Women, Drug use and Imprisonment. Intersectional Approach

Research on women prisoners and drug use is scarce in our context and needs theoretical tools to understand their life paths. In this article, I introduce an intersectional perspective on the experiences of women in prison, with particular focus on drug use. To illustrate this, I draw on the life story of one of the women interviewed in prison, in order to explore the axes of inequality in the lives of women in prison. These are usually presented as accumulated and articulated in complex and diverse ways. The theoretical tool of intersectionality allows us to gain an understanding of the phenomenon of women prisoners who have used drugs. This includes both the structural constraints in which they were embedded and the decisions they made, considering the circumstances of disadvantage in which they were immersed. This is a perspective which has already been intuitively present since the dawn of feminist criminology in the English-speaking world and can now be developed further due to new contributions in this field of gender studies.

Who needs evidence? Radical Feminism, the Christian Right and sex work research in Northern Ireland

This chapter describes my experiences of conducting research on commercial sex in Belfast, Northern Ireland which was conducted as part of a larger British Academy – Leverhulme Trust funded study that examined the policing and legal regulation of commercial sex in Belfast (Northern Ireland) along with three other cities: Manchester (England), Berlin (Germany) and Prague (Czech Republic). This study provided the first empirical analysis of commercial sex in the jurisdiction and was instrumental in shedding light on prevalence rates for those involved in the industry as well as providing demographic information on the age, nationality and sexual orientation of sex workers along with the sector worked in, whether on-street or off-street. In the chapter I consider my role as a researcher and highlight some of the difficulties that I experienced conducting what was seen as controversial research in the politically, socially and culturally conservative context of Northern Ireland.

An Incomplete Narrative: Prosecuting Sexual Violence Crimes at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

This article explores the feminist critique that progress in the classification of sexual violence crimes within international criminal law has not been matched by sufficient legal enforcement. It takes the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) as a case study, exploring the various myths, investigative failures and procedural developments that have hindered the ECCC’s effective investigation of sexual violence. The article argues that while there is a need to adopt a nuanced perspective of the many gender inequalities facing women, it remains crucial that sexual violence is adequately investigated and prosecuted, due to the normative value of such prosecutions. It concludes with some suggestions as to how the ECCC can improve accountability for such crimes, but also highlights lessons that future courts can learn from the ECCC’s failures.

Desistance from Sexual Offending: Do the Mainstream Theories Apply?

The literature on desistance from crime has become well established in recent years with strong bodies of evidence supporting the role of factors such as employment, relationships and identity change in this process. However, the relevance of this literature to individuals convicted of sexual crimes is not known as such individuals are almost always excluded from this research. This article presents the results from one of the first empirical studies on desistance from sexual offending based on 32 in-depth life story interviews with adult males previously convicted of child sex offences. In this analysis we explore the significance of work, the role of relationships, and changes in imagined selves in the self-identities of individuals successfully desisting from sexual offending. The findings provide support for all three factors in helping to sustain desistance from sex offending, but also suggest clear differences between desistance from sex offending and other types of crime in these regards.

The Reintegration of Sexual Offenders

This paper, presented as the 9th Martin Tansey Memorial Lecture in April 2016, considers current and future approaches to sex offender reintegration. It critically examines the core models of reintegration in terms of risk-based and strengths-based approaches in the criminal justice context as well as barriers to reintegration, chiefly in terms of the community and negative public attitudes. It also presents an overview of new findings from recent empirical research on sex offender desistance, generally referred to the as the process of slowing down or ceasing of criminal behaviour. Finally, the paper presents an optimum vision in terms of re-thinking sex offender reintegration, and what I term ‘inverting the risk paradigm’, drawing out the key challenges and implications for criminal justice as well as society more broadly.

Desistance from Sexual Offending: A Policy and Research Agenda Whose Time Has Come

For the past three decades or so, criminal justice policies have been enacted under the assumption that individuals who have been convicted of a sex offense are life course persistent sex offenders. In that context, research has been heavily focused on the assessment of risk and the prediction of sexual recidivism.Simultaneously, little to no attention has been given to the majority of individuals convicted of sex offenses who are not arrested or convicted again.Researchers have witnessed a growing gap between scientific knowledge and the sociolegal response to sexual violence and abuse. The current legal landscapecarries important social implications and significant life course impact for a growing number of individuals. More recently, theoretical and research breakthroughs in the study of desistance from crime and delinquency have been made that can help shed some light on desistance from sex offending. Desistance research, in the context of sex offending, however, represents serious theoretical, ethical, legal, and methodological challenges. To that end, this article introduces a special issue exploring current themes in desistance research by examining the life course of individuals convicted of a sexual offense while contextualizing their experiences of desistance.

Exploring Forensic Nursing Ethics and Practice: Roles, Loyalties and Photodocumentation Practices

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

The Perceived Benefits of an Arts Project for Health and Wellbeing of Older Offenders

Background: The increasing ageing prison population is becoming a pressing issue throughout the criminal justice system. Alongside the rising population, are a host of health and wellbeing issues that contribute to older offenders needs whilst in prison. It has been recommended that meaningful activities can have positive effects on this population and therefore this paper uniquely reviews older offenders accounts of taking part in an arts based project, Good Vibrations, whilst imprisoned. Objective and design: The Good Vibrations project engages individuals in Gamelan music making with an end of project performance. This study used independent in-depth interviews to capture the voices of older offenders who took part in an art based prison project. Analysis and Results: The interview data was analysed using thematic analysis, which highlighted themes that were consistent with other populations who have taken part in a Good Vibrations project, along with specific age relating issues of mobility, motivation, identity and wellbeing.

A ampla defesa e o contraditório aplicados ao inquérito policial

Trata-se de um estudo sistêmico e metódico dos institutos da ampla defesa e do contraditório aplicados no bojo de um inquérito policial à luz dos demais princípios constitucionais fundamentais. Far-se-á um olhar comparativo entre as normas e demais fatores jurídicos, políticos, econômicos e sociais do Brasil e de Portugal, bem como referências subsidiárias de outros países da Europa e do mundo. O tema gira em torno do sistema processual penal brasileiro no que tange às investigações preliminares da polícia judiciária. Estabelece como ponto de partida a efetivação do Estado Democrático de Direito no processo de construção de uma sociedade comprometida no senso de igualdade e justiça. Para tanto, avaliaremos a conveniência de se instituir aqueles princípios no texto constitucional e respectivas leis como forma de dar concretude à formação da culpa do acusado ainda na fase policial; ou, pelo menos, para promover uma investigação criminal livres de quaisquer vícios. Também será necessário refletir sobre a evolução da persecução penal no mundo e no Brasil para que possamos, a partir de uma análise comparativa, avaliar os aspectos positivos e negativos que devem ser repetidos ou rechaçados. Proporemos uma mudança de paradigma de investigação criminal, elegendo o órgão ministerial como condutor das investigações, em contraponto ao atual modelo brasileiro que deposita essa prerrogativa exclusivamente nas mãos da polícia judiciária, para então concluirmos se vale a pena uma alteração normativa lastreada na otimização dos resultados no combate à criminalidade tendo o inquérito policial como instrumento de controle. Nesta esteira, feito o breve estudo da evolução histórica dos institutos, passaremos por uma reflexão mais moderna do Estado Garantidor pautado no senso democrático atual, para, então, esmiuçar a merecida atenção dos princípios fundamentais constitucionais e finalmente mergulhar nos principais aspectos do inquérito policial, sempre propondo a eventual aplicabilidade da ampla defesa e do contraditório como forma de compatibilizar de vez com a noção de democracia plena dos institutos penais. Em seguida, iremos colacionar os resultados da pesquisa empírica feita por meio de entrevistas com profissionais de alta envergadura jurídica, os quais apresentarão suas perspectivas quanto ao tema e terão suas manifestações analisadas de forma qualiquantitativa. Concluiremos o trabalho com as reflexões finais.

Performance of protective factors assessment in risk prediction for adults: systematic review and meta-analysis

Protective factors are neglected in risk assessment in adult psychiatric and criminal justice populations. This review investigated the predictive efficacy of selected tools that assess protective factors. Five databases were searched using comprehensive terms for records up to June 2014, resulting in 17 studies (n = 2,198). Results were combined in a multilevel meta-analysis using the R (R Core Team, R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2015) metafor package (Viechtbauer, Journal of Statistical Software, 2010, 36, 1). Prediction of outcomes was poor relative to a reference category of violent offending, with the exception of prediction of discharge from secure units. There were no significant differences between the predictive efficacy of risk scales, protective scales, and summary judgments. Protective factor assessment may be clinically useful, but more development is required. Claims that use of these tools is therapeutically beneficial require testing.

An Economic Approach to Motor Vehicle Theft

Motor vehicle theft costs dearly to the Australian economy. Conservative estimates have put the annual cost of this form of illegal activity at 654 million during 1996. A number of initiatives aimed at reducing the incidence and cost of car theft have been implemented in recent years, yet statistics indicate that car theft is on the increase. Several authors have proposed an integrated approach to the regulation of markets for stolen property. Understanding property crime as a market is central to identifying approaches to its control. This paper discusses an industry model of crime and develops it on Australian data. Our model is an adaptation of one originally proposed by Vandeale (1978). It considers a production sector that uses inputs from a market of illegal labour to generate a supply of illegal goods that are traded in a product market. These sectors interact with each other and with a criminal justice sector. The model is applied to the analysis of car theft in Queensland.