"Racism and Anti-Racism in Probation" analyzes the complex processes through which black people are differentially treated by the probation service. Focusing on the use of "language" in probation practice, David Denney shows how subjective judgements made by probation officers can be given a quasi-scientific quality within the criminal justice system and are often used to justify sentencing practice. In particular, the underlying assumptions and perceptions of probation officers in relation to race are crucial in understanding the nature of the service offered to black offenders. Drawing on ethnographic material as well as his own wide experience of probation work, David Denney demonstrates how probation officers exercise power in a subjective manner, through judgements given verbally to the courts and written reports. The process through which these are constructed and transmitted in a form acceptable to sentencers has a fictional quality, with clearly framed linguistic entrances, exits and interventions, all governed by a code of esoteric conventions unknown to the offender.

"Racism and Anti-Racism in Probation" analyzes the complex processes through which black people are differentially treated by the probation service. Focusing on the use of "language" in probation practice, David Denney shows how subjective judgements made by probation officers can be given a quasi-scientific quality within the criminal justice system and are often used to justify sentencing practice. In particular, the underlying assumptions and perceptions of probation officers in relation to race are crucial in understanding the nature of the service offered to black offenders. Drawing on ethnographic material as well as his own wide experience of probation work, David Denney demonstrates how probation officers exercise power in a subjective manner, through judgements given verbally to the courts and written reports. The process through which these are constructed and transmitted in a form acceptable to sentencers has a fictional quality, with clearly framed linguistic entrances, exits and interventions, all governed by a code of esoteric conventions unknown to the offender.

First published in 1989, Guards Imprisoned provides an in-depth look into the work and working life of prison guards as they perceive and experience it. The author, who was a teacher at Auburn Prison, New York, discovered that little was known about the guard's perceptions of his "place" in the prison community and set out to explore the dynamics of this key correctional occupation from the perspective of those who do it. The raw data was provided by over 160 hours of interviews with guards and is presented in the order of a "natural history" - from their prerecruitment images of prison to the search for satisfaction as experienced guards. The book also includes a follow-up with the officers who were originally interviewed in 1976, assessing patterns of change and stability in their attitudes and behaviors. The Auburn Correctional Facility (renamed from Auburn Prison in 1970) was the second state prison in New York, the site of the first execution by electric chair in 1890, and the namesake of the famed "Auburn System" replicated across the country, in which people worked in groups during the day, were housed in solitary confinement at night, and lived in total silence. The facility is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its groundbreaking in 2016.

A powerful debut memoir from a published poet and emerging writer.
At the age of sixteen, R. Dwayne Betts[a good student from a lower-middle-class family[carjacked a man with a friend. He had never held a gun before, but within a matter of minutes he had committed six felonies. In Virginia, carjacking is a [certifiable[ offense, meaning that Dwayne would be treated as an adult under state law. A bright young kid, weighing only 126 pounds[not enough to fill out a medium T-shirt[he served his eight-year sentence as part of the adult population in some of the worst prisons in the state.
"A Question of Freedom" is a coming-of-age story, with the unique twist that it takes place in prison. Utterly alone[and with the growing realization that he really is not going home any time soon[Dwayne confronts profound questions about violence, freedom, crime, race, and the justice system. Above all, "A Question of Freedom" is about a quest for identity[one that guarantees Dwayne's survival in a hostile environment and that incorporates an understanding of how his own past led to the moment of his crime.

Reparation, or making amends, is an ancient theme in criminal justice. It was revived in both Europe and North America in the 1980s as a practical alternative both to retributivism, and to the various utilitarian projects traditionally associated with retributive justice. "Making Amends" examines the practice of these schemes in the UK, USA, and Germany, and shows how criminal justice institutions were unresponsive to these attempts to cast justice in a new form. Yet the experiments reflected an abiding dissatisfaction with criminal courts and with the manner in which justice is conceived and expressed within the criminal framework. The authors' conclusions therefore have implications for the workings of the criminal justice system as a whole. This book should be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates, academics and professionals in the fields of criminology and social policy.

The fundamental contrast between the ideas that punishment is morally justified because people have behaved wrongly (retributivist) and that punishment is morally justified only when it has good consequences (consequentialist/utilitarian) has long existed and most likely always will. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, retributivist ways of thinking became much more influential than they had been for the preceding century, but it is clear now that no paradigm shift from consequentialist to retributivist ideas occurred, and that thinking about punishment is in a period of flux.
RetributivismHas a Past: Has It a Future? reconsiders the extent of its resurgence and its current prospects. Essays by major figures in punishment theory, law, and philosophy and many prominent younger contributors to these debates engage with contemporary ideas about restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, rehabilitation of offenders, and mandatory punishments that are difficult to reconcile with retributive analytical frameworks. It is crucial to understand why and when individuals can be deprived of their property, their liberty, and their lives in the pursuit of collective interests, and this book grapples anew with contemporary debates over these perennial questions.

Handbook on Punishment Decisions: Locations of Disparity provides a comprehensive assessment of the current knowledge on sites of disparity in punishment decision-making. This collection of essays and reports of original research defines disparity broadly to include the intersection of race/ethnicity, gender, age, citizenship/immigration status, and socioeconomic status, and it examines dimensions such as how pretrial or guilty plea processes shape exposure to punishment, how different types of sentencing decisions and/or policy structures (sentencing guidelines, mandatory minimums, risk assessment tools) might shape and condition disparity, and how post-sentencing decisions involving probation and parole contribute to inequalities. The sixteen contributions pull together what we know and what we don't about punishment decision-making and plow new ground for further advances in the field. The ASC Division on Corrections & Sentencing Handbook Series publishes volumes on topics ranging from violence risk assessment to specialty courts for drug users, veterans, or people with mental illness. Each thematic volume focuses on a single topical issue that intersects with corrections and sentencing research.

What are today's prisons really like? How do prison conditions compare worldwide? "The State of the Prisons -- 200 Years On" breaks new ground in its exploration of prisons in various parts of the world. Many of the prisons described, such as those in South Africa, Poland, and Nicaragua, have never been subject to outside scrutiny before.
In 1777, John Howard, the father of penal reform, wrote "The State of the Prisons in England and Wales, with Preliminary Observations and an Account of some Foreign Prisons," This innovative and powerful book inspired a determined campaign to improve the conditions in Europe's jails -- a campaign which still continues. "The State of the Prisons -- 200 Years On" examines the present state of the prisons, two centuries after Howard's death. In the spirit of Howard himself, and to commemorate his achievements, the Howard League for Penal Reform has compiled this extraordinary document. The contributors to this volume represent a wide range of academics and practitioners within the criminal justice system, and their study is a highly readable and valuable resource which includes unique insights into previously undocumented prison regimes.

This book summarizes and synthesizes a vast body of research on the effects of legal punishment and criminal behavior. Covering studies conducted between 1967 and 2015, Punishment and Crime evaluates the assertion that legal punishment reduces crime by investigating the impacts, both positive and negative, of legal punishment on criminal behavior, with emphasis on the effects of punitive crime control policies via the mechanisms of deterrence and incapacitation. Brion Sever and Gary Kleck, author of the renowned Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, present a literature review on legal punishment in the United States that is unparalleled in depth and scope. This text is a must-read for students, researchers, and policymakers concerned with the fields of corrections and crime prevention.

The Detective's Handbook details the vital information law enforcement officers need to know to become better detectives. Since all essential aspects of detective work cannot be covered in a single volume, the editors have selected 20 of the most critical issues detectives face in their day-to-day work and present them in separate chapters.Using a unique format and style, this essential handbook draws on the expertise of contributors with police and academic backgrounds to provide both new and seasoned detectives with invaluable insights. It covers a wide range of detective procedures and practices employed in the United States and can be read as a whole or used as a reference for conducting various types of investigations and interrogations.The book highlights common mistakes and outlines best practices to help readers avoid making the same mistakes in the field. It provides the tools and understanding to conduct the range of investigations that today's detectives will most likely have to conduct, including those involving sexual predators, healthcare and financial fraud, cyber crime, gangs, cults, personal violence, and property.The text concludes with a section on all-purpose practices and lessons for investigations. In this section, readers will learn the practical aspects of interviewing and interrogating witnesses, including how to interview and communicate with special populations, such as those with mental and physical disabilities.Sharing the most effective investigative practices and procedures in use today, this book is a must-have for police, sheriffs, and other government agencies that are responsible for protecting the public.

The dramatic increase in U.S. prison populations since the 1970s is often blamed on the mandatory sentencing required by "three strikes" laws and other punitive crime bills. Michael M. O'Hear shows that the blame is actually not so easy to assign. His meticulous analysis of incarceration in Wisconsin-a state where judges have considerable discretion in sentencing-shows that the prison population has ballooned anyway, increasing nearly tenfold over forty years. O'Hear tracks the effects of sentencing laws and politics in Wisconsin from the eve of the imprisonment boom in 1970 up to the 2010s. Drawing on archival research, original public-opinion polling, and interviews with dozens of key policymakers, he reveals important dimensions that have been missed by others. He draws out the lessons from the incarcerations that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars and caused untold misery to millions of inmates and their families.

As unrest over officer-involved shootings and deaths in custody takes center stage in conversations about policing and the criminal justice system, Guidelines for Investigating Officer-Involved Shootings, Arrest-Related Deaths, and Deaths in Custody addresses critical investigation components from an expert witness perspective, providing the insights necessary to ensure a complete investigation. Investigating a custodial death or an officer involved in a shooting presents unique and complex issues: estate, community, judicial, agency, involved officer, and public policy interests are all at stake. These types of deaths present various emerging medical, psychological, legal and liability, technical, and investigatory issues that must be addressed through a comprehensive investigation. This book is ideal for students in criminal investigation, death investigation, crime scene investigation, and special topic courses in custodial deaths and officer-involved shootings, as well as for death investigators, law enforcement officers, police administrators, and attorneys.

This volume assembles hundreds of cases and studies to provide the most accurate and comprehensive picture of the status of pornography in the criminal justice system. Presenting high-level research in an accessible and organized manner, it explores a range of topics, including investigating and prosecuting a case, arguments favoring and opposing decriminalization of pornography, and relationships between pornography, mental disorders, and crime. It also examines criminal justice responses and international laws, policies, attitudes, and definitions of pornography in comparison to those of the United States.

This book provides specific guidance for architects, planners, and housing managers on designing to deter crime. While every estate and neighbourhood has different problems which require unique solutions, the process which leads to the solutions will be the same. This book provides specific guidance for architects, planners, and housing managers on designing to deter crime. While every estate and neighbourhood has different problems which require unique solutions, the process which leads to the solutions will be the same.The first three chapters review the various theories of crime prevention through design, and abstract from them a series of six key principles which can be applied to all housing projects. The remaining five chapters outline the practical application of these principles in the assessment, design and construction processes.The text of this book has been compiled and updated from two educational packages produced by the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies and the Safe Neighbourhoods Unit. These were Safe as Houses (1988) and Safer Neighbourhoods (1989). Videos produced as part of those educational packages are available for use with this book.

This edited collection addresses the topic of prison governance which is crucial to our understanding of contemporary prisons in Latin America. It presents social research from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and Argentina to examine the practices of governance by the prisoners themselves in each unique setting in detail. High levels of variation in the governance practices are found to exist, not only between countries but also within the same country, between prisons and within the same prison, and between different areas. The chapters make important contributions to the theoretical concepts and arguments that can be used to interpret the emergence, dynamics and effects of these practices in the institutions of confinement of the region. The book also addresses the complex task of explaining why these types of practices of governance happen in Latin American prisons as some of them appear to be a legacy of a remote past but others have arisen more recently. It makes a vital contribution to the fundamental debate for prison policies in Latin America about the alternatives that can be promoted.

The Routledge Handbook on Crime and International Migration is concerned with the various relationships between migration, crime and victimization that have informed a wide criminological scholarship often driven by some of the original lines of inquiry of the Chicago School. Historically, migration and crime came to be the device by which Criminology and cognate fields sought to tackle issues of race and ethnicity, often in highly problematic ways. However, in the contemporary period this body of scholarship is inspiring scholars to produce significant evidence that speaks to some of the biggest public policy questions and debunks many dominant mythologies around the criminality of migrants. The Routledge Handbook on Crime and International Migration is also concerned with the theoretical, empirical and policy knots found in the relationship between regular and irregular migration, offending and victimization, the processes and impact of criminalization, and the changing role of criminal justice systems in the regulation and enforcement of international mobility and borders. The Handbook is focused on the migratory 'fault lines' between the Global North and Global South, which have produced new or accelerated sites of state control, constructed irregular migration as a crime and security problem, and mobilized ideological and coercive powers usually reserved for criminal or military threats. Offering a strong international focus and comprehensive coverage of a wide range of border, criminal justice and migration-related issues, this book is an important contribution to criminology and migration studies and will be essential reading for academics, students and practitioners interested in this field.

Over the last few years intensive community programmes for both young and adult offenders have become established in the UK as an important new component of penal policy - the ISSP (Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme) for persistent and serious young offenders, and the ICCP (Intensive Control and Change Programme) for adult offenders. Expectations of these programmes have been high, but the evidence relating to their effectiveness is mixed, and a number of critical concerns have emerged. This book seeks to address these issues, providing a timely review of the current literature, and presents findings of a recent national evaluation of ISSP. Emerging lessons for future penal policy are presented, and set within a wider theoretical context. The book concludes by stressing the need for greater realism and further evidential support if such programmes are to gain long-term credibility, and also to consider the appropriateness of differing forms of targeting as well as the emphasis placed on the various methods of surveillance.

From the 'nothing works' maxim of the 1970s to evidence-based interventions to challenge recidivism and promote pro-social behavior, psychological therapy has played an important role in rehabilitation and risk reduction within forensic settings in recent years. And yet the typical group therapy model isn't always the appropriate path to take. In this important new book, the aims and effectiveness of individual therapies within forensic settings, both old and new, are assessed and discussed. Including contributions from authors based in the UK, North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, a broad range of therapies are covered, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mentalisation Based Therapy, Schema Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Compassion Focussed Therapy. Each chapter provides: an assessment of the evidence base for effectiveness; the adaptations required in a forensic setting; whether the therapy is aimed at recidivism or psychological change; the client or patient characteristics it is aimed at; a case study of the therapy in action. The final section of the book looks at ethical issues, the relationship between individual and group-based treatment, therapist supervision and deciding which therapies and therapists to select. This book is essential reading for probation staff, psychologists, criminal justice and liaison workers and specialist treatment staff. It will also be a valuable resource for any student of forensic or clinical psychology.

The early 21st century saw better prison conditions and a lower imprisonment rate however public worry over supposed increasing violent crime as perpetuated by the media in the 1930's led to a return to harsher sentences and fuller prisons. Originally published in 1933, The Lawbreaker analyses British penal methods of the time and of the past to discover the most effective ways to treat prisoners and reduce crime as well as identifying where more research is needed to obtain a balance between punishment and rehabilitation. This title will be of interest to students of Criminology and Sociology.

This study, first published in 1987, focuses on Victorian approaches to the moral reformation of prisoners, and aims to emphasise the ways in which the human value and social inclusion of prisoners were pursued. The author begins by discussing the evangelical view of social problems and human value in early-industrial Britain as well as the 'associationist' psychological analysis of human attitude developed by theorists from John Locke to Jeremy Bentham. The workings of these two theoretical frameworks in the practice of British prisons are then analyses, arguing that by 1860 both theories were basic to the approach to the incarceration of wrongdoers. After 1860 the picture changed radically to an unambiguous deterrent severity. This was linked to a more 'scientific' and evolutionist analysis of human conduct and attitude; theological objections to reformism were also brought into play. In the last forty years of the nineteenth century prisoners came to be seen as constitutionally inferior beings for whom no hope of reform could be generally entertained. This title will be of interest to students of history and of criminology.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This edited collection provides a comprehensive analysis of the differences and similarities between civil legal aid schemes in the Nordic countries whilst outlining recent legal aid transformations in their respective welfare states. Based on in-depth studies of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, the authors compare these cases with legal aid in Europe and the US to examine whether a single, unique Nordic model exists. Contextualizing Nordic legal aid in relation to welfare ideology and human rights, Hammerslev and Halvorsen Ronning consider whether flaws in the welfare state exist, and how legal aid affects disadvantaged citizens. Concluding that the five countries all have very different legal aid schemes, the authors explore an important general trend: welfare states increasingly outsourcing legal aid to the market and the third sector through both membership organizations and smaller voluntary organizations. A methodical and compassionate text, this book will be of special interest to scholars and students of the criminal justice, the welfare state, and the legal aid system.

While most western democracies have renounced the death penalty, capital punishment enjoys vast and growing support in the United States. A significant and vocal minority, however, continues to oppose it. Against Capital Punishment is the first full account of anti-death penalty activism in America during the years since the ten-year moratorium on executions ended.

Building on in-depth interviews with movement leaders and the records of key abolitionist organizations, this work traces the struggle against the pro-death penalty backlash that has steadily gained momentum since the 1970s. It reviews the conservative turn in the courts which, over the last two decades, has forced death penalty opponents to rely less on the litigation strategies that once served them well. It describes their efforts to mount a broad-based educational and political assault on what they see as the most cruel, racist, ineffective, and expensive manifestation of a criminal justice system gone wrong.

Despite the efforts of death-penalty opponents, executions in the United States are on the increase. Against Capital Punishment diagnoses the reasons for the failure to mobilize widespread opposition to executions, and assesses the prospects for opposition to capital punishment in the future of the United States.

This fifth edition of the first true textbook on the death penalty engages the reader with a full account of the arguments and issues surrounding capital punishment. The book begins with the history of the death penalty from colonial to modern times, and then examines the moral and legal arguments for and against capital punishment. It also provides an overview of major Supreme Court decisions and describes the legal process behind the death penalty. In addressing these issues, the author reviews recent developments in death penalty law and procedure, including ramifications of newer case law, such as that regarding using lethal injection as a method of execution. The author's motivation has been to understand what motivates the "deathquest" of the American people, leading a large percentage of the public to support the death penalty. The book educates readers so that whatever their death penalty positions are, they are informed opinions.

This book explores the pros and cons of the death penalty and the history of capital punishment. In this context, it puts a special emphasis on the situation in Hungary, where, amongst its neighbors, in recent years the demand for the reestablishment of the death penalty has received the strongest political support from many pro-government politicians. Toth presents tendencies toward abolition of the death penalty and analyzes the arguments by which the death penalty can, in principle, be criticized or even defended. The book presents the main issues of the death penalty, arguments of both abolitionists and retentionists, and reviews the modern history of this sanction. It does not seek to convince the reader of the correctness or wrongness of the death penalty, but it presents both sides of the argument and their standpoints, and leaves the reader to decide. It encourages informed debate and discussion.

Corrections officials faced with rising populations and shrinking budgets have increasingly welcomed "faith-based" providers offering services at no cost to help meet the needs of inmates. Drawing from three years of on-site research, this book utilizes survey analysis along with life-history interviews of inmates and staff to explore the history, purpose, and functioning of the Inmate Minister program at Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka "Angola"), America's largest maximum-security prison. This book takes seriously attributions from inmates that faith is helpful for "surviving prison" and explores the implications of religious programming for an American corrections system in crisis, featuring high recidivism, dehumanizing violence, and often draconian punishments. A first-of-its-kind prototype in a quickly expanding policy arena, Angola's unique Inmate Minister program deploys trained graduates of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in bi-vocational pastoral service roles throughout the prison. Inmates lead their own congregations and serve in lay-ministry capacities in hospice, cell block visitation, delivery of familial death notifications to fellow inmates, "sidewalk counseling" and tier ministry, officiating inmate funerals, and delivering "care packages" to indigent prisoners. Life-history interviews uncover deep-level change in self-identity corresponding with a growing body of research on identity change and religiously motivated desistance. The concluding chapter addresses concerns regarding the First Amendment, the dysfunctional state of U.S. corrections, and directions for future research.