Probation Practice and the New Penology: Practitioner Reflections
Contents: Introduction Late modernity, the new penality, managerialism and the culture of organisations The development of penal and correctional policy and its impact on probation practices and culture Attitudes, values and beliefs in the probation service Reflections on practice 1: the assessment of offenders Reflections on practice 2: the enforcement of community orders and post custody licences Reflections on practices 3: case management and the supervision of offenders Probation practice in the early 21st century? Probation and the new penality: conclusions and looking forward Bibliography Index.
Understanding ‘quality’ in probation practice: Frontline perspectives in England & Wales
In the context of ‘ordinary’ probation practice, quality is a contested concept, as well as an under-researched one. In this article we present the findings of a study which sought to capture, via interviews inspired by Appreciative Inquiry, the views of probation staff about the meaning(s) of ‘quality’ in probation practice. The interviews revealed a ‘frontline’ perspective on quality which has not previously been exposed or articulated as such. Drawing upon theoretical concepts developed by Bourdieu, it is argued that despite significant recent changes in the penal and probation fields in England & Wales, and some signs of adaptation in normative conceptions of probation work, there exists a culture or ‘probation habitus’ among frontline staff that is relatively cohesive and resilient.
Religion, Law and Society
Issues concerning religion in the public sphere are rarely far from the headlines. As a result, scholars have paid increasing attention to religion. These scholars, however, have generally stayed within the confines of their own respective disciplines. To date there has been little contact between lawyers and sociologists. Religion, Law and Society explores whether, how and why law and religion should interact with the sociology of religion. It examines sociological and legal materials concerning religion in order to find out what lawyers and sociologists can learn from each other. A groundbreaking, provocative and thought-provoking book, it is essential reading for lawyers, sociologists and all who are interested in the relationship between religion, law and society in the twenty-first century.