Integrated Offender Management: A Microcosm of Central and Local Criminal Justice Policy Turbulence

Worrall, Anne; Corcoran, Mary

Abstract

For more than a decade, the government in England and Wales has insisted that a very small proportion of offenders (around 10%) are committing a very large proportion of crime (around 50%) at any point in time (Home Office, 2001; 2003; 2004). Although this received wisdom has been challenged (Hopkins and Wickson, 2013), it is in this context that we focus on intensive supervision projects for persistent and prolific offenders. The underlying principle of such projects is that a combination of greater control and surveillance, together with help and treatment, offers the best opportunity to reduce the risk of reoffending of this group of predominantly young, male, non-violent offenders. The main criticisms of the projects are that they are resource-intensive, expensive and unproven. Evaluations, though increasing in number, are based on small samples and are inconclusive in their results. At the same time these projects represent an imaginative and alternative opportunity for the effective management of this specific group of offenders, with whom agencies commonly have difficulties in engaging.

Citation

Worrall, A., & Corcoran, M. (2015). Integrated Offender Management: A Microcosm of Central and Local Criminal Justice Policy Turbulence. In The Management of Change in Criminal Justice (259-274). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137462497_15

• Online Publication Date: Jul 14, 2015
• Publication Date: Jul 13, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jun 6, 2023
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Pages: 259-274
• Book Title: The Management of Change in Criminal Justice
• Chapter Number: 15
• ISBN: 9781349576500; 9781137462497
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137462497_15