Racism and Anti-Racism in Probation

ISBN-13: 9780415061575 / Angielski / Miękka / 1992 / 204 str.

David Denney

Opis

Racism and Anti-Racism in Probation analyzes the complex processes through which black people are differentially treated by the probation service. Focusing on the use of language in probation practice, David Denney shows how subjective judgements made by probation officers can be given a quasi-scientific quality within the criminal justice system and are often used to justify sentencing practice. In particular, the underlying assumptions and perceptions of probation officers in relation to race are crucial in understanding the nature of the service offered to black offenders. Drawing on ethnographic material as well as his own wide experience of probation work, David Denney demonstrates how probation officers exercise power in a subjective manner, through judgements given verbally to the courts and written reports. The process through which these are constructed and transmitted in a form acceptable to sentencers has a fictional quality, with clearly framed linguistic entrances, exits and interventions, all governed by a code of esoteric conventions unknown to the offender.

Recenzje

`... a welcome and important addition to the body of knowledge on racism in the criminal justice system' - New Law Journal

Spis treści

1. Race Racism and The Probation Service 2. Explanations for Offending - The Perceptions of Probation Officers 3. Social Work Practice with Black and White Offenders 4. Language Power and Convention 5. Racism and Anti-Racism and Probation Policy 6. Anti-Racist Directions in Probation Practice and Training

O autorze

Denney, David