When approached by Plenum to put together a volume of social science research on the topic of "youth and justice," I found the interdisciplinary challenge of such a project intriguing. Having spent 2 years as Director of the Law and Social Science Program at the National Science Foundation, I was well aware of the rich diversity of research that could fit within that topic. I also knew that excellent research on youth and justice was coming from different communities of researchers who often were isolated from each other in their respective disciplines as psychologists, sociologists, criminologists, or policy analysts. I saw this project as an opportunity to break down some of this isolation by introducing these researchers-and their work-to each other and to the broader community of social scientists interested in law and justice. There was another gap, or set of gaps, to be bridged as well. The juvenile justice system and the criminal justice system differ in significant ways, and the civil justice system, which is a major venue for issues of youth and justice, is yet another separate world. Few researchers are likely to know the whole picture. For example, a focus on juvenile justice often ignores the extent to which civil justice proceedings shape the lives of young people through divorce, custody, adoption, family preservation policies, and other actions (and vice versa).

The Fifteenth Annual International Police Executive Symposium brought together 65 police executives, government officials, academics, and researchers to discuss issues relating to all aspects of policing in a global community. It focused on policing without borders, the need for national and international cooperation among policing agencies, and the need for cooperation between the police, the academic community, private policing agencies, and the general public. Drawn from the presentations made at this symposium and supplemented with additional input from eminent experts, Police Without Borders: The Fading Distinction between Local and Global reflects the current status of research on this timely and critical topic.

Topics discussed include:

• Policing activity, human rights, and corruption
• Female policing in India compared to other countries
• Challenges and obstacles in policing in Slovenia, China, Asia, and the Pacific
• Strategies for preventing juvenile delinquency in Japan and Hong Kong
• The threat caused by nonreturnable arrest warrants in Canada
• An insider 's look at the United Kingdom 's Integrated Special Branch, an intelligence unit
• Virtual organized crime in cyberspace
• A successful public housing safety initiative in the Eastern District of New York

Highlighting individual differences in police theory, style, and practice around the world, this volume opens a dialogue in which police agencies and academics can learn from other cultures, recognize their similarities, and move towards an improved global policing methodology.

Drawing on original research from the Women, Family, Crime and Justice research network, this edited collection sheds new light on the challenges and experiences of women and families who encounter the criminal justice system in the UK. Each contribution demonstrates how these groups are often ignored, oppressed and repeatedly victimised. The book addresses crucial issues including short-term imprisonment, trauma-specific interventions, schools supporting children affected by parental imprisonment and visibility and voice in research. Bringing together contemporary knowledge from both research and practice, this ambitious volume offers valuable insights and practical recommendations for positive action and change.

How does a social work student make the connection between sociological knowledge and day-to-day social work?

Sociology for Social Workers and Probation Officers provides an introduction to sociological ideas and research and places them firmly into the context of actual social work practice. It encourages readers to develop critical awareness and reach their own judgements about the usefulness and implications of holding certain conceptual positions and shows how social work can be better informed and improved by doing so.

Fully revised and updated throughout, this second edition examines sociology in relation to key areas of social work and probation practice, and includes one new chapter. Areas covered are:

• Family
• Childhood
• Youth
• Community
• Care and Caring
• Health and Illness
• Crime.

Essential reading for all social work and probation studies students, this text looks beyond individual and psychological explanations and solutions to develop a sociological knowledge base for social work practice.

How does a social work student make the connection between sociological knowledge and day-to-day social work?

Sociology for Social Workers and Probation Officers provides an introduction to sociological ideas and research and places them firmly into the context of actual social work practice. It encourages readers to develop critical awareness and reach their own judgements about the usefulness and implications of holding certain conceptual positions and shows how social work can be better informed and improved by doing so.

Fully revised and updated throughout, this second edition examines sociology in relation to key areas of social work and probation practice, and includes one new chapter. Areas covered are:

• Family
• Childhood
• Youth
• Community
• Care and Caring
• Health and Illness
• Crime.

Essential reading for all social work and probation studies students, this text looks beyond individual and psychological explanations and solutions to develop a sociological knowledge base for social work practice.

How does the law deal with young offenders, and to what extent does the law protect and promote the rights of young people in conflict with the law? These are the central issues addressed by Young Offenders and the Law in its examination of the legal response to the phenomenon of youth offending, and the contemporary forces that shape the law.

This book develops the reader s understanding of the sociological, criminological, historical, political, and philosophical approaches to youth offending in England and Wales, and also presents a comparative review of developments in other jurisdictions. It provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the legislative and policy framework currently governing the operation of the youth justice system in England and Wales, and evaluates the response of the legal system in light of modern legislative framework and international best practice. All aspects of trial and pre-trial procedure affecting young offenders are covered, including: the age of criminal responsibility, police powers, trial procedure, together with the full range of detention facilities and non-custodial options.

Young Offenders and the Law provides, for the first time, a primary source of reference on youth offending. It is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Law, Criminology, and Criminal Justice Studies.

How does the law deal with young offenders, and to what extent does the law protect and promote the rights of young people in conflict with the law? These are the central issues addressed by Young Offenders and the Law in its examination of the legal response to the phenomenon of youth offending, and the contemporary forces that shape the law.

This book develops the reader's understanding of the sociological, criminological, historical, political, and philosophical approaches to youth offending in England and Wales, and also presents a comparative review of developments in other jurisdictions. It provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the legislative and policy framework currently governing the operation of the youth justice system in England and Wales, and evaluates the response of the legal system in light of modern legislative framework and international best practice. All aspects of trial and pre-trial procedure affecting young offenders are covered, including: the age of criminal responsibility, police powers, trial procedure, together with the full range of detention facilities and non-custodial options.

Young Offenders and the Law provides, for the first time, a primary source of reference on youth offending. It is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Law, Criminology, and Criminal Justice Studies.

It is well-established that the majority of youth offenders cease to commit crime in early adulthood, but the mechanisms behind the shift from a criminal to a conventional lifestyle are not fully understood. The Dynamics of Desistance aims to contribute to this nascent area of inquiry by providing a phenomenological account of the psychosocial processes involved in desistance from crime. Drawing on a variety of methods, including in-depth interviews with repeat offenders and their probation officers, police records and psychometric scores, this book charts the early stages of a journey taken by individuals who exist in the liminal space 'betwixt and between' crime and convention. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis is used to explore the shifts that occur in desisters' minds and lives as they make the often turbulent transition to a crime-free life, and the dynamic processes that occur at this psychosocial boundary are described. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings in this book are explored in relation to key issues in desistance literature, and as such this book provides a key resource for academics and students working with the area of probation, as well as practitioners in involved in probation, social work and parole supervision.

Our knowledge of crime is based on three types of sources: the criminal justice system, victims, and offenders. For technological and other reasons the criminal justice system produces an increasing stream of information on crime. The rise of the victimization survey has given the victims a much larger role in our study of crime. There is, however, no concomitant development regarding offenders. This is unfortunate because offenders are the experts when it comes to offending.In order to understand criminal behavior, we need their perspective. This is not always a straightforward process, however, and information from offenders is often unreliable. This book is about what we can do to maximise the validity of what offenders tell us about their offending. Renowned experts from various countries present their experiences and insights, with a clear focus on methodological issues of fieldwork among various types of offender populations. Each contribution deals with with a few central issues: * How can offenders be motivated to participate in research? * How can offenders be motivated to tell the truth on their offending? * How can the information that offenders provide be checked and validated? * What can we learn from offenders that cannot be accessed from other sources? * With the aim of obtaining valid and reliable information, how, where and under which conditions should we observe offenders and talk to them?

Voices from the Inside takes readers into the cells of a maximum security prison to reveal the personal accounts of over sixty women that are incarcerated for drug crimes. The stories will shock and entertain, and will certainly help readers to see more than the statistics behind drug offenses. Research included in this book examines the history of prohibition in the United States, with special emphasis on alcohol and drug prohibition, and analyzes empirical data pertaining specifically to the incarceration of female drug offenders in Tennessee. Personal interviews with these women regard the criminal justice processes both before and after their incarceration. This book is a must-read for those seeking to understand the impact of current drug policies on individuals and the community, as well as why these policies are not working.

Prisons don't work, but prisoners do. Prisons are often critiqued as unjust, but we hear little about the daily labour of incarcerated workers - what they do, how they do it, who they do it for and under which conditions. Unions protect workers fighting for better pay and against discrimination and occupational health and safety concerns, but prisoners are denied this protection despite being the lowest paid workers with the least choice in what they do - the most vulnerable among the working class. Starting from the perspective that work during imprisonment is not "rehabilitative," this book examines the reasons why people should care about prison labour and how prisoners have struggled to organize for labour power in the past. Unionizing incarcerated workers is critical for both the labour movement and struggles for prison justice, this book argues, to negotiate changes to working conditions as well as the power dynamics within prisons themselves.

From arrest to release, the organizational response to mentally ill offenders is continually evolving according to existing policies and resources. How organizations respond, how they should respond, and their ability to evolve is important. The chapters in this volume offer cases with wide ranging policy implications regarding structural and functional changes institutions and organizations might consider given the confines of context and resources to improve the conditions of mentally ill offenders. Policies regarding mentally ill offenders are played out differently by state and county, and the capacity of communities to support individuals with mental illness and criminal histories varies. The quantitative and qualitative research on organizational responses to offenders with mental illness highlighted herein include program evaluation; data collection; best practices in resource utilization; dispositions and the courts; screening; and a broader articulation of outcomes given the special needs of the population.

An in-depth analysis of the legal entry points and remedies in the school-to-prison pipeline The "school-to-prison pipeline" is an emerging trend that pushes large numbers of at-risk youth-particularly children of color-out of classrooms and into the juvenile justice system. The policies and practices that contribute to this trend can be seen as a pipeline with many entry points, from under-resourced K-12 public schools, to the over-use of zero-tolerance suspensions and expulsions and to the explosion of policing and arrests in public schools. The confluence of these practices threatens to prepare an entire generation of children for a future of incarceration. In this comprehensive study of the relationship between American law and the school-to-prison pipeline, co-authors Catherine Y. Kim, Daniel J. Losen, and Damon T. Hewitt analyze the current state of the law for each entry point on the pipeline and propose legal theories and remedies to challenge them. Using specific state-based examples and case studies, the authors assert that law can be an effective weapon in the struggle to reduce the number of children caught in the pipeline, address the devastating consequences of the pipeline on families and communities, and ensure that our public schools and juvenile justice system further the goals for which they were created: to provide meaningful, safe opportunities for all the nation's children.

What knowledge and skills do you need to practise effectively as a professional within the youth justice system? What values should inform your work with children and young people subject to criminal justice sanctions? These are the central questions addressed by the editors and contributors in this comprehensive new text.
The Youth Justice Handbook provides an essential resource for practitioners in youth justice as well as those who are studying the subject as part of their training or an academic course. Its aim is to equip practitioners in youth justice and the wider children s workforce with an understanding of key theoretical concepts from a range of disciplines that might inform and enhance their work. It encourages a critical interrogation of the ideas that underpin practice by drawing on social constructionist approaches to issues such as child development, crime and punishment and related concepts. It provides a descriptive account of current practice in
areas such as community corrections and incarceration, examining the evidence base for this and suggesting where appropriate alternative strategies.
The key objective of the Handbook is to provide students with the confidence to critically reflect on the ideas and debates that currently influence the work undertaken with young people as well as those that may shape practice in the future. By equipping them with the basic skills of analysis and an understanding of key themes and developments, it aims to further promote their progression as reflective practitioners and autonomous learners.
The Youth Justice Handbook takes a multidisciplinary approach, and contains chapters from leading experts in the field which draw on original research and practical experience of working in the area. It is divided into five parts:
Contexts of childhood and youth
Research, knowledge and evidence in youth justice
Policy, possibilities and penal realities in youth justice
Reflective practice
Widening contexts

The growth of Islam both worldwide and particularly in the United States is especially notable among African-American inmates incarcerated in American state and federal penitentiaries. This growth poses a powerful challenge to American penal philosophy, structured on the ideal of rehabilitating offenders through penance and appropriate penal measures. Islam in American Prisons argues that prisoners converting to Islam seek an alternative form of redemption, one that poses a powerful epistemological as well as ideological challenge to American penology. Meanwhile, following the events of 9/11, some prison inmates have converted to radical anti-Western Islam and have become sympathetic to the goals and tactics of the Al-Qa'ida organization. This new study examines this multifaceted phenomenon and makes a powerful argument for the objective examination of the rehabilitative potentials of faith-based organizations in prisons, including the faith of those who convert to Islam.

Conceived in the immediate aftermath of the humiliations and killings of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq, of the suicides and hunger strikes at Guantanamo Bay and of the disappearances of detainees through extraordinary rendition, this book explores the connections between these shameful events and the inhumanity and degradation of domestic prisons within the 'allied' states, including the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland.

The central theme is that the revelations of extreme brutality perpetrated by allied soldiers represent the inevitable end-product of domestic incarceration predicated on the use of extreme violence including lethal force. Exposing as fiction the claim to the political moral high ground made by western liberal democracies is critical because such claims animate and legitimate global actions such as the 'war on terror' and the indefinite detention of tens of thousands of people by the United States which accompanies it. The myth of moral virtue works to hide, silence, minimize and deny the brutal continuing history of violence and incarceration both within western countries and undertaken on behalf of western states beyond their national borders.

This book provides the first detailed examination of the role played by former loyalist and republican prisoners in grass roots conflict transformation work in the Northern Ireland peace process. It challenges the assumed passivity of former prisoners and ex-combatants. Instead, it suggests that such individuals and the groups which they formed have been key agents of conflict transformation. They have provided leadership in challenging cultures of violence, developed practical methods of resolving inter-communal conflict and found ways for communities to explore their troubled past. In analysing this, the authors challenge the sterile demonisation of former prisoners and the processes that maintain their exclusion from normal civic and social life. The book is a constructive reminder of the need for full participation of both former combatants and victims in post-conflict transformation. It also lays out a new agenda for reconciliation which suggests that conflict transformation can and should begin 'from the extremes'. The book will be of interest to students of criminology, peace and conflict studies, law and politics, geography and sociology as well as those with a particular interest in the Northern Ireland conflict.

Long sentenced young people are a small but significant part of the juvenile prison population. The current approach to young people convicted of serious crime speaks to wider issues in criminal and social justice, including the idealisation of (some) childhoods, processes of racialisation and identity and the sociology of the body. Analysing the relationships between biography, trauma and habitus reveals the ways in which class, racial and legal status are experienced and resisted. Young Men's Experiences of Long-Term Imprisonment: Living Life considers the need for the reinvigoration of prison ethnography and calls for a phenomenological approach to understanding youth crime and punishment. An insightful ethnographic study on imprisoned 15- to 17-year-olds in England, this volume examines how young people experience long-term imprisonment, manage their time and imagine and shape their futures. Drawing on observations, interviews and correspondence, Tynan situates long-term imprisonment of young men within the wider social context of criminal and social justice; and analyses constructs and practices that locate responsibility for crime with individuals and communities. Young Men's Experiences of Long-Term Imprisonment: Living Life will be of interest to students and researchers interested in the sociology of prisons, punishment and youth justice and qualitative research methodology.

Over the past few decades, there has been a sharp increase in the number of elderly prisoners, and hence a rise in the number of prisoners dying in custody. In this book, Khechumyan questions whether respect for human dignity would justify releasing older and seriously ill prisoners. He also examines the normative justifications which could limit the administration of the imprisonment of the elderly and seriously ill. Khechumyan argues that factors such as a prisoner's age and health could alter the balance between the legitimate goals of punishment, rendering the continued imprisonment 'grossly disproportionate'. To address these issues, Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights are extensively examined. This book is a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the fields of Criminal Justice, Human Rights Law, and Gerontology.

The problem of gangs and gang subculture is a growing threat to the stability of neighborhoods and entire communities. During the past two decades, gang members have increasingly migrated from large urban centers to suburban areas and other countries. This book addresses the intricacies and diversities of street gangs, drawing on the expertise of high-ranking law enforcement officials monitoring terrorist activity and gang-related crimes as well as professional private investigators who have spent several decades investigating gangs and learning their subculture, lifestyle, motivations, and relationships. Ideal for supplemental reading in gang violence courses on criminal justice, sociology, law, and psychology, this comprehensive anthology presents thorough coverage of a notoriously difficult subject. It explores the following key topics: Social, psychological, and criminal impact of street gangs on juveniles Psychology of gang membership and the pathways that lead into and out of gang culture Relationship between religion and dangerous criminal gangs How U.S.-based gangs are using technology to advance their operations Use of graffiti by street gangs Evolution of gangs and recommendations for preventing future growth Gang enhancement crimes and associated misconduct of police and prosecutors Like any type of crime, street gang criminal activity cannot be totally eliminated. This book aims to provide a better understanding of gangs so that we can influence today's potential gang members to make the right decisions for their sake and the sake of society.

Probation and Parole Departments must provide for the protection of society as well as the rehabilitation of the offending individual. Probation and Parole: Current Issues presents leading authorities offering various broad and specific aspects of the controversial topic along with the latest research. This handy source provides illustrative examples of current hot button issues and can be used as an excellent core or complement textbook for a probation and parole class. Issues discussed range broadly from mental health considerations to rehabilitation options. The book provides wide multi-national perspectives of the issues, including research and comparisons on juvenile recidivism between the United States and Australia. This crucial work provides a detailed look at the research on individuals in the system, the programs for those citizens that are successful, and those methods that may be ineffective. A study is also presented with data on the positive impact of Assertive Community Treatment workers who provide mental health treatment in the community. The book is extensively referenced and includes several figures and tables to clearly present data. This book is a useful resource for educators, students, and anyone in the probation and parole field. It was published as a special issue of the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation.

The contents include: Introduction: Theorising Violence in Carceral Contexts by Jude Mcculloch and Phil Scraton; Part One: Contemporary Historical Contexts; Beating Political Prisoners: The H Blocks - Laurence Mckeown, Coiste, Belfast; Entombing Resistance: Institutional Power and Polarisation in the Jika Jika High-Security Unit - Bree Carlton, Monash University; Protests and 'Riots' in the Violent Institution - Phil Scraton; Part Two: Current Issues; Child Incarceration: The Politics of Punishment and the Practice of Abuse - Barry Goldson, University Of Liverpool; Incarceration and Strip Searching as Sexual Violence - Amanda George and Jude Mcculloch, Deakin University and Monash University; and Degradation, Harm and Survival in a Woman's Prison - Phil Scraton and Linda Moore, Northern Ireland, Human Rights Commission.It also includes: Beyond 'Violence Against Women': Rethinking Gender Violence and the Prison Industrial Complex - Cassandra Shaylor; State Violence, Incarceration and the Refugee - Sharon Pickering, Monash University and Jude Mcculloch; the Imprisonment and Custody Deaths of Indigenous Peoples - Chris Cunneen, University Of Sydney; An Economy of Cruelty: Prisoner Accounts of the Psychological Violence of Everyday Life in Prison - Diana Medlicott, University of Buckingham; and A Reign Of Penal Terror: U. S. Statecraft and the Technology of Punishment and Capture - Dylan Rodriguez, Assistant Professor, Department Of Ethnic Studies, University Of California; Notes; Bibliography; and Index.

Is there an alternative way of treating sexual offenders beyond traditional psychiatry? Sexual Offenders explores and develops personal construct theory in terms of forensic and social psychology, and examines the possibilities for sexual offender assessment and therapy. Rather than viewing sexual offenders as having a mental illness or possessing a set of pathological personality traits, personal construct theory indicates that all people learn particular ways of understanding their own experience, and use these 'personal constructs' to anticipate the future. Through a variety of experiences, sexual offenders appear to develop a set of constructs that demands a particular understanding of themselves and other people. James Horley suggests that if they desire change sexual offenders can alter these constructs through psychotherapy. Sexual Offenders describes a number of techniques used by the author and other clinicians as well as presenting new and more dynamic approaches to psychological assessment. Based on over 20 years of the author's clinical and research work, this book will provide professionals and students in the field of forensic psychology and psychiatry with an alternative way of treating sex offender clients.

In this important classic work, one of America's foremost social scientists introduces a significant approach to the causation of delinquency and advances an all-inclusive strategy for coping with a national problem of continuing concern. MacIver shows that delinquency is caused by a complex and bewildering interplay of many factors and is not susceptible to simplistic explanations and solutions. He advances reasoned critiques of various theories regarding the causation of delinquency, while suggesting that the two combined factors most closely associated with delinquency--despite its increase among middle class youth--are urbanized poverty and ethnic or racial discrimination. Citing the encouraging results obtained by the establishment of "predelinquent gangs" by various organizations, he demonstrates that prevention of delinquency is far more successful than rehabilitation.

MacIver emphasizes the need for a strategy consisting of closer coordination of programs, in nation as well as city, a sustained system of group after-care, and special training for law enforcement officers and judges to enable them to deal more competently with delinquents. In particular, he calls for better educational services, increased employment opportunities, and higher qualifications and salaries for counselors.

"The Prevention and Control of Delinquency," exploring an important aspect of urbanized life in instructive and absorbing detail, points the way for effective action in the various areas of delinquent behavior. It provides a concrete description of the more important devices and experiments that are now being developed and practiced. Written by an outstanding authority, this major work on the theoretical understanding, control, and cure of one of the crucial problems of our urban civilization is addressed to social scientists, organizational leaders and workers, and educators and planners in the field.

Juvenile court has elicited the interest and criticism of lawyers, social workers, and criminologists, but less attention from sociologists. This book adds to growing sociological literature on the operations of legal institutions. It describes some critical aspects of the functioning of the juvenile court, an institution charged with judging and treating delinquents. To this end, it analyzes the nature of the court operation, the handling of delinquents, and the court's functions in relation to the wider social and legal system.

This study reflects two distinct sociological heritages. First, it presents an institutional analysis of a juvenile court. One basic component of such an analysis involves description of the social context within which the juvenile court functions. In this way this book considers the nature of the court's relations with the various local institutions in its working environment and the consequences of these relations for its internal operations. Second, this study grows out of the current societal reaction approach to deviance. This approach views deviance as the product of the response of official agents of social control to perceived norm violations: "deviance" involves acts and actors reacted to and labeled as such, usually by these officials. In line with this general perspective, this study seeks to shed light on some of the processes by which youths come to be identified and officially labeled "delinquents" changing the legal and social status of those accused of wrongdoing.

This study focuses on how a particular legal institution defines, reacts to and deals with the cases brought to its attention, whatever the inherent biases of this sample and whatever the ultimate consequences for youths so handled. It describes the processes that produce differential case outcomes-- outcomes whereby some delinquents emerge from their court encounter firmly identified as future criminals, while others escape unharmed, not regarded as "really" delinquent despite the formal adjudication to this effect.