Book review: Sex Offenders: Punish, Help, Change or Control? Theory, Policy and Practice Explored
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550513512746b |
| Author | Beth Weaver |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
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Probation Journal 60(4)
strengths and weaknesses of various research methodologies. In this chapter the
author highlights how race was absent from the narratives on boots camps yet the
majority of prisoners were from black communities. She introduces the concept of
diffusion in which state government copy initiatives from one another. A further
development that is discussed is that the drivers for adult boot camps were different
to those behind juvenile camps with the development of the latter linked to socially
and economically poorer states with higher African-American and Hispanic
populations.
The case studies looked at two contrasting states. In Illinois the move to adult boot
camps followed a conventional narrative involving state politicians wanting to be
tough on crime and facing a prison overcrowding issue. New Jersey was more
interesting as the Department of Corrections opposed the adult boot camp for a
number of years on the grounds of effectiveness until it was pushed through by local
politicians and opinion formers influenced by the neighbouring state of New York.
For a non-academic audience the book is more interesting when looking at devel-
opment of boot camps. The book identified the role of the political climate and the
actions of individual politicians irrespective of political party on driving the policy
forward. The book is less strong on why boot camps disappeared from the United
States. It would have completed the study if the reasons behind this rapid decline
had been explored further.
I was disappointed with the book’s claim to look at other ‘evidence based fail-
ings’. I was hoping for a chapter on electronic monitoring as the cover of the book
claimed. The author devoted only a page to this and did not add a great deal to
current published material.
At the time of writing a review of the future direction of the probation world in
England & Wales had been announced by the government. The book provides an
interesting template to look at these changes....
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