Gwen Robinson – författare

As the UK and many other western societies face up to the consequences of a rapidly increasing prison population, so the search for alternative approaches to punishment and dealing with offenders has become an increasingly urgent priority for government policy and society as a whole.

This book reports the results of the research programme commissioned by the Coulsfield Inquiry into Alternatives to Prison, which was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn ''Rethinking Crime and Punishment'' initiative. It is written by leading authorities in the field, and provides a comprehensive, authoritative and wide-ranging review of the range of issues associated with the use of noncustodial sanctions, examining experiences in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales.

As the UK and many other western societies face up to the consequences of a rapidly increasing prison population, so the search for alternative approaches to punishment and dealing with offenders has become an increasingly urgent priority for government policy and society as a whole.

This book reports the results of the research programme commissioned by the Coulsfield Inquiry into Alternatives to Prison, which was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn ''Rethinking Crime and Punishment'' initiative. It is written by leading authorities in the field, and provides a comprehensive, authoritative and wide-ranging review of the range of issues associated with the use of noncustodial sanctions, examining experiences in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales.

In Community Punishment: European perspectives, the authors place punishment in the community under the spotlight by exploring the origins, evolution and adaptations of supervision in 11 European jurisdictions. For most people, punishment in the criminal justice system is synonymous with imprisonment. Yet, both in Europe and in the USA, the numbers of people under some form of penal supervision in the community far exceeds the numbers in prison, and many prisoners are released under supervision. Written and edited by leading scholars in the field, this collection advances the sociology of punishment by illuminating the neglected but crucial phenomenon of ‘mass supervision’.

As well as putting criminological and penological theories to the test in an examination of their ability to explain the evolution of punishment beyond the prison, and across diverse states, the contributors to this volume also assess the appropriateness of the term ‘community punishment’ in different parts of Europe. Engaging in a serious exploration of common themes and differences in the jurisdictions included in the collection, the authors go on to examine how ‘community punishment’ came into being in their jurisdiction and how its institutional forms and practices have been legitimated and re-legitimated in response to shifting social, cultural and political contexts.

This book is essential reading for academics and students involved in the study of both community punishment and comparative penology, but will also be of great interest to criminal justice policymakers, managers and practitioners.

In Community Punishment: European perspectives, the authors place punishment in the community under the spotlight by exploring the origins, evolution and adaptations of supervision in 11 European jurisdictions. For most people, punishment in the criminal justice system is synonymous with imprisonment. Yet, both in Europe and in the USA, the numbers of people under some form of penal supervision in the community far exceeds the numbers in prison, and many prisoners are released under supervision. Written and edited by leading scholars in the field, this collection advances the sociology of punishment by illuminating the neglected but crucial phenomenon of ‘mass supervision’.

As well as putting criminological and penological theories to the test in an examination of their ability to explain the evolution of punishment beyond the prison, and across diverse states, the contributors to this volume also assess the appropriateness of the term ‘community punishment’ in different parts of Europe. Engaging in a serious exploration of common themes and differences in the jurisdictions included in the collection, the authors go on to examine how ‘community punishment’ came into being in their jurisdiction and how its institutional forms and practices have been legitimated and re-legitimated in response to shifting social, cultural and political contexts.

This book is essential reading for academics and students involved in the study of both community punishment and comparative penology, but will also be of great interest to criminal justice policymakers, managers and practitioners.

'In an age where there is much public and political confusion about many criminal justice matters, this book brings considerable clarity to the idea of rehabilitation, its theoretical and historical roots, and contemporary practical application. This is an accessible, lively, and critical account of a concept which is central to the shape of the criminal justice system in pursuance of something that will "work" to reduce reoffending. "Rehabilitation" seems to go in and out of fashion depending on the politics of the day, but the careful and thorough examination of the different contexts in which it operates and competing perspectives on its potential offered here highlights its enduring qualities. This is a fascinating and engaging book by two established and "real world" scholars which will serve students and policy makers alike in the fields of criminal justice and social policy' - Loraine Gelsthorpe, Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge

This comprehensive text explains all the key themes in the development and practice of offender rehabilitation. It explores how the issue fits within its wider social and political contexts, giving an insight into its current and future relevance to criminal justice.

The book covers the full range of rehabilitative approaches, exploring how criminal justice responses have been influenced by trends such as the treatment model, 'What Works?', desistance, risk and public protection, and changes in social policy. It offers the following essential features:

" theoretical grounding - providing students with all the essential background they need in order to fully understand the subject

" historical context - enabling the reader to see how ideas, policies and practices have developed over time

" research focus - introducing the reader to questions about how rehabilitative approaches have been evaluated and debates about 'what works' for particular groups of offenders, such as sexual offenders and drug misusers

" study questions and further reading - giving students the tools both to revise and to expand their knowledge

Offender Rehabilitation both advances thinking about the notion of rehabilitation, and ensures that students of crime and justice can keep abreast of the most recent developments in this area.

′In an age where there is much public and political confusion about many criminal justice matters, this book brings considerable clarity to the idea of rehabilitation, its theoretical and historical roots, and contemporary practical application. This is an accessible, lively, and critical account of a concept which is central to the shape of the criminal justice system in pursuance of something that will "work" to reduce reoffending. "Rehabilitation" seems to go in and out of fashion depending on the politics of the day, but the careful and thorough examination of the different contexts in which it operates and competing perspectives on its potential offered here highlights its enduring qualities. This is a fascinating and engaging book by two established and "real world" scholars which will serve students and policy makers alike in the fields of criminal justice and social policy′ - Loraine Gelsthorpe, Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge

This comprehensive text explains all the key themes in the development and practice of offender rehabilitation. It explores how the issue fits within its wider social and political contexts, giving an insight into its current and future relevance to criminal justice.

The book covers the full range of rehabilitative approaches, exploring how criminal justice responses have been influenced by trends such as the treatment model, ′What Works?′, desistance, risk and public protection, and changes in social policy. It offers the following essential features:

" theoretical grounding - providing students with all the essential background they need in order to fully understand the subject

" historical context - enabling the reader to see how ideas, policies and practices have developed over time

" research focus - introducing the reader to questions about how rehabilitative approaches have been evaluated and debates about ′what works′ for particular groups of offenders, such as sexual offenders and drug misusers

" study questions and further reading - giving students the tools both to revise and to expand their knowledge

Offender Rehabilitation both advances thinking about the notion of rehabilitation, and ensures that students of crime and justice can keep abreast of the most recent developments in this area.

This book provides a novel exploration of time and temporality in relation to punishment and criminal sanctioning. It goes beyond focussing on the prison to address punishment more broadly with contributions on punishment in the community (including after periods of imprisonment) and in areas of the criminal justice system which have typically received less attention such as prison transportation between prisons. The collection also includes a focus on temporality in criminal justice policy, and its potential impacts on speeding up justice, as well as the experiential nature of punishment. The book includes contributions from scholars in UK and Europe, with largely original research, and draws on the international literature. It hopes to encourage punishment scholars to consider how ideas from the sociology of time can inform their own research.