News

Our December 2014 eBulletin is out

Monday, 22 December 2014

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?

Do they know it's Christmas?
As part of our ongoing comment series, Matt Ford, Research and Policy Assistant, wrote an article on how ethnic minority people are financially excluded.

'Twas the newsnight before Christmas...
Our Director Richard Garside was interviewed about pre-charge police bail by Newsnight. You can still catch him talking about it on iplayer. Click here for more information.

Good will to all prisoners?
Last week we held a conference to assess whether the UK prevents the mistreatment of prisoners. You can read all about it here.

Season's meetings
Throughout December the Centre's elves have been out and about at a number of meetings and events. See where we've been here.

HAVE YOU SEEN?

'No more bird'
In Mike Guilfoyle's latest blog instalment, he writes about 'Tommy's' experiences and the zig-zag towards desistance.

Half a story? Muslim victimisation 
A new study published in the British Journal of Criminology suggests that British Muslims are not as affected by violent crime, nor as disapproving of the police, as previously thought.

I would build...
Dr Deborah Drake and Neena Samota have written a piece on building collaborative initiatives to transform criminal justice policy. Click here for more.

Father spliffmas
Dr Abigail Rowe, from our partner organisation the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research, has written a comment piece about decriminalising drug use. 

COMING SOON

NEW EVENT: Police corruption, spying, racism and accountability
We are holding a unique two-day conference with The Monitoring Group, seeking common ground between families, community workers, journalists, academics, lawyers and affected communities, to understand and challenge the problem of police corruption, spying and racism.

Criminal Justice Policy since 2010: What happened? What next?
Join us for this all-day conference on Monday, 23 March. It will assess the major changes to criminal justice across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland since the 2010 General Election and examine the challenges facing an incoming government following the May 2015 General Election. 

Criminology, neo-liberalism and war: a symposium
Interested in the relationship between neo-liberalism and war? Come to our symposium on Tuesday, 20 January.

Justice Matters for young black men
This event on 28 January will look at the reasons for the disproportionate involvement of young black men in the penal system. It's fully booked but still popular, so if you have reserved a place but can't make it drop us an email. If you're not registered but would like to come then put yourself on the waiting list and a place may become available.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.......

Deck the halls with boughs of lolly: Government over-reliant on G4S and Serco 
The Government is over-reliant on a quasi-monopoly of private sector service providers according to a report released by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee this month. Quelle surprise.

Joy to the world? Global status report on violence 
A joint report on global levels of violence was released this month by the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Scrooge loses
Inequality slows economic growth, according to a report released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development this month.

It's snow joke: Police poster campaign
Satirical posters criticising the police have been spotted around London. Activist outfit Strike! magazine designed them.

All I want for Christmas...
If you're struggling to think of what to buy friends or family this Christmas, have no fear! We've made a list of the buys and don't buys to guide you. 

What better way to see in the New Year...
... than by reading the January issue of the British Journal of Criminology. It's out now and includes a number of articles free to access. Print. Read. Enjoy.

IN THE NEWS.......

Bernard Ho Ho Hogan-Howe says cuts require criminal justice reform
Police forces must reform to survive the cuts says the Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe in a comment piece he wrote for The Guardian in mid-December.

Immaculate conviction,
A cross-party committee of MPs has urged the government to review the law that allows secondary figures present at a killing to be convicted of murder.

No room at the Inn? Police cells no longer the alternative
The Home Secretary Theresa May announced that police cells will no longer be used as places of safety for teenagers in mental distress, reports The Guardian.

Hard luck Hardwick as Winsor wins
We were struck this month by the contrasting fortunes of Tom Winsor, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, and Nick Hardwick, the Chief Inspector of Prisons.

NUMBERS OF THE MONTH

  • 57 - the number of self-inflicted deaths in custody in England and Wales in the 12 months to September 2012.
  • 87 - the number of self-inflicted deaths in custody in England and Wales in the 12 months to September 2014.
  • 6,834 - the number of individuals self-harming in custody in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2012.
  • 7,100 - the number of individuals self-harming in custody in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2014.
  • 23,522 - the number of self-harm incidents in custody in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2012.
  • 23,798 - the number of self-harm incidents in custody in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2014.

Source: Safer Custody Statistics quarterly update.

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, Juvenile Delinquents: Their Condition and Treatment, London: W & F G Cash, 1853.

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