Abstract
This paper explores the concept of ‘penal drift’ - the gradual adoption of criminal justice culture, language and working practices - in voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) commissioned to deliver services to offenders. It identifies increases in coerced attendance, obligations to report non-compliance, targets to reduce re-offending, and contracts to ‘process’ high caseloads, as factors behind such drift, which can jeopardise relationships with service users and the sector’s traditional ‘value-driven’ approach. It is concluded that most VSOs have so far managed to resist these threats and to balance contractual obligations with adherence to core values. However, this comes at a cost in staff time and energy and is difficult to sustain. There are concerns that the longer term effects may be quite damaging to the sector.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 430-449 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Howard Journal of Criminal Justice |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2019 |
Keywords
- criminalisation of social policy
- offender management
- penal drift
- Transforming Rehabilitation (TR)
- voluntary sector