‘What Went Wrong?’: Criminal Justice Policy in England and Wales, 1945–70

Concluding Comments

The Metamorphosis of Criminal Justice ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199981427.003.0011 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 339-346

Author(s):

Jacqueline S. Hodgson

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Public Sector ◽

Criminal Law ◽

Fair Trial ◽

Criminal Justice Policy ◽

Terrorist Threat ◽

Political Values ◽

England And Wales ◽

The Core ◽

Criminal Justice Systems

Centering on the criminal justice systems of England and Wales and France, this book has analyzed recent changes in criminal justice policy trends and process values as they have played out across the core functions of prosecution and defense, as well as how systems malfunction and seek to correct themselves in different ways. Both jurisdictions face common challenges, such as the changing terrorist threat, the constraints of public sector austerity, and the need to adapt to pan-European measures and standards of fair trial. The ways in which, through their criminal law and procedure, they resist, respond, or adapt to these challenges illuminate the legal and political values that motivate criminal justice in each jurisdiction. This in turn invites reflection on the nature and significance of the two contrasting procedural traditions within which they understand themselves to be located....

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The homicide drop in England and Wales 2004–2014

Criminology & Criminal Justice ◽

10.1177/1748895820930761 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 174889582093076

Author(s):

Caroline Miles ◽

Emily Buehler

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

20Th Century ◽

Late Onset ◽

Routine Activities ◽

Criminal Justice Policy ◽

Western World ◽

Late 20Th Century ◽

Homicide Rates ◽

England And Wales ◽

International Theory

After decades of rising homicide rates in the late 20th century, much of the Western world witnessed a decline in homicide from the early-mid-1990s. In England and Wales, homicide rates defied this trend and continued to rise for a further decade, peaking in 2004 before declining year on year until 2014. The late onset of the decline in England and Wales presents a quandary for dominant explanations of the broader decline, and has yet to be theorised. This article presents a disaggregated analysis of the homicide drop in England and Wales, identifying subtypes of homicide that appear to have driven the decline. The findings indicate changes in lifestyle, routine activities and social/criminal justice policy as the main drivers of the homicide drop, and contribute to international theory on homicide trends.

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‘Dragonisation’ revisited: A progressive criminal justice policy in Wales?

Criminology & Criminal Justice ◽

10.1177/1748895821990428 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174889582199042

Author(s):

Jonathan Evans ◽

Robert Jones ◽

Nerys Musgrove

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Research Agenda ◽

Criminal Justice Policy ◽

England And Wales ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Criminological Research ◽

Form Part ◽

The Future ◽

Central Claim

The concept of ‘dragonisation’ was the first authoritative attempt to engage with criminal justice policy in post-devolution Wales. Its central claim, that devolution created the space and conditions for progressive justice policy to flourish in Wales while remaining part of the unitary England and Wales jurisdiction, remains largely unchallenged more than a decade since it first entered Welsh criminological vocabulary. By reviewing policy developments and drawing upon empirical research, this article revisits dragonisation to assess the extent to which Welsh policy has continued to diverge from England since the formative years of devolution. The arguments presented here contribute to emerging discussions over the future of criminal justice policy in Wales and form part of a wider criminological research agenda aimed at producing fine-grained territorial analyses of criminal justice practices, including differences within the same jurisdiction.

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The Politics of Inertia

10.1093/oso/9780198803683.003.0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas C. Guiney

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Policy Options ◽

Home Office ◽

England And Wales ◽

Early Release ◽

Short Sentence ◽

Policy Debates ◽

The Face

The chapter explores the ever more complex policy debates that surrounded the efforts to extend a system of early release to short sentence prisoners. It begins with an overview of the main candidates for reform and the strengths and weaknesses of these policy options. It explores the Home Office Review of Parole in England and Wales and considers why these recommendations were so quickly abandoned in the face of political and judicial pressure. It then goes on to examine the passage of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, a significant piece of legislation which resulted in wide-ranging reform of parole in England and Wales. The chapter concludes with a number of reflections upon the policy inertia of the early 1980s and what that reveals about the changing aims and techniques of criminal justice at this time.

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Religion and the Military

The Oxford Handbook of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190201371.013.25 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 535-552

Author(s):

Leana A. Bouffard ◽

Haerim Jin

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Military Service ◽

Criminal Justice Policy ◽

Future Research ◽

Period Effects ◽

Offending Patterns ◽

Role Of Religion ◽

The Military ◽

The Relationship

This chapter provides an overview of the literature examining the role of religion and military service in the desistance process. It also identifies outstanding issues and directions for future research. It first presents an overview of research examining the role of religion in desistance and highlights measurement issues, potential intervening mechanisms, and a consideration of faith-based programs as criminal justice policy. Next, this chapter covers the relationship between military service and offending patterns, including period effects that explain variation in the relationship, selection effects, and the incorporation of military factors in criminal justice policy and programming. The chapter concludes by highlighting general conclusions from these two bodies of research and questions to be considered in future research.

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Call for Papers Symposium Critiquing Criminal Justice Policy and Administration

Administrative Theory & Praxis ◽

10.1080/10841806.2015.1053369 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 37 (3) ◽

pp. 222-222

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Criminal Justice Policy

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Exploring criminal justice policy transfer models and mobilities using a case study of violence reduction

Criminology & Criminal Justice ◽

10.1177/1748895821991607 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174889582199160

Author(s):

William Graham ◽

Annette Robertson

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Policy Transfer ◽

Social Constructionist ◽

Criminal Justice Policy ◽

Gang Violence ◽

Single Model ◽

Violence Reduction ◽

Transfer Models

Although there is growing interest in criminal justice policy transfer, a dearth of empirical research in this area has been acknowledged. This article addresses this gap by presenting the results of research conducted on a case of policy transfer of a criminal justice programme, focused on group/gang violence reduction, from America to Scotland. Policy transfer models were used to develop, frame and conduct the analysis of what was considered a ‘successful’ programme transfer; however, it was found that no single model could fully account conceptually for a key finding of the research, namely a policy transfer ‘backflow’. This article details the key processes, mechanisms and outcomes of the policy transfer and in doing so reflects on the usefulness of orthodox and non-orthodox/social-constructionist policy transfer approaches in understanding the outcomes of this case of criminal justice programme transfer.

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