Counselling in Criminal Justice
| Published date | 01 June 1996 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059604300214 |
| Author | Andy Taylor |
| Date | 01 June 1996 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
103
approach
rooted
in
case
material
that
would
assist
students,
their
practice
teachers
and
their
tutors
to
think
more
creatively
within
the
CCETSW
competency
framework.
The
book
falls
broadly
into
two
parts
-
three
chapters
on
the
knowledge,
values
and
skills
required
for
good
practice
in
both
the
social
work
and
the
probation
settings,
followed
by
three
chapters
in
which
an
attempt
is
made
to
integrate
these
elements
in
key
areas
of
practice -
children
and
families,
community
care
and
work
with
adults
and
probation
practice.
The
conclusion
is
both
a
plea
for
synergy,
a
reminder
that
the
dramatis
personae
on
the
social
work
stage
are
actually
people
and
yet
another
checklist
of
the
components
of
the
six
core
competencies.
A
book,
like
a
social
worker
or
probation
officer
must
’communicate
and
engage’.
I
think
that
the
general
chapters
do
this,
in
particularly
Helen
Cosis
Brown’s
chapter
on
the
knowledge
base
of
social
work
which
is
a
must
for
all
students.
The
more
specific
chapters
lose
their
way
and
their
focus
to
some
degree,
attempting
to
cover
too
much
ground
in
too
short
a
space
of
time.
This
is
particularly
true
of
Tony
Vass’s
chapter
on
’Crime,
Probation
and
Social
Work
with
Offenders’,
which
attempts
to
cover
penal
policy,
an
understanding
of
deviance,
every
criminological
theory
known
to
humankind,
the
organisation
of
the
criminal
justice
system
and
sentencing
and
National
Standards.
Curiously,
he
identifies
confronting
crime
as a
value -
a
point
of
view
which
I
found
a
little
unusual.
This
chapter
has
the
unfortunate
effect
of
being
so
overwhelming
that
I
could
imagine
it
completely
daunting
a
would
be
probation
student.
I
think
the
problems
with
this
book
reflect
the
difficulties
of
applying
CCETSW’s
schematic
framework
to
a
complex,
fluid,
dynamic
and
essentially
individual
and
persona
interaction -
that
between
a
client
and
a
worker.
It
seems
like
a
good
idea
at
the
time,
but
in
practice
it
does
not
always
fall
in
to
place
as
neatly
as
one
would
wish,
and
it
is
tempting
to
force
the
bits
that
don’t
fit
into
the
framework,
come
what
may.
Although
the
overall
message
of
the
book
is
anti-mechanistic,
person
centred
and
at
points
deeply
passionate
about
putting
the
’person’
back
into
practice,
much
of
the
book
falls
into
the
inevitable
trap
of
attempting
to
deal
with
one
kind
of
checklist
by
creating
others
so
that
the
authors’
collective
point
of
view
is
lost.
More
rigorous
editing,
use
of
more
practice
material
and
a
tighter
focus
would
have
made
this
book
a
more
dynamic
read
but,
none
the
less,
it
serves
as
a
useful
reader
for
those
of
us
who
have
to
grapple
with
the
mysteries
of
competence
for
a
living.
Brynna
Kroll
Senior
Lecturer
in
Criminal
Justice
Studies,
Brunel
University
College
Counselling
in
Criminal
Justice
Brian
Williams
Open
University
Press,
1996;
pp
140;
£12.99
pbk
This
is
an
interesting
book
which
sets
itself
an
ambitious
task
by
trying
to
cover
such
a
massive
subject
area
in
a
relatively
short
volume.
Brian
Williams
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