Who to Release?


Book Description

This book is concerned to explore the changing role of the Parole Board across the range of its responsibilities, including the prediction of risk and deciding on the release (or continued detention) of the growing number of recalled prisoners and of those subject to indeterminate sentences. In doing so it aims to rectify the lack of attention that has been given by lawyers, academics and practitioners to back door sentencing (where the real length of a sentence is decided by those who take the decision to release) compared to front door sentencing' (decisions taken by judges or magistrates in court). Particular attention is given in this book to the important changes made to the role and working of the Parole Board as a result of the impact of the early release scheme of the Criminal Justice Act 2005, with the Parole Board now deciding in Panels concerned with determinate sentence prisoners, lifers and recalled prisoners. A wide range of significant issues, and case law, has arisen as a result of these changes, which the contributors to this book, leading authorities in the field, aim to explore.




Imaginary Penalities


Book Description

This book is concerned to explore the idea of imaginary penalities and to understand why the management of criminal justice and criminal justice systems has so often reached crisis point. Its underlying theme is that when political strategies of punitive populism are combined with managerialist techniques of social auditing, a new all-encompassing form of governance has emerged - powerless to deliver what it promises but with a momentum of its own and increasingly removed from proper democratic accountability. A highly distinguished international group of contributors explores this set of themes in a variety of different contexts taken from the UK, N. America, Europe and Australia. It will be essential reading for anybody seeking to understand some of the root causes of increasing prison populations, social harms such as recidivism and domestic violence and the increasingly important role of criminal justice within systems of governance.




Penology


Book Description

This textbook considers the full breadth of the criminal justice system, going beyond prisons to cover other punishments such as out-of-court disposals and community penalties, as well as issues around rehabilitation and reintegration. It offers a holistic and contemporary account of the penal system in England and Wales. Helping students to understanding the ever-changing environment of penal policy and practice, this book not only provides a strong foundation in penal theory but also has a strong focus on actual practice. Author Karen Harrison draws on a number of interviews with people who work within or for agencies associated with the penal system, as well as accounts of prison visits that build a picture of current prison life. Packed with helpful features, Penology includes Spotlight profiles of the penal system in countries across the globe. The text also covers a range of specific offenders, examining not just white adult men but women offenders, children and ethnic minorities. This is essential reading for students in England and Wales studying penology, punishment and prisons at undergraduate or postgraduate level. It's also offers important insights for students of criminology, criminal justice, law and social science.




The Penal System


Book Description

Now in its fifth edition, The Penal System: An Introduction remains the most complete, accessible and authoritative resource for your studies in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Fully revised and updated to account for recent changes in the Criminal Justice System, the new edition includes: Expanded material on restorative justice An expanded section on gender and the Criminal Justice System Greater coverage of comparative issues, focussing especially on Scotland An annually updated companion website, keeping you up-to-date with relevant legislation and crucial developments An accessible writing style balanced against a critical and scholarly approach A glossary of key terms that you′ll encounter throughout your studies Continued critical coverage of the deepening penal crisis, including sections on the managerial crisis and the crisis of accountability The Penal System consolidates and builds on the successful formula of the fourth edition, bringing the text in line with the key issues facing the Criminal Justice System today. It will prove essential reading across all undergraduate levels for modules on Criminal Justice and Prisons/Punishment.




Sentencing and Punishment


Book Description

Examining the theory behind the headlines and engaging with current debates, this new edition provides thoughtful, impartial, and unbiased coverage of sentencing and punishment in the UK. Collectively, Susan Easton and Christine Piper are highly experienced teachers and researchers in this field, making them perfectly placed to deliver this lively account of a highly dynamic subject area. The book takes a thorough and systematic approach to sentencing and punishment, examining key topics from legal, philosophical, and practical perspectives. Offering in-depth and detailed coverage, while remaining clear and succinct, the authors deliver a balanced approach to the subject. Chapter summaries, discussion questions, and case studies help students to engage with the subject, apply their knowledge, and reflect upon debates. Fully reworked and restructured, this fifth edition has been updated to include developments such as the Sentencing Act 2020 and changes following the 2019 general election. This is the essential guide for anyone studying sentencing and punishment as part of a law or criminology course.







Shaped by the Nuanced Constitution


Book Description

There is growing judicial, academic and political interest in the concept of common law constitutional rights. Concurrently, significant public law judgments, including R (Miller) v The Prime Minister, R (Begum) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission and R (Privacy International) v Investigatory Powers Tribunal, continue to sustain and enrich the academic debate on the nature of the UK constitution. Bringing these two highly topical themes together, the book argues, firstly, that neither common law constitutionalism nor political constitutionalism adequately captures the nature of public law litigation because neither is fully able to account for the co-existence and interplay between parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law. Advancing the idea of a 'nuanced' constitution instead, the book then provides an in-depth analysis of common law constitutional rights, looking at their history, conceptual foundations, contemporary characteristics, coverage and resilience. In doing so, this book highlights and re-conceptualises the dynamics and mechanisms of constitutional law adjudication and provides the first comprehensive critique of common law constitutional rights jurisprudence. It is centred around extensive case law analysis which focuses predominantly on recent Supreme Court judgments.




Addressing Offending Behaviour


Book Description

Offending behaviour is one of the most talked about issues in contemporary society. What can be done to stop people reoffending? What can be done to help people escape their criminal lifestyles? This book aims to review and analyse the different ways in which these questions are addressed in practice, drawing upon the expertise of academics and practitioners. The book provides a critical reference text for practitioners, students and researchers interested in devising the most effective means of addressing offending behaviour. Its focus is on the actual work undertaken with offenders, and draws upon generic issues of practice applicable across the voluntary, community and statutory sectors. Addressing Offending Behaviour aims to bridge the gap between practice and research. It explores a wide range of innovative techniques for offender intervention, along with some of the most challenging academic theories. It also considers the wider social, political and legal context in which this work takes place, and explores the values and bias which operate at both individual and institutional levels. It will be key reading for both students and practitioners involved in the fields of criminology and criminal justice, law, policing, probation, prisons, youth justice and social work.




Preventive Justice


Book Description

This book arises from a three-year study of Preventive Justice directed by Professor Andrew Ashworth and Professor Lucia Zedner at the University of Oxford. The study seeks to develop an account of the principles and values that should guide and limit the state's use of preventive techniques that involve coercion against the individual. States today are increasingly using criminal law or criminal law-like tools to try to prevent or reduce the risk of anticipated future harm. Such measures include criminalizing conduct at an early stage in order to allow authorities to intervene; incapacitating suspected future wrongdoers; and imposing extended sentences or indefinate on past wrongdoers on the basis of their predicted future conduct - all in the name of public protection and security. The chief justification for the state's use of coercion is protecting the public from harm. Although the rationales and justifications of state punishment have been explored extensively, the scope, limits and principles of preventive justice have attracted little doctrinal or conceptual analysis. This book re-assesses the foundations for the range of coercive measures that states now take in the name of prevention and public protection, focussing particularly on coercive measures involving deprivation of liberty. It examines whether these measures are justified, whether they distort the proper boundaries between criminal and civil law, or whether they signal a larger change in the architecture of security. In so doing, it sets out to establish a framework for what we call 'Preventive Justice'.