Reviews : Averting Aggression: Safety at work with adolescents and adults Owen Booker Russell House Publishing, 1999; pp140; £12.95, pbk
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050004700222 |
| Published date | 01 June 2000 |
| Date | 01 June 2000 |
| Author | Alison Jackson |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
149
progress
in
other
fields
of
endeavour&dquo;.
He
argues
the
need
for
all
members
of
the
community
to
be
involved
in
realising
the
&dquo;elusive
goal
of
the
reduction
of
offending&dquo; -
and
points
us
to
the
symposium
as
a
means
of
furthering
these
aims.
Martin
Wright
then
presents
to
us
the
perspectives
of
politician,
judge,
psychologist,
probation
officer,
victim
assistance
worker,
philosopher
and
mediator.
In
the
latter
contribution,
the
mediator
helpfully
describes
the
essence
of
restorative
justice
as
&dquo;based
on
the
idea
that
the
response
to
crime
should
be
to
put
right
the
harm ...&dquo;.
After
describing
in
detail
how
restorative
justice
works
in
practice,
the
mediator
concludes
idealistically
that
&dquo;restorative
principles
offer
the basis
of
a
practical
response
to
criminal
behaviour;
but
more
than
that,
they
contribute
to
the
building
of
a
fair
and
stable
society&dquo;.
Alongside
this
book,
much
continues
to
be
written
on
this
subject.
The
Home
Office
report
&dquo;Restorative
Justice:
An
Overview&dquo;
(reviewed
in
Probation
Journal,
March
2000,
vol.
47,
no.
1)
provides
a
comprehensive
account
of
the
literature.
In
addition,
the
Howard
League
for
Penal
Reform
has
recently
(March
2000)
published
a
very
informative
fact
sheet,
which
provides
some
encouraging
indications
of
the
growing
influence
of
restorative
justice.
There
is
still
the
need
for
further
progress
so
that
restorative
justice
becomes
more
tangible
and
more
readily
understood
by
a
wider
audience.
In
this
process,
Martin
Wright
is
an
influential
figure.
The
Probation
Service
too,
by
reason
of
its
distinctive
knowledge
and
experience
gained
over
many
years,
has
an
important
part
to
play
in
the
development
of
restorative
justice -
so
the
Service
must
be
fully
involved
in
all
the
debates.
There
is
plenty
of
material
in
this
book
to
inform
and
assist
this
process.
David
Mathieson
Retired
Chief Probation
Officer,
Merseyside
Averting
Aggression:
Safety
at
work
with
adolescents
and
adults
Owen
Booker
Russell
House
Publishing,
1999;
pp140;
£12.95,
pbk
Russell
House
Publishing
is
&dquo;a
group
of
social
work,
probation,
education
and
youth
and
community
work
practitioners
working
in
close
collaboration
with
a
professional
publishing
team&dquo;.
Its
stated
aim
is
&dquo;to
work
closely
with
the
field
to
produce
innovative
and
valuable
materials
to
help
managers,
trainers,
practitioners
and
students&dquo;.
Within
this
context,
Owen
Booker’s
very
readable
text
fulfils
expectations.
The
author,
a
therapist
with
a
wealth
of
practical
experience,
uses
examples
from
his
own
and
colleagues’
practice
to
excellent
effect.
These
cameo
case
studies
(set
apart
from
the
main
text
in
boxes)
represent
one
of
the
most
useful
and
interesting
aspects
of
the
book.
The
text
is
divided
into
two
main
sections:
1.
Working
with
Angry
People
and
2.
The
Environment.
The
first
deals
with
specific
techniques
designed
to
help
professionals
to
reduce,
diffuse
and
divert
aggression.
It
offers
a
wide
range
of
practical
ideas
for
improving
safety
and
dealing
constructively
with
angry
and
potentially
violent
people
in
a
range
of
settings.
The
focus
is
mainly,
although
by
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