Whilst I was reading Michael Tonry's timely and humane critique of many of the more damaging and unjust policies and practices of punishment and sentencing in the US justice system, a phrase jolted my memory of my time working in probation.
Having recently read an important and stimulating addition to the literature on prisoner re-entry I was sharply reminded of a past experience which centred on one of the many practical challenges of coping after release from prison.
I suppose it was almost inevitable when I was reading a recently published and presciently informed book on risk control in criminal justice, that two pertinent terms in particular, risk and existential uncertainty, resonated most uncomfortably with me in the current all enveloping coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement of early releases from prisons in England and Wales is a welcome sign that the seriousness of the COVID-19 infection risk is being acknowledged, though how far, and how thoroughly, is still open to question.
Jason Hardy's compelling and revelatory account of working on the front line for the New Orleans Probation and Parole Department, evoked many memories.
Having just read a keenly awaited book that offers a lively and compellingly original scholarly foray into sentencing research, Sentencing: A Social Process: Re-thinking Research and Policy by Cyrus Tata, I was particularly struck by a phrase he used in the book, 'demographic distance’, denoting the experiential and social distance between those caught up in criminal proceedings and the professionals working in the court setting.
Read Richard Garside on accidental liberalism and criminal justice trends
The latest edition of Probation Quarterly features a piece by our Director, Richard Garside, on criminal justice trends in retrospect and their signification of a flawed, accidental and incomplete liberalism.
Tackling fluctuating police numbers, the dangerous condition of...
This week Neala talks to long-term friend of the Centre, Mike Guilfyole, about his time as a probation officer.
I recently read a challenging but stimulating scholarly book by David Hayes - Confronting Penal Excess. Retribution and the Politics of Penal Minimalism.
Our Director, Richard Garside, has been quoted in the New York Times and The Times this week.
In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on London Bridge last week by Usman Khan, The New York Times quoted Richard on sentencing policy. On the controversy surrounding Mr...
I recently re-read Peggy Giodano's important scholarly work, Legacies of Crime, which explores the lives of seriously delinquent girls and boys in the United States who were followed over a 20-year period as they grew to adulthood. A book that left an abiding impression on my understanding of how some women become embroiled in the criminal justice system.
We are working with a network of professional groups, trade unions and civil society organisations to press for an improved structure and working arrangements for the probation service.
