Reviews : Contrasts in Tolerance David Downes Oxford University Press, 1988. £25.00, hbk, 206pp
| Published date | 01 March 1989 |
| Date | 01 March 1989 |
| Author | Tim May |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058903600115 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
tive principles on which schemes in this
not introduced until 1980 and, as the
country and the United States are
author notes: ’Probation is not a dispos-
based, he sets out the limitations of
al in The Netherlands in the same way
each and the crucial lacuna in the
as in England: it is a recommended
theory base of many conciliation
accompaniment to conditional dismis-
schemes currently operating.
sal, a suspended sentence or parole.’
Francis is writing from the perspec-
This provides an autonomy from the
tive of systemic family functioning.
courts and, coupled with the public pro-
Such a theoretical model encompasses
secution system, which makes recom-
a broader approach to difficulties
mendations for sentences and alone de-
which arise in family breakdown than
cides on the prosecution of cases, also
many
conciliation
schemes
can
means a ’great influence on judges’. In
accommodate. Indeed, the writer offers
particular, criminological thinking on
a
fairly harsh critique of most
the penal system is mediated by the
approaches adopted in the Probation
Probation Service to judges, providing
Service and the Voluntary Sector,
a valuable link between research and
arguing that they have developed from
sentencing practices. It is hard to im-
the simple pragmatism of seeking
agine such an open system in our own
alternatives to courtroom battles.
country!
Given the relative newness of these
Chapters compare and consider
practices, the picture which Francis
penal trends between the two countries
paints should not come as a surprise.
in the post-war period; the applicability
But undoubtedly his deep analysis will
of various theories of decarceration;
chasten many practitioners and mana-
examine the consequences of these
gers. In particular, probation officers in
trends; The Netherlands approach to
Court Welfare practice will recognise
drug abuse and interviews with inmates
the inherent compromises in their role.
who have experienced both Dutch and
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