Recent Book: Web of Violence — A Study of Family Violence
| Date | 01 April 1980 |
| Author | P. C. Low |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8005300233 |
| Published date | 01 April 1980 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
towards "Authority", as well as being of
practical
assistance
in
resolving
individual problems.
Concern with legal rights of prisoners
and their implementation is likely to
develop on this side of the Atlantic over
the next decade and this assessment of
the American approach is brief but
instructive. P. W. CAREY
DR.
HANS
TlJLKENS.
Some
developments in penal policy and practice in Holland.
Barry Rose (Publishers) Ltd. £1.00.
This small booklet, containing the text
of paper delivered at NACRO's A.G.M.
in 1978, mirrors some of the concerns
explored in "Legal Rights of Prisoners"
reviewed above. Holland too has
introduced a legal advisory service for
inmates in a number of prisons though
one suspects that the liberal approach by
the Dutch to penal matters renders such
assistance rather less vital.
Dr. TULKENS' paper makes some
interesting and dramatic comparisons
between penal policy and practice in
Holland and in these islands and
contains a few "eye openers" for those
unfamiliar with changes in the Dutch
prison regime.
The Netherlands have about 20
prisoners per I00,000 inhabitants as
against 75 for England and Wales, whilst
in 1975 sentences of lessthan one month
accounted for well over half the total
number of sentences in Holland as
compared to less than 18%here. These
figures are not explained by any
significant difference in crime rates
between the countries. but primarily by
the policy of the Dutch Public
Prosecutor which is summarized by the
author as, "-do not prosecute, unless
required in the public interest". In 1975
44% of cases were waived by the
Prosecutor who also has a role in
recommending sentences; a task which
makes him an effective instrument of
change in a "tolerant" society.
The
author
discusses some Dutch
penal innovations including the system
whereby most of those sentenced to
imprisonment are not remanded directly
but "called up" as places become
available and the regular home leave that
is a feature of prison life. This liberal
approach allows prison officers to
concern themselves with rehabilitation
rather than security.
No wild claims are made by the author
for the Dutch approach (the increase in
crime there has been comparable to that
experienced in England and Wales) but
Dr. TULKENS' admirably clear paper
deserves to be read by practitioners and
policy makers alike.
P.W.c.
JEAN
RENVOIZE:
Web
of
Violence -AStudy
of
Family Violence.
Penguin Books. £1.50.
One might have thought that there was
little new to be said about family violence
and that our current level of under-
standing has not really progressed very
far since the early surveys were published
in the Sixties. Yet in the paperback,
"Web of Violence", Jean Renvoize
suceeds in emphasising what is the often
forgotten aspect of family violence - its
inevitability over generations, given
certain conditions. "A gigantic web in
which countless generations of people
are caught" graphically illustrates Ms.
Renvoize's sensitive treatment of the
subject which we have come to expect
from her. The many and varied
contributions to the book reflect fairly
the conflicting points of view held by
Social Workers, G.Ps. Police Officers
and the captives themselves and
201
demonstrate the difficulty of managing
violence in the home from within and
outside its walls.
If there is any criticism to be levelled
against the
author
it is that by choosing
to portray in some detail the story of one
young mother, she gives the impression
that battering is a working class
phenomenon. The accepted causes of
family violence are social deprivation,
poverty, overcrowding, frustration, and
often
the'
misguided actions of some
agency officers, and these are all
disproportionately located in working
class homes. While Ms. Renvoize asserts
that working class victims appear more
frequently in the statistics of violence in
the home, because they more frequently
seek aid from public agencies rather than
private doctors and solicitors, more
Police Journal
April/980
To continue reading
Request your trial