Reviews : Once Upon a Group Exercises Michael and Maggie Kindred 4M Publications, 1998; pp94; £25.00, pbk
| Published date | 01 December 1999 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059904600422 |
| Author | Paul Gapper |
| Date | 01 December 1999 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
1970s, reaching its nadir with the massive
£25.00, pbk
application of distorting devices, such as
This book is a comprehensive collection
the use of plea bargaining in nearly 90%
of exercises based on an earlier textbook
of cases. Radzinowicz argues that this has
for those wishing to understand group
been exacerbated by crude legislation such
dynamics. Using the group work theory of
as ’three strikes and you’re out’. He also
Schutz, it looks at the
has strong reservations about the British
group processes in
Criminal Justice System, documenting its
inclusion, control and affection in the
current passage through a serious crisis
building up and winding down stages of a
which threatens to be permanent.
group. There are 26 exercises in all, each
Radzinowicz concludes the book by
includes a description of the purpose, time,
putting forward a list of issues that need to
materials needed, preparation, instructions
be addressed if criminology is to be of
and a debriefing to bring out the lessons.
durable value. These include abandoning
The language is clear and exercises can be
the unilateral approach (i.e. that crime is
photocopied. The book also contains a
the outcome of one single cause);
useful checklist for preparing any group.
acceptance by researchers that individual
disposition and environmental
What is attractive about the exercises
conditioning to crime are interconnected;
is their deceptive simplicity. Initially, it
and that the application of statistical
appears that the participants are not being
methodology should not be carried too far.
asked to do a great deal but the material
This is a fascinating book, which
generates useful responses. One exercise,
encompasses an interesting and rich career.
for example, asks the participants to write
The chapters that navigate Radzinowicz’s
down what they are expecting to get from
stay in Geneva, Belgium and Poland are
a
particularly engaging
group and whatever else is on their
as they explore the
...
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