn offers reflections on influencing criminal justice policy.
Research and policy change: The power of opportunism
William Solesbury encourages researchers and campaigners to look for opportunities to contribute to policy.
Engaging with honest politicians
Rod Morgan calls on criminologists to engage more effectively with the political and policy making process.
Does the penal lobby matter anymore?
Mick Ryan says the penal reform lobby is no longer the dominant force it once was and that it must adapt to a changing policy environment.
Evidence led or cobbled together?
Peter Dunn considers the relationship between research and government policy towards victims and witnesses.
Influencing policy
Jan Berry reflects on her chairmanship of the Police Federation and criticises the government's approach to policy reform.
Changing policy and practice? Criminal justice research in Scotland
Michele Burnam looks at closer working between criminologists and the Scottish Executive.
Rules of engagement: Criminology and criminal justice policy
Todd Clear and Natasha Frost discuss the role of criminology, criminologists and professional organisations in the formation of criminal justice policy in the US.
Government crime policy and moral contamination
Reece Walters argues that Home Office funded research has become so tainted its time criminologists boycotted it.
Catch and convict, or prevent and succeed - Influencing policy at the local level 40
Jim Hopkinson provides an example of how government policy can be subverted to fit local needs.
IN FOCUS
The sharp end of politics?
Roger Grimshaw and Enver Solomon explain their research on knife crime in the context of increasing political hyperbole on the subject.
DIGEST
Zöe Davies and Louise Hazell look at recent research and policy developments.
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