Book Review: Restorative Justice and Accountability
| Author | Rod Earle |
| Published date | 01 April 2004 |
| Date | 01 April 2004 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/147322540400400114 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
I have the original hardback version of this book and I was pleased when it appeared
in paperback. If nothing else the soft back version means that the book is affordable
for students.
Pitts’book starts from the pragmatism of the Thatcher government and the 1982
Criminal Justice Act (CJA). It revisits important legislation like the 1969 Children and
Young Person’s Act. For readers who are not familiar with the major policy changes
that occurred from this time onwards, to the implementation of the ‘New Labour’
Crime and Disorder Act in 1998, the book gives a persuasive account of the causation
of the toughening approach to juvenile crime by both political parties.
Pitts takes a tough line on New Labour and its attempt to take over the mantle of being
the party of law and order. He blames them for pressurising the Conservatives into
abandoning the reforms of the 1991 CJA and promising to increase the numbers of
young people incarcerated in secure training centres. The ‘bidding up’of tougher
approaches to youth crime is described by Pitts as ‘madman’s poker’and he attributes
such policy to influences from the USA. He also discusses the influence of left realism
and in a chapter entitled Hard Labour critiques Misspent Youth published by the Audit
Commission and the growth of case management as opposed to case work, this he calls
de-professionalisation and is a phenomenon occurring throughout all parts of the
criminal justice system. Any critique that attempts to deconstruct changes in practice with
offenders has to engage in the (not so new) ‘what works’and ‘effective practice’initiatives
and Pitts does this, making the point that these approaches often ignore the holistic view
of the offender. The final chapter in the book is a discussion of some research carried out
by Pitts and colleagues in two housing estates in Greater London and Francein the 1990s.
There are newer books appearing that take the narrative a little further in terms of
the legislation, but for me The New Politics of Youth Crime is on the recommended list
for my students as a well written, critical account of policy change.
Declan Roche, Restorative Justice and Accountability, Clarendon Studies in
Criminology, Oxford, 2003.
Reviewed by: Rod Earle, Lecturer in Criminology, University of Surrey.
There was apparently a moment during Aldous Huxley’s experiment with mescaline
(Huxley, 1954) when he feared that ‘the process was in danger of swallowing up the
concept’. The same concerns seem to have motivated Declan Roche’s thoughtful and
comprehensive investigation of the proliferating forms of restorative justice. Do the
laudable claims of ‘personalism, participation, reparation and reintegration’really exist
in practice? Does the enthusiasm and zeal of practitioners swallow up the concept at
the expense of hard won checks on institutional power and personal prejudice?
Roche examined 25 restorative justice programmes in six countries and scrutinised
their procedures in quite minute detail. In addition to providing a meaningful range of
experience from which Roche can theorise, these programmes also provide a wealth
of anecdotal details that lighten what could otherwise be just another dreary academic
tome. As an ex-practitioner I frequently sensed the thrill of recognition as Roche
illuminated a point with a well placed anecdote. I particularly liked the account of the
Book Reviews70
To continue reading
Request your trial