Posted: February 15th, 2022

Social Work Roles And Criminal Justice Settings Social Work Essay

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There are various competing pressures to direct the service in ways in which will not be according to Social Work ideas in direction of higher penal and correctional fashions. It’s subsequently important to have a transparent understanding of the coverage and authorized framework that creates the remit and legitimacy for the operation of Social Work within the Criminal Justice course of (Whyte, 2001, p.7).

Statute legislation is created by Acts of the UK and Scottish Parliaments and depends upon rulings made in Courtroom Hearings to set precedents that outline and interpret key phrases i.e. Case Regulation. Understanding the legislation is prime to follow in Criminal Justice settings. Criminal Regulation is a strong instrument of social management and sanctions and the Criminal Courts have the potential to impose restrictions of liberty of people. Social Staff have a duty in direction of most people and the courts to guard the general public and guarantee their wellbeing nonetheless, there may be additionally obligation in direction of those that are within the Criminal Justice course of who could also be susceptible and in want of companies supplied by Social Work. It’s subsequently important that every one staff have an understanding of the authorized frameworks that govern Criminal Justice Social Work and are conscious of the scope and limitations of their mandate (Whyte, 2001). Nonetheless, legislation is topic (sample nursing essay examples by the best nursing assignment writing service) to vary and ‘felony justice coverage is extra liable to sudden, politically motivated modifications of route than is social coverage in different fields’ (Smith, 2002, p.309)

The legislation defines what a criminal offense is, guidelines of proof and felony process. Nonetheless, discretion is given to these concerned and subsequently, the felony justice course of will not be systematic. The judiciary, police and social work have differing roles, agendas, values and beliefs that are formed by coaching and cultures which may make working inside the system tough as a consequence of lack of shared understanding of widespread goals and particular person roles.

Social Work includes working with the marginalised and deprived and could be each susceptible to crime and inclined to criminalisation and follow includes work with victims or offenders. Native Authorities have statutory duty to offer Criminal Justice Social Work Companies to help the Criminal Justice Course of via Assessment of people, data to the Courts and supervision of offenders.

Scotland differs from the remainder of the UK in that there’s a distinctive cultural and political heritage and a separate authorized system. Social Work subsequently, has a central position inside the Criminal Justice course of in Scotland which is in distinction to England and Wales the place probation work is commissioned by the Nationwide Offender Administration Service (NOMS) which is separate from Native Authority management and Social Work features and reveals a distinction of their approaches in responding to crime. As McAra (2005) suggests a extra welfare oriented method has been adopted as a consequence of its authorized tradition and political historical past.

The authorized framework outlining powers and duties of Criminal Justice Social Work is the Social Work Scotland Act 1968 (as amended). Part 27 of this Act outlines the obligation by Native Authorities to offer particular Criminal Justice companies (e.g. social background studies, supervision of offenders on an Order or Licence) in respect of central authorities funding nonetheless, it doesn’t clarify the targets of those companies or present steering on their train. Part 12 provides Native Authorities (LA’s) discretion to offer extra companies (e.g. victims) as a part of the final duty to ‘promote social welfare.’

Probation or offender companies turned the duty of the Native Authority Social Work Departments in 1968 and had a common obligation to ‘promote social welfare’ of their locality (S12, Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968). This was as a result of Kilbrandon Committee (Kilbrandon, 1964) being appointed to research growing juvenile crime. The Kilbrandon Report advisable a brand new method to kids’s companies primarily based on the wants of youngsters and households and those that offend needs to be handled the identical as these kids requiring care and safety. Kilbrandon additionally recommended diversion and early voluntary intervention as crime prevention and one division for kids and adults. This merge of labor with grownup offenders was pivotal in recognising work with offenders as having a welfare element admittedly with a degree of management. Though the Kilbrandon philosophy adopted developments of the time which advocated rehabilitation and remedy of offenders and an consciousness of the social causes of crime, that is nonetheless extremely related to at the moment’s follow.

From the 1980’s onwards Criminal Justice in Scotland has undergone main legislative and

coverage change as a consequence of successive governments. As there was concern for public safety

and neighborhood disposal effectiveness in 1991, 100 per cent central authorities funding was

launched and the Nationwide Targets and Requirements had been revealed which set out

core targets, service provision and steering on their supply (Social Work Group, 1991).

This resulted within the authorities committing to Social Work delivering this position. This coverage

association outlined by Rifkind in 1989 has survived modifications in political administration

though, it has been recommended that devolution has brought on a ‘sudden and dramatic

politicisation’ of Criminal Justice points and will undermine the welfare custom (McNeill

and Batchelor, 2004: Croal, 2005).

Social Work with offenders ought to goal to deal with and scale back offending behaviour. While the legislation supplies a framework for follow, efficient work with offenders requires Social Work expertise resembling communication, therapeutic relationships in supervision, Assessment and danger administration. The duty is subsequently, various and complicated as Social Staff have the ability to manage the people who’re referred through the Courts and implement any Courtroom Orders however should additionally work with an offender in a holistic, inclusive approach to have a optimistic affect on their offending behaviour and this may be via help and help in relation to private and social issues but additionally the person taking duty for his or her actions. Efficient and moral follow is subsequently, about contemplating and managing the wants and rights of the Courts, most people, victims and offenders. Though Social Staff have statutory duties and powers to intervene in folks’s lives this isn’t at all times welcome however is important in selling public security. Beneath the Scottish Social Work Companies Council (SSSC) Code of Follow Social Staff have an obligation ‘to uphold public belief and confidence’ and the Criminal Justice Authorities (CJA’s) are required by Scottish Govt steering to develop a technique to deal with this (Scottish Govt, 2006b). This technique contains each offenders and their households and Social Staff ought to interact these people and recognise their views within the improvement of companies.

Each Criminal Regulation and Social Work recognise the autonomy of particular person’s selections on how they lead their lives and with this capability is felony duty. These of which who lack capability (e.g. kids and the mentally disordered) aren’t culpable within the eyes of the legislation and could also be handled in another way. It’s subsequently recognised that felony behaviour isn’t just a alternative however could also be about social circumstances to which they’ve minimal management. Social Staff ought to help in permitting people to enhance their capability for making selections along with penalties to their actions (ADSW, 1996a).

Though Social Staff are obliged to guard the rights and pursuits of service customers’ there’s a perception amongst most people that they’ve forfeited these rights after they have offended. All Criminal Justice businesses should adjust to the Human Rights Act 1988 which contains into home legislation the elemental rights set out within the European Conference of Human Rights (ECHR). Public Authorities are required to respect the entire provisions nonetheless, the 2 articles with specific relevance to Criminal Regulation and Social Work are ‘the fitting to liberty and safety’ (Article 5. ECHR) and ‘the fitting to a good trial’ (Article 6, ECHR). Nonetheless, the state can impose restrictions on those that breach felony legislation or are a menace to public security so long as the detention is authorised by legislation and there’s a stability between the person, their victims and most people. The Social Employee should assess this stability via rigorous Assessment and Assessment of danger. The Social Work position requires respect to offenders as people and ‘be certain that the offender’s potential and proper to perform as a member of society will not be impaired to a higher extent than is important within the pursuits of justice’ (ADSW, 1996a).

Criminal Justice Social Work companies are delivered in partnership with varied statutory and non-statutory businesses and this will current challenges as a consequence of conflicting skilled values and goals. The Administration of Offenders and so on. (Scotland) Act 2005 was launched to enhance joint working and co-ordinate the administration of offenders particularly within the transition from custody to neighborhood supervision and locations an obligation on Criminal Justice Authorities (CJAs) to have an data sharing course of so that related data is shared between businesses (s.three (5)(g)) for bettering offender and danger administration. Nonetheless, delicate private data have to be dealt with fastidiously and be beneath the ideas of the Information Safety Act 1988 and native company protocols. Practitioners inside Social Work should be certain that any data sharing choices are totally defined and understood by the offender even when their consent to disclosure will not be required.

Organisations who ship public companies have common duties to remove illegal discrimination and promote equality of alternative on the grounds of race (Race Relations (Modification) Act 2000), intercourse (Equality Act 2006), and incapacity (Incapacity Discrimination Act 2005). People who’re concerned with Criminal Justice organisations are entitled to the safety of discrimination legal guidelines which relate to intercourse, race, incapacity, spiritual beliefs and sexual orientation, with exception to exercising judicial features or finishing up Courtroom orders. In these circumstances it could be inside Article 14 of the ECHR which prevents to the fitting to liberty and safety of the person or the fitting to a good trial being interfered with on a variety of discriminatory grounds. Criminal Justice remains to be influenced by prejudicial and discriminatory views.

Analysis has been carried out by each the Social Work and Prisons Inspectorate for Scotland (1998) which highlighted considerations in regards to the remedy of feminine offenders within the Criminal Justice course of. Along with this, a number of inquiries in England and Wales in relation to racial discrimination by the police and jail companies has subsequently raised public consciousness (Macpherson, 1999; Keith, 2006). The Scottish Authorities has an obligation to publish data of discrimination of any illegal grounds (s.306 (1)(b) Criminal Process (Scotland) Act 1995) and subsequently, all staff must follow in an anti-discriminatory manner.

The legislation outlines the boundaries of Social Work intervention and information of the legislation is important to anti-oppressive follow. ‘The one legitimacy for intervening within the lifetime of the person inside the felony justice course of is the person’s offending behaviour…if people have social wants which require to be met however aren’t crime associated or crime producing, or if the offence will not be sufficiently critical to fall inside the standards of the ‘twin-track’ method, companies needs to be supplied, so far as potential, via voluntary provision…No-one needs to be drawn into the felony justice processes to be able to obtain social work Help’ (Moore and Whyte, 1998, p.24).

Rehabilitative intervention isn’t just about serving to; it imposes limitations on the rights of the person who’s topic (sample nursing essay examples by the best nursing assignment writing service) to the intervention. Danger Assessment and offence primarily based follow is an moral method. It goals to make sure that ‘essentially the most intensive and doubtlessly most intrusive companies are centered on these service customers who pose the best danger of inflicting hurt to others (ADSW, 2003) and to forestall socially deprived people being taken additional into felony justice management which may end up in additional social exclusion.

Criminal Justice Social Staff should take notice that the position includes work with deprived social teams. Sure forms of crimes and offenders typically criminalise the younger, disadvantaged, unemployed and undereducated male with an expertise of the care system and that is clear from Social Work and jail statistics (Croall, 2005; McAra and McVie, 2005). There’s typically a posh relationship between social exclusion and offending behaviour and infrequently the Criminal Justice course of shows current injustices inside society. It’s important that points in relation to class, age and social context needs to be recognised along with vulnerability to discrimination.

The Social Employee’s position needs to be to deal with problems with social exclusion and empower people to steer legislation abiding lives by addressing their offending behaviour. Social Work might help offenders develop capability to make knowledgeable selections by actively encouraging their participation within the supervision/change course of and their engagement with bettering their present social scenario (McCulloch, 2005; McNeill, 2004). Aiding offenders to give attention to their strengths versus their danger and wishes can have a optimistic affect as they be taught to recognise the worth in their very own lives and respecting the worth of others.

The sentencing stage within the felony justice course of generates nearly all of Criminal Justice Social Work via provision of data to the Courtroom within the type of Social Enquiry Studies (SERs) and the administration of neighborhood disposals, apart from liberty orders (tagging). SERs don’t have any authorized foundation however there’s a statutory obligation on felony justice social work to offer studies to the Courtroom for disposal of a case (s.27(1)(a) SWSA 1968. ‘Studies present the court docket with the data and recommendation they want in deciding on essentially the most acceptable approach to cope with offenders. They embrace data and recommendation in regards to the feasibility of neighborhood primarily based disposals, notably these involving native authority supervision. Within the case of each offender beneath 21 and any offender going through custody for the primary time, the court docket should get hold of data and recommendation about whether or not a neighborhood primarily based disposal is accessible and acceptable. Within the occasion of custody, the court docket requires recommendation in regards to the potential want for a Supervised Launch order or Prolonged Sentence Supervision on launch’. (Scottish Govt, 2004d, para. 1.5)

The Criminal Process (Scotland) Act 1995 units out when the court docket can or should get hold of an SER. Failure to request a report, the place required by legislation, can lead to a sentence being quashed on attraction. The Courtroom will not be obliged to observe suggestions or opinions within the SER nonetheless, Social staff can have a direct affect on the sentence handed.

‘Making ready SERs calls for a excessive commonplace follow. It requires expert interviewing, the flexibility to gather and assess data from totally different sources, and the artwork of writing a report which is reliable, constructive, neutral and temporary’ (Social Work Companies Inspectorate (SWSI), 1996, Foreword).

The legislation imposes closing dates in compiling studies. The Courts require a report inside three weeks (s.201(three) (a) if an offender is remanded in custody and inside 4 weeks if the offender is on bail (s.21(three)(b) of the 1995 Act). This implies in follow that there are elevated calls for on a employee’s time that locations elevated strain within the preparation of SERs particularly if there are excessive numbers of employee absence as a consequence of go away or whether or not the employee is aware of the offender and their particular person circumstances. While conducting interviews the employee should be certain that the offender understands the aim of the report, the relevance of questions (well being, dependancy points, and private relationships) and the boundaries to confidentiality of this data. Social staff should stability between an knowledgeable suggestion and an consciousness of the severity of the offence. The report writer needs to be neutral and never minimise the seriousness of the offence and its affect (NOS, Scottish Govt, 2004d, para 5.5) and phrases that indicate ethical judgements, label or stereotype offenders shouldn’t be used (para. 5.1).

When compiling an SER staff are required to contemplate the suitability of disposals in relation to the chance posed by an offender and to focus on acceptable sources that are most acceptable and profitable in addressing offending behaviour. Tips for the Assessment and administration of danger are outlined within the Administration and Assessment of Danger in Social Work Companies (SWSI, 2000) and there are additionally extra danger Assessment frameworks which particularly relate to critical violent and intercourse offenders. In Criminal Justice the main focus has moved from danger of custody to danger of reoffending and danger of hurt. Danger Assessment is advanced and there was a shift from concern for the offender and their must concern about public security and the offender being a possible supply of danger to others. Though the laws will not be specific about offending behaviour, Nationwide Requirements state that SERs ought to present ‘data and recommendation which is able to Help the Courtroom resolve the obtainable sentencing choices…by assessing the chance of reoffending, and…the potential hurt to others. This requires an investigation of offending behaviour and of the offenders’ circumstances, attitudes and motivation to vary’ (Scottish Govt, 2004d, 1.6).

Danger is outlined by Kemshall (1996) as ‘the likelihood of a future adverse or dangerous occasion’ and Assessment of danger contains: the likliehood of an occasion occurring, who’s prone to be in danger, the character of the hurt which they could be uncovered and the affect and penalties of the dangerous occasion.

Danger Assessment has modified over time and previous to the introduction of danger Assessment instruments staff relied on scientific strategies or skilled judgement which was primarily based on an offender’s historical past. These strategies had been criticised for being too subjective, inaccurate, open to employee bias and depending on data given by the offender. Within the 1990’s staff moved in direction of goal and empirically primarily based danger Assessment instruments (actuarial) to help their Assessment. Actuarial danger Assessment instruments depend on static (historic) danger components along with dynamic (criminogenic) danger components and to evaluate the chance of reoffending.

The static components (which can not change) have in mind gender, age at first conviction, variety of earlier offences and custodial experiences, faculty progress, earlier employment and private historical past. The criminogenic components (give attention to present areas) embrace present employment, private relationships, peer associates, use of time, substance use, psychological well being and attitudes and behavior. All of those components affect on the chance of reoffending (Bonta, 1996). Probably the most extensively used Assessment instrument, The Stage of Service Stock – Revised (LSI-R) devised by Andrews and Bonta (1995) incorporates each static and dynamic components. Nonetheless, it doesn’t assess danger of hurt and this reveals that each actuarial and scientific danger assessments are essential for an efficient and complete danger Assessment. Scientific strategies mix information of the offender’s persona, habits’ life-style and an Assessment of the circumstances of the offending behaviour and are subsequently, essentially the most acceptable Assessment instrument at figuring out those that are prone to trigger critical hurt. Though extra time consuming and require extra in-depth Assessment of each the offender and the offence danger is assessed on predispositions, motivation in direction of sure behaviours and triggers which will contribute to dangerous behaviour.

Actuarial instruments aren’t completely correct (Kemshall, 1996) and though that is improved upon via use of scientific strategies in choice making, skilled judgement can be essential. Social staff have to be conscious that social drawback performs an element and this will contribute to the next Assessment of danger and want and to be cautious in regards to the complete reliability of those components when making suggestions which will have an effect on an offender’s liberty.

Danger Assessment and intervention or supervision needs to be knowledgeable by legitimate, dependable and ongoing Assessment and Social Staff ought to familiarise themselves with analysis rising on this space and the numerous Assessment instruments and alter programmes obtainable (Levy et.al., 2002).

To help change Social Staff should not simply take into consideration what work is finished with the offender however how that work is finished. ‘Offenders beneath supervision have very excessive ranges of want. Furthermore, though most offenders have many wants in widespread, there are additionally vital variations that necessitate the considerate tailoring of particular person interventions if the effectiveness of follow is to be maximised. In delivering efficient follow, the amassed weight of proof…drives us in direction of recognition that follow expertise basically and relationship expertise specifically are not less than as vital in lowering re-offending as programme content material’ (McNeill et al., 2005, p.5). This current overview of core expertise required for efficient Criminal Justice Social Work follow raises challenges in practising ethically and successfully however when utilized critically and reflectively this might obtain optimistic outcomes which are within the curiosity of the general public, victims and offenders.

Though the legislation is essential in framing Social Work follow within the Criminal Justice course of it’s equally essential that Social Work expertise and values are central to efficient interventions because the position is each demanding and rewarding. Crime has change into more and more distinguished each within the public and political agenda and subsequently, Social Work has change into extra distinguished and complicated. Social Staff have an expert duty in direction of victims, the Courtroom, neighborhood and offenders. To fulfil this position successfully, Social Staff should have a transparent, assured understanding of their position, the legislative and coverage context and a dedication to growing and creating information, expertise and values required for efficient and moral follow.