Criminal Justice Essay[ 7458] PDF

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In this essay I will discuss law and policy- such as, Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 1995 and the National Objectives and Standards for Social Work in the Criminal Justice System 1991 - in how they help to support criminal ...

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1506467 Criminal Justice Essay Word Count- 3150 17/05/18 Social Work in Criminal Justice SS2028 BA (Hons) Social Work 3rd Year Mike Shepard

Criminal Justice essay

Introduction In this essay I will discuss law and policy- such as, Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 1995 and the National Objectives and Standards for Social Work in the Criminal Justice System 1991 - in how they help to support criminal justice social workers key aim of reducing reoffending among offenders. I will then go on to look at the case study and try and understand the reasons why Gavin has committed the crimes that he has, through the theory of expressive motivation and psychological theories of motivation- including attachment, maternal deprivation, abuse and loss and trauma. I will also talk about the risk and protective factors that influence the likelihood of Gavin reoffending, such as: his previous convictions relating to anti-social behaviour and his secure flat and job at present. I will then offer a recommendation of an appropriate sentencing option for Gavin. Finally, I will discuss motivational interviewing, explain how this will benefit Gavin, while also meeting the key outcomes for social work services. Section one Law is such an integral part of the criminal justice system because it affects multiple people- including the offender, the victims of crimes, those in charge of sentencing, prosecuting, arresting and defendingthrough its power to alter and change sentencing options, grant powers and define the running of court systems. However, law is never static; it is constantly changing and evolving to reflect the society they are representative of (Anderson, 2017). One Law that defines the social work role within the criminal justice system is the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. Criminal justice social work is executed at local authority level, by qualified criminal justice

social workers. Section 27 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 defines the duties of the local authority to the criminal justice system to provide a service by: completing criminal justice social work report, the provision of community sentence and the supervision of offenders released from custody on a probation order or with community service. A criminal justice social work report is a piece of literature that is to be completed by the social worker and presented to court; it will be used in the decision making of the trial or hearing. The report includes: risk assessments carried out by the social worker to analyse the risk of harm the offender would be to the public if they were not sentenced to jail, analysis of previous offending behaviour, assessment of the possibility of a community sentence as opposed to jail time, potential impacts on the offender or the offenders family based on sentencing options (Anderson et al, 2008). The criminal justice social work team also works with a variety of other agencies and private and voluntary organisations to assist with the provision of these services; such as, police and legal representatives. (Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968). Shortly following this act came the National Objectives and Standards for Social Work in the Criminal Justice System 1991. This highlighted the 3 main aims of criminal justice social work practice: safeguarding of public safety and protection, to reduce the level of re-offending and improve social inclusion of offenders to support desistance from offending (National Outcomes and Standards for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System – August 2010). The Government refunded the local authorities with the full approved cost of providing criminal justice social work services, with the condition that the money will help to ensure that the services, linked to community service sentencing granted to offenders, are accessible to the right quantity of offenders and are kept at a high enough quality standard with qualified staff. The National Standards are also designed to provide constant guidance and management of community services and to offender’s subject to these

services. The aim of National Standards is that is community service orders are kept to a high enough standard and are proven worthwhile in reducing reoffending so that sentencers will be more inclined to grant them in cases where, otherwise, they might have granted imprisonment. With the overall goal being a cut down in the amount of prison sentences granted to offenders and them being replaced by community service punishments that reduce offending behaviour, contribute to rehabilitation of offenders and settling them back into their community, and that make efficient use of available resources within the community (National Objectives and Standards for Social Work in the Criminal Justice System 1991). Another law that underpins criminal justice social work practice is the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. This act is paramount in outlining the legal framework for court proceedings. Part 11 of the act, highlights sentencing options for offenders, such as: deferred sentences (section 202), fines in summary proceedings (section 212), provision orders (section 228), anti-social behaviour orders (section 234AA) and requirements for unpaid work (227I), mental health (227R) and alcohol treatment (227V). (Criminal procedure (Scotland) act, 1995). Social workers can then evaluate all sentencing options available for when they present their report in court and give a recommended sentencing option that they feel is most appropriate and is the most likely to reduce the chance of the person offending again. Section 201 also gives the court the power to postpone the preparation of social work reports to be presented in court. (McNeill and Whyte, 2007). An amendment to this act came with the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 by inserting sections 227A-227N that defined community payback orders, including procedure prior to imposition, definition of responsible officer and further provision necessary. Section 14 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 introduced

the community payback order as an alternative of imprisonment, for a punishment of crime and injustice. “A community payback order is an order imposing one or more of the following requirements: a) an offender supervision requirement, b) a compensation requirement, c) an unpaid work or other activity requirement, d) a programme requirement, e) a residence requirement, f) a mental health treatment requirement, g) a drug treatment requirement, h) an alcohol treatment requirement, i) a conduct requirement” (Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010). The act allowed for sentences that are served in the community to be more healthy, accessible and evident through the idea of the Community Payback Order (Guthrie, 2011). A paper on reducing reoffending in Scotland claimed that 30% of offenders who were sentenced to imprisonment in 2009/10 reconvicted within one year. A fact about offenders is that they are 5 times more likely to have no educational certificates, they are 50 times more likely to suffer from poor mental health and 6 times more likely to be lone parents (include reference from Mike). Therefore, it is clear that community payback orders would be beneficial in helping to reduce reoffending, as they offer better requirements to assist offenders to move away from offending behaviour (McNeill et al, 2012). Section two To carry out an assessment on Gavin, you first need to look at the theories and motivations behind his crime committing. Criminology is reviewing the logic and thinking behind why someone would commit a crime. Understanding why someone commits a crime helps towards the development of cutting down and reducing on the level of crime in society today (Williams, 2008). Two theories of motivation are instrumental and expressive motivation. In Gavin’s case, I would say that his offences are

fuelled by expressive motivation. Expressive motivation are crimes that are committed from an emotional drive; such as crimes of anger or rage (Hopkins-Bure, 2005). This could explain the reasoning for Gavin’s offences as the majority of his them have been acts of anti-social behaviour driven by violence. Expressively motivated crimes are also commonly committed when the anger or frustration consumes the person and they act out of impulse, usually resulting in their rage being directed towards someone that they know (Smith, 1995). This again relates to Gavin, as two of his violent offences have been on people he is in relation with- his step-father and an old classmate- and he has admitted that they were due to situational circumstance that he was in at the time. Another reason behind the motivation for Gavin committing crimes can be explained by the psychological theories of criminality. This theory is based on the belief that individual’s childhood experiences have a direct impact on whether they will be involved in crime in the future (Muncie et al, 2000). Examples of psychological theories of criminality include: attachment, maternal deprivation, childhood abuse and loss and trauma. Bowlby defined attachment as “An affective bond that develops between an infant and a primary caregiver” (Bowlby, 2009). Therefore, the term maternal deprivation stems from the separation or lack of attachment between the mother and the child. There are many long-term effects of poor attachment and maternal deprivation on children, one of which being increased aggression and delinquency in the future (Main and Soloman, 1968). Although the case study does not indicate if Gavin and his mother had a good relationship or a strong attachment, it does mention that when Gavin’s step-father kicked him out of the house at 18 years old, his mother did not do very much to stop him, which hurt Gavin’s feelings. Therefore, maternal deprivation could be one of the drivers behind Gavin’s offending.

Child abuse can be any mistreatment of a child, whether emotional, physical or psychological, no matter the severity (Parton, 1993).

A research project carried out by the Ministry of Justice in 2012 on UK prisoner’s childhood and family background found that 29% of prisoners had experienced abuse of some form and 41% had witnessed abuse in their home as a child, and that those who had experienced abuse or were exposed to violence as a child had a higher chance of being reoffending within a year after being released from prison, than those who did not (Ministry of Justice, 2012). Therefore, this theory could help to explain why Gavin commits crimes, as being exposed or subject to abuse as a child can have an effect on future criminality and antisocial behaviour (Stenberg et al, 2006). One huge form of loss is grief. Grief can come from the loss of anything in life but is most commonly used when there has been a loss of friend or family member (Marris, 1974). The case study mentions that Gavin lost his father and his brother only 3 years apart. Gavin could be defined as having a chronic pattern of grief as he is still quite strongly affected by the death of his brother and he still mourns his loss today (Wortman and Silver, 2004). Therefore, the loss of both his father and brother could have a link to his offending behaviour as he does not seem to have recovered from the bereavement of his brother 6 years ago; also, the year of his brother’s death was also the year that he was charged with his first crime, so there could be a link between both events. The next part of the assessment would be to define the risk and protective factors in Gavin’s life, to determine the likelihood of him reoffending. Risk Factors are defined as characteristics or variables which could result in likelihood of a negative situation/outcome (Carson and Bain, 2008). There are 8 central risk factors that are important to identify within criminal justice social work, these are: past experience of anti-

social behaviour, anti-social thinking patterns, problems with substance misuse, family or relationship problems, frequency of anti-social behaviour, anti-social connections and home or employment issues (Kemshall and Wilkinson, 2011). Gavin holds 6 of these central risk factors, for example: he has past experience of anti-social behaviour through his previous convictions over the past 6 years that also reflects anti-social behaviour thinking patterns, he seems to suffer for alcoholism and this has a link to the crimes that he commits, and he has a difficult relationship with his step-father and has not spoken to his mother in a number of years. These factors could indicate that Gavin is at a high risk of reoffending. However, Gavin also has numerous protective factors that would limit him from reoffending. Protective Factors are Personal characteristics or variables which counteract risk factors and potentially decrease the likelihood of a negative situation/outcome (Lishman, 2007). Gavin has multiple dynamic protective factors in his life, such as: a stable flat with his girlfriend, remorse for his crimes and willingness to accept help, and a job that he enjoys. His flat with his girlfriend acts as protective factor because she has already warned him that he if he does not change his behaviour then she will end the relationship and kick him out the flat, resulting in him having to go back to living in the hostel again, which he does not want. Also, his job acts as a protective factor because Gavin knows that if he gets sentenced to jail then he will lose his job and it mentions in the case study that having his job is the only good thing in his life in the movement, so he would not want to risk ruining that. However, these are dynamic protective factors and therefore have the ability to change (Kemshall and Pritchard, 1997). Based on all this information, while weighing up the risk factors with the protective factors, I would recommend a high-level community payback order for Gavin with an alcohol treatment plan. This is because I fear that Gavin would lose his job if he went to prison, which he states is ‘the only

good thing in his life at the moment’ and a community payback order would allow for continuation in employment. Also, all of his offences have been committed while he was under the influence of alcohol, so if he manages to gain treatment for his alcoholism and learn how moderate and manage his drinking, then I feel that this will strongly reduce the risk of him reoffending. Similarly, I feel that his violence stems from his uncontrolled drinking, and he stated that when being put on a short-term anger management programme before ‘his understanding of the programme was limited’, so I feel it would be unbeneficial for him to attend such a programme again and instead should focus on his drinking. Section three Evidenced based intervention enables the service user to gain an awareness of their offending behaviour and the consequences that this has on themselves and other. This includes an understanding of their own motivations behind offending, as admitting that if they want to stop their offending behaviour and cut down on negative habits, such as controlling their alcohol intake, then it is their own personal responsibility to do so (Hollin and Palmer, 2006). One type of intervention that results in the most positive outcomes is motivational intervention. Motivational intervention is the understanding that to carry out a successful intervention then the service user needs to believe that it will work (Karoly, 1980). The main form of motivational intervention is motivational interviewing. Motivational interviewing: “Respects the individual’s right to choice, it is a collaborative approach which allows the worker to draw on the person’s internal motivation to change” (Miller and Rollnick, 2002). It is a method of intervention, whereby the counsellor becomes the guider for the service user, through a process of change. It in is important to evidence empathy for the service user, promote resistance from falling

back into old habits and promote self-efficiency for the service user; continuing to encourage resilience and self-efficacy for the service user, makes success more likely. Motivational interviewing is has proven to be beneficial for substance and alcohol misuse counselling (Karoly, 1993), hence my recommendation for it as a method of intervention to carry out with Gavin. The most importance aspect for motivational interviewing is the service user's willingness to change. “Its importance is that the more motivated the patient is, the deeper their initial participation. This is linked to staying longer which in turn is linked to better outcomes” (Simpson et al, 2004). Gavin shows remorse for his crimes and shows willingness to participate, which could indicate that motivational interviewing would be a successful method of intervention for him. However, some service users can become compliant within the intervention process if they feel that they are not progressing in any way or at a quick enough rate. It is important for counsellors in this instance to clearly identify problems with service users, to try and discover the reasons for these problems, to devise a plan to overcome these obstacles and problems, to continue encouraging motivation and accepted responsibly of the service user, to reduce the likelihood of desistance. (Arkowitz et al, 2015). Motivational interviewing also uses the SMART objectives as part of its method: this stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time limited. Specific refers to the path that the sessions will take in relation to the problem behaviour, in this example it would be offending. Measurable means setting certain tasks in order to achieve goals, so that the service user can track their progress. Achievable means that set goas and tasks should too be too difficult, otherwise it will have a negative affect on the service user’s self-confidence and believe in own ability to succeed. Realistic, again, stands for the fact that the aims of the sessions

have to reasonable, otherwise the process will not move and develop. Finally, time limited means that, although the intervention process is a journey of changing and growing, it is still important to achieve goals within a certain time frame in order to achieve success (Miller and Rollnick, 2002). Using the SMART objectives results in a stronger delivery of service, in relation to covering and solving offenders’ behaviours and bad habits, which generally makes practice more successful. The related outcomes of this include a change in antisocial thoughts and behaviours, a break away from antisocial peer groups and acquaintances, better family relationships and connections and an increasing self-discipline. Which are not only beneficial to Gavin, but also link directly to the three key outcomes for Criminal Justice Social Work practice, which are: community safety and public protection, the reduction of re-offending and social inclusion to support desistance from offending (National Outcomes and Standards for Social Work in the Criminal Justice System). Conclusion Overall, I have described the most important legal grounds and government policy that influence criminal justice social work practice and support their aim of reducing reoffending. I have then completed an assessment of Gavin, analysing theories behind his motivation to offend and evaluating the risk and protective factors evident in his life that might cause or limit him to reoffend. Finally, I have recommended the sentencing option of community payback order with an alcohol treatment plan and with the condition that I would carry out motivational interviewing with Gavin, to work on his struggles with alcohol use, while relating my work to the key outcomes for criminal justice social work practice.

References Academic literature Prisoners’ childhood and family backgrounds- Results from the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal cohort study of prisoners, Ministry of Justice 2012, accessed at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/upl oads/attachment_data/file/278837/prisoners-childhood-familybackgrounds.pdf