Good in installments
A piquant phrase caught my attention in Hugh Ryan’s remarkably engrossing book, The Women’s House of Detention, a forgotten prison that once stood in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
A piquant phrase caught my attention in Hugh Ryan’s remarkably engrossing book, The Women’s House of Detention, a forgotten prison that once stood in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
Sometimes books leave you with uncomfortable after-effects of outrage and disgust.
It was with keen anticipation that I read a newly-published book, Reimagining Probation Practice.
Thumbing through Judith Rumgay’s refreshingly original study of pathways out of offending for women offenders, who passed through the residential programmes run by the Griffins Society, I recalled that I once enlisted her to speak at a rally that I had organised in my capacity as a Napo (Probation union) representative.
Patrick Radden Keef's unforgettable 2021 book is a gripping story of the Sackler family, responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a prescribed painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis in the USA.
Occasionally a book centred on an aspect of criminal justice practice evokes a compelling impulse to shout out: “Read this heartfelt memoir and reflect well on its contents”.
One of my more challenging early probation supervisory experiences involved working with Rahim (not his real name), after he was placed on a probation order for various offences of dishonesty.
Sometimes I light upon a book that evokes an array of emotions and leaves a lasting impression.
Ned (not his real name) had been sentenced for offences of assault and criminal damage at his ex-partner’s address.
One of the pleasures of reviewing books for the Probation Journal is the discovery of literary gems that not only enliven the reader but evoke memories of former probation practice.
I recently read a book that covers, with an impressive historical sweep, some of the tumultuous changes imposed on the Probation (and Prison) Services by, often poorly evidenced, politically driven reorganisations.
"I often wondered if, stumbling upon a service user in cardiac arrest, my immediate reaction would be to administer CPR or to update their risk assessment".