Book Reviews
| Author | Jake Phillips, Anne Robinson |
SERVANT OF THE CROWN- A CIVIL SERVANT’S STORY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM
Faulkner, David (2014) Hampshire, UK: Waterside Press pp 208 (pbk) £19.95. ISBN 978-1-909976-02-3
This detailed and focused book is an insider’s attempt to make sense of the shifts in policy and decision making, changes between consultation and final result and impacts of different political ideologies that have brought criminal justice to its current position in the UK. It is an account of David Faulkner’s professional work and role underpinned by detailed understanding of changing political positions and by the ideological perspective of the observer. Uniting these three perspectives, personal, political and ideological is an impossible task but David Faulkner navigates the waters with more authority than most observers could. In this volume he complements the analysis given in Faulkner (2006) and Faulkner and Burnett (2011) with a personal, almost autobiographical, account of experience inside Whitehall as a working Civil servant.
While this book contains elements of autobiography Faulkner retains a hold on the crux of the debate raised in previous work: how does and how should the administrative arm of the state relate to the governmental arm? How can a civil service be constructed that has at its heart rigour, ethical practice and humanity and whose principle purpose, in Faulkner’s words, is to ‘speak truth to power’ but which is resourced and managed by the government? This conundrum is particularly clear as Faulkner charts changes like the evolution of ideas about public confidence: originally to reflect certainty that the ‘system was accountable, that what was supposed to happen did happen’ and finally as an argument ‘for convicting more offenders’ (pp90). The argument is pulled together in the final chapter of the book, in which Faulkner allows himself to write more personally. However, a major strength of the book lies in the way in which this fundamental question runs through this account of different roles, tasks and aspects in criminal justice.
The account is detailed and meticulously sourced. Faulkner’s respect for research findings and their place in policy creation is clear: He discusses that issue with caution and insight. To some extent the book is strongest when looking carefully at the way in which the civil service has developed methods of accountability. There is a balance to be struck between being accountable for naming and presenting outcomes and letting those outcomes become the drivers of action rather than reflections of an approach. This organizational challenge is recognized, although it could not be resolved. The book describes the ‘job’ of developing a working managerial civil service in a time when ideas about the state, ideology and practice in government and social mores were all in a state of change. In chapters 5 and 6 and again in chapter 10 Faulkner explicitly explores this with reference to both criminal justice and to the expectations and behaviour of civil servants: A move towards a more punitive approach both to offenders and to professional standards.
Because Faulkner has held different roles, and Home Office responsibilities have changed over time this volume gives insight into some very specific actions, like re-building Holloway Women’s prison. The narrative structure means that the account can end as he moves role. This can lead to a partial story: for instance, responsibility for Northern Ireland came at a particular point in the peace process and therefore does not address many of the complications of that process. The running thread through the narrative account lies in the development and overview of criminal justice in the broadest sense: Not only how to punish but also who to punish and how to support actors in the system. There are particular and detailed accounts of both the prison and probation services: Unusually the points made are supported by reference to non-government actions and discussions. These chapters provide invaluable background reading for students from first degree to doctorate, linked as they are with an understanding of political intention as well as result.
Faulkner does not flinch from personal ideological and actual opposition to government policies. In the build up to the Criminal Justice Act 1991 he presents the development of practical and conceptual difficulties and regrets the final outcome. This does not mean that he is willing to personalize his account. The autobiographical aspect of this book is constrained to description of actions and reactions, ideology and political difference. While the picture of a life lived according to principles of service and professionalism, with care and diligence for those who come into contact with criminal justice is clear, there is no glimpse given of the frustrations and triumphs, the likes and the dislikes, the human faces of the actors.
To some extent this approach makes this narrative a difficult book to become involved in. It is an invaluable account of the actions of the time, both for the detail given and...
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