Despite a considerable increase in drug testing within the criminal justice system (CJS) through schemes such as the drug interventions programme, research is equivocal about its…
Abstract
Despite a considerable increase in drug testing within the criminal justice system (CJS) through schemes such as the drug interventions programme, research is equivocal about its added value, as a recent series of reports from the UK Drug Policy Commission highlighted. The role of drug testing needs to be clarified and its cost‐effectiveness confirmed through studies with comparative regimes. Any further expansion of drug testing within the CJS should be undertaken with caution.
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Nicola Singleton and Ben Lynam
The importance of employment as part of the recovery process for problem drug users has been increasingly recognised and the UK government is developing policies to encourage drug…
Abstract
The importance of employment as part of the recovery process for problem drug users has been increasingly recognised and the UK government is developing policies to encourage drug users on out‐of‐work benefits to engage with treatment and find work. There is slim evidence to support the use of welfare benefit sanctions for this group, although the government is committed to piloting such programmes and fully evaluating before any national roll‐out. However, more attention needs to be given to addressing employers' concerns about risks associated with hiring recovering drug users and challenging negative stereotypes and stigma if ambitions to get this group back to work are to be realised.
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The growing displacement of theory and other forms of wide-ranging knowledge of social phenomena by empirical research methods in economics is widely noted by economists and…
Abstract
The growing displacement of theory and other forms of wide-ranging knowledge of social phenomena by empirical research methods in economics is widely noted by economists and historians of economic knowledge. Less attention has been devoted, however, to understand the materialization of such changes in the scientific practices. This article studies the recent transformations in the epistemological practices at CEDE, a research center in Colombia. I use a machine learning technique called Topic Modeling, interviews to CEDE researchers, and exegesis of papers to characterize a shift in the production of knowledge in microeconometrics at CEDE during the years 2000 and 2018. I explain this shift by characterizing two sets of epistemological practices that implies a recent tendency to disdain research that cannot make a “strong” causal inference.
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Nicolas Garcia-Torea, Carlos Larrinaga and Mercedes Luque-Vílchez
This paper aims to document and discuss the involvement of a group of Spanish academics in the process of social and environmental reporting regulation to reflect on the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to document and discuss the involvement of a group of Spanish academics in the process of social and environmental reporting regulation to reflect on the role of accounting academics in regulatory processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the long-standing engagement of a group of Spanish scholars in social and environmental reporting regulation, with a particular focus on the transposition of the EU Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial information to the Spanish legislation.
Findings
Despite failures and mistakes in the engagement history of those scholars with different regulatory processes, academics problematized social and environmental reporting regulation, bridged the gap between regulation and practice, and facilitated the debate about social and environmental reporting. This long-term and collective engagement generated the intellectual capital that allowed researchers to provide their perspectives when the Spanish political process was ripe to move such regulation in a progressive direction.
Practical implications
The paper remarks two important aspects that, according to the reported experience, are required for academics to engage in social and environmental reporting regulation: developing long-standing research projects that enable the accumulation of intellectual capital to effectively intervene in regulatory processes when the opportunity arises; and nurturing epistemic communities seeking to promote corporate accountability was fundamental to circulate ideas and foster the connection between academics and policymakers. This long-term and collective perspective is at odds with current forms of research assessment.
Social implications
Academics have a responsibility to intervene in regulatory processes to increase corporate transparency.
Originality/value
The experience reported is unique and the authors have first-hand information. It spans through two decades and extracts some conclusions that could feed further discussions about engagement and, hopefully, encourage scholars to develop significant research projects.
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Dorothy Newbury‐Birch, Barbara Harrison, Nicola Brown and Eileen Kaner
The annual cost of alcohol‐related harm in the UK is estimated to be between £17.7 and £25.1 billion with healthcare costs alone reaching £2.7 billion and the costs of…
Abstract
The annual cost of alcohol‐related harm in the UK is estimated to be between £17.7 and £25.1 billion with healthcare costs alone reaching £2.7 billion and the costs of alcohol‐fuelled crime and disorder accounting for £7.3 billion each year. The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUD) in prison and probation settings in the North East of England, and to compare the ability of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Offender Assessment System (OASys) at identifying alcohol‐related need in probation clients. A quantitative prevalence study was carried out using anonymous questionnaires with participants from four prisons and three probation offices in the North East who voluntarily completed the AUDIT questionnaire during a 1‐month period in 2006. Response outcomes on AUDIT were compared with OASys scores which identify alcohol‐related need in probation. At the time of the study OASys scores were not available for offenders in prison. Seven hundred and fifteen questionnaires were completed. Sixty‐three per cent of men and 57% of women were identified as having an AUD with over a third of all individuals scoring within the possibly dependant range (20+ on AUDIT). Around 40% of probation cases who were classified as either hazardous, harmful or possibly dependant drinkers on AUDIT were not identified by OASys. The results indicate that the prevalence of AUD in offenders is much higher than in the general population. In addition, current methods of identifying offenders with alcohol‐related need in probation are flawed and as many such people go undetected. Alcohol assessment procedures need to be improved in criminal justice setting order to correctly identify people with AUD.
Nicola Bowes, Adele Sutton, Serena Jenkins and Mary McMurran
In 2004, HM Prison Service launched an alcohol strategy that promotes treatment of alcohol‐related problems in imprisoned offenders. In commissioning services for prisoners, the…
Abstract
In 2004, HM Prison Service launched an alcohol strategy that promotes treatment of alcohol‐related problems in imprisoned offenders. In commissioning services for prisoners, the needs of any prison population must first be established. The purpose of this study was to establish the need for an alcohol intervention in a local prison and to explore whether there might be a need to address alcohol‐related violence, rather than simply looking at alcohol misuse. The research identified the extent of the need for alcohol interventions in a UK prison for men, concluding that in this sample those who had also committed violent index offences might require interventions that specifically target alcohol‐related violence.
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Nicola Mackenzie, Chris Oram and Jo Borrill
Studies of prison suicides have consistently reported higher numbers of deaths for men than women. However it is not clear whether male or female prisoners have higher rates of…
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Studies of prison suicides have consistently reported higher numbers of deaths for men than women. However it is not clear whether male or female prisoners have higher rates of self‐inflicted deaths proportionate to their population. This paper explores the number, rate and patterns of self‐inflicted deaths of women in prison over the last ten years (1992‐2001) compared with death rates for male prisoners and identifies from 13 case studies possible precipitating factors and implications for prevention.The female prison population increased by 237% over the period 1992 to 2001, from an average annual figure of 1,577 to 3,739. During the same period there were 33 self‐inflicted deaths: an increase from one death in 1993/94 to a peak of eight in 2000. Just over half (51%) of the women were unsentenced/on remand; 14 (43%) had an open F2052SH at the time of death, compared with 28% of all self‐inflicted deaths in the general prison population between 1997‐2001, and nine were known to have self‐ harmed previously (27%).Of the 13 case studies, all but one had recently used illicit drugs. Many had shown disturbed and difficult behaviour throughout their short time in custody, including non‐compliance with medication for mental health problems and behaviour resulting in adjudications. The women all had multiple problems in the days and weeks prior to their deaths, including withdrawal from drugs, lack of contact with families, bereavement and relationship problems within the prison. However more than two thirds had recently been relocated, often against their wishes or to accommodation they found less acceptable.
Judith Harwin and Nicola Madge
This article examines the value of the concept of significant harm some 20 years after its introduction in the Children Act 1989. It introduces the concept of significant harm and…
Abstract
This article examines the value of the concept of significant harm some 20 years after its introduction in the Children Act 1989. It introduces the concept of significant harm and then discusses the profile of children and families in care proceedings, the decision‐making process, the interpretation of significant harm in case law, ‘panic’ and its impact on patterns of referrals for case proceedings, and the issue of resources. An alternative model of the problem‐solving court is outlined. It is suggested that ‘significant harm’ has largely stood the test of time. However, the absence of a clear operational definition is both its strength and its weakness. It allows necessary professional discretion but is vulnerable to external pressures affecting its interpretation. A more confident workforce and sufficient resources are required, but the future role of the court and compulsory care is more contentious. The problem‐solving court model may offer a helpful way forward for the scrutiny of significant harm.