UK Criminal Justice System Research Articles

Experiences of criminal justice: Perspectives from Wales on a system in crisis By D.Newman, R.Dehaghani, Bristol: Bristol University Press. 2023. pp. 270. £80.00 (hbk); £26.99 (pbk); £26.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781529214222; 9781529214239; 978152914246

Experiences of criminal justice: Perspectives from Wales on a system in crisis By D.Newman, R.Dehaghani, Bristol: Bristol University Press. 2023. pp. 270. £80.00 (hbk); £26.99 (pbk); £26.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781529214222; 9781529214239; 978152914246

Suicide prevention across the UK criminal justice system: an overview of current provision and future directions

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an overview of current suicide prevention across the UK criminal justice system (CJS). It considers shortcomings in current provision and how improvements could be made by drawing on international practice. Recommendations for practice going forward and suggestions for future research are made based on the literature.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides an overview of suicide prevention research to date. Relevant literature was identified through a basic journal article search, including terms such as “probation”, “criminal justice system”, “suicide”, “suicide prevention”, “UK” and “suicide theory”.FindingsThis paper highlights opportunities to improve practice based on the current evidence base, making several recommendations and suggestions for practice, including improving multi-agency cooperation through clearer distribution of responsibilities, simplifying data sharing and investing in trauma-focussed suicide training for staff.Practical implicationsThis paper considers how research and psychological theory has informed suicide prevention practice in the UK. Limitations and challenges in applying theory to practice are explored, in the context of research with frontline staff who use such policies. This review proposes potential improvements to suicide prevention implementation to reduce suicide across the wider CJS.Originality/valueThis article represents an overview of the existing literature as well as possible future ideas for policy. It is therefore a piece that represents the viewpoint of all involved authors.

Using Desistance Narratives as a Pedagogical Resource in Criminology Teaching

Desistance is the study of pathways out of offending and desistance narratives are expressions of ‘going straight’. This paper explores the impact of using desistance narratives in criminology teaching. A lecture around desistance was delivered and students at an English University completed a questionnaire (n = 82) to establish perceptions of offenders, the UK criminal justice system and the relationship between desistance and peer work, which is one possible “hook for change.” Data was also collected around students’ future employability aspirations in the criminal justice system. Key findings suggest that real-life desistance narratives challenged expectations of the criminology syllabus, humanized offenders and proved effective when delivered by an ex-criminal justice practitioner. The session allowed some students to envisage a future self in the criminal justice system. As future practitioners, criminology graduates need to understand desistance theory and application. Desistance is absent from the Quality Assurance benchmark for criminology in the UK

Algorithmic impropriety in UK policing?

There are concerns that UK policing could soon be awash with 'algorithmic impropriety'. Big(ger) data and machine learning-based algorithms combine to produce opportunities for better intelligence-led management of offenders, but also creates regulatory risks and some threats to civil liberties - even though these can be mitigated. In constitutional and administrative law terms, the use of predictive intelligence analysis software to serve up 'algorithmic justice' presents varying human rights and data protection problems based on the manner in which the output of the tool concerned is deployed. But regardless of exact context, in all uses of algorithmic justice in policing there are linked fears; of risks around potential fettering of discretion, arguable biases, possible breaches of natural justice, and troubling failures to take relevant information into account. The potential for 'data discrimination' in the growth of algorithmic justice is a real and pressing problem. This paper seeks to set out a number of arguments, using grounds of judicial review as a structuring tool, that could be deployed against algorithmically-based decision making processes that one might conceivably object to when encountered in the UK criminal justice system. Such arguments could be used to enhance and augment data protection and/or human rights grounds of review, in this emerging algorithmic era, for example, if a campaign group or an individual claimant were to seek to obtain a remedy from the courts in relation to a certain algorithmically-based decision-making process or outcome.

Development of RapidHIT® ID using NGMSElect™ Express chemistry for the processing of reference samples within the UK criminal justice system

The RapidHIT® ID is a new instrument which has been designed specifically for non-technical users in non-laboratory environments, for example police custody suites or border control. The development studies presented here were performed using the AmpFℓSTR® NGMSElect™ Express STR kit with single source reference samples. The system has been successfully optimised for extraction, PCR and electrophoresis. Once optimised studies on sensitivity, in terms of DNA input template, sample repeatability and instrument reproducibility have shown that the instrument is capable of producing robust profiles within an 85min, window, using mock reference buccal samples. This work has been carried out within the validation framework provided by the United Kingdom Forensic Science Regulator and is a key stage in the validation of the RapidHIT® ID for use in custody suites within the UK criminal justice system.

Dissolving the stiff upper lip: Opportunities and challenges for the mainstreaming of therapeutic jurisprudence in the United Kingdom

Although therapeutic jurisprudence (“TJ”) is increasingly well-established internationally, particularly within the United States of America (“US”), to date it remains relatively unacknowledged within the United Kingdom (“UK”). This article will explore the opportunities presented within contemporary UK society for the greater promotion, and eventual mainstreaming, of TJ. It will also consider the challenges faced during this process and how best to overcome these. Its first key area of focus will be upon the potential role of legal education in the UK in educating law students (and academics) about TJ, considering which approaches are likely to be most effective in incorporating TJ perspectives, at what stage this should occur and to what extent TJ is likely to impact on the existing curricula at a time when proposed changes relating to entry into the legal profession are heavily influencing the work of Law Schools. The article will then move on to consider the receptiveness of the UK legal profession to the TJ paradigm in light of recent attempts to move to a competency-based approach to practice and to reconceptualise professionalism to meet the challenges of increasing fragmentation and corporatisation. The third key area it will explore is the UK's recent plans to reintroduce problem-solving courts (“PSCs”) into its criminal justice system. The authors will discuss the downfall of the six UK Drug Court (“DC”) pilots originally established in 2005 theorising upon their failures and reflecting upon whether the current UK criminal justice system is truly able to support a fresh round of PSC initiatives. The article will end with recommendations for ways in which the international TJ community should begin the process of mainstreaming TJ within the UK. It will conclude that there are currently significant opportunities to be utilised, but that this requires significant commitment and mobilisation amongst existing TJ scholars and practitioners.

The Many Faces of Vulnerability

Social injustices, structural and personal crises as well as intensifying stress on some citizens seem increasing preoccupations in contemporary society and social policy. In this context, the concept of vulnerability has come to play a prominent role in academic, governmental and everyday accounts of the human condition. Policy makers and practitioners are now concerned with addressing vulnerability through an expansive range of interventions. As this special issue draws attention to, a vulnerability zeitgeist or ‘spirit of the time’ has been traced in contemporary welfare and disciplinary arrangements (Brown, 2014, 2015), which now informs a range of interventions and approaches to social problems, both in the UK and internationally. As prominent examples, ‘vulnerable’ people are legally entitled to ‘priority need’ in English social housing allocations (Carr and Hunter, 2008), vulnerable victims of crime are seen as requiring special responses in the UK criminal justice system (see Roulstoneet al., 2011; Walkgate, 2011), ‘vulnerable adults’ have designated ‘protections’ under British law (Dunnet al., 2008; Clough, 2014) and vulnerable migrants and refugees are increasingly prioritised within international immigration processes (Peroni and Timmer, 2013). There is a long tradition in the field of social policy of critiquing the implications of particular concepts as mechanisms of governance, from poverty (Townsend, 1979; Lister, 2004) and social exclusion (Levitas, 1998; Young 1999) to risk (Beck, 1992; Kemshall, 2002) and resilience (Ecclestone and Lewis, 2014; Wright, 2016). Yet while vulnerability seems to be one of the latest buzzwords gathering political and cultural momentum, critiques and empirical studies of how it is operationalised in different policy and practice contexts are less well elaborated.

Men’s Experiences of the Criminal Justice System Following Female Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence

The current study aimed to explore men’s experience of the UK Criminal Justice System (CJS) following female-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV). Unstructured face-to-face and Skype interviews were conducted with six men aged between 40–65 years. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Due to the method of analysis and the sensitive nature of the research, the researcher engaged in a process of reflexivity. Four main themes were identified, including ‘Guilty until Proven Innocent: Victim Cast as Perpetrator;’ ‘Masculine Identity;’ ‘Psychological Impact’ and ‘Light at the End of the Tunnel.’ Themes were discussed and illustrated with direct quotes drawn from the transcripts. Directions for future research, criminal justice interventions, and therapeutic interventions were discussed.

Leveraging diversity or service deficit? Playing the language card in the UK criminal justice system

Leveraging diversity or service deficit? Playing the language card in the UK criminal justice system

The Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model of Suicidal Behavior

Suicide is a major public health concern accounting for 800 000 deaths globally each year. Although there have been many advances in understanding suicide risk in recent decades, our ability to predict suicide is no better now than it was 50 years ago. There are many potential explanations for this lack of progress, but the absence, until recently, of comprehensive theoretical models that predict the emergence of suicidal ideation distinct from the transition between suicidal ideation and suicide attempts/suicide is key to this lack of progress. The current article presents the integrated motivational–volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behaviour, one such theoretical model. We propose that defeat and entrapment drive the emergence of suicidal ideation and that a group of factors, entitled volitional moderators (VMs), govern the transition from suicidal ideation to suicidal behaviour. According to the IMV model, VMs include access to the means of suicide, exposure to suicidal behaviour, capability for suicide (fearlessness about death and increased physical pain tolerance), planning, impulsivity, mental imagery and past suicidal behaviour. In this article, we describe the theoretical origins of the IMV model, the key premises underpinning the model, empirical tests of the model and future research directions.

Elementary, my dear Cameron

Elementary, my dear Cameron

Review of low template DNA typing

Low copy number (LCN) DNA profiling has played a prominent part in the investigation of many high profile crimes. It has been accepted by a limited number of criminal justice systems throughout the world but due to issues with interpretation and reporting of results there have been questions raised about the technique. In the UK the method was suspended when its use in a trial was questioned, after DNA was found on explosive devices used in the detonation of a bomb that killed 29 people in a town centre. In particular the validation procedures leading to the introduction of LCN were at issue. LCN had also come under question in a second high profile case leading to a review being commissioned by the UK Home Office. The review had unprecedented access to the validation process that the three UK suppliers of low template DNA typing had performed prior to introducing the technique. The review published its findings and made 21 recommendations while recommending that the technique be reintroduced into the UK criminal justice system. This presentation will comment upon the background to the review, its findings and the future of low template DNA typing.

A Quiet Catharsis of Comprehension: A Poetic for Paul

Paul Rock is a leading UK interactionist, author of The Making of Symbolic Interactionism and a number of ethnographies on the UK criminal justice system. He was professor of sociology at the London School of Economics until his retirement in July 2008. At his retirement, Ken Plummer presented the following poem to him. The words are largely those of Paul himself, along with a few of his older intellectual companions (meaning mainly Dewey, James, and Mead). Thus this poetic is Paul's words reconstructed and reflected back to him.

Young People's Knowledge of the UK Criminal Justice System and Their Human Rights

This study explored young people's attitudes towards, and knowledge of, the UK criminal justice system and their human rights. Knowledge and attitudes were measured using a 120-item questionnaire that was administered to 141 young offenders who were incarcerated for the first time (Offenders Inexperienced with Incarceration), young offenders who were incarcerated more than once (Offenders Experienced with Incarceration); and a Control group (of nonincarcerated young people). The results found that Offenders Experienced with Incarceration did not possess a greater knowledge of the criminal justice system, despite their increased experience. However, their attitude was significantly more negative than that of either the Offenders Inexperienced with Incarceration or the Control group. The Control group demonstrated a better understanding and a significantly more positive attitude towards their human rights than either of the offender groups. In conclusion, the current level of understanding and attitudes of young offenders about the criminal justice system and their human rights suggest that they may be limited in their capacity to make informed decisions regarding active participation.

The Jamaican Creole speaker in the UK justice system

This article explores intelligibility between the Jamaican vernacular, an English-based lexicon Creole language, and English. It examines discourse in pre-trial interviews conducted by functionaries in the UK criminal justice system, usually police and customs officers and lawyers, with Jamaican Creole (JC)-dominant or monolingual speakers who are typically persons suspected or accused of offences or potential witnesses of offences. Using discourse analysis techniques, it highlights instances of miscommunication and lack of comprehension not only between the parties to the interview, but also on the part of the transcribers. The analysis attempts to trace the miscommunication and lack of understanding to linguistic distinctions between the two language varieties. The paper also explores the possible legal consequences of these language-related miscommunications or lack of communication. The analysis underscores the need for continuous interpretation during pre-trial interviews and for interpretation/translation services at the transcription stage despite some similarity between the two languages.

Drug testing and court review hearings: Uses and limitations

The ability of the UK criminal justice system to divert drug-dependent offenders into treatment has been enhanced during recent years. Despite the rapid expansion of such coercive measures, research findings to date are equivocal about their impact. This article draws on qualitative data from in-depth interviews with professionals and those mandated to treatment by the courts to assess the uses and limitations of two defining features of court-ordered drug treatment in Britain and elsewhere — drug testing and court review hearings — as a means of promoting and monitoring compliance with the conditions of these disposals.

The dynamics of power and resistance in police interview discourse

This is a study of police interviewing using an integrated approach, drawing on conversation analysis (CA), critical discourse analysis (CDA) and pragmatics. The study focuses on the balance of power and control, finding that in particular the institutional status of the participants, the discursive roles assigned to them by the context, and their relative knowledge, are significant factors affecting the dynamics of the discourse. Four discursive features are identified as particularly significant, and a detailed analysis of the complex interplay of these features shows that power and control are constantly under negotiation, and are always open to challenge and resistance. Further it is shown that discursive dominance is not necessarily advantageous to participants, due to the specific goals and purposes of the police interview context. A wider consideration of the context illustrates the contribution that linguistics can make to the use of police interview data as evidence in the UK criminal justice system.

Drug use desistance

Drug dependence is generally thought to involve a loss or reduction of individual autonomy. Yet of the 11 million people in the UK (27 per cent of the population aged 16–74) who have ever used illicit drugs at some point in their life, probably no more than 300,000 (1%) are drug dependent. Many commentators find the apparently self-destructive behaviour of problematic drug users difficult to explain. According to rational theory, choices are made with respect to a long timeframe so as to maximize overall utility. Under maximization, individuals cannot gradually slide towards a very high level of drug use at the expense of other activities as this would reduce their overall utility. The key to understanding drug dependence is that it involves ‘matching’ different behavioural combinations at any given point in time that do not take account of long-term consequences. There is growing evidence that drug users are much more likely to match compared to non-drug users and that they have difficulty in learning to maximize. We argue that current practice within the UK criminal justice system is implicitly based on the idea that relearning the value of alternative behaviours can lead to drug use desistance.

Mental illness in the UK criminal justice system: A police liaison scheme for Mentally Disordered Offenders in Belfast

Background: This paper describes and appraises an inter-agency police liaison scheme for MDOs in Northern Ireland.Aims: To examine administrative outcomes and psychiatric assessment data (including some follow-up information) and to assess the views of service-users and key stakeholders.Method: A battery of measures was devised to assess mental health status, drug and alcohol abuse and risk-related behaviour. Outcomes were assessed (as far as possible) within a prospective follow-up design including a survey of service professionals and interviews with MDOs. The performance of the scheme was measured using objective indicators.Results: Ninety-one per cent of all assessed detainees (n = 382) were judged to have a mental health problem. Sixty-eight per cent were GHQ cases whilst 62% attained “above-threshold” BPRS scores; 48% and 53% respectively had a history of harming self or others. Improvements in mental health were recorded for MDOs who were linked to services and who could be followed up. The service was valued highly by service-users and key stakeholders.Conclusions: The scheme effectively identified, assessed and linked most MDOs to existing services. However, significant changes in mainstream mental health services are required before the full potential of the service can be realized.Declaration of interest: Funding was received from the Northern Ireland Office. The views expressed are those of the authors.

People with learning disabilities as offenders or alleged offenders in the UK criminal justice system.

People with learning disabilities as offenders or alleged offenders in the UK criminal justice system.