Keith Soothill

For well over one hundred years society had considered ways of helping prisoners on their release from prison, but there had been no serious attempt to assess in a scientific manner the value of such efforts. Originally published in 1974, this book broke with this tradition and was the first full-scale work published in this country evaluating carefully whether an active policy of finding suitable employment for men immediately on their release from prison had beneficial results. The first part of the book discusses the historical development of prison after-care from its early origins in the nineteenth century and indicates how, up to the Second World War, the primary object of after-care had been regarded as the reinstatement of the ex-prisoners in employment. Gradually the specific task of finding jobs for ex-prisoners had become a peripheral activity considered as the responsibility of the Department of Employment. The effectiveness of the Department’s pre-release procedure for prisoners is discussed. The rest of the book considers the fascinating Apex project set up to examine the effectiveness of finding work for ex-prisoners. The work of Apex continued to develop and expand, but the present study considers the first five years when over four hundred men were randomly selected from two London prisons and offered the services of a specialist employment agency. The outcome for these men is compared with a control group of over three hundred men randomly selected from the same prisons. This study is concerned with the general run of the prison population and interestingly shows how some prisoners accept and others reject the offer of an employment service. It further indicates the enormous efforts sometimes needed to find suitable employment for prisoners on release. The outcome of the job interviews, arranged in terms of the proportions attending the interviews, starting the jobs and the length of time men stayed in the jobs arranged, is vital reading for anyone involved in after-care. An important part of the work is the examination of the subsequent reconviction rates for the various groups of offenders and the implication that it seems possible to predict men who are unlikely to be helped by the simple provision of employment on release. The final chapter considers critically some of the assumptions upon which the Apex project was based, and the possible use of computer techniques in the individualization of treatment is briefly discussed. The author was particularly well qualified to discuss this subject, for, apart from his work over a number of years with several after-care organizations, the present project involved working in prisons for over three years as well as interviewing and talking to men after their release. The findings of this study will interest the wide variety of people concerned with prison after-care. Criminologists, sociologists, probation officers and all others working in prisons and after-care will recognize the important implications of the material presented in this book.

A Study of the Employment of Ex-Prisoners

The Prisoner's Release

Christine Henry

Kevin Kendrick

Themes and Perspectives in Nursing

Understanding criminal careers

Paul Rogers

Mairead Dolan

This is a comprehensive reference book on the subject of forensic mental health, looking at what forensic mental health is and its assessment, management and treatment. It focuses on key topics and the issues underpinning them in contemporary society. The book includes: an account of the historical development of forensic mental health, along with a description of the three mental health systems operating in the UK an in-depth analysis of the forensic mental health process and system, including an analysis of the different systems applied for juveniles and adults an examination of the main issues in forensic mental health including sex offending, personality disorders and addiction a breakdown of the key skills needed for forensic mental health practice. This is an authoritative reference book which will be a crucial text for practitioners, academics and students in the forensic mental health field.

Handbook of Forensic Mental Health

Moira Peelo

This is a text for criminology students designed to take them to the heart of the contradictions, confusions and blurred boundaries around the subject of crime, about what crime is, about social regulation and control, and about social responsibility. It focuses on the key questions and issues underpinning them in contemporary definitions, representations and explanations of crime. It aims to question the platitudes and cliches surrounding public discussion of crime, by acknowledging the individual, social and political frameworks within which we explore crime and criminality.

Questioning Crime and Criminology

Claire Taylor

Making Sense of Criminology is a clear, concise introduction for all students new to the subject. As well as introducing ideas about crime and criminals, it is intended to help students make sense of criminology as a study or discipline. The authors present criminology as a debate about assessing and evaluating information connected with crime. The book explores the key issues, philosophies and debates in criminology, making use of a variety of writers and texts to illuminate recurring themes and tensions in the field. Students are encouraged to become aware of what constitutes data in criminology and to recognize the uses of theory in evaluating criminological problems. In a ground plan of the subject, the history of criminology is set alongside current information about the justice system and awareness of current trends in research. This provides an excellent base on which new students can build their study.

Making Sense of Criminology

Aimed at criminology students, this text focuses on the key issues associated with crime, social regulation and control, and social responsibility. It questions the clichés associated with public discussion of crime by acknowledging the common frameworkswithin which crime and criminality are explored.

Keith Soothill

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