Beyond Emotive Rubbish
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059404100129 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| Author | John McIlveen |
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
64
sexually
and/or
phsycally
abused.
To
refer
such
women
(or
any
woman?)
to
an
environment
which
is
dominated
by
men
and
could
be
unsafe
and
insecure
is
not
only
’inadvisable’,
it
is
downright
harmful.
The
Inspectorate’s
report
recommends
the
women
only
hostel
in
Birmingham,
’Crowley
House’,
but
fails
to
note
that
there
are
two
other
approved
hostels
for
women
in
England
and
Wales,
Kelley
House
Bail
hostel
m
London
and
Adelaide
House
Probation
and
Bail
hostel
in
Merseyside.
Adelaide
House
caters
for
women
bailees,
women
with
probation
order
requirement,
women
on
license
and
has
a
cluster
house
for
a
woman
and
her
children.
Adelaide
House
is
sensitive
to
women’s
needs,
sensitive
to
the
particular
needs
of
black
women
and
displays
posters
throughout
the
hostel
illustrating
its
equal
opportunities
policy
and
practice.
Mixed
hostels
cannot
provide
the
asylum
that
many
women
need
before
they
can
start
the
process
of
change.
The
Thematic
inspection
recommends
that
women-only
hostels
should
be
’promoted
on
a
national
basis,
with
a
view
to
maximising
their
usage’.
The
Home
Office
is
closing
seven
hostels
by
April
1994
and
threatens
three
areas
with
closure
of
a
further
four
unless
substantial
savings
are
made.
Adelaide
House
occupancy
m
1993
averaged
at
50 %.
The
major
casue
of
this
under-occupancy
has
been
the
13 %
increase
in
women
remanded
in
custody.
In
1992
20 %
of
the
women
accepted
by
the
hostel
were
remanded
m
custody;
in
1993
33 %
of
such
women
were
remanded
in
custody.
The
majority
were
drug
users,
a
factor
which
further
disadvantages
women
in
the
court
system
because
of
negative
stereotyping.
The
sentencers
are
not
the
only
group
responsible
for
hostel
under-
occupancy.
Only
10 %
of
probation
officers
refer
to
hostels
nationwide.
You
have
supported
hostels
in
the
past
for
health
and
safety
reasons
(double
cover).
Support
hostels
now;
educate
the
courts;
help
them
understand
that
drug-using
women
need
a
stable
base
in
the
community
before
they
can
consider
change.
Refer
women
to
Adelaide
House.
If
you
don’t
use
it,
you’ll
lose
it.
Jean
Atkinson
Probation
Officer/Manager,
Adelaide
House,
Liverpool
Beyond
Emotive
Rubbish
Congratulations
to
Steve
Collett
of
Merseyside
Probation
Service
on
his
excellent
article
’Beyond
Reason
and
Understanding’
(PJ
December
1993).
After
all
the
emotive
rubbish
that
has
been
written
by
the
media
over
recent
months
surrounding
the
analysis
of
the
James
Bulger
murder,
it
was
stimulating
and
refreshing
to
read
such
a
balanced
article
that
attempted
to
offer
some
professional
and
humane
insight
on
a
very
complex
subject.
Keep
up
the
good
work,
Steve!
John
McIlveen
Probation
Officer,
Merseyside
So
Serious
Assault?
Further
to
the
question
whether
ABH
is
always
’so
serious’
(’In
Court’
PJ
September
1993),
I
was
the
author
of
a
pre-sentence
report
on
a
first
time
defendant
who
hit
a
woman
in
the face
once
at
a
tube
station.
There
had
been
a
Newton
hearing
as
the
defendant
alleged
the
victim
had
been
racially
abusive
to
him.
However,
the
magistrate
did
not
accept
there
had
been
this
provocation.
The
case
was
heard
before
the
same
magistrate
for
sentence
and,
though
both
community
service
and
probation
were
offered
as
proposals
in
the
report,
a
two
month
sentence
of
imprisonment
was
imposed.
The
defendant
had
expressed
remorse
at
the
outset
to
police.
He
managed
the
sentence
and
was
out
in
a
month
but
lost
his
accommodation.
Helen
Rees
Probation
Officer,
Inner
London
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