Introduction: The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector: In Comparative Perspective
| Published date | 01 September 2019 |
| Date | 01 September 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12341 |
The Howard Journal Vol58 No 3. September 2019 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12341
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 271–275
Introduction: The Criminal Justice
Voluntary Sector: In Comparative
Perspective
PHILIPPA TOMCZAK
Philippa Tomczak is Senior Research Fellow, School of Sociology and Social
Policy, University of Nottingham
This special issue contributes to scholarly, practical and policymaking
efforts to understand the (potential) activities of voluntary (non-State,
non-profit) organisations and volunteers across criminal justice institu-
tions, in jurisdictions around the world. It is hard to understand why the
activities of voluntary organisations and voluntary organisations (within
and beyond criminal justice) have not received more attention, given their
size and the range of activities. The voluntary sector is, however, both a
core regulator of the State and social services actor.
Regarding regulation, in response to rising prison suicides in England
and Wales, the voluntary sector (in conjunction with civil society) has
been the only overseer to escalate sanctions beyond persuasion and
discretionary implementation. Effective regulation demands a pyramid of
escalating sanctions. HMP Woodhill, a men’s prison near Milton Keynes,
had an unprecendented spate of 18 suicides from May 2013 to December
2016. This spate ended only when a voluntary organisation (INQUEST)
and bereaved families brought a judicial review. Shortly after the judicial
review was granted, Woodhill had its first suicide-free year for seven years.
It is harrowing that the ‘tipping point’ for action was already-bereaved
families and INQUEST bringing a judicial review (Tomczak 2018).
Nevertheless, their unique role in escalating prison regulation deserves
recognition. Yet, for prisons and across social services, ‘little is known
about the active role that voluntary organisations play in shaping and
mobilising’ the State (Baker and McGuirk 2019, p.1). This is problematic.
Mixed economies of service provision have seen increasing numbers
of service users funnelled into services provided by the voluntary sec-
tor rather than statutory sectors. Voluntary organisations (and volunteers
within statutory services) comprise a large and rising proportion of the so-
cial service workforce and ‘deliver important services’ (Teicher and Liang
271
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2019 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
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