Adrian Barton

Controlling pre‐loaders: alcohol related violence in an English night time economy

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to focus on the impact of alcohol pre‐loading on behaviour in the night time economy (NTE).Design/methodology/approach – The project was commissioned by Devon and Cornwall Police. During the course of six months in late 2010/early 2011, 597 arrestees were asked a series of questions relating to their drinking patterns on the evening prior to their arrest.Findings – The research shows that there is a shift from the traditional “pub‐club” drinking pattern to a “home‐pub‐club” pattern where excessive early evening drinking is occurring in the private sphere in the absence of external control. Moreover, pre‐loading has become a key aspect in the drinking patterns of many of the NTE population with around 50 per cent of people drinking significant quantities of alcohol prior to entering the NTE. It also demonstrates that those that pre‐load self‐report higher levels of drinking and thus higher levels of intoxication than those that do not.Research limitations/implications – F...

Breaking the Crime/Drugs Cycle: The Birth of a New Approach?

This article outlines the findings of an evaluation of the Fast-Track programme currently operating in Plymouth and Torbay. Fast-Track is a coerced treatment scheme for offenders who are committing property crimes to fund a drug habit. Treatment for offenders revolves around a multi-agency initiative between criminal justice agencies and the medical profession, which is aimed at breaking the link between crime and drug abuse. The research findings themselves present a picture of a successful programme that enjoys support from all those involved, including the client group. As well as looking at the research findings, the article offers some thoughts on the implications.

Sentenced to treatment?: Criminal justice orders and the health service

There can be little doubt that the long-term effects of the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) will occupy the minds of many academics and policy implementers for some time to come. Like many others, this article is influenced by this recent piece of legislation, and reflects on one element of the Act, namely the possible outcomes of Part IV, sections 61–64, the drug treatment and testing orders. Specifically, the article discusses the potential consequences of ‘coerced treatment’ for those charged with implementing the new scheme and the tensions between health and the criminal justice system such orders may bring.

“I don’t really like the pub […]”: reflections on young people and pre-loading alcohol

Purpose – Recent research (Barton and Husk, 2012) suggested that in the UK we are seeing a shift from the traditional “pub-club” drinking pattern to a “home-pub-club” pattern. In the latter model often excessive early evening drinking is occurring in the private sphere in the absence of external control, leading to problems when the drinkers enter the public sphere. Moreover, pre-loading has become a key aspect in the drinking patterns of many of the Night Time Economy (NTE) population with around 60-70 per cent of people drinking some alcohol prior to going out. In the previous work (Barton and Husk, 2012) 50 per cent of people were drinking significant quantities of alcohol prior to entering the NTE. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – However, whilst these statistics give a general overview of patterns of drinking, they fail to provide the depth required to uncover potential mechanisms. It is generally assumed that the driving force behind this cultural shift in alcoho...

Mandated ‘Joined-Up’ Working: A Pandora’. Box for Welfarist Organisations?

Just over a decade ago Hudson (1987) noted that inter-agency working was ‘in vogue’. Today is it a central feature of the work of all professionals, whatever sector they occupy. Indeed, recent government policy documents seem to promote closer ties between health and care agencies and those from the criminal justice system. However, despite joint working being part of the day-to-day activities of most professions it still presents a host of difficulties, often revolving around the standard operating procedures of sometimes-disparate organisations. In some instances, negotiation and compromise between and across agencies overcome difficulties. However, recent legislation, which mandates joint working between different sectors, aided by government departmental guidelines, seeks to ensure that welfare providers alter some long-standing approaches to working arrangements. This paper argues that health and care professionals should adopt a cautious approach to these moves and need to become more proactive in policy formation in order to establish boundaries and maintain their distinct professional identity.

Screening and Brief Intervention of Detainees for Alcohol Use: A Social Crime Prevention Approach to Combating Alcohol-Related Crime?

Irresponsible and excessive consumption of alcohol and the associated problems it carries in its wake have become one of the key concerns for central government in terms of community safety, especially in the night-time economy. In response to the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England (Department of Health 2007), the Department of Health (DoH) has announced a series of measures of which one is to pilot screening and intervention for alcohol use in a variety of locations, including criminal justice settings. This article reports on the findings of a project that pre-empts the DoH initiatives, thus providing the opening comments in what will be sure to be a debate about a new strategic and evidence-based approach to dealing with alcohol-related crime and disorder. The article provides data and discussions on the Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) project that screened 3,900 detainees in a busy custody suite in the south of England during the period March 2007 to March 2008.

Risk Management of Groups or Respect for the Individual? Issues for information sharing and confidentiality in Drug Treatment and Testing Orders

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) are generating huge amounts of debate in the field of drug work. It may not be too misplaced to argue that the impact of the DTTOs could be such as to change the nature of drug services in the UK. As to be expected with such far-reaching legislation there are numerous areas of concern. This paper begins to explore one of those areas: the nature and problem of information sharing and client confidentiality. To achieve this, the paper examines the growth of the concept and practice of risk management within the criminal justice system and contrasts that models concern with the control of groups, to healths traditional focus on the individual.

Managing Fragmentation : An Area Child Protection Committee in a Time of Change

A review of the changes to the structure of the child protection system of England and Wales since 1974 The contested nature of partnership working in welfare settings The development, growth and status of managerialism within child protection agencies The search for inconsistencies between partnership and NPM A consideration of the methods employed in the empirical research An introduction to the research setting, participating agencies and key factors Greentown ACPC at work - environmental context Greentown ACPC at work - comparative properties Approach Greentown ACPC at work - collaborative linkages.

Religion, public policy and equalizing opportunities

This paper examines the role of Faith-Based Groups (FBGs) in social and public policy. Specifically it provides an analysis of the conflicts that can arise between the culture and values of different FBGs and welfare provision. Its purpose is to clarify the source of this conflict and to contribute a balanced discussion on how equality legislation should apply to different religious groups. We commence by providing some historical and policy context, but rapidly move on to discuss very current and contemporary debates that are taking place in FBGs and in government. The use of a model showing the way that particular social welfare provision contributes to equality of opportunity and/or community cohesion allows the reader to clearly see where the tensions can arise for policy makers in deciding where to allocate provision.

Should Europeans fear the privatisation of pensions

Many Europeans fear proposals to privatise their public pension arrangements. They believe that privatisation is necessarily informed by the classical liberal free market model, which, if imported to Europe, would prove to be incompatible with social cohesion and distributive justice. In endorsing privatisation, this article responds to these fears in two ways. First we examine several of the arguments upon which public pensions are premised, and find that they are flawed. Second, drawing upon our own extensive research, we find that several features of mandated private pensions can be compatible with the requirements of the public interest, defined in terms of collectivist values. Provided that they are appropriately designed and regulated, mandated private pensions are a viable alternative to publicly administered retirement income protection. In view of these arguments, Europeans should not fear all privatisation.