Understanding Criminal Justice
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Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Understanding Criminal Justice Few subjects provoke as much public fascination and political concern as crime, criminality, criminology, and criminal justice policy and practice. Understanding Criminal Justice seeks to provide students with a critical introduction to the range of theoretical, policy and operational issues faced by the criminal justice system in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It anticipates little or no prior knowledge of criminal justice, and seeks to provide an introduction to the area. This critical textbook provides both a thorough overview of the procedures central to the workings of the criminal justice system and a distillation of the topical debates that surround it. It outlines the political and historical context, detailing key procedures and challenging students to engage with current debates. Containing chapters on policing, prosecution, community justice and alternative modes of justice, this text provides a comprehensive coverage of the key topics included within under- graduate criminology programmes at an introductory level. Written in a lively and accessible style, this book will also be of interest to general readers and practitioners in the criminal justice system. Azrini Wahidin is a Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice in the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast, where she teaches criminology and criminal justice. She has written extensively in the field of older offenders in the criminal justice system and women in prison. Her books include: Older Women in the Criminal Justice System: Running Out of Time (Jessica Kingsley, 2004), Foucault and Ageing (Nova Press, 2005), Understanding Prison Staff (Willan, 2007) and Ageing, Crime and Society (Willan, 2006). Her current research interests include the resettlement needs of young offenders and the experiences of Republican political prisoners. Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Nicola Carr is a lecturer in the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast, where she teaches social work law and practice in the criminal justice system. She is a qualified probation officer and has worked with both adults and young people in this context. Her research interests include community sentences, crime and criminal justice in the media, and narrative approaches in the study of offending behaviour. Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Understanding Criminal Justice A critical introduction Azrini Wahidin and Nicola Carr Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 First published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2013 Azrini Wahidin and Nicola Carr The right of Azrini Wahidin and Nicola Carr to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wahidin, Azrini, 1972– Understanding criminal justice: a critical introduction/Azrini Wahidin and Nicola Carr. p. cm. 1. Criminal justice, Administration of–Great Britain–Case studies. I. Carr, Nicola. II. Title. HV9960.G7W34 2012 364.941–dc23 2012025646 ISBN: 978–0–415–67021–0 (hbk) ISBN: 978–0–415–67022–7 (pbk) ISBN: 978–0–203–08352–9 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Contents List of illustrations vii Acknowledgements ix 1 What is crime? 1 2 What is the criminal justice system? 17 3 Police and policing 35 4 Prosecution and the court process 51 5 Probation and community justice 75 6 Prisons and the abolitionist debate 93 7 Youth justice: Context, systems and practices 109 8 Restorative justice: An alternative mode of justice? 131 9 Conclusion: Beyond criminal justice? 149 Notes 163 Index 166 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Illustrations Figures 1.1 Cameron 2 1.2 Different approaches to understanding crime 5 2.1 Court sentences imposed in England and Wales, 2010–2011 28 3.1 A fortified police vehicle still being used by the police in Northern Ireland 39 4.1 Court structures: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 59 4.2 Ethnicity and gender of High Court Judges (England and Wales), 2008 and 2009 63 4.3 Ethnicity and gender of Circuit Court Judges in England and Wales, 2008 and 2009 64 5.1 Probation and prison populations, 1999–2009 78 5.2 ‘Tiered model of offender management’ 81 5 3 ‘The offender’s journey through the system’ 84 7.1 Annual custody population (under 18), 2000–2001 to 2009–2010 114 7.2 Breakdown of offences for which young people (under 18) received a custodial sentence, 2009–2010 115 7.3 Zahid Mubarek 125 Tables 1.1 Drug classification 4 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 3.1 Police officer strength: England and Wales, 2001–2010 44 6.1 Rates of imprisonment per 100,000 98 6.2 Countries with the most prisoners 98 6.3 Costs of private prisons 100 7.1 Youth custody facilities in England and Wales 114 viii Illustrations Boxes 1.1 Drug classifications and criminal law 3 1.2 The Crime Survey for England and Wales 10 2.1 Extract from PACE Code of Practice on the Statutory Power of Arrest 22 2.2 The big debate – police and crime commissioners 23 2.3 Agency functions: police 24 2.4 Agency functions: prosecution services 25 2.5 Agency functions: the courts 27 2.6 Agency functions: probation/criminal justice social work 28 2.7 Agency functions: prisons 29 3.1 ‘The Confait case’ 40 4.1 Considering the evidence 54 4.2 Tweeting jurors 64 4.3 Miscarriages of justice 66 5.1 Other examples of offending behaviour programmes delivered by probation in various areas 82 7.1 Prevention – Youth Inclusion Programmes 117 7.2 Core components of the ASSET assessment 120 8.1 Special measures available for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses 134 8.2 Restorative justice processes 135 8.3 Some common restorative justice processes 137 9.1 Extract from Kenneth’s Clarke Speech on ‘Making prisoners pay to support victims’ 153 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Acknowledgements In writing a book such as this special thanks go to Nicola Hartley, Tom Sutton and Jules Willan for their support throughout this project. Considerable thanks are also due to the anonymous referees for their invaluable suggestions, which have enriched the final product. We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material: Chapter 1, Figure 1.1, Hazards magazine, permission granted by Jawad Qasrawi; Chapter 4, Figure 4.1, UK court structure, permission granted by the UK Supreme Court; Chapter 5, Figure 5.3, offender management map, permission granted by National Offender Management Service (NOMS); Chapter 6, Table 6.2, countries with the most prisoners, permission granted by Helen Fair, The International Centre for Prison Studies; Chapter 7, Figure 7.3, Zahid Mubarek photo, permission granted by Imtiaz Amin, Zahid Mubarek Trust; Chapter 8: Restorative justice case study, permission for use granted by Ray and Vi Donovan (www.chrisdonavantrust.org) and Chris Igoe: Restorative Justice Council. Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 1 What is crime? Key issues • How do we define crime? • Is something criminal because a legal sanction against it exists? • How do we count crime? Introduction What is crime? This is not an easy question to answer because of the number of different meanings associated with the word crime: crime is a social construction and thus is historically and culturally specific, and embedded in the morality and social norms of that particular society (Bottomley, 1979). We all presume we know what crime is based on commonsense understandings and our own personal experiences; the influence and role of the mass media on defining crime, the role of politicians in shaping understandings of crime and its effects on our everyday lives. For many the concept of crime is linked to our stereotypes of ‘criminals’ as dangerous others. However, many crimes take place in the home by people we know. We are more likely to be physically and sexually assaulted by family members than strangers (Davies et al., 2007), and we can Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 be harmed by environmental pollution and unsafe working environments (Tombs & Williams, 2008). A study of ‘crimes of everyday life’ (Karstedt & Farrall, 2006) found that those who saw themselves as ‘respectable’ and ‘law abiding’ citizens didn’t consider that failing to pay TV licence fees, making false insurance claims or avoiding paying taxes were crimes. Although all of the above are crimes, which activities are perceived as ‘normal’ or ‘deviant’ makes defining crime very difficult.