Responding to bereavement, grief and loss: Charting the troubled relationship between research and practice in youth offending services

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the professional response to bereavement, grief, and loss experienced by children and young people subject to criminal justice interventions. It looks at the most common responses within the youth offending service and secure estate to this 'need' and asks what this says about the nexus between theory, research, and practice. Here the authors draw on both criminological research and the literature around death and dying to discuss what is appropriate, what is ethical, and 'what works' (if anything) in such interventions. They argue that interpretations of the Risk Factor Prevention Paradigm (RFPP), the currently dominant 'mode of understanding' in youth justice, and risk management can result in the relative neglect of bereavement and loss as 'welfare issues' beyond the remit of those engaged in offender rehabilitation. The paradigm's focus on individual pathology also tends to militate against youth practitioner involvement in more social and communityorientated responses to bereavement and loss, despite growing evidence from around the world of the efficacy of such restorative approaches. The authors conclude by reflecting on the call to 'bridge the gap' (Bridging Work Group, 2005) between research and practice in bereavement, asking how a similar process might be facilitated within youth justice.

Negotiating bereavement and loss: Influencing persistence and desistance from crime

“…Coupling bereavement with addiction and mental health demonstrates it should not be neglected as an indirect cause of criminality (Rodger, 2004). The complicated links between bereavement, mental health and addiction should be regarded as a welfare concern of those involved in professional support (Hester and Taylor, 2011). Structural 'hooks' (Giordano et al, 2002) provided through strong relationships that evidence attachment, emotional connections (McNeill, 2009;Shapland and Bottoms, 2011) and a sense of belonging (Nugent and Schinkel, 2016) are important for desistance.…”

“…The role of bereavement in offending behaviour can be missed when considering historical experiences or when there are a multitude of risks and needs identified (Vaswani and Gillon, 2019). A focus on risk, and its management, can also result in neglecting experiences of bereavement and loss as welfare concern beyond the remit of those involved in rehabilitative practices (Hester and Taylor, 2011). This is increasingly likely through the current standardised, computerised practice that depends less on relationships (Tidmarsh, 2019).…”

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“…Concerns have been raised regarding the difficulties professionals face when attempting to engage in conversations about bereavement due to sensitivity, limited knowledge or training and insufficient awareness of resources (Read et al, 2019). In addition, a focus on risk, and its management, can result in neglecting experiences of bereavement as a welfare concern beyond the remit of those involved in rehabilitative practices (Hester and Taylor, 2011).…”