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This book discusses all of the basic issues of restorative justice, with attention not only to the processes of healing but also to the transformation of the social institutions of the family, the school, the workplace, and the... more
This book discusses all of the basic issues of restorative justice, with attention not only to the processes of healing but also to the transformation of the social institutions of the family, the school, the workplace, and the neighborhood, which make health and healing a ...
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As in the adage that `a conservative is just a liberal who has been mugged', many presume that punitive public attitudes are derived from the direct experience of crime and victimization. People become `fed up' with criminality... more
As in the adage that `a conservative is just a liberal who has been mugged', many presume that punitive public attitudes are derived from the direct experience of crime and victimization. People become `fed up' with criminality and seek to strike back at lawbreakers. Social theories of punitiveness, on the other hand, typically portray punitiveness as a form of scape-goating in which offenders are just a stand-in population, masking more abstract anxieties. This survey was designed to explore both of these hypotheses with a sample ( N = 940) of the British public. A multivariate analysis of survey responses finds that factors such as concerns about the economy and the state of `the youth today' account for a substantial proportion of the effect of actual crime concerns on punitiveness. Crime-related factors, such as victimization experiences or anxieties about crime, on the other hand, do not appear to be strong predictors of punitiveness in this sample.
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We discuss the contributions of Jack Katz to the field of criminology with a particular focus on his 1988 book, Seductions of Crime. This book emerged out of a time in American history when criminal justice policy was shaped in part by... more
We discuss the contributions of Jack Katz to the field of criminology with a particular focus on his 1988 book, Seductions of Crime. This book emerged out of a time in American history when criminal justice policy was shaped in part by moral panic over the 1980s’ American crime wave. We argue that SOC’s pragmatic approach to phenomenology owes much to this historical context. The vision outlined in the book represents an ideal foundation on which to build a future criminology in tune with the direction of innovation in the field. In making this case, we review the core contributions of the work from our perspective. We then explore the complicated “politics” of Katz’s argument – defying easy labels of left and right, and discuss the significance of a growing divide between the opinions of lay persons and expert accounts of crime. The modes of inquiry that Katz reawakened with his analysis have many as of yet untapped riches to offer, not only to criminological theory but also to cri...
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Contemporary therapeutic communities (TCs) aspire to reform offenders by addressingtheir social, aswell as psychologicalneeds. This chapter critically reviews evidence on childhood socialization experiences that predict criminality and... more
Contemporary therapeutic communities (TCs) aspire to reform offenders by addressingtheir social, aswell as psychologicalneeds. This chapter critically reviews evidence on childhood socialization experiences that predict criminality and later family and employment factors that predict persistence in or desistance from crime. These research findings may be of relevance to TCs seeking to employ an empirically driven approach to offending behaviour work in therapy.
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This chapter focuses on the intersection between criminology and psychiatry. There is a large movement afoot to make criminological research more akin to a version of the medical model found in psychiatry. But a review of research and... more
This chapter focuses on the intersection between criminology and psychiatry. There is a large movement afoot to make criminological research more akin to a version of the medical model found in psychiatry. But a review of research and practice in psychiatry suggests that that psychiatry might have as much to gain from criminological research traditions as the other way around.
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Research Interests: Criminology, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Deterrence, Labeling, and 8 moreChuck, Imprisonment, Positive, M, E, T, J, and A
This chapter explores mixed method research designs that seek to combine elements of qualitative and quantitative research into a criminological investigation. This is neither a new nor a radical concept. Indeed, the differences between... more
This chapter explores mixed method research designs that seek to combine elements of qualitative and quantitative research into a criminological investigation. This is neither a new nor a radical concept. Indeed, the differences between so-called qualitative methods and ...
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Several scholars have suggested that life changes—such as desistance from crime—may be shaped by social structures through a process of “knifing off.” Individuals are thought to change their lives by severing themselves from harmful... more
Several scholars have suggested that life changes—such as desistance from crime—may be shaped by social structures through a process of “knifing off.” Individuals are thought to change their lives by severing themselves from harmful environments, undesirable companions, or even the past itself. Despite the frequent use of this terminology in criminology and other fields, the concept of knifing off remains underdeveloped. Few studies have considered diverse contexts and conditions in which knifing off may or may not occur. The authors raise the following questions: What is knifing off? What gets knifed off, and who does the knifing? Is knifing off necessary and/or sufficient for behavioral change? They conclude that the concept is useful for understanding desistance and self-change but also encourage further refinement and clarification. Recommendations are proposed for developing the concept of knifing off for theories of desistance, particularly recognizing the significance of life...
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Le concept de réhabilitation est parfois mis en opposition à celui du désistement « spontané » ou « naturel » du crime. Dans cet article, je soutiens que ces deux concepts découlent d’une vision du changement qui relève du modèle médical... more
Le concept de réhabilitation est parfois mis en opposition à celui du désistement « spontané » ou « naturel » du crime. Dans cet article, je soutiens que ces deux concepts découlent d’une vision du changement qui relève du modèle médical qui ne correspond pas à ce que nous savons sur les processus de désistement. La réhabilitation et le désistement spontané doivent être compris d’une manière plus nuancée et intégrative, comme on peut le constater dans la manière dont le phénomène est étudié au Royaume-Uni, où l’on fait plutôt référence aux concepts de désistement assisté et de désistement coproduit pour référer à ces phénomènes.
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The concept of stigma and labeling has been central to the sociology of punishment since at least the writings of Durkheim and Mead. However, the vast transformations brought on by the expansion of the internet over the past 20 years... more
The concept of stigma and labeling has been central to the sociology of punishment since at least the writings of Durkheim and Mead. However, the vast transformations brought on by the expansion of the internet over the past 20 years suggest the need for revisiting the dynamics of labeling. While the power to apply extralegal criminal labels is now in the hands of many, stigma in the form of a digital footprint is arguably more difficult than ever to escape. This paper draws on two small studies to better understand these new dynamics of labeling: a discourse analysis of the motivations of online labelers and interviews with individuals struggling to cope with online labels. This evidence describes how the internet has become a fertile space for the expression of public anxieties about social problems and a digital prison that can discourage the labeled from engaging with the processes of reintegration.
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This is a rather special Special Issue of Theoretical Criminology, perhaps even the first of its kind. All the articles--which emerged out of a two-part panel at the British Society of Criminology Annual Meeting organized by Tony... more
This is a rather special Special Issue of Theoretical Criminology, perhaps even the first of its kind. All the articles--which emerged out of a two-part panel at the British Society of Criminology Annual Meeting organized by Tony Jefferson and Mechthild Bereswill--involve re-analyses of data from a single criminological study. More unusually still, the study being re-analyzed involves a sample size of one: 'Stanley' from Clifford Shaw's "The Jack-Roller". So, why devote this much attention to a study that only managed an N = 1? At one level, it is intended as a celebration of Clifford Shaw's classic work on the anniversary of the birth of the titular hero, Stanley. Born in 1907, Stanley has already been the subject of an autobiographical sequel of sorts, Jon Snodgrass's (1982) "The Jack-Roller at Seventy". With this issue, we mark what would have been Stanley's 100th birthday by re-analyzing his story from an entirely new perspective or, r...
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Research Interests: Criminology, Psychology, Applied Psychology, Law, Medicine, and 7 moreHumans, Role, Prison, Feeling, Prisoners, Hatred, and Hate
This article considers factors that support or assist desistance from sexual offending in those who have previously offended. Current risk assessment tools for sexual offending focus almost exclusively on assessing factors that raise the... more
This article considers factors that support or assist desistance from sexual offending in those who have previously offended. Current risk assessment tools for sexual offending focus almost exclusively on assessing factors that raise the risk for offending. The aim of this study was to review the available literature on protective factors supporting desistance from sexual offending. This article discusses the potential value of incorporating protective factors into the assessment process, and examines the literature on this topic to propose a list of eight potential protective domains for sexual offending. The inclusion of notions of desistance and strengths may provide additional guidance to the assessment and treatment of those who sexually offend. Further research investigations are recommended to consolidate the preliminary conclusions from this study regarding the nature and influence of protective factors in enabling individuals to desist from further offending.
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Drawing on an important survey of European and Australian policies toward ‘judicial rehabilitation,’ this article makes the following arguments. First, the rehabilitation movement should return to the origins of the word ‘rehabilitation’... more
Drawing on an important survey of European and Australian policies toward ‘judicial rehabilitation,’ this article makes the following arguments. First, the rehabilitation movement should return to the origins of the word ‘rehabilitation’ and focus at least as much on efforts to remove and relieve ex-prisoner stigma as on treatment and reform efforts. There will be no ‘rehabilitation revolution’ without this. Second, these efforts should involve active, not passive redemption. Rehabilitation processes that require almost a decade or more of ‘crime-free’ behaviour before forgiving an individual for his or her crimes are just and fair, but they miss the point of rehabilitation. Policies should encourage, support and facilitate good behaviour and not just reward it in retrospect. Third, rehabilitation should not just be done, but be ‘seen to be done,’ ideally in a ritualised format. This sends an important message to the individual and wider society. Finally, I argue that it may be bett...
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The notion of ‘desistance’ (or ‘going straight’) is becoming a more prominent one in criminological discourse, and the Liverpool Desistance Study(LDS) aimed to provide a deeper understanding of this process from the perspective of the... more
The notion of ‘desistance’ (or ‘going straight’) is becoming a more prominent one in criminological discourse, and the Liverpool Desistance Study(LDS) aimed to provide a deeper understanding of this process from the perspective of the individuals taking this life path. However, the LDS was not intended to address how the research might be applied in practice. This article therefore briefly outlines the research and discusses some of the policy implications, in order to open a debate with practitioners and others about the way that the research might be relevant to everyday practice with people who offend. The papers that follow this article were written in response to the challenge of applying the findings of the LDS in probation practice.
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... DOI: 10.1080/1369823042000266558 AMANDA MATRAVERS * & SHADD MARUNA pages 118-144. ... In Jungian terms, this sort of scapegoating is a particular expression of general problem of shadow‐projection or 'denying the shadow'... more
... DOI: 10.1080/1369823042000266558 AMANDA MATRAVERS * & SHADD MARUNA pages 118-144. ... In Jungian terms, this sort of scapegoating is a particular expression of general problem of shadow‐projection or 'denying the shadow' (Jung 1983; see also Perera 198666. ...
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30 Shame, shaming and restorative justice A critical appraisal Nathan Harris and Shadd Maruna The concepts of shame and shaming occupy a central, if controversial, position within the theoretical understanding of restorative justice,... more
30 Shame, shaming and restorative justice A critical appraisal Nathan Harris and Shadd Maruna The concepts of shame and shaming occupy a central, if controversial, position within the theoretical understanding of restorative justice, largely as a result of the formulation of reintegrative ...
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Research Interests: Psychology and Reentry
Over the past decade, a growing body of literature has emerged under the umbrella of narrative criminology. We trace the origins of this field to narrative scholarship in the social sciences more broadly and review the recent history of... more
Over the past decade, a growing body of literature has emerged under the umbrella of narrative criminology. We trace the origins of this field to narrative scholarship in the social sciences more broadly and review the recent history of criminological engagement in this field. We then review contemporary developments, paying particular attention to research around desistance and victimology. Our review highlights the most important critiques and challenges for narrative criminology and suggests fruitful directions in moving forward. We conclude by making a case for the consolidation and integration of narrative criminology, in hopes that this movement becomes more than an isolated clique.
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Sex offending is typically understood from a pathology perspective with the origin of the behavior thought to be within the offending individual. Such a perspective may not be beneficial for those seeking to desist from sexual offending... more
Sex offending is typically understood from a pathology perspective with the origin of the behavior thought to be within the offending individual. Such a perspective may not be beneficial for those seeking to desist from sexual offending and reintegrate into mainstream society. A thematic analysis of 32 self-narratives of men convicted of sexual offences against children suggests that such individuals typically explain their pasts utilizing a script consistent with routine activity theory, emphasizing the role of circumstantial changes in both the onset of and desistance from sexual offending. It is argued that the self-framing of serious offending in this way might be understood as a form of "shame management," a protective cognition that enables desistance by shielding individuals from internalizing stigma for past violence.
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Although there is a substantial body of work on desistance from crime in general, comparatively little is known about desistance from sexual crime. The broad aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the research methodology and... more
Although there is a substantial body of work on desistance from crime in general, comparatively little is known about desistance from sexual crime. The broad aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the research methodology and preliminary findings from a recent empirical study on desistance from sexual offending conducted by the authors.1 Such findings have potentially important implications for policy and practice concerning sex offender risk assessment, treatment and management.