Susie Atherton

Civilian policing, legitimacy and vigilantism: Findings from three case studies in England and Wales

The growth of civilian policing is indicative of public concerns regarding crime, community safety and the performance of the police, along with the recognition of the need for communities to engage in reducing crime and disorder. This paper examines three examples of ‘civilian policing’, including two ‘Street Watch’ schemes and a private security firm. It explores the legitimisation of civilian policing schemes by the police, along with the extent of public support and the impact upon crime reduction. Two of the case studies demonstrate the difficulties for the police in legitimising schemes that engage in the use of or threat of violence and what could be termed ‘vigilantism’. Such activities can clearly undermine the legitimacy of the police, and more specifically the ideals of community policing.

Out on the Town An Evaluation of Brief Motivational Interventions to Address the Risks Associated With Problematic Alcohol Use

Alcohol has long been identified as a significant contributory factor in crime and anti social behaviour, yet there is a dearth of effective treatment available for those individuals whose drinking contributes significantly to their criminality, and subsequently the health risks and the economic and wider social implications associated with it. The literature on treatment programmes is drawn almost exclusively from medical experience but indicates that brief interventions are at least as effective as more intensive programmes in reducing alcohol consumption in at-risk groups. This research was undertaken to evaluate projects based in the West Midlands, United Kingdom, providing brief motivational interventions to offenders arrested for offences where alcohol is identified as a significant contributory factor. The evaluation indicates that an arrest referral scheme as developed in the West Midlands can achieve good levels of identification and referral, acceptable attendance, retention rates, and effective outcomes in terms of attitude and behaviour change.

Victims of Crime and Community Justice Brian Williams (2005) London: Jessica Kingsley

critical analysis, Williams considers existing solutions to these problems and examples of effective community justice initiatives across the globe. Using examples such as the Community Reparative Boards in Vermont, USA or Street Committees and people’s courts in apartheid-era South Africa, William demonstrates that community engagement in crime and justice issues, restorative approaches, local courts and re-establishment of informal social controls are not new ideas. Rather, they have been implemented on a global scale, but without the same prominence as that given to the rhetoric of the ‘fight’ against crime and the increasingly more punitive responses to both criminal and deviant behaviour. In detailing the mechanisms by which such initiatives work, Williams highlights how they fit into current debates and where further research is needed to establish fully what is and what is not effective and under what circumstances. For example, in examining the controversial initiative of circles of support for sexual offenders in the community, Williams recognises the need for a thorough assessment and continued monitoring of this group in order that law enforcement can be employed if necessary. Crucially, Williams throws some critical light on the notion that the criminal justice system has begun to re-balance its policy to support victims and witnesses better, demonstrating a continued focus on offenders’ rights and, indeed, a discussion of offenders as victims. In answer to this quandary, Williams proposes the possibility of making changes Brian Williams’ text begins with a broad overview of the development of victim focus in criminal justice policy in the UK, the EU and beyond. It incorporates an analysis of how community justice measures and restorative justice have responded to the need for a ‘rebalancing’ of criminal justice policy to take account of victims’ and witnesses’ needs. In this account, Williams explores the notion that the line between victim and offender is not always clear-cut, and then discusses how criminal justice policy is attempting to respond to this. In an examination of community justice measures, including crime prevention, stakeholder participation, partnership working and restorative justice, Williams considers current issues which have arisen as a result of these developments. They include the need for rebuilding citizens’ confidence in the criminal justice system, rebuilding fragmented communities by restoration of social capital and the difficulties in defining what community justice actually is. In this discussion, Williams identifies dissatisfaction with current criminal justice policy, specifically its adversarial nature, over-use of imprisonment, and lack of confidence in criminal justice agencies to reduce crime, manage offenders and keep communities safe. In his exploration to define community justice, Williams ably makes the links clear between these concerns and the need to restore social capital, including embedding a sense of responsibility in citizens and the barriers to doing this. An important aspect of this text is that, after presenting key issues, barriers to overcome and Victims of Crime and Community Justice Brian Williams (2005) London: Jessica Kingsley 176pp; £18.99 ISBN: 978 1 84310 195 6