Abstract
This chapter explores the politics of engaging in a research agenda aimed at maximising the impact of criminological knowledge on policy and practice. It is based on a case study of Scottish penal developments, with specific reference to the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, a longitudinal programme of research which has had demonstrable influence on the nature and function of Scottish juvenile justice (and beyond) (Howard League 2014). The chapter builds on an article first published in the British Journal of Criminology (McAra 2016), which highlighted a major dissonance between policy discourse on youth crime in Scotland and the decision-making practices of key institutions within the juvenile and adult justice systems. In the article I concluded that, for maximum impact, criminologists needed to engage with and challenge both political and institutional practice: a multi-level approach to transformative action.
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Notes
- 1.
This work was supported by the Nuffield Foundation; The Scottish Government; and the Economic and Social Research Council (R000237157; R000239150).
- 2.
The UK Government ceded substantial self-governing powers to Scotland through the Scotland Act 1998 which established the modern Scottish parliament. This was a manifesto commitment of the UK Labour Government which took office in 1997.
- 3.
The children’s hearing system deals with young people in need of care and protection from birth up to age 16, and young offenders from age eight (the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland) to 16. Cases are referred to the ‘Reporter’ who investigates whether or not there is a prima facie case that one of the grounds for referral to a hearing has been met and the child is in need of compulsory measures of care. The hearing is a lay tribunal and disposals include residential and non-residential supervision requirements. In Scotland, social workers deliver probation and through care services and are responsible for community-based disposals such as community service orders. The procurator fiscal is the prosecutor.
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McAra, L. (2017). Criminological Knowledge and the Politics of Impact: Implications for Researching Juvenile Justice. In: Armstrong, S., Blaustein, J., Henry, A. (eds) Reflexivity and Criminal Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54642-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54642-5_7
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