Contents News 2 Just Authority? Trust in the Police in 39 England and Wales Features by Jonathan Jackson, Ben Bradford, Betsy Capital punishment in twentieth-century 5 Stanko and Katrin Hohl Britain reviewed by Emma Smith Lizzie Seal, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Sussex University Justice Reinvestment: Can the criminal 40 justice system deliver more for less? Re-imagining the role of participation in 10 by Chris Fox, Kevin Albertson and Kevin Wong youth justice reviewed by Andrew Neilson Sean Creaney, Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Science, Stockport College Member profile 42 Kirsten McConnachie Participation and practice: youth justice 16 Ross Little, Lecturer in Criminology, De Montfort University Introduction Coercion into crime: A gendered pathway 22 Active participation and into criminality engagement, particularly by Charlotte Barlow, Lecturer in Criminology, young people, in the Birmingham City University workings of the criminal justice system is a Promoting empathy development with the 26 dominant theme in this ‘damaged, disturbed and dangerous’ ECAN bulletin. Two articles Sophie Rowe, Graduate Teaching Assistant in explore this subject and Criminology, Birmingham City University there is information about Events the publication of the Howard League’s U R Boss evaluation report which describes our Through the Gate conference 30 No Fixed Abode 31 work as ground breaking and innovative. Research events 2015 31 Participation is a theme for the What is Justice? symposium. We are trying to Recent research 32 understand to what extent the public want or The experience and ethics of conducting think they should participate in criminal research with prisoners convicted of sexual justice issues and decisions. Findings of offences some small scale research are due early in Alice Ievins the new year. In the meantime, please tell us the one change you would make to the Use your situation to change your destination 36 justice system to ensure its effectiveness, Evaluation of the Howard League’s U R Boss the public’s confidence and to enhance its Evaluators from the Centre for Social ability to deliver justice. We really would like Action at De Montfort University your ideas… I would also like to congratulate the Commission on Sex in Prison 36 five winners of the 2014 John Sunley Prize. Information about their dissertations can be Book reviews found on page 4. Just Emotions: Rituals of Restorative Justice 38 by Meredith Rossner Anita Dockley, Research Director reviewed by Ruth Jones ECAN bulletin issue 24, November 2014 1 News Prison Inspections Howard League pressure helped ensure The past few months have seen several that votes against were overwhelming. A reports published by Her Majesty’s selection of Howard League publications on Inspectorate of Prisons’ which detail the capital punishment can be read on our shocking levels of danger and dire website. conditions of prisons in England and Wales. Frances Crook, CEO for the Howard League One year ago, on 1 November 2013 the stated: “Prisons have gone into meltdown in Ministry of Justice changed the Incentives the last year and it is a direct result of and Earned Privileges Scheme to government policy. I have never seen a introduce a blanket ban on loved ones public service deteriorate so rapidly and so sending in books and other essentials, such profoundly”. The reports document as underwear, to prisoners. Since then, the increasing levels of self-harm and bullying, Howard League has been campaigning for with many young people fearing for their books for prisoners. On Friday 27 June, safety. Inspectors found Wormwood Scrubs leading authors gathered at Downing Street to be a filthy, overcrowded and dilapidated to urge David Cameron to overturn prison plagued by violence and inactivity. A restrictions on sending books and other report on the YOI Glen Parva highlighted essentials to prisoners and presented to increased levels of suicide. Violence in Number 10 a letter signed by more than 40 Doncaster was at four times the level seen high-profile figures. On 31 July we received in comparable prisons, and many prisoners a response from David Cameron. On 31 were held in their cells for up to 22 hours a October we sent a letter to the Justice day. On 30 October figures revealed that the Select Committee. A public meeting chaired number of people dying in prison has risen by Ian Dunt with Frances Crook and authors to its highest level since records began in A. L. Kennedy and Kathy Lette. about the 1978. Serious assaults on prison staff have campaign will be held at 6pm on soared by 54 per cent in two years, and Wednesday 19 November at the King's prisoner-on-prisoner violence has also risen Fund, 11-13 Cavendish Square, London sharply. The ‘safety in custody’ statistics, W1G 0AN. published by the Ministry of Justice, provide yet more evidence that prisons have become more dangerous as they struggle to deal with staff cuts and chronic overcrowding. Anniversaries 11 August 2014 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the ending of capital punishment in England and Wales. The Howard League for Penal Reform was one of the key campaigners against the death penalty and played a central role in securing th its abolition. In the years since, the charity Finally, the 25 anniversary of the UN has led the fight against its reintroduction. convention on the rights of the child is on The death penalty was debated in 20 November, so keep an eye on our Parliament as recently as the 1980s, but website for announcements related to this. ECAN bulletin issue 24, November 2014 2 Understaffing and overcrowding in any better or help make communities any prisons safer. Indeed, reforms aimed at imposing A recent Howard compulsory support to those leaving prison League research after short sentences are certain to set briefing, Breaking people up to fail.’ point: Understaffing and overcrowding in Cries for Help Going Unheard prisons, presents A report published by the Prison and analysis based on Probation Ombudsman highlight that figures obtained from between April 2007 and March 2014, 89 the Ministry of Justice young people aged 18 to 24 took their own through parliamentary lives in prison. Frances Crook, CEO for the questions. The data Howard League commented: ‘Every death in shows that the prison is a tragedy and almost all are number of prison officers has fallen in preventable… Increased overcrowding almost every prison since 2010, while driven by cowardly sentencing and ill- numbers of prisoners in each prison have conceived jail closures, together with a 30 either risen or been static. As a result of per cent cut in officer numbers, has turned understaffing and overcrowding, prisons are prisons into warehouses where yet more becoming less productive and more violent. people will die needlessly.’ Many young The conclusions of this report were people discussed in the report had a range confirmed by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons of mental health issues, which further annual report, which said that ‘Increases in highlights how the current system fails to self-inflicted deaths, self-harm and violence protect vulnerable children and young cannot be attributed to a single cause. .... people in conflict with the law. Nevertheless, in my view, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the conjunction of Costly tagging programme sets children resource, population and policy pressures, up to fail particularly in the second half of 2013–14 … A report published by was a very significant factor in the rapid the Howard League, deterioration in safety and other outcomes They couldn’t do it to we found as the year progressed’. (p. 11) a grown up: Tagging children without due Private firms the big winners of probation process claims sell-off children who have Responding to the Ministry of Justice’s been in trouble with announcement of preferred bidders for the law are being put probation contracts on 29 October, Frances on electronic tags, Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard given curfews and League for Penal Reform, said: ‘As we then sent back to expected, the big winner of the probation prison because of failures in the system sell-off is not the voluntary sector but large meant to support them. Research by the private companies run for profit. The Howard League shows how almost 1,000 Ministry of Justice will claim it has created a children were put under “intensive diverse market, but Sodexo and Interserve supervision and surveillance” (ISS) last year are the companies running half of all the after being released from prison at the contracts. A public service is being midpoint of a Detention and Training Order destroyed without any evidence that the (DTO). Although the measure may be fragmented landscape created will perform ECAN bulletin issue 24, November 2014 3 intended to help change lives, the reality is that almost three quarters of Mental Health that ISS conditions can be so lengthy and Trusts in England and Wales do not provide onerous that children find it almost a specialised place of safety specifically for impossible to comply. This means that they children, with many held in prison cells. The can be sent back to prison. The charity is Howard League contacted 52 Mental Health calling on the government to end the use of Trusts to determine the standard of midpoint ISS, arguing that the sanction provision available for vulnerable children creates injustice and is too costly. The and young people displaying mental health Ministry of Justice spent £1.4m on private needs, and found that almost 1000 children security companies tagging children on in two years were held in prison cells or DTOs in 2010-11. adult hospital wards. Research collaborations 2014 John Sunley Prize winners In recent years the Howard League has announced developed its research capacity.