Handbook on Prisons

Handbook on Prisons
Author: Yvonne Jewkes
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 810
Release: 2012-08-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 113630830X

This is the most comprehensive and ambitious book on prisons to have been published, a key text for anybody studying the subject and an essential work of reference for practitioners working in prisons and other parts of the criminal justice system. It is especially timely in view of the many changes and debates about the role of prisons and their future organisation and management as part of the National Offender Management Service. A key aim of the book is to explore a wide range of historical and contemporary issues relating to prisons, imprisonment and prison management, and to chart likely future trends. Chapters in the book are written by leading scholars in the field, and reflect the range and depth of prison research and scholarship. Like the Handbook of Policing and Handbook of Crime Prevention and Community Safety the Handbook on Prisons will be the essential book on the subject.

When Prisoners Come Home

When Prisoners Come Home
Author: Joan Petersilia
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2003-03-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0199727414

Every year, hundreds of thousands of jailed Americans leave prison and return to society. Largely uneducated, unskilled, often without family support, and with the stigma of a prison record hanging over them, many if not most will experience serious social and psychological problems after release. Fewer than one in three prisoners receive substance abuse or mental health treatment while incarcerated, and each year fewer and fewer participate in the dwindling number of vocational or educational pre-release programs, leaving many all but unemployable. Not surprisingly, the great majority is rearrested, most within six months of their release. What happens when all those sent down the river come back up--and out? As long as there have been prisons, society has struggled with how best to help prisoners reintegrate once released. But the current situation is unprecedented. As a result of the quadrupling of the American prison population in the last quarter century, the number of returning offenders dwarfs anything in America's history. What happens when a large percentage of inner-city men, mostly Black and Hispanic, are regularly extracted, imprisoned, and then returned a few years later in worse shape and with dimmer prospects than when they committed the crime resulting in their imprisonment? What toll does this constant "churning" exact on a community? And what do these trends portend for public safety? A crisis looms, and the criminal justice and social welfare system is wholly unprepared to confront it. Drawing on dozens of interviews with inmates, former prisoners, and prison officials, Joan Petersilia convincingly shows us how the current system is failing, and failing badly. Unwilling merely to sound the alarm, Petersilia explores the harsh realities of prisoner reentry and offers specific solutions to prepare inmates for release, reduce recidivism, and restore them to full citizenship, while never losing sight of the demands of public safety. As the number of ex-convicts in America continues to grow, their systemic marginalization threatens the very society their imprisonment was meant to protect. America spent the last decade debating who should go to prison and for how long. Now it's time to decide what to do when prisoners come home.

Reshaping Probation and Prisons

Reshaping Probation and Prisons
Author: Hough, Mike
Publisher: Policy Press
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2006-01-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1861348126

This text takes a look at the different aspects of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) proposals. It identifies the risks attached to NOMS, assesses the prospects of success, and more. It is useful for politicians, civil servants, criminal justice managers, and senior probation and prison staff.

Handbook of Probation

Handbook of Probation
Author: Loraine Gelsthorpe
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 802
Release: 2013-05-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134014988

This Handbook provides a comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date source of information and analysis about all aspects of the work of the Probation Service. It takes full account of the many changes that the Probation Service has undergone over the last few years, and is currently undergoing as probation becomes part of the broader National Offender Management Service. Contributors to the book are drawn from leading academics and practitioners in the field, drawing upon the best expertise available. Running through the book is a concern with a range of key current issues such as addressing the diversity of offenders and creating effective links with other criminal justice agencies, and it includes perspectives from both probation service staff and from offenders and victims. This book is an essential text for practitioners, trainees and students of probation and those studying it as part of a wider criminology or criminal justice course.

Prisoner Resettlement

Prisoner Resettlement
Author: Anthea Hucklesby
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134004060

Prisoner resettlement is high on current political and policy agendas. The high reconviction rates of ex-prisoners have been acknowledged for many years but the rapidly rising prison population has meant that more prisoners than ever before are released. This together with the pressure this puts on to the infrastructure of the prison estate and the publication of two influential reports which highlighted the problems faced by prisoners leaving prison has concentrated attention on attempts to ensure that prisoners do not return to prison once released. The resettlement of prisoners is now a priority policy area linked directly to Government initiatives to reduce reoffending. The renewed policy interest in prisoners resettlement forms the context of this volume, which brings together current knowledge and understanding about prisoners resettlement. The book draws on the contributors extensive experience as researchers and practitioners in the field and includes contributions from acknowledged experts. Prisoner Resettlement provides a comprehensive review and analysis of resettlement policy and practice in England and Wales in the early part of the 21st century. In particular it: critically reviews current policy, theory, practice and research on prisoners resettlement explores practice issues through case studies of two resettlement initiatives and an examination of accommodation provision and voluntary sector involvement in prisoners resettlement; and examines the particular issues raised by the resettlement of different groups of prisoners including women, minority ethnic groups, prolific and priority offenders and high-risk offenders.

Desistance Transitions and the Impact of Probation

Desistance Transitions and the Impact of Probation
Author: Sam King
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136170901

Moving away from criminal behaviour can be fraught with difficulties. Often it can involve leaving behind old habits, customs, and even friends, while at the same time adopting a new way of life. How do individuals go about making a decision to give up crime? How do they plan to sustain this decision? And in what ways does probation help? This book explores these questions. Based on in-depth interviews with a group of men under probation supervision, Sam King investigates the factors associated with making a decision to desist from crime. The book examines strategies for desistance, and explores the factors that individuals consider when they are thinking about how they will desist. In doing so, the book sheds new light on existing understandings of desistance from crime and helps to develop our understandings of the role that individuals play in constructing their own desistance journeys. This book also highlights the role of probation in this process, offering a timely and critical review of the nature of probation under the New Labour government in the UK between 1997-2010. The findings indicate that we should allow Probation Officers greater autonomy and discretion within their roles, and that we should free them from the bureaucracy of risk assessment and targets. Moreover, the book warns against the potential fragmentation of community supervision. As such, the book will be of interest to criminology students, researchers, academics, policymakers and practitioners, particularly those who work with ex-offenders in the community.

Where Next for Criminal Justice?

Where Next for Criminal Justice?
Author: David Faulkner
Publisher: Policy Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2012
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1847428916

The formation of a coalition government, at a time of economic crisis, is likely to prove a watershed for criminal justice. Following a review of the achievements and disappointments in criminal justice over the last thirty years, 'Where next for criminal justice?' aims to stimulate fresh thinking in criminal justice by considering the policies which need to be adopted, how they should be formed, and the principles and values which should be adopted.

What Else Works?

What Else Works?
Author: Jo Brayford
Publisher: Willan
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2013-05-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134029756

What Else Works? has developed out of a growing awareness amongst practitioners that centralized notions of what works and ‘one size fits all’ approaches to work with offenders and other groups is inevitably limited in its scope and effectiveness. The book seeks to dispel the view of probation service users as 'offenders', and socially excluded people as 'problems' to be managed and treated, and instead considers more creative alternatives to reduce both re-offending and social exclusion. These include working separately with women, black and minority ethnic groups, local community-focussed projects, in education and nature and conservation programmes. The reader is encouraged to think about past and current policy, practice, and the relationship between practitioners and offenders or other socially excluded people. Questions are raised as to whether, and how, practice could be different and contributors explore the theme of creative and change-focussed practice or focus on a particular approach to a practice. This book will appeal to students on criminal justice, criminology and social work courses, professionals operating in these fields as well as the wider audience of professionals and academics who may engage with these ‘service users’ from a range of policy and practice perspectives.

The Penal System

The Penal System
Author: Michael Cavadino
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 490
Release: 2007-09-17
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 144623830X

'.. the most authoritative and sophisticated textbook on the penal system of England and Wales. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the causes, character and consequences of the current penal 'crisis'. David Downes, Mannheim Centre of Criminology, London School of Economics. 'What do you look for in a good textbook ? You would expect it to be as up-to-date as possible. To be presented in a clear and accessible style. To cover the issues comprehensively. The Penal System delivers in all of these ways. Mick Cavadino and Jim Dignan write with passion and authority, which makes for an immensely readable book. If there is such a thing as an ideal textbook, then this is it.' George Mair, Professor in Criminal Justice, Liverpool John Moores University. '...remains the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and readable text on the subject.' Yvonne Jewkes, Reader in Criminology, The Open University 'The perfect mix of the theoretical and the practical, Cavadino and Dignan's updated book is the smartest, cutting-edge textbook available on the crucial subject of penology.' Shadd Maruna, Queen's University Belfast '.....the book remains an essential resource for students in criminology and criminal justice. The authors are hugely effective in delivering a comprehensive guide to criminal justice issues in the 21st century. Students will also find the self-study guide to electronic sources immensely helpful.' Loraine Gelsthorpe, University of Cambridge. The revised and updated edition of this bestselling textbook is the most integrated and authoritative overview of the penal system available. The Penal System provides a complete introduction to all aspects of punishment within the wider context of the criminal justice system. It covers all the key theories and topics that a student of criminology or criminal justice needs to know about in their course. The new edition features: " Coverage of the deepening penal crisis " New material on restorative justice " Discussion of recent theoretical developments " An overview of changes in the prison and probation services (NOMS) " Critical analysis of recent developments in criminal justice policy " A glossary of key terms and abbreviations " An extended self-study guide to internet resources " A companion website to keep students and teachers up-to-date with relevant legislation. www.sagepub.co.uk/thepenalsystem Building on the strengths of the third edition, The Penal System remains the most comprehensive analysis of theory, research and policy in the area. Praise for previous editions: "There are few 'must buy' books for students of criminology and criminal justice, but since its first edition in 1992 The Penal System: An Introduction has been one of them. For accuracy and scope, as well as its remarkable combination of scholarly rigour and readability, the book has no equal, and it has only got better through successive editions." David Smith, Professor of Criminology, Lancaster University. "For more than ten years Cavadino and Dignan have provided by far the best policy relevant and theoretically informed account of the British penal system. This new edition has only the high standards of its predecessors to beat. Cavadino and Dignan may not have managed to change the penal system for the better with their book, but no one has delivered a more accessible or intelligent account of why it is so hard to reform." Mike Nellis, Professor of Criminal and Community Justice, University of Strathclyde