Reviews : Volunteers in the Criminal Justice System ML Gill and RI Mawby Open University Press, 1990; pp.148; £9.99 pbk
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059103800217 |
| Published date | 01 June 1991 |
| Author | Keith Skerman |
| Date | 01 June 1991 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
100
what
I
had
done
wrong
that
caused
the
dreadful
abuse.’
One
thing
that
emerges
is
the
ex-
traordinary
capacity
of
women
to
re-
tain
their
sanity,
dignity
and
capacity
to
love
in
the
most
horrendous
cir-
cumstances.
The
overall
image
remains
one
of
humanity
struggling
to
survive
in
the
face
of
systematic
and
cultural-
ly
legitimated
inhumanity.
But
the
author
leaves
us
with
some
hope
for
a
better
world.
In
her
final
chapter
’The
Way
Forward’
she
sug-
gests
both
personal
and
political
strategies
for
change.
The
author
does
not
make
sweeping
generalisations
beyond
the
scope
of
the
individual
but
directs
her
attention
to
what
in-
dividuals
may
do.
At
the
same
time
she
emphasises
the
crucial
importance
of
social
change
in
terms
of
education
and
legislation.
The
book
is
valuable
for
its
analysis
of
patterns
of
male
behaviour
and how
they
can
be
identified
and
start
to
be
dealt
with.
Vicky
Harris
Probation
Officer,
Norwich
Volunteers
in
the
Criminal
Justice
System
ML
Gill
and
RI
Mawby
Open
University
Press,
1990;
pp.148;
£9.99
pbk.
This
is
a
detailed
look
at
volunteer
practices,
ideologies
and
implications
for
policy
in
the
criminal
justice
system,
comparing
three
agencies’
use
of
volunteers:
special
constables,
vic-
tim
support
schemes
and
probation
volunteers.
The
issues
of
funding,
con-
trol
and
service
delivery
were
found
to
be
sharpened
in
each
agency
by
the
use
of
volunteers.
The
authors
looked
at
examples
in
the
south-west
of
England
and
found
similarities
in
practice
pro-
blems
across
different
agencies;
for
example,
paid staff
in
the
Police
and
the
Probation
Service
were
both
sceptical,
threatened
and
inclined
to
under-use
volunteers.
However,
the
differences
were
also
clearly
found,
such
as
in
volunteers’
motivations.
Special
con-
stables
seek
excitement
and
control;
probation
volunteers
expect
variety
and
give
eclectic
reasons
for
their
in-
volvement.
This
book
highlights
the
need
for
protection
as
well
as
integra-
tion
of
volunteers
within
the
agency,
the
need
for
funding,
organisation
and
defined
tasks
and
the
need
to
demonstrate
openness.
What
the
study
lacks
is
a
political
dimension.
Volunteers
are
not
a
politically
neutral
subject,
as
witness-
ed
in
a
sharp
exchange
by
Front
Bench
politicians
in
The
Guardian
in
1990
(John
Patten
MP
and
David
Blunkett
MP).
The
funding
of
voluntary
organisations
is
directly
linked
to
their
political
acceptability.
Jndeed
volunteers
and
organisations
represen-
ting
them
are
potentially
more
central-
ly
controlled
by
contracts
and
government
funding
than
some
statutory
organisations
in
the
short
term.
The
advent of
’partnership’
pro-
grammes
between
Probation
and
the
voluntary
sector
makes
this
debate
and
NAPO’s
long-standing
volunteers
policy
in
need
of
fresh
examination.
This
book
illustrates
the
need
for
such
a
debate,
and
the
practice
issues
involved.
Even
where
Probation
Ser-
vices
use
a
voluntary
body
such
as
SOVA
to
recruit,
train
and
support
volunteers,
it
does
not
necessarily
lead
to
a
full
take
up
and
efficient
deploy-
ment.
A
proper
balance
in
such
prac-
tice
issues
and
the
development
of
volunteer
use
is
likely
to
be
more
dif-
ficult
to
achieve
than
ever.
Keith
Skerman
Team
Leader,
Suffolk
Social
Services
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