Monthly News Bulletin
Email Bulletin July 2008
Welcome to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies' monthly email bulletin, bringing you a roundup of news, research, political developments, events and updates on our work.
WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?
Youth Crime Action Pan?
In this report, The Centre makes an independent and critical assessment of Labour's reforms, and considers the extent to which the government has delivered on its ambitious programme. A feisty debate of the report, the new Youth Crime Action Plan and implications for the youth justice system was expertly chaired by Radio-4's Robin Lustig, and included Frances Done of the Youth Justice Board, The Children's Commissioner Sir Al Aynsley-Green and Mike Thomas, Chair of Youth Offending Team Managers. A civilised follow-up discussion took place on the World Tonight, and continues on Robin Lustig's blog here.
The full report can be read here.
And the Government's recent Youth Crime Action Plan here.
...with comment from Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust here.
...and from Mary Riddle here.
Ethnicity and crime: don't believe the hype
Rebecca Roberts and Will McMahon presented a paper on Ethnicity, Harm and Crime, which argues for a perspective and public discussion that attempts to register a broader range of harms that ethnic minority people face rather than an ill founded focus on the notion of so-called `Black on Black crime', at the Deviancy Group conference in Liverpool. They also presented the paper to a discussion seminar at King's College London with initial responses from Dr James Nazroo, a specialist in ethnicity and health, Dr Danny Dorling, a social geographer and Dr Lucinda Platt, a specialist on ethnicity and social mobility. Further written contributions are being requested from those who attended in order to publish the whole debate for a public round table event in the autumn.
Who's shooting who, and why?
Our new report, Gun crime: A review of evidence and policy `demonstrates that the use of guns is a product of conflict and violence in deprived and excluded communities and once we understand that we can start addressing causes and not just symptoms', according to the report's main author Peter Squires, Professor of Criminology and Public Policy at Brighton University.
`I fear for my children...'
Cherie Blair, in her role as chair of the street weapons commission for Channel Four, gives evidence to a Home Affairs Select Committee. Enver Solomon, deputy director of the Centre said: `What the official numbers are failing to pick up is that these crimes are affecting heavily victimised sections of communities within poor areas where they have little confidence in the criminal justice agencies and, therefore, are less likely to report these offences when they have a disproportionate share of them.' Independent (02/07/2008). Research carried out for the C4 commission by The Centre can be downloaded here.
Young people who sexually abuse
As part of its improving practice work, the Youth Justice Board has published, Key Elements of Effective Practice, including a detailed and systematic literature review to establish if there are effective interventions for young people who sexually abuse contributed by the Centre's research director, Dr Roger Grimshaw. The source document can be downloaded here.
...and the YJB's summary here.
Opportunity knocks!
A collection of essays `Advancing opportunity: routes in and out of criminal justice' was launched this month in Westminster by The Smith Institute. Including a contribution from deputy director, Enver Solomon the essays can be downloaded here.
More government policy lacking evidence
In this briefing from The Centre, Carol Hedderman (former assistant director of research at the Home Office) argues that expanding the prison estate is not the way to 'secure the future', as government analysis of the rise in prison numbers is `largely unevidenced'. To read the full briefing, click here.
And for comment in the Independent on Sunday click here.
Other stuff
Helen Mills, research associate, heard about recent research and analysis of regeneration and early intervention approaches at Liverpool's European Deviancy conference. Rebecca Roberts presented a paper on the future of abolition movement at the International Conference on Penal Abolition conference. Enver took part in a roundtable event organised by the Royal Society of Arts Prison Learning Network to discuss the future of prison education, skills and training programmes.
And it's goodbye from him... Enver is taking a year's leave of absence in Boston but will continue to do some remote working for The Centre from across the pond...
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS
Rethinking Crime & Punishment: The Manifesto
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation publishes a major report on `credible alternative measures' to prison, which can be read here.
An emotive term for a little understood experience
In (Re)thinking `Gangs', newly published by the Runnymede Trust, Claire Alexander critically considers the use of the term in current media, political and policy arena's. The report is particularly concerned about the associations made between `gangs' and `race', particularly for African-Caribbean communities and argues for intensive, long term empirical investigation into youth identities and violence.
These themes are echoed in Race on the Agenda's report `Building Bridges', the result of a two-year youth-led research project exploring cultures of gangs and weapons amongst young people in London. The report criticises the over-simplification of the issue in the media and political rhetoric, the `alienating' use of stop and search as a solution which does not tackle the causes of violence, and the link made between gangs and `Black culture'.
Jacqui's plan for knifing crime
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith outlines her strategies for dealing with knife crime in this New Statesman special report.
Mental health inquiry reveals security failures
The Healthcare Commission inquiry into the standard of inpatient services at 69 NHS trusts across England has found high levels of violence on overcrowded wards. Findings include 45 per cent of psychiatric nurses and 15 per cent of patients reporting being assaulted in the last year. The full inquiry can be read here.
IN THE NEWS
Crime fiction?
The FT reports that the new UK Statistics commission is to review the barriers to public confidence in the official crime figures. It quotes The Centre's deputy director, Enver Solomon, saying that official figures do not necessarily capture the levels of crime experience by young males in urban areas. Financial Times (18/07/2008)
The British Crime Survey recorded a 10 per cent fall in England and Wales last year, the continuation of what government describes as the longest recorded fall in living memory, but officials are concerned that the impending economic woes will see crime rise in the future. (The Guardian, 18/07/2008). Richard Garside, The Centre's director provides analysis in The Times.
The figures for recorded crime can be found here
...with further observation from Mark Easton here.
`Punishment won't get rid of knife crime'
Says Mark Johnson, who argues for long-term intensive psychological and social support for young people. Guardian (23/07/2008)
`Drop the knife- but we'll keep our missiles, thanks'
Rachel D North says that `until we stop brandishing our weapons, what chance do our children have?'. Independent (21/07/2008)
And, Richard Garside, Centre director, examines the gap between the perception and reality of knife crime and calls for the government to look at the bigger picture.
`Tactics against gangs fatally flawed - report'
A two year research study based on six gangs in an English city has concluded the government's tactics to tackle street violence are `fundamentally misinformed, frequently failing, and sometimes actively strengthen the gangs they target'. The report from Manchester University's school of law found that young people identified as crime perpetrators were often repeat victims who perceived the police and other agencies as offering little protection or help; and that gang's ethnic make-up tended to reflect that local area although `the media and police overwhelming focus on black gangs'. Guardian (14/07/2008)
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
'Whatever moral delinquency exists in the higher and middle classes, the avenging hand of the law falls excessively on the lower, and a gigantic array of learned judges, recorders, gownsmen, benched magistrates, vigilant police officers, with their numerous subordinates, is compelled to wage a close and interminable warfare with a degraded class'
Mary Carpenter in `Juvenile delinquents' (p. 4; 1853)
With thanks to Robert Shaw for this month's quote. If you would like to contribute a quote of the month, please email