Book Reviews : The Social Consequences of Conviction Martin and Webster Heinemann. £4.50
| Date | 01 September 1971 |
| Published date | 01 September 1971 |
| Author | A.J. Walker |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455057101700315 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
decide
in
what
circumstances
and
with
what
grades
of
staff
to
utilise
algorithms&dquo;.
It
is
less
of
a
bad
book
than
a
frightening
one.
It
brings
big
business
ideas
in
a
half-baked
way
into
social
work.
One
feels
a
mild
dread
at
having
to
work
in
the
kind
of
department
the
authors
outline,
and
a
positive
horror
at
being
one
of
its
clients.
Here
is
giant-
ism
personified;
megalomania
run
riot.
One
is
reminded
irresistibly
of
the
Megalopolis
of
which
Lewis
Mumford
warned
us.
&dquo;Panting,
choking,
splutter-
ing,
cringeing,
hating,
the
dweller
in
Megalopolis
dies ...&dquo;
So
too
eventually
will
the
true
social
worker.
Don’t
put
your
daughteer
in
this
cage,
Mrs.
Worthington,
Messrs.
Foren
and
Brown
should
be
crying.
In
fact,
they
seem
to
love
it
all.
(How
high
is
that
ivory
tower
at
Bradford?)
They
commit
the
ultimate
sin
against
the
light
by
com-
bining giantism
with
academicism
and
provide
a
bibliography
of
473
refer-
ences !
F.
V.
JARVIS
The
Social
Consequences
of
Conviction
Martin
and
Webster
Heinemann.
£4.50
This
book
describes
in
extraordinary
de-
tail
a
study
undertaken
on
a
group
of
defendants
who
appeared
at
Reading
Magistrates’
Court
over
a
twelve-months
period
in
1961-62.
They
were
followed
up
for
a
set
period
after
conviction
in
an
effort
to
learn
about
the
social
con-
sequences
of
their
convictions
and
to
assess
the
influence
of
these
on
the
sub-
sequent
careers
of
the
offenders.
From
the
384
pages
and
115
tables
(some
elaborate
and
dilfiicult
to
follow)
little
emerges
which
will
unduly
sur-
prise
probation
officers.
It
may
be
an
old
chestnut
to
suggest
that
social
re-
isearchers
merely
confirm
what
social
workers
know,
but
here
the
charge
is
justified.
One
conclusion
to
be
drawn
is
confirmation
that
prisoners
who
receive
good
through-care
have
lower
rates
of
conviction
than
those
who
do
not.
The
study
is
dated,
since
extensive
changes
in
legislation
and
practice
have
occurred
since
it
was
made.
Consequently
an
aggravating
sense
of
history
pervades
the
book.
This
was
a
very
bold
and
complex
piece
of
research,
but
it
is
questionable
whether
the
end-product
justified
the
time
and
energy
spent
on
it.
Because
of
the
endless
variables,
and
the
very
limited
sample
of
offenders
chosen,
the
project
makes
little
contribution
of
sig-
nificance
to
existing
criminological
know-
ledge.
A.
J.
WALKER
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