Book Review: Trevor Jones and Tim Newburn Policy Transfer and Criminal Justice: Exploring US Influence over British Crime Control Policy Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 2007. 208 pp. £19.99 ISBN 10—0335216684 (pbk); £60.00 ISBN 978—0335216680 (hbk) • Reviewed by Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota, USA
| Published date | 01 August 2007 |
| Date | 01 August 2007 |
| DOI | 10.1177/17488958070070030604 |
| Author | Michael Tonry |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
of good social contexts and resolution of problems in desistance. Chapter 3
sets out the argument for one-to-one work as the main vehicle for change
effort, and in an intermezzo there is a welcome reminder of the damage done
to people by imprisonment. Chapter 4 explores the relevance of existential-
ism to desistance and in an interesting case study emphasizes the slow, incre-
mental nature of change. Chapter 5 illustrates the ‘emotional trajectories’ of
desistance and the importance of providing hope for people through a
schema (four phases—early hopes, intermediate, penultimate, normalcy)
developed by the authors as an aid to analysis. In a very insightful explor-
ation, which highlights the need for further research, Chapter 6 demonstrates
the link between desistance and citizenship values. Chapter 7 rehearses the
argument that victimology still largely ignores the fact that many offenders
are victims themselves; and Chapter 8 bravely explains structuration theory
and makes a convincing case for the relationship between agency, structure
and culture (at the same time updating Giddens). Equal in importance to the
direction they take understanding of desistance is the direction they suggest
for the probation service in this last chapter: Back to the Future might be an
apposite description. A service focused on both reinforcing critical aspects of
informal social controls and helping the solution of practical problems pri-
marily through one-to-one relationships that (surprise, surprise) appear to be
fundamental to desistance.
The book is not without its weaknesses. Invariably, one-to-one work is
put forward as an alternative to groupwork when, of course, both can (and
should) complement each other. Moreover, at times the authors seem to
confuse the one-track nature of the Effective Practice Initiative with cognitive-
behavioural programmes per se. In this sense, the authors allow what seems
to be an anti-What Works agenda to dominate their thinking to the extent,
for instance, of citing critiques of What Works in a quite uncritical way, as
if they are definitive and unchallengeable (in the book as a whole, an untyp-
ical example of fitting the evidence to an existing viewpoint). Ironically, one
of the many positive aspects of this book and the extracts from the inter-
views is that they confirm the importance in the desistance process of
improving people’s problem-solving, decision-making and self-challenging
skills—the very essence of cognitive-behavioural programmes and (histor-
ically) probation practice. That said, this is a very important and useful con-
tribution to the subject, and a must for all who are interested in how people
can be helped towards more fulfilled, socially positive lives.
Trevor Jones and Tim Newburn
Policy Transfer and Criminal Justice: Exploring US Influence over
British Crime Control Policy
Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 2007. 208 pp. £19.99
ISBN 10–0335216684 (pbk); £60.00 ISBN 978–0335216680 (hbk)
•Reviewed by Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota, USA
Criminology & Criminal Justice 7(3)310
307-312 CRJ-078872.qxd 2/7/07 4:05 PM Page 310
To continue reading
Request your trial