Reports Briefing
| Date | 01 March 1997 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059704400113 |
| Published date | 01 March 1997 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
51
§
r
I,
I
To
share
thinking
on
the
detection,
prosecution
and
sentencing
of
drug
couriers,
the
Conference
Permanente
Europ6enne
de
la
Probation
(CEP)
staged
a
multi-disciplinary
conference
in
Switzerland
in
May
1996
for
representatives
of
criminal
justice
agencies
in
27
countries.
The
report
of
proceedings
by
Deborah
Cheney
of
the
University
of
Kent
offers
a
tri-lingual
summary
of
proceedings
which
’proved
intense’
(’heightened
emotions,
bruised
egos,
defensive
stances,
self-satisfied
claims
and
self-depreciating
(sic)
climb-
downs’)
but
demonstrated
a
consensus
to
address
the
cost
that
the
drug
trade
demands
in
human
lives.
For
the
present,
the
drug
barons
’are
better
schooled
in
inter-disciplinary
and
cross-boundary
approaches’
than
enforcement
agencies.
Though
the
report
inevitably
reflects
the
frustrations
of
attempting
to
bridge
so
many
interest
groups
and
language
differences,
resorts
rather
too
much
to
platitudes,
earnest
intentions
and
over-
generalisations,
and
makes
the
reader
feel
that
it
is
primarily
a
souvenir
for
the
lucky
participants,
it
is
a
revealing
glimpse
of
the
marked
distinctions
in
sentencing
and
penal
policy
across
Europe.
As
one
speaker
asked,
can
we
really
justify
the
disproportionate
use
of
time
and
valuable
resources
presently
allocated
to
catching
couriers,
who
represent
only
a
small
fraction
of
the
drugs
trade?
Deborah
Cheney’s
paper
on
imprisoned
couriers
suggests
the
adoption
of
international
guidelines
on
dealing
with
foreign
prisoners,
enhancing
human
rights,
harmonising
sentencing
tariffs,
co-ordinating
a
formal
network
for
nationals
imprisoned
abroad
and
capitalising
upon
a
network
of
support
mechanisms
in
prisoners’
home
countries.
Nick
Hammond
of
the
Middlesex
Probation
Service
Foreign
Nationals
Unit,
one
of
the
Conference
Project
Group,
summarises
the
views
of
the
English
speaking
working
group.
A
limited
number
of
copies
of
European
Conference
on
Drug
Couriers
are
available
free
of
charge,
from
Nick
Hammond
at
Middlesex
Foreign
Nationals
Unit,
Uxbridge
Probation
Office,
Harefield
Road,
Uxbridge,
Middlesex
UB8
1 PQ,
tel 0189
5231972.
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,,,I
I
Victim-offender
mediation
has
enjoyed
broad
appeal
in
principle
since
its
initiation
in
Canada
20
years
ago.
In
practice
the
promise
of
mediation
has
not
been
fully
realised.
It
remains
relatively
marginal
within
the
criminal
justice
system,
without
clear
agreement
about
its
place
or
purpose.
Victim-Offender
Mediation:
Limitations
and
Potential
by
Gwen
Robinson
(Probation
Studies
Unit
Report
No
2,
University
of
Oxford,
1996,
£7.sa)
offers
a
’stock-taking
exercise’,
examining
the
range
of
theories
developed
and
models
implemented
in
Britain
so
far,
identifying
the
shortcomings
and
the
elements
of
practice
which
need
to
be
harnessed
if
mediation
is
to
have
a
future,
as
part
of
recent
bids
for
’restorative
justice’
and
greater
recognition
of
victim
interests.
Robinson
concludes
that
mediation
is
appropriate
in
the
pursuit
of
a
variety
of
objectives,
provided
that
the
primary
objectives
are
explicit
rather
than
fudged.
Schemes
have
too
frequently
claimed
improperly
to
serve
the
interests
of
victims
and
offenders
in
equal
measure.
She
suggests
that
mediation
has
been
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