Book Review: Joined-Up Youth Justice: Tackling Youth Crime in Partnership
| Author | Ian Macfadyen |
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455050505200314 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
the chapters by Umme Imam and Parveen Akhtar on researching Asian children,
and Melanie McCarry’s account of working with young people – both offer a very
valuable and thought-provoking insight into the issues which any student should
bear in mind when contemplating research with potentially vulnerable individuals.
Second, while the core feminist theories regarding power and control are preva-
lent, as one would expect, conjectural discourse does not dominate this text.
Instead, I would describe this as more of a practical aid to students on the research
process, with the descriptions of work undertaken bringing theory to life and
promoting a clearer understanding of how their ideology informed the authors’
work.
The book only contains one direct reference to the Probation Service but it was
heartening to note that this was in positive terms! Gill Hague and Audrey Mullen-
der’s chapter on researching survivor’s views regarding the statutory services notes
that ‘Interviewees especially identified improvements in the last five years within
the police and probation service’ (p. 151). However, they also offer a powerful
argument on the need for multi-agency domestic abuse fora – of which probation
officers are increasingly becoming members – to promote a more pro-active role
for survivors of domestic abuse within their decision-making process. I also feel
that Lynne Harne’s discussion on the complexities involved for females working
with male perpetrators has relevance to current probation practice and will strike
a chord with many a female probation officer.
Overall, I would describe this as an interesting text, which could appeal to those
either studying or working in the field of domestic abuse. The chapters are rela-
tively short (around 20 pages) and their individual topics of concern combine to
provide a ‘user friendly’ book, which the reader can dip in and out of as needed.
Hannah Griffith
Probation Officer, North Wales Probation Area
Joined-Up Youth Justice:
Tackling Youth Crime in
Partnership
Ros Burnett and Catherine Appleton
Russell House Publishing, 2004; pp 141;
£17.45, pbk
ISBN 1–903855–32–2
Burnett and Appleton are Oxford researchers who spent
nearly two and a half years as participant observers in a
Youth Offending Team (YOT), studying what they describe as the ‘difficulties and
accomplishments’ involved in the setting up of a YOT. They have produced a
detailed account of one YOT (Oxfordshire) which served as an in-depth case study,
allowing them to investigate practice, strategic and operational management and
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