Reductivism, Retributivism, and the Civil Detention of Dangerous Offenders

Utilitas ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-146
Author(s):  
David Wood
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Harm ◽  
Reduction System ◽  
Dangerous Offenders ◽  
Theories Of Punishment ◽  
The One

The paper examines one objection to the suggestion that, rather than being subjected to extended prison sentences on the one hand, or simply released on the other, dangerous offenders should be in principle liable to some form of civil detention on completion of their normal sentences. This objection raises the spectre of a ‘social harm reduction system’, pursuing various reductivist means outside the criminal justice system. The objection also threatens to undermine dualist theories of punishment, theories which combine reductivist and retributivist considerations. The paper attempts to refute the objection by holding that a wedge can be driven between incapacitation and other reductivist measures, and hints at a possibly new version of dualism in the process.

scholarly journals Diversion, Rights and Social Justice

Youth Justice ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 147322542090284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Young People ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
The Other ◽  
Delinquent Behaviour ◽  
Justice Model ◽  
The One

This article draws on historical understandings and contemporary models of diversion in order to develop a critical framework and agenda for progressive practice. The argument essentially revolves around the contention that typically diversionary interventions have been constrained by the contextual and ideological frames within which they operate. They have in some cases been highly successful in reducing the numbers of young people being drawn into the formal criminal justice system; however, this has largely been achieved pragmatically, by way of an accommodation with the prevailing logic of penal practices. Young people have been diverted at least partly because they have been ascribed a lesser level of responsibility for their actions, whether by virtue of age or other factors to which their delinquent behaviour is attributed. This ultimately sets limits to diversion, on the one hand, and also offers additional legitimacy to the further criminalisation of those who are not successfully ‘diverted’, on the other. By contrast, the article concludes that a ‘social justice’ model of diversion must ground its arguments in principles of children’s rights and the values of inclusion and anti-oppressive practice.

scholarly journals From a Search for Rangatiratanga to a Struggle for Survival - Criminal Justice, the State and Māori, 1985 to 2015. The 2015 JD Stout Lecture

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Workman
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

In this presentation, I consider not only the relationship between Māori and the state, but the response of key criminal justice agencies to the surge of Māori confidence in the 1970’s and 80’s, and desire to take control of their own destiny – the Māori renaissance as it became known.  How did the Police, the prisons and the youth justice system respond to this call for rangatiratanga?  How easily did it respond to the idea that Māori, far from being passive recipients of the criminal justice system, wanted a piece of the action? How well did the operational reality meld with, on the one hand, the state’s vision of a bicultural nation, and on the other, the Māori vision for a measure of autonomy, a rangatiratanga not realised in any earlier constitutional or political arrangements?

scholarly journals Suivre à la trace

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 74-89
Author(s):  
Sallée Nicolas ◽  
Mohammed Aziz Mestiri ◽  
Jade Bourdages
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
The Other ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Support Practices ◽  
The One

Based on data collected in Montreal, this article looks at the tensions underlying the supervision of young delinquents in the community. More specifically, it questions what happens to support practices in the context of a risk management approach that aims to intensify the monitoring of youths previously targeted as being most at risk of recidivism. To this end, it proposes to study the data resulting from the systematic recording, by the monitoring agents (known as “youth delegates”), of written traces of their activity in computer software dedicated to the traceability of the intervention. It then analyzes the double responsabilization strategy that the content of the software displays. This strategy rests, on the one hand, on the youth themselves, who are called upon to act as the main actors responsible for change, and, on the other hand, on the actors of their environment, in particular their parents, who are asked to collaborate with the youth delegates and, as such, are likely to be recruited as back-up workers for the criminal justice system.

Suspended Sentences in Spain: An Alternative to Prison or a “Bargaining Chip” in Plea Negotiations?

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-378
Author(s):  
Daniel Varona ◽  
Steven Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Plea Bargaining ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Research ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
The One

Abstract Criminal proceedings in many European states are increasingly being resolved via plea bargaining agreements; yet, there is relatively scant European research on the implications for the defendant or the role this practice plays within the criminal justice system. Using a sample of 1417 criminal cases, this paper examines how suspended prison sentences may be utilized in Spain to encourage or coerce defendants into a guilty plea. In addition to more traditional regression analysis, covariates are controlled through an entropy balancing process. The findings show defendants who agree a plea deal are indeed less likely to enter prison, which has profound implications for criminal justice in Spain and beyond. On the one hand, it appears plea bargaining is being used to improve the efficiency of the system and, thus, maintain its very existence. On the other hand, issues regarding false confessions and sentencing disparities are specifically highlighted.

scholarly journals ¿Cómo influye el tamaño del campo de texto en las respuestas a preguntas abiertas? Evidencias de un diseño experimental/The influence of box size on responses to open-ended questions: Results from a split-ballot experiment

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Carmen María León ◽  
Eva Aizpurúa ◽  
David Vázquez
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Questionnaire Design ◽  
The Other ◽  
Visual Design ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

RESUMENEl diseño visual de los cuestionarios puede afectar a la calidad de los datos obtenidos, especialmente cuando se formulan preguntas abiertas donde los encuestados responden con sus propias palabras. En este trabajo se analizan los efectos de manipular el tamaño del espacio proporcionado para la respuesta en un conjunto de preguntas abiertas incluidas en un cuestionario auto-administrado sobre opiniones hacia la administración de justicia en España. Para ello se recurrió a un experimento split-ballot, dividiendo la muestra (N = 100) en dos mitades equivalentes que recibieron dos cuestionarios con el mismo contenido, pero con diferentes tamaños de campo de respuesta (pequeño y grande) en 16 preguntas abiertas. Los resultados muestran que los participantes que recibieron campos de texto grandes escribieron un mayor número de palabras en sus respuestas. Sin embargo, la manipulación en el campo de texto no influyó en 1) el número de temas abordados; ni en 2) el tiempo empleado para cumplimentar los cuestionarios. Sobre la base ABSTRACTThe visual design of questionnaires can affect the quality of the data obtained, especially when asking open-ended questions that respondents answer in their own words. In this paper, we analyze the effects of manipulating the size of the text boxes provided for answers to a set of open-ended questions in a self-administered questionnaire about opinions of the Criminal Justice system in Spain. For this, a split-ballot experiment was conducted dividing the sample (N = 100) into two equivalent halves. One half received questionnaires with small box sizes for the answers to the 16 open-ended questions while the other half received questionnaires with larger box sizes. The content on the questionnaires was the same. The results showed that those participants who received larger text boxes provided longer answers. However, manipulation of the text box did not influence 1) the number of issues addressed; or 2) response times. The results and their implications for questionnaire design are discussed.

Current Issues in the Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
David DeMatteo ◽  
Kirk Heilbrun ◽  
Alice Thornewill ◽  
Shelby Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Therapeutic Jurisprudence ◽  
Revolving Door ◽  
The Other ◽  
Recidivism Rates ◽  
System P ◽  
Problem Solving Courts

This chapter provides an introduction to the scope of the problems facing the criminal justice system, with a specific focus on the overrepresentation of mental illness and substance abuse among justice-involved individuals. After discussing the “revolving door” and increased incarceration and recidivism rates among mentally ill and drug-involved offenders, the authors introduce therapeutic jurisprudence and the other foundational principles and common themes of problem-solving courts. This discussion illustrates the paradigm shift away from punishment and toward rehabilitation and increased collaboration among different entities within the criminal justice system. The chapter concludes with a brief review of the contents of the volume.

Habilitation: Sentencing of Female Offenders

1992 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-141
Author(s):  
Charalee F. Graydon
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Female Offenders ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Theories Of Punishment ◽  
Sentencing Theory

Women have largely been ignored in the criminal justice system and in discussions of sentencing in Canada. Existing theories of punishment and the underlying philosophy of sentencing have developed from essentially patriarchal models. As a result, the existing theory and the practice of sentencing in Canada is flawed both by the absence of a feminist theoretical analysis and the absence of a practical appreciation of issues which impact on sentencing female offenders. The framework of accepted sentencing theory and practice has been built upon particular conceptions about women which reinforce the oppression of women. This is evident when one focuses on the reality of the sentence imposed rather than on mere compliance with equal treatment.

scholarly journals Les politiques et les pratiques en matière correctionnelle adulte au Québec : 1960-1985

Criminologie ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Director General ◽  
Assessment And Evaluation ◽  
Philosophical Basis ◽  
Correctional System ◽  
Policies And Practices

To proceed with an account and evaluation of the policies and practices in adult corrections in Quebec from 1960 to 1985 is to cover the period when the most spectacular reforms took place. The article points out that it is only since 1969 that Quebec has a centralized correctional sector under the authority of a director general. Before this date it was the sheriff who, in each of the territorial divisions in which he worked, assumed all correctional responsibility, by law, without any common philosophical basis. Quebec having proceeded with the construction of its adult correctional system step by step, by means of five year plans, the study of the assessment and evaluation of its policies and practices is divided into five year periods. This method has the advantage of furnishing the reader with a detailed view of the entire ascending progression of the correctional sector from 1960 to 1985, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. Above all, it gives the reader an understanding of the philosophical trends that guided its establishment and describes the principal actors and circumstancial events whereby, in the 1980's, the sector has come to function according to a unity of thought, and in a context of complimentarity with the other agencies of the criminal justice system.

scholarly journals Resettlement after short prison sentences: What might work in England and Wales?

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 326-339
Author(s):  
Peter Raynor
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Voluntary Basis

One of the advertised aims of the ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ (TR) reforms in England and Wales was to extend compulsory post-custody supervision to prisoners serving short sentences who were outside the scope of existing resettlement provision. It is now well established that the arrangements introduced by TR for this group of prisoners have not been successful, having delivered high and often unmanageable caseloads, little help to service users and a greatly increased chance of recall to prison. The need which the reforms purported to meet remains unmet. There is little point in poorly designed and delivered provision; on the other hand, resources for the foreseeable future are not likely to support large increases in expenditure when so many parts of the criminal justice system require investment. This article draws on research from the 1990s onwards on provision for this group of prisoners, and in particular, the ‘Pathfinder’ projects of 1999–2003, as examples of what can be achieved on a voluntary basis. It is suggested that future provision for this group in England and Wales should be based on a more selective and individualized provision, with less coercion and more choice for service users.

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