John Benyon

Community Governance of Crime Control

A paradoxical result of local government restructuring under the Conservatives was that although local authorities experienced a significant reduction in their traditional functions as direct providers of key services they acquired a leadership role in other policy areas. This has been attributed to a major shift in the perceived purpose of local authorities — away from their orthodox task of delivering services towards a broader mission of enhancing the ‘well-being’ of the localities for which they are responsible. The concept of ‘community governance’ encapsulates this developing role for local authorities (Stoker, 1997a).

England's Urban Disorder: The 2011 Riots

was reported that the Metropolitan Police had made 3423 arrests and 2179 people had been charged or summonsed. Data revealed that three-quarters of those charged had previous criminal records. The ethnic background of those in court varied considerably from area to area but, overall, 42 per cent were white and 46 per cent black, with only 7 per cent described as Asian. Home Office data, using indicators such as out-of-work benefits and free school meals, showed that those appearing in court were more deprived than the general population. Using indices of multiple deprivation, more than half of those in court came from the most deprived areas. Two-thirds of the young people had special educational needs and one-third had been excluded from school in the past year. England’s Urban Disorder: The 2011 Riots

Crime and Public Order

In February 1993, the then Shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair stated that the Labour Party’s law-and-order policy was to be ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’. This oftrepeated statement indicated how Labour would seek to assert its competence on law and order, overcome its image of being ‘soft’ on crime, and attack the Conservatives’ record. Blair’s statement was made shortly after the murder in Liverpool of two-year-old James Bulger by a pair of 10-year-old boys. The shock waves from this case generated a heightened debate about law-and-order policies among politicians and public at a time when recorded levels of crime were at an all-time peak. The time was clearly ripe for the Labour Party to challenge the Conservatives for the mantle of ‘party of law and order’. This was a dramatic change from 1979, when the Conservative Party had campaigned for ‘less tax and more law and order’, and castigated the Labour government for presiding over rising levels of lawlessness.

The Longevity Revolution

Life expectancy has been increasing since 1840 – and is set to continue. John Benyon looks at the challenges and opportunities of our ageing society. Life expectancy has been increasing since 1840 – and looks set to continue. Some commentators and politicians see the ageing society in negative terms and as a drain on public resources. But, John Benyon argues, the changing demography presents opportunities as well as challenges.

Developing greater dialogue: knowledge transfer, public engagement and learned societies in the social sciences

In recent years the British government has repeated its calls for improved transfer of research knowledge and for greater engagement of researchers with practitioners and the public. This echoes calls from Burawoy and others, in the USA and elsewhere, for greater engagement by social sciences. In the UK the national research councils have raised their investment in knowledge transfer activities, six ‘beacons for public engagement’ have been set up, and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has enhanced its work in this field. In this context, the UK Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS), which includes 35 learned societies and some 550 academicians, resolved in 2007 to undertake a study of the role of learned societies in membership of the AcSS in promoting knowledge transfer and public engagement. This article outlines how the study was undertaken, the discussions around key terms, and the principal findings which were published in 2008 in a volume entitled Developing Dialogue. The article reports on the activities, capabilities, contributions and weaknesses and strengths of the learned societies that were studied. The Research Assessment Exercise, conducted in the UK in 2007–08, was found to have acted as a significant impediment to such work. The paper outlines six key points arising from the research, noting the variety of learned societies and their activities, the need for greater investment and training, and the leadership role that the Academy itself could play with increased resources. The study found that there is a long way to go before many practitioners, policy makers and members of the public are aware and engaged with much of the work and research in the social sciences in Britain.