The United Kingdom, in common with other western jurisdictions, has in recent years sought to develop more effective ways of responding to drug related crime. Although the link between drug use and crime is complex, it is recognised that much acquisitive crime in the UK occurs through the need for individuals with drug problems to obtain the financial resources necessary to maintain a regular supply of drugs. Previous legislative endeavours had focused primarily upon attempting to reduce the supply of illicit substances through increasingly severe sanctions for those convicted of drug dealing. However, by the late 1990s policy attention shifted towards demand reduction through the provision of drug treatment to individuals whose offending was related to the misuse of drugs. The rationale was that addressing drug misuse would, in turn, result in reduced levels of crime, since individuals would no longer need to commit offences to support their drug habits. The criminal justice system was perceived as a suitable route into treatment for individuals with drug problems in view of emerging research findings that indicated that mandated treatment could be as effective as treatment accessed voluntarily (Hough, 1996 and, more recently, McSweeney et al, 2006. Furthermore, evidence was emerging from the United States that Drug Courts, first introduced in 1989 and subsequently established across the country, were showing promise in reducing problematic drug use and drug-related crime (Belenko, 1998). 2Although courts in the UK already had the option of requiring offenders to seek treatment for their drug problems as a condition of probation, in practice there were often lengthy waiting lists. Unable to access treatment at the start of their orders, probationers were likely to continue offending, to breach their orders and to face a custodial sentence as a consequence. Through the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, provision was made for the introduction of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) across the UK. DTTOs, which drew upon the US Drug Court model, differed from existing community penalties in a number of important respects. First, they allowed for the regular drug testing of offenders as a requirement of the court. Second, they emphasised the case management role of the supervising officer, who would be responsible for co-ordinating service provision rather than directly providing services. Third, and perhaps most significantly, they included provision for sentencers to take an active role in reviewing the progress of offenders on orders by bringing them back to court on a regular basis (or, alternatively, scrutinising progress through paper-based reviews).Pilot DTTO schemes were introduced in England in 1998 in three pilot sites, with varying degrees of success (Turnbull et al., 2000). Revocation rates differed markedly from 28 per cent in one site to 60 per cent in another and a number of issues were identified that needed to be addressed prior to any national rollout of orders. A subsequent analysis of recidivis...

Despite the increasing numbers of women given community sentences in the UK and in other jurisdictions in recent years, there has been relatively little research into women’s experiences of these disposals. This is particularly surprising given what is known about the distinctive characteristics of women in conflict with the law and the gendered nature of pathways to crime. This article draws upon the experiences of women made subject to a range of community sentences to identify recurring themes including the complexity of women’s problems, the significance of stigma, trauma and abuse, the importance to women of their supervisory relationships, the relevance of self-efficacy and the nature of barriers to compliance. The article considers the consequences of the discourses of ‘penality’ when underpinned by ideological assumptions and expectations based on gender relations. The implications for the supervision of women in the community are considered, while acknowledging that community sanctions are unlikely in themselves to be capable of addressing broader issues that bring women into and retain them in the criminal justice system

With the numbers of women imprisoned increasing across Western jurisdictions over the last 15 or so years, so too have the numbers of women returning to the community following a period in custody. Despite increasing policy attention

Interaction with animals can be beneficial to humans and animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are increasingly popular in a range of contexts. Dog training programs (DTPs) are the most popular form of AAI in custodial contexts; prisoners often have multiple needs and DTPs seem to facilitate a diverse range of positive outcomes, including improvements in well-being, behavior, and offending behavior. However, evidence on the efficacy of prison-based DTPs is still limited and these evaluations often lack detail or methodological rigor. We examined the experiences of male young offenders (N = 70) using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted following completion of a DTP. The themes that emerged indicated a broad range of inter-related experiences and positive outcomes. The most prevalent theme related to their experiences with Dogs (including feelings and attitudes), and there were perceived improvements categorized as: Positive Effects (including mood and well-being), Motivation, Charitable Purpose, Self-Efficacy, Improved Skills, Impulsivity, and Emotional Management. These themes mapped well onto outcomes previously identified in research on DTPs, and to the program’s core aims of improving behavior, educational engagement, employability, and well-being. The diversity and nature of these themes indicates that DTPs have considerable potential to engage and benefit those individuals with multiple needs, such as young offenders, and ultimately to achieve positive long-term outcomes with significant social, health, and economic impact.

There is a large body of research which suggests that support, rehabilitation and supervision programs can help offenders to reduce recidivism. The effectiveness of services is, however, dependent on the extent to which the workers who deliver them comply with "what works" principles and practices. Most of this research has been conducted with men and this study examines the extent to which these principles and practices apply to women. The study focuses on services offered to a group of women in prison in Victoria and following their release to the community. It examines the relationship between the women"s views about the services, recidivism and characteristics of services. The results are generally consistent with earlier research.They favour services which are delivered by workers who are reliable, holistic, collaborative, understand the women"s perspective and focus on strengths. They do not support services which challenge the women, focus on their offences or things they do badly.

No abstract

The 218 Centre was set up following consistent concerns about the increasing number of women in prison in Scotland and the high-level needs of many of these women. It is an innovative and high-profile attempt to develop appropriate responses to women in the criminal justice system. It offers women an opportunity for 'time out' of their normal environment without resorting to 'time in' custody, providing both residential and community-based services. This article outlines some of the issues and challenges which characterised the early development and operation of the 218 Centre. It illustrates the ways in which some of the issues that arose during the evaluation resonate with current and ongoing debates within criminology, and draws attention to the difficulties in using the criminal justice system to address other issues.The 218 Centre 1 is an innovative resource which was set up in Glasgow in 2003 for women in the criminal justice system. 218 was established in response to a number of concerns about the response of the criminal justice system to women in Scotland and, in particular, the appropriateness of imprisonment for many women. By the mid 1990s practitioners and academics were increasingly questioning the appropriateness of existing sentences and the use of disposals for women (in particular, the over-use of prison and under-use of community disposals (McIvor 2004a; Rumgay 2004a)). As had also occurred across other western jurisdictions, an increasing number of young women were appearing before the Scottish courts and were receiving custodial sentences, with this being attributed to increasing levels of drug use (primarily heroin) among young women. The increased use of women's imprisonment did not appear to reflect an increase in the seriousness of women's offending: most women were imprisoned for relatively minor offences and the sentences imposed tended to be short (less than six months; McIvor (2007)).

This article draws on the findings from research undertaken in south-east Scotland in 2008 which sought to identify the characteristics of female offenders and to document the views of policy makers and practitioners regarding the experiences of women involved in the Scottish criminal justice system. Despite Scotland having retained a stronger 'welfare' focus than elsewhere in the UK (e.g. McAra, 2008), this is not reflected in the treatment of women who offend, with the rate of female imprisonment having almost doubled in the last ten years and community based disposals falling short of a welfare-oriented system. This article explores why the treatment that women offenders receive in the criminal justice system may be harsh and disproportionate both in relation to their offending and in relation to the treatment of men. It is argued that interventions with women need to be initiated earlier in their cycle of offending and at an earlier stage in the criminal justice process but also that the wide-ranging health, welfare, financial and behavioural needs of women who offend cannot be met solely within an increasingly risk-averse and punitive criminal justice environment.