Stephen P. Savage

Public policy under Thatcher

Acknowledgements - Editors Introduction - Government during the Thatcher Years R.Atkinson - Economic Policy and Privatization S.Smith & M.Dunn -Towards an Enterprise Culture? Industrial and Training Policy Under the Conservatives R.Atkinson & C.Lupton - Trade Union Policy 1979-90: Restriction or Reform? D.Farnham - Environmental Policy J.Bradbeer - A War on Crime? Law and Order Policy S.Savage - Health Policy G.Moon & I.Kendall - Housing Policy in the Thatcher Years R.Atkinson & P.Durden - Education Policy: Education as a Business? M.McVicar - A Caring Community? Personal Social Services Policy in the 1980s N.Evans - Social Security Policy F.McGlone - Local Government 1979-89: A Decade of Change S.Horton - Equal Opportunities in a Cold Climate C.Lupton & D.Russell - The Right to Know: Government and Information K.Jones, F.Millard & L.Twigg - Beyond Political Stalemate: New Thinking on Northern Ireland F.Lyons - Foreign and Defence Policy: Impact of Thatcherism F.Carr - Conclusion

Farmers, factories and funds: organised crime and illicit drugs cultivation within the British Vietnamese community

This article explores the growth of organised crime within the Vietnamese community with particular reference to the cultivation of cannabis, money laundering and the smuggling or trafficking of children. The article begins by exploring the history and diversity of the ‘Vietnamese community’ in the United Kingdom and the role of Vietnamese culture in shaping their criminal enterprises. It then draws on research involving two sets of qualitative data: one set is based on 45 interviews with law enforcement personnel based in Vietnam and the United Kingdom as well as with key stakeholders in the Vietnamese community; the other set is based on structured questionnaires issued to 34 Vietnamese residents in Britain, 24 of whom are here illegally. It examines the relationship between illegal immigration of Vietnamese citizens to Britain and the urban cultivation of cannabis, in what has become known as ‘cannabis factories’, and the laundering of the profits abroad to Vietnam. After exposing the logistics of Vietnamese illegal immigration into Britain, the article concludes that those involved in cannabis cultivation, money laundering and people smuggling are primarily motivated by profit rather than ‘lifestyle’ concerns, and operate within what theorists of organised crime refer to as the ‘mono-ethnic criminal network’.

Putting wrongs to right Campaigns against miscarriages of justice

Campaigns against miscarriages of justice have played a role not just in exposing individual cases of injustice but also in helping to shape criminal justice policy itself. The means by which such campaigns manage to achieve degrees of ‘success’ are therefore of criminological significance. Using the term ‘miscarriages of justice’ to embrace both ‘wrongful convictions’ and the failure of agencies to act appropriately (‘not doing enough’), the article proceeds to define the various ways in which such campaigns might be said to have ‘successful’ outcomes. Using documentary analysis and a programme of interviews with key players, the article then examines the ‘critical success factors’ behind campaigns against miscarriages of justice. It concludes that two factors have been the key to successful campaigns against miscarriages of justice: on the one hand the ability of campaigns to access the social resources and social capital associated with campaigning networks; on the other hand the ability of victims and families associated with injustices to provide the resilience and cohesion which campaigns typically need to achieve goals.

Ethics and the police surgeon: Compromise or conflict?

Police surgeons play an important role in the British criminal justice system. Professionally located between the two worlds of medicine and the law, they face ethical dilemmas which derive from the dual nature of their role. The development of the police surgeon service has seen the emergence of three further dualisms within the police surgeon role. These are the forensic-therapeutic divide, the specialist-generalist division, and the issue of dependence or independence with regard to the police. These internal dualisms are discussed and their implications explored. Attention then turns to a consideration of three issues which demonstrate the nature of the ethical dilemmas facing the British police surgeon: the particular articulation of the (police) doctor-patient relationship, the matter of consent, and the subject of confidentiality. Both these ethical issues and the nature of the police surgeon role are explored through the primary analysis of survey and interview data collected from a national sample of police surgeons and police services, and the secondary analysis of key documents on the police surgeon, the paper concludes that specific ethical guidance is needed to address the forensic aspects of the police surgeon role.

Public policy in Britain

Notes on Contributors - PART ONE THE CONTEXT OF POLICY - The Conservatives and Public Policy R.Atkinson & S.P.Savage - The Structures of Governance in Britain S.Cope & R.Atkinson - Changing Styles of Governance Since 1979 R.Atkinson & S.Cope - Britain and Europe: From Community to Union? F.Carr & S.Cope - PART TWO SUBSTANTIVE POLICY AREAS - Economic Policy Under the Conservatives M.Dunn & S.Smith - Employment Relations and Training Policy D.Farnham & C.Lupton - Environmental Policy: Past and Future Agendas J.Bradbeer - A Criminal Record?: Law, Order and Conservative Policy M.Nash & S.P.Savage - Health Policy and the Conservatives I.Kendall & G.Moon - Housing Policy Since 1979: Developments and Prospects R.Atkinson & P.Durden - Education Policy: Market Forces of Market Failure? M.McVicar & L.Robins - A Poisoned Chalice?: Personal Social Services Policy: N.Evans - Social Security Policy Under the Conservatives M.Hill - British Policy in Northern Ireland: Between Activism and Consolidation A.Aughey - Foreign and Defence Policy Under the Conservatives F.Carr - Conclusion: An Overview of Developments - Guide to Further Reading - Bibliography

The Police Service

‘Policing’ and ‘management’ are not terms which sit easily together. The developments in managerial strategies which have occurred within police organisations in recent years have arisen against the backcloth of the difficulties, some would say insurmountable, of reconciling the activity of policing with the process of management. Arguably more than in any other area of the public services, the policing function presents specific dilemmas as far as attempts to introduce coherent managerial approaches is concerned. Whether these are the reflection of the inherent nature of the policing task, or of the ways in which policing, at least in its British form, has been traditionally organised, is an issue which this chapter considers as it progresses. At the very least, they involve features of policing which constitute a starting point for an evaluation and analysis of police management.

Insult to injury? The medical investigation of rape in England and Wales

The vast majority of police surgeons/forensic medical examiners (FMEs) are general practitioners who assist the police on a largely part-time basis in relation to matters requiring medical expertise, including the medical examination of rape complainants. This paper considers the development of a ‘specialist’ cadre of women FMEs to examine female rape complainants. Gaps in the legislation surrounding this aspect of FME work are examined. The paper draws on previously unpublished data to suggest that the generalist background of such doctors, together with conflicting demands on their time, may limit their effectiveness in rape cases and subsequently their contribution to the criminal justice process. The paper concludes that, on its own, recruitment of women FMEs is an insufficient response to the needs of rape complainants.

Putting wrongs to right

Campaigns against miscarriages of justice have played a role not just in exposing individual cases of injustice but also in helping to shape criminal justice policy itself. The means by which such campaigns manage to achieve degrees of ‘success’ are therefore of criminological significance. Using the term ‘miscarriages of justice’ to embrace both ‘wrongful convictions’ and the failure of agencies to act appropriately (‘not doing enough’), the article proceeds to define the various ways in which such campaigns might be said to have ‘successful’ outcomes. Using documentary analysis and a programme of interviews with key players, the article then examines the ‘critical success factors’ behind campaigns against miscarriages of justice. It concludes that two factors have been the key to successful campaigns against miscarriages of justice: on the one hand the ability of campaigns to access the social resources and social capital associated with campaigning networks; on the other hand the ability of victims and families associated with injustices to provide the resilience and cohesion which campaigns typically need to achieve goals.

Getting to the top?:selection and training for senior managers in the police service

This paper examines the processes by which the senior police officers in England and Wales are chosen and prepared for their role. Based upon research interviews with a sample of chief constables and assistant chief constables, it develops a critical assessment of the quality of each of the three key stages in this respect: the selection of those considered to have the potential to become senior officers, senior management training, and the appointments process at police authority level. In the light of the assessments made, the paper considers alternative schemes to those which currently operate at each stage of the process.

A Criminal Record? Law, Order and Conservative Policy

There is no denying the central role played by the ‘law and order ticket’ as the Conservative agenda for Britain emerged in the late 1970s. The Conservatives, of course, had for many years previous to that been regarded as the ‘party of law and order’, but Thatcher’s campaign lifted that banner to new heights as the 1979 General Election approached. An image was painted of a Britain which was increasingly lawless, with rising crime rates, industrial unrest and political protest presented as related indicators of a deep malaise affecting the country. As the above statement makes clear, new strategies for law and order were placed alongside fundamental changes in the state’s relationship with economy as the two main pillars of the General Election campaign.