2018

2018

CONFERENCE
WEDNESDAY 25 APRIL 2018

#NEcrime2018
#NEcrime2018
 North East Crime Research Network Conference
Wednesday 25th April 2018
De Grey , York St John University

MORNING

9.00 – 9.30 Registration (tea and coffee provided). De Grey Foyer

9.30 – 9. 45 Welcome, Dr Kelly Stockdale (Founder, North East
Crime Research Network). De Grey Lecture Theatre 017
9. 50 – 11.20 Session 1
11.30 – 12.35 Session 2
12.35 – 13.30 Lunch (provided). De Grey Foyer

AFTERNOON

13.30 – 15.00 Session 3

15.00 – 15.40 Break (tea and coffee provided). De Grey Foyer
15.45 – 17.25 Session 4
17.30 – 17.45 Conference Close. De Grey Lecture Theatre 017

EVENING

18.00 Drinks followed by informal conference dinner at 18.30 at Osbornes 68, Gillygate, York.

https://osbornesat68.wordpress.com/

(Please indicate if you would like to join us for dinner; special set menu available two courses plus drink £22.50
per person)

2 3
 Session 1 - Starts: 9.50 ends 11.20
Panel 1 - De Grey, Ground Floor, Room 017
Criminal Justice and the Law
Name: Kate Mukungu
Institution: University of Cumbria
Title: But What Do You Do When You Believe that
the Law is Wrong?
Abstract: Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland (NI)
except when the pregnancy has been determined to
pose a threat to the woman’s life or her permanent
or long-term health. It is argued here that the long-
term conflict and resultant ethno-nationalism are the
primary reasons for the lack of progressive abortion
legislation in NI. In May 2016 three women handed
themselves into a police station in NI stating they
had received a delivery of abortion pills to supply to
pregnant women too afraid personally order them
online. This act of disobedience was a deliberate
challenge to the conviction of a young woman
one month earlier, who had used abortion pills to
terminate her pregnancy. At the time of writing a
mother faces prosecution for procuring and suppling
abortion pills for her underage daughter. This paper
will consider how civil disobedience is being used to
address women’s abortion rights, considering the
ethics and effectiveness of this approach. Finally,
conference participants will be invited to reflect on
whether there is a role to be played in other parts
of the United Kingdom to highlight the disparity in
women’s abortion rights, which negatively affect
women from NI who wish to end their pregnancy,
and campaign for legislation that addresses this.
4 5
Name: Yewa Holiday
Institution: University of Chester
Title: Current Debates in Criminal Law & Practice:
Article 31(1) as a Bar to the Prosecution
of Refugees
Abstract: This paper uses the prosecution of
refugees for offences of irregular entry to the UK to
examine debates on defences in criminal law and
practice. Refugees are convicted and imprisoned for
irregular entry to the UK. They may arrive with false
passports or in the backs of lorries with no papers.
This criminalisation results in wrongful convictions.
It undermines refugee protection and is contrary to
international refugee law and UK criminal law.
This paper will consider whether the prohibition on
penalisation in international refugee law ought to
be interpreted as a bar to prosecution, which would
prevent a trial from taking place at all, or as a defence
to be aired in the course of a trial. The UK has
interpreted the prohibition as a defence, for example,
the ‘refugee defence’ in section 31 of the Immigration
and Asylum Act 1999.
The paper discusses the differing types of pleas
in bar to trial and defences in UK criminal law, for
example, diplomatic immunity and unfitness to plead
as examples of the former and duress, self defence
and insanity as examples of the latter. The paper also
analyses the refugee exemption in the UK’s Alien Act
1905 as an example of a plea in bar to prosecution.
The paper also uses data from the UK’s Criminal
Cases Review Commission and other sources, which
reveals that the defences available to refugees are
very seldom used, to show why article 31(1) must
properly be interpreted as a bar to prosecution.
 Session 1 - Starts: 9.50 ends 11.20
Panel 2 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 124
Safeguarding
Name: Sarah Shorrock
Institution: University of Central Lancashire
Title: Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH): (DAHA)
What are they? Who do they protect and How Title: The use of housing licensing schemes through crime that is organised?
does it operate?
Abstract: Since 2010, Multi-Agency Safeguarding
Hubs (MASH) have become a feature of
safeguarding practices, with MASH attempting
to move away from a single-agency response to
vulnerability, towards a multi-agency response.
To achieve this aim, MASH co-locates a range of
safeguarding agencies, namely the Police, Social
Services and Health, into one secure hub. Thereby,
encouraging practitioners to share information,
make joint decisions and co-ordinate interventions,
all of which are recommendations to emerge from
recent serious case reviews, including Lord Laming’s
(2003) report into the death of Victoria Climbie.
Theoretically therefore, MASH has the capacity to
identify and manage vulnerability earlier, reducing
the likelihood of individuals being exposed to
unnecessary harm or abuse.
However, research around what MASHs are, who
they protect and how is scarce, making it difficult
to assess whether MASH is an effective means of
identifying and managing vulnerability. This paper
therefore, bridges this gap in knowledge by outlining
the development and implementation of MASH at
a national level, before focusing upon the findings
to emerge from one MASH location in the North of
England. Within the paper, understandings relating
to the demand placed upon MASH, decision-making
processes and the challenges of implementing a
multi-agency approach to risk management are
discussed.
6 7
Name: Victoria Watts
Institution: Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance Institution: Glasgow Caledonian University
safeguarding conditions to protect vulnerable
adults in unsupported temporary Abstract: Child sexual exploitation (CSE) has
accommodation – the regulation of the private
rented sector is not all about bricks and development as a result of a series of high profile
mortar.
Abstract: This session will provide a practical
overview of the use of House in Multiple Occupation
(HMO) Licensing Conditions to address multiple
safeguarding concerns around vulnerable adults
in private hostels. The presentation will focus on
how established housing legislation enacted to
regulate standards within the private rented sector
can be effectively utilised in a broader sense to
ensure that safeguarding of vulnerable adults is
actively considered and addressed where necessary.
This session will provide an in depth case study from
one local authority who successfully utilised housing
legislation by applying non-standard conditions
to strengthen regulation and therefore helped to
safeguard vulnerable adults.
Thought to be the first in the country to apply
this innovative approach to address vulnerabilities
as opposed to a pure ‘bricks and mortar’ and
traditional management approach; the subsequent
enforcement executed on breach of conditions
resulted in the closure of a private hostel where
many vulnerable adults were being consistently
financially and emotionally exploited, abused and
with no regard for safeguarding good practice by the
licence holder and manager. Following the closure of
the hostel, housing and health needs were assessed
with rehousing and support needs put in place for
seventeen vulnerable adults, the majority of whom
had multiple complex needs.
Name: Maureen Taylor
Title: Child Sexual Exploitation: Organised crime or
emerged in Parliamentary debate and policy
prosecution of groups of men across England
for sexually exploiting girls and young women.
The networked nature of offending is cited as an
aggravating feature of a number of crime types for
both victims and investigators. Much of the research
around networked crime focuses on ‘organised
crime’ such as drug trafficking. Research and practice
increasingly positions child sexual exploitation as
‘organised crime’ by virtue of the involvement of
networks, groups and co-offenders.
However, the type, structure and nature of networks
of offenders and victims in the context of child
sexual exploitation has not been explored in the
same way as other forms of networked crime.
This presentation draws on PhD research that uses
police case file data and social network analysis to
identify and compare the structure and nature of
child sexual exploitation networks across England.
It presents a number of case studies and explores
the themes of organisation, power and context
within CSE networks. It also suggests ways in which
our understanding of group associated CSE may
influence the way we approach the safeguarding
children and young people.
 Session 1 - Starts: 9.50 ends 11.20
Panel 3 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 125
Policing
Name: Roxanna Dehaghani
Institution: Cardiff University
Title: Risky business? : risk assessments and Title: Students as Volunteer ‘Appropriate Adults’ of Sunderland
responsibilisation in police custody
Abstract: This paper addresses the dominance of risk
discourse in police custody, drawing upon qualitative
research gained through extensive observation of
and interviews with police custody officers. After
examining how risk discourse has permeated criminal
justice and policing, it argues that it is unsurprising
that an obsession with risk is so evident within police
custody. However, the paper will illustrate that a
particular thread of risk discourse has dominated,
to the detriment of other considerations such as
that of vulnerability. It will also illustrate how the
language of ‘vulnerability’ has been co-opted to
refer to risk and how, rather problematically for
detainees, risk discourse has been infiltrated by
notions of responsibilisation. As such, the ‘vulnerable’
detainee is not viewed as truly ‘vulnerable’ but rather
as posing a ‘risk’; such risk is also seen as something
which should be the responsibility of the detainee
rather than something which should befall the police.
The paper will argue that the preoccupation with
risk is largely disingenuous and is predominantly
deployed as an ‘ass-covering’ mechanism in this
context.
8 9
Name: Donna Peacock & Faye Cosgrove
Institution: University Of Sunderland
in Police Custody: Challenges, rewards, and Title: The Special Constable
what it means to be ‘appropriate’
Abstract: Since 1984 there has been a requirement
under the codes of practice contained within the
Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) that
‘mentally vulnerable’ people who are detained in
police custody will be supported throughout their
detention by an ‘Appropriate Adult”. While local
authorities and youth offending teams support
juveniles in custody, difficulty arises in that no single
body or organisation is legally obliged to provide
‘Appropriate Adult’ services for vulnerable adults.
The result is a national patchwork of services. In
some areas robust and fully funded services operate,
other areas rely upon volunteers, or offer partial
cover. The consequences of being unable to secure
an Appropriate Adult can be that police are unable
to conduct routine evidence gathering procedures,
evidence can be rendered inadmissable, and
vulnerable people are not provided with the help and
the support that they need.
In Northumbria Police this has been resolved through
the development of a partnership between the
University of Sunderland and the Police and Crime
Commissioner for Northumbria, Dame Vera Baird QC,
with the operational support of Northumbria Police.
Having just celebrated its first birthday, this paper
will look back on one year of Northumbria Local
Appropriate Adult Scheme (NLAAS) and will consider
the challenges and benefits of partnership working,
the challenges and benefits of using students as
volunteers, and what it means to be ‘appropriate’ in
this context.
Name: Pauline Ramshaw & Faye Cosgrove
Institution: Northumbria University University
Abstract: Despite efforts to increase the recruitment
of Special Constables such endeavours are being
hampered by consistent attrition. The growing
body of work on volunteers in the police service
draw attention to long standing issues affecting the
retention of Special Constables, including the fact
that many leave to make the transition to Police
Officer. This paper expands upon these issues by
drawing on findings generated from a small scale
qualitative study that considers the motivations
and situated occupational experiences of Special
Constables, and their bearing upon satisfaction and
commitment to the role. In a climate of diminishing
resources, securing a prolonged commitment to
volunteer from Special Constables is an aspirational
goal for police organisations. The paper presents
a case for moving beyond traditional egoistic and
altruistic standpoints that draw people into this
unpaid role, demonstrating instead the need to
consider ongoing decision making processes that
occur in post and can shape a long term career path
as an unpaid volunteer Special Constable.
 Session 2 - Starts: 11.30 ends 12.35
Panel 1 - De Grey, Ground Floor, Room 017
Green Crime
Name: Nicoletta Policek and Frank Simpson
Institution: University of Cumbria
Title: The Last Frontier: Mapping the changing face Title: Historical Victims: The Double Victimisation of Title: Life after Miscarriages of Justice
of wildlife policing in rural Cumbria and the Heritage Crime
Lake District
Abstract: This contribution intends to open a
space for a discussion leading to exploring different
trajectories and reciprocal or opposing relationships
between urban and rural in the context of policing.
The aim here is not to hit on a univocal definition
of what exactly is rural, but rather, to support
the claim of the fluidity of the meaning of rurality
(Policek, 2017), whereby the mapping of the policing
of wildlife crimes, here proposed, constitutes a
stepping stone towards an in-depth analysis of the
multiple (often contradictory) academic discourses
all capturing the idea that rural regions are inherently
exposed to high levels of risk of wildlife crimes but
present significant constraints on their ability to
mitigate it. Although we suggest that many rural
regions may remain vulnerable, despite efforts to
mitigate risk and buffer its impacts, we argue that
for rural communities, developing a way to achieve
greater resilience is both crucial and difficult. We
propose an exploration of current and possible crime
prevention strategies where resilience has much
in common with the concept of risk management,
which is pervasive in economics. In particular, we
have looked at how farmers and other people living
in rural communities in a specific Constabulary have
supported the creation of a network of diverse
interested stakeholders with the aim of sharing crime
prevention advice and strategies. The concluding
section of our contribution, seeks to embed the
issues related to environmental protection, within a
theoretical standpoint where, to paraphrase South
(1998) we deal with discourses on crime from a
‘green ‘ perspective.
10
Name: Bethan Poyser
Institution: Nottingham Trent University
Abstract: The structure of the adversarial system
of justice is said to offer no voice to the victim
(Walklate, 2007). Similarly to other marginalised
areas of crime, particularly that of environmental
crime (Hall, 2013), the concept of a ‘voiceless victim’
is particularly apt when a heritage crime has been
committed. Not only does the heritage site have
no voice but, too often, the place managers of the
latter do not either. As this research, and the limited
existing literature on heritage crime has found, police
practitioners sometimes experience difficulties in
recognising heritage crime when reported. This
can, on occasion, leave victims feeling neglected
and marginalised (Oxford Archaeology, 2009). To
further compound such issues, existing legislation to
charge against counts of heritage crime is often not
employed to its’ full effect by the CPS (Shelbourn,
2013). Thus, heritage crime has two voiceless
victims; the heritage site, and the place manager
of said site. In an age of increasing austerity and
managerialism, on both the part of public services
and police forces, what measures can be put in
place to aid police practitioners’ understanding and
treatment of place managers’ grievances? How can
the voices of place managers be heard? Through
a series of semi-structured interviews with place
managers of heritage sites across Nottinghamshire
who have been the victims of heritage crime, this
research suggests that the questions we should be
asking centre not upon the prevention of heritage
crime, but rather, upon education and accessibility
surrounding heritage.
Panel 2 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 124
Loss, Emotion, & Life after Punishment
Name: Linda Asquith
Institution: Leeds Beckett University
Abstract: Those who experience miscarriages of
justice are neglected, both by the state and wider
society, and their stories are rarely heard outside the
focus of special interest groups or campaigns. This
paper examines the post-exoneration narratives of
individuals who have experienced miscarriages of
justice. By focusing on the life afterwards, this paper
explores how individuals reconstruct their identities
following exoneration and the challenges that they
face. In particular, this paper focuses on the lack of
support provided for those who have experienced a
miscarriage of justice and notes the frustration and
anger that exonerees experience post-release from
prison. The narratives of exonerees show a marked
similarity in terms of the emotions expressed (in
particular, anger and frustration) and this research
examines the ways these emotions can both aid
and hinder recovery and identity reconstruction. By
focusing on the life afterwards, this paper draws
attention to experiences rarely considered and
argues for a more effective support mechanism
to be put into place for those who are wrongfully
convicted once they are released from prison.
Name: Victoria Meaby
Institution: Durham University
Title: Nothing to lose? Exploring the nature, extent
and impact of loss within the lives of young
people who offend.
Abstract: The purpose of this presentation is to
share findings from my PhD research which explored
the nature, extent and impact of loss in the lives of
young people who offend. I used ethno-mimesis (a
fusion of ethnography, storytelling and arts based
enquiry) to explore loss (in its broadest sense)
with young people who offend. I then conducted
semi-structured interviews with youth offending
practitioners, considering the intersections of
young people’s loss accounts with their offending
behaviour(s) and the ways that practitioners
interpreted and responded to young people’s
experiences of loss within a youth justice context.
Finally I worked with young people and practitioners,
discussing best ways to help and support young
people who are experiencing or have experienced
loss, and the potential implications of these
suggestions for youth justice policy and practice.
In recent years, there have been increasing
recommendations that youth justice services adopt
trauma informed practice as a way of simultaneously
encouraging desistence and addressing the welfare
needs of young people who offend (Achievement
for All SEND Bubble, 2017; HMIP, 2017; YJB, 2017).
I argue that in addition to these highly welcome
recommendations for trauma informed practice,
young people might also benefit from loss informed
practice within youth justice; where opportunity
to develop speech, language and communication
skills and emotional intelligence, so as to construct
coherent narratives of, and make meaning (Ribbens
McCarthy, 2006; Neimeyer, 2008;) from loss, with
the help and support of a trusted, pro-social adult, is
encouraged.
11
 Session 2 - Starts: 11.30 ends 12.35
Panel 3 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 125
Sentencing and Decision-making
Name: Elizabeth Tiarks
Institution: Northumbria University
Title: Restorative Justice and the State: Title: Tackling Selection Bias in Sentencing Data
acknowledging the trade-off
Abstract: The adoption of Restorative Justice (RJ)
by various states and its inclusion in formal criminal
justice systems has had various positive effects, such
as increasing its availability, allowing for access to
more reliable streams of funding, enabling training
for professional facilitators and increasing the quality
and consistency of delivery.
However, this standardisation and
professionalisation of RJ comes at a cost. Most
notably, the pursuit of state norms of proportionality
and consistency of outcome means that there is a
reluctance in state-run restorative justice to allow the
stakeholders to retain real decision-making power.
They are often, therefore, not fully empowered.
This paper will argue that this is a significant issue
which needs examining. It is best considered as a
trade-off: a balance to be struck, but one which
is often overlooked. This trade-off is essentially
between the familiar and measurable on the one
hand, and the unfamiliar and difficult to quantify on
the other. As such, careful analysis is needed to avoid
the assumption of a state-centred model.
12
Name: Jose Pina-Sánchez
Institution: University of Leeds
Analysis: A New Approach Based on Expert
Elicitation Techniques and Bayesian Statistics
Abstract: For reasons of methodological
convenience statistical models analysing judicial
decisions tend to focus on the duration of custodial
sentences. These types of sentences are however
quite rare (8% of the total in England and Wales),
which generates a problem of selection bias, and
raises questions about the external validity of
much of the literature on the topic of sentencing. In
this talk we present an original approach capable
of modelling simultaneously custodial and non-
custodial outcomes. This is achieved by using a
Bayesian framework to estimate simultaneously: i) a
scale of sentence severity based on Thurstone’s pair
comparisons retrieved from a sample of judges and
magistrates, ii) an outcome model regressing the
scale of severity on a set of case characteristics, and
iii) a measurement model to reflect the uncertainty
associated with the sampling error in the views taken
from our sample of judges and magistrates
13
 Session 3 - Starts: 13.30 ends 15.00
Panel 1 - De Grey, Ground Floor, Room 017
Policing
Name: Wendy Dorrestijn
Institution: Groningen University, School of Institution: University of Cumbria
Behavioral Sciences
Title: Beyond the Split Second; Police performance, study on police mobile technology training
Personal Characteristics and Training in
High Risk Law Enforcement Operations
Abstract: This research called “ Beyond the Split
Second; Police performance, Personal Characteristics
and Training in High Risk Law Enforcement
Operations” is conducted within the 2 largest
law enforcement agencies of the Netherlands;
The National Police and the Royal Marechaussee.
The data gathering took place between 2015 and
2017 throughout The Netherlands. Over 1900 Law
Enforcement Officers (LEO’s) participated in this
research and volunteered to be observed during their
performance in potentially dangerous situations and
in scenario training.
At the beginning of their observed shifts or trainings,
the LEO’s filled in a questionnaire that measured
their relevant personal characteristics like mental
toughness, level of education and experience
and choices in lifestyle choices. The observed
timeframe of both scenario training and real
incidents started at the moment the LEO received
the call (either for real or in training) and ended
directly after the debriefing or after action review.
Over 600 real incidents were observed conform
this protocol. This same technique was applied
in 1200 training situations. This observation
protocol is based on 65 behavioral aspects of
police performance like “making a tactical plan”,
“starting with a deescalating strategy” and other
aspects regarding the use of force and tactics.
Other relevant items regarding the circumstances
of the incidents like the type of incident (e.g. public
order, domestic violence) and the type and form of
violence used by suspects were also collected and will
be analyzed. Overall 220 items regarding the police
performance, training or incidents and the LEO’s
14 themselves, were collected.
Name: Noorhan Abbas & Nicoletta Policek
Title: ‘Don’t be the same, be better’: An exploratory
Abstract: The total annual spending on police ICT is
estimated at around £1.5 billion per year (National
Audit Office, 2016). Between 2008 – 2010, the
Home Office distributed £71 million to police forces
to fund the Mobile Information Programme and
a further £9 million to the NPIA (National Policing
Improving Agency) to deliver the management
of the programme (House of Commons Report,
2012). This programme had enabled the roll-out of
41,000 mobile devices to police officers, allowing
them to spend a greater percentage of their working
time out of police stations. The main objectives of
this programme were to increase visibility of police
officers, increase efficiency and effectiveness of the
Police Service and to reduce bureaucracy (House
of Commons Report, 2012). In 2012, the NPIA’s
evaluation of the increase in police officers’ visibility
showed that on average, officers spent around
18 minutes extra per shift out of the station using
mobile devices. This contribution stems from the
acknowledgment that the post-adoptive users’
behaviour and utilisation of the mobile technology
implemented in police forces has not yet been
studied. To overcome the paucity of available data,
a pilot study adopting a multi-methods approach
was conducted in a medium-sized constabulary in
the UK, exploring officers’ main reasons for post
adoptive resistance to using the mobile devices,
its impact on the quality of police data recorded
and innovative ways of enhancing police mobile
technology training. The results of the pilot study
will consequently paint a clearer picture of the
appropriate training needed to overcome the current
resistance.
15
 Session 3 - Starts: 13.30 ends 15.00
Panel 2 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 124
Desisting from Crime: Challenges and Opportunities
Name: Natalie Watson
Institution: Manchester Metropolitan University
Title: Co-creating gendered desistance through Title: Becoming ‘real’: exploring meaningful work, Uwe Verthein & Amy O’Donnell
personalised engagement and client identity re-construction and desistance in a Institution: Newcastle University
relationship networks.
Abstract: This paper discusses the importance
of client relationship networks and their
ability to influence criminal involvement and
desistance for individuals, whilst considering
the role and influence of gender. By exploring
the possibilities of personalised models of
working, drawn from the Social Care sector,
this paper and ongoing research will develop
theoretical and practical ideas surrounding both
personalisation and desistance within a probation
setting. This paper also outlines the concept of
personalisation within criminal justice through a
focus on the co-creation of support through the
relationships networks of criminal justice clients.
The focus on client relationships is a fundamental
element of desistance, personalisation and effective
research practice. This paper is theoretically driven,
providing a discussion of the underlying literature
and theoretical concepts that have shaped the
research direction and methodological approach.
The context of this paper considers a unique
array of concepts and issues identified within the
literature surrounding gender, desistance, client
relationships and personalisation. It also critiques
the ongoing marketisation of criminal justice
under the ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ agenda.
Using ‘action research’ methodologies this research
will rely on the stories, perceptions and views of
clients who are placed at the centre of the research.
Involvement in reflective cycles will allow findings
to be fed back to service delivery and facilitate the
closing of the theory and practice gap between
academia, practitioners, and clients of probation
services.
16
Name: Rebecca Oswald
Institution: Northumbria University
case study of the Skill Mill social enterprise
Abstract: There are mixed findings as to whether
engaging in employment can help desistance.
Drawing on literature from the fields of criminology,
sociology and organisational psychology, I propose
that a particular type of employment - ‘meaningful
employment’ - might trigger a move away from
crime because it aids the construction of a ‘pro-
social’, non-offending identity. However, whilst
considerations of identity have been used to
analyse the desistance of adult offenders, very few
studies have investigated identity re-construction
amongst young offenders. Do young people also
use ‘redemption narratives’? Similarly, research on
meaningful employment is heavily based upon
studies with adults, in particular with non-criminal
professionals. What do young offenders consider
to be meaningful work? To investigate these
areas, I am conducting a case study of the ‘Skill
Mill’ social enterprise. This organisation provides
outdoor employment for young offenders aged
16-18. I am collecting data through participant
observations, semi-structured interviews and
analysis of the YOT records of 20 Skill Mill youths.
Initial findings demonstrate that what young
offenders consider meaningful is ‘real work’; work
that is stable, pays a living wage and society values.
Only though engagement in this type of work can
they envisage themselves having a legitimate role in
society, and form the necessary ‘pro-social’ identity
required for desistance. Without meaningful work,
young people may be tempted by illegal work
opportunities. The workplace social group is also very
important to young offenders. Forming meaningful
bonds with co-workers (and particularly other
desisting offenders) aids their pro-social identity
reconstruction and desistance.
Name: Michelle Addison, Eileen Kaner, Liam Spencer, William
McGovern, Ruth McGovern , Eilish Gilvarry, Heike Zurhold,
Title: Understanding Pathways to Amphetamine Type Stimulant Use
(ATTUNE): Qualitative Findings
Abstract: Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS), including amphetamine,
methamphetamine, MDMA, and some Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS),
are increasingly popular drugs in the UK (1) and globally (2). Yet there is limited
evidence on what shapes ATS use across the life course. The ATTUNE study
aims to understand which factors shape different trajectories of ATS use over
time.
Methods: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with individuals
who had either used ATS themselves, or had been exposed to them
at least once in their lifetime. Interviews were voluntary, digitally
recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded thematically using Nvivo.
Findings: 33 males and 37 females (n=70) were interviewed, (mean age of
32.21). Participant characteristics highlighted the heterogeneous nature of
ATS users, including students, first-time mothers, ex-offenders, professionals.
Over half lived in 20% most deprived areas in England (3). Varied profiles and
practices of use were associated with different types of ATS: increased use of
ecstasy and mephedrone sought to regain the positive effects experienced
at initiation, often leading to increased dosage and frequency. High users
of amphetamine sought to manage multiple stressors impacting on their
lives (housing, mental health, poly-substance use, childcare, unemployment,
violence). Decreased use tended to be prompted by a pivotal moment
(e.g. child removal, death, imprisonment, intervention) and sustained
through individual wellness, structure (employment, education, voluntary
work), and non-using social networks. Few participants accessed services
specifically to support with their ATS use at any point in their trajectory.
Conclusions: There are three general pathways to stimulant use: hedonistic,
self-managing and functional. Access to services for ATS use across these
typologies was low, and was often secondary to other substances like alcohol
or heroin. Perceptions were mixed regarding quality of support service
provision for ATS use. There is a need to develop service provison specifically
to support ATS users in their desistance and recovery.
17
 Session 3 - Starts: 13.30 ends 15.00
Panel 3 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 125
Prisoner/Offender Identity: The Role of Family and Education
Name: Jacqueline Rappoport
Institution: Edinburgh Napier University
Title: A Review of the literature: The complexity Title: Reframing identity: How prisoners’ families Michigan State University
of studying the Military Veteran Offender and manage their identity
the families who are affected by them.
Abstract: This paper presents a brief summary of
the literature that examines the lives of UK military
veteran offenders and their families. Research
into veteran offenders takes into consideration
the complexities of the lives of military personnel
from a longitudinal perspective: e.g. looking into
the military as an institution, self-identification
within a prison setting, veteran support services,
family dynamics and the perception of and
access to welfare services. From a sociological
lens, the analysis considers the nature of familial
support needs in a rarely researched context.
Whilst veteran offenders have been the subject of
some research, as are other military veterans with
readily identifiable problematic civilian outcomes
(e.g. homelessness, substance misuse etc) research
to understand the experiences of their families in
this limited context is noteworthy by its absence.
Families and the military are both regarded as
‘greedy institutions’ that make excessive and often
competing demands on those within them (see
Segal, M. W. 1986). Given the problematic civilian
outcome, aspects of military family support are
often thrown into consideration as an afterthought,
potentially leaving the veteran adrift. There are
lessons for Defence and support organisations in
all of this. The literature aims to address the recent
contributions to military and family research for
those who may benefit from a brief update of the
literature.
18
Name: Tracey Hardy
Institution: University of Huddersfield
Abstract: Imprisonment can challenge individual
and familial identity. The family can share the same
spoiling of identity, as the offender, due to their
attachment and the failure of their relative to adhere
to societal norms and values. Research to date,
has shown how some families experience a sense
of vicarious shame and stigma as a result of their
association to a prisoner, and their own sense of
familial toxicity. How families of serious offenders
view themselves and how they imagine others to
see and relate to them, however, is an area which
has received very little attention. Invariably, different
family members will have their own view of how their
individual and familial identity should be presented.
This paper draws upon my PhD thesis, which
examines how families of prisoners serving a prison
sentence for committing a serious indictable
offence, construct and manage their social identity.
It explores how different family members related
to a prisoner reconstruct, interpret and present
their individual, familial and extra familial identity.
The paper will illustrate how families use a series of
performative neutralizations in their reconstruction
of the offence, to negate a negative appraisal and
spoiling of their own identity. This paper concludes,
that for prisoners’ families, neutralizations are
central to the framing of the individual and
familial identity. Neutralizations are an impression
management strategy that families adopt to lessen
the perpetrator’s role and accountability for the
crime, as well as reducing the moral accountability
and culpability commonly assigned to relatives of
offenders.
Name: Marianne Doherty & Ashleigh LaCourse
Institution:
Durham University
Title: Examining the pedagogy of the Inside-Out
Prison Exchange Program: How ‘Inside-
Out’ can establish an effective learning
environment for prisoners
Abstract: Research has indicated that the layout of
a classroom can have a direct impact on whether
or not students engage with each-other and class
material (see Conroy and Stitcher, 2003). While
creating an effective learning environment is a
challenge in any classroom, arguably a greater effort
is required to achieve this within the confines of a
prison. Preconceptions and negative assumptions
about the prison estate and the people within can
make it difficult for students in university/prison
partnerships to learn. Recognising this complexity in
the field of prison education, this research presents
the view that the pedagogy of The Inside-Out Prison
Exchange Program™ helps to create a learning
environment where the needs of the students are
met.
Inside-Out is a university accredited educational
class delivered in a prison. It combines two groups:
one ‘inside’ group of prisoners and one ‘outside’
group of university students. With a particular
emphasis on variations among facilitation styles,
this research addresses how the Inside-Out Prison
Exchange Program’s unique pedagogy can create a
positive learning experience and a continuous cycle
of learning for all involved.
19
 Session 4 - Starts: 15.45 ends 17.25
Panel 1 - De Grey, Ground Floor, Room 017
Victimisation
Name: Timothy Roebuck
Institution: University of Huddersfield
Title: Fear of becoming a Victim of a Terrorist Attack: Title: Household Occupation and Burglary Gorcea, & Chris Watson
An exploratory study of the phenomenon Victimization: The effects of marriage and Institution: University of Huddersfield
utilising Decision Board Analysis
Abstract: Fear of crime is a well-researched
criminological area of discussion and fear of terrorism
has been growing in popularity and necessity.
However, perceived risk – a crucial aspect of ‘fear’
as we understand it – has not been delved into as
far as it might have been. As such, an exploratory
study was conducted to attempt to uncover the
decision-making process undergone when one is
asked how ‘at risk’ of a terrorist attack they perceive
themselves to be. Interviews and Decision Board
Analyses were held with small numbers of participants
in West Yorkshire, London and Daugavpils (Latvia),
to investigate differences at differing levels of actual
risk. Participants were interviewed regarding their
general feelings around the topic and followed up with
a Decision Board with the scenario that ‘A Terrorist
Attack Has Occurred’ and asked to make a decision
as to how more ‘at risk’ they felt considering the
impact of it. Much consensus appeared regarding
the factors that influence the decision, with some
important distinctions also present. These factors
were aspects of the terrorist attack itself such as
‘Victims’, ‘Perpetrator’ and ‘Geographic Location’.
The exploratory nature of the study intended that
these important factors be brought to light, as well
as serving a secondary purpose of reintroducing the
oft-forgotten Decision Board as a worthwhile and
uniquely useful method of measuring the decision-
making process.
20
Name: Eleftherios Nomikos Name: Dainis Ignatans , Timothy Roebuck,
Institution: University of Huddersfield Eleftherios Nomikos, Alexandra Diana
cohabitation on household occupancy as Title: Moving on from hot-spots to hot-dots
means of burglary prevention.
Abstract: Victimisation is distributed unequally and
Abstract: Burglary rates have increased by 6% in the last optimized distribution of police effort and resource
2 years according to the Office for National Statistics. At at individual and area levels is necessary if the current
the same time, research suggests that while crime rates concentration of victimisation is to be reduced. Using
have been falling, the fall has been unequitable. The Crime Survey of England and Wales data between
few victims of repeat victimization tend to be victimized
2000 and 2015, it was demonstrated that over time
more and more. Extended research has tried looking at
victimisation has become increasingly concentrated
the issue in order to significantly reduce it. In regards
with the 10 per cent most victimized households
to burglary, projects such as Kirkholt were deemed as
suffering 17 times the violent crime and 6.5 times
promising. While demographic characteristics such
the property crime of the lowest decile. With the
as age and socioeconomic class as well as household
proportion of victimised households in the general
characteristics and types of dwellings have been looked
at, most research has not looked deeply into household population having fallen, proportion of victimisation
occupation as a preventive mechanism for burglaries. attributed to the most victimised is at its height.
The research conducted on the matter, suggests Elapsed time between repeat victimisations is
that increased occupation lowers risk of victimization. indicated to play a large role in predicting future
Marriage and couples that live together would therefore victimisation incidents, as is the number of prior
be at a lower risk of being burgled as a result. At the victimisations. Focused police efforts on hot-dots
same time, however, marriage and cohabitation rates (whether people or places) must be prioritised over
according to statistics are falling. Few, if any are the hot-spot patrols in the age of limited resources and
research projects that looked at cohabitation and if concentrated crime.
different ethnicities would also benefit from this. Thus,
this project has focused on the quantitative analysis
of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (former
British Crime Survey) between two points in time, 2004
and 2014 in relation to cohabitation/marital status,
household occupation and burglary victimization
experienced. It furthermore compares the two
timelines and the results between different ethnicities
in order to test the stability of the effect. The results
are promising and encourage further research into
the matter of household occupancy and how it might
affect household victimization rates and its preventive
mechanisms. Finally, the project adds to the much
contributing body on burglary, repeat victimization and
the sparsely researched ethnicity/immigration literature.
21
 Session 4 - Starts: 15.45 ends 17.25
Panel 2 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 124
Gender and Crime
Name: Stephen Burrell
Institution: Durham University
Title: Cultivating resistance to intimate partner Title: Police attribution of blame within abusive
violence among young men in the UK
Abstract: This paper will consider how programmes
and campaigns to engage men and boys in the
prevention of intimate partner violence and other
forms of men’s violence against women can be
developed in the future in the UK. It is based
upon findings from eight focus groups with men’s
student sports teams at an elite English university.
These aimed to explore how young men actually
understand and use the messages they receive from
prevention campaigns focusing on partner violence,
through discussions around a series of examples of
videos from different campaigns. The focus groups
shed light on some of the ways in which young
men individually and collectively go about enacting
complicity with the legitimisation and reproduction
of men’s violence against women amongst one
another. For example, through defensive responses
to prevention campaigns which shift the focus onto
men’s victimisation, which disassociate themselves
from ‘other’ men’s violence, or which naturalise men’s
violence as being biologically inevitable, and thus
curtail reflection about their own position in relation
to patriarchal power relations. However, the focus
groups also illustrated some of the ways in which
young men can and do resist sexism and misogyny
within their homosocial peer settings, and how such
resistance might thus be encouraged to become
more normalised. The paper concludes that much
more needs to be done to engage men and boys
around issues of masculinity, gender inequality, and
men’s violence towards women - and that we are
currently failing young people by not discussing
these issues with them enough.
22
Name: Kate Butterworth
Institution: Durham University
same-sex relationships: the role of gender
Abstract: This paper will discuss an aspect of my
doctoral research exploring police responses to
same-sex partner abuse (SSPA) in England and
Wales. Via qualitative interviews with police, support
professionals and victims, it was found that gender
rather than sexual orientation played a key role in
how police viewed the seriousness of incidents,
and how they attributed victim and perpetrator
status to people in same-sex abusive partnerships.
In order to decide who victims and perpetrators
were, relationships between gender and propensity
to cause physical injury were drawn upon by police,
in addition to displays of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’
behaviours. This was found to be linked to the ‘public
story’ of how domestic abuse works, viewing men
as strong and able to cause physical harm, and
women as weaker and vulnerable. This did however
sometimes cause problems for police, who, due to
lack of a male to female relationship, sometimes
struggled to identify victim and perpetrators and
therefore viewed the abuse as ‘mutual’. When
assessing seriousness and assigning risk ratings,
physical injury was viewed as more serious when
perpetrated by men, whereas harassment was
viewed as a ‘female crime’ by many police. Physical
injury was also often focused on at the expense
of other abusive behaviours, such as coercion and
control. This paper will also draw upon the narrative
of one victim in particular, and how her and her
ex-partner’s roles as mothers influenced police’s
attribution of risk, blame and seriousness in her
situation.
23
 Session 4 - Starts: 15.45 ends 17.25
Panel 3 - De Grey, First Floor, Room 125
Media and Crime
Name: Ian Cook
Institution: Northumbria University
Title: Fictional cities and the criminological Title: The effects of media reporting on survivors of Title: Re-trial by television: media interest and
imagination: Explorations of Albuquerque sexual violence
in Breaking Bad and Edinburgh in Ian Rankin’s of justice
John Rebus novels
Abstract: This paper considers the way in which
criminological studies have and should understand
the links between crime and cities. As well as making
the case for thinking about cities as being more than
a passive backdrop to crime and criminal justice,
it highlights the importance of studying the links
between crime and cities via crime drama and crime
fiction. It will illustrate this through an exploration
of crime, policing and urban life in two contrasting
fictional ‘texts’: the American crime drama Breaking
Bad and the John Rebus novels written by Scottish
author Ian Rankin.
24
Name: Kathryn Royal
Institution: Durham University
Abstract: Research has established that the media
blames victims in its reporting of sexual violence,
but no research to date has examined how this
reporting and blame affects women who have
experienced sexual violence. Using data collected as
part of my PhD research, this paper will fill this gap.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with
eight supporters working in Rape Crisis centres in
the North East of England and with fifteen women
who have experienced sexual violence from around
the UK. Early findings suggest that the media can
have a strong negative impact on women who have
experienced sexual violence, including triggering
flashbacks. Amongst both groups of interviewees,
there was widespread belief that media reporting
of sexual violence was harmful, but that it could be
beneficial if changes were made.
Name: Sam Poyser
Institution: York St John University
involvement in investigating miscarriages
Abstract: Whilst “Getting people out of jail who
have been wrongly convicted has always been
recognised as a journalistic pursuit very much in the
public interest” (Ware, 2000: 7), media interest and
involvement in investigating miscarriages of justice
has diminished over the last 20 years within the
UK (Eady, 2016). Why is this the case and will this
interest and involvement ever be rekindled? Through
a programme of semi-structured interviews with
a sample (N=20) of television journalists involved
in miscarriages of justice cases relating to murder
convictions, this study attempted to explore the
contribution of investigative journalism to revealing
miscarriages of justice and reasons for a decline
in media interest in this area in the UK. The study
revealed that a number of factors led to declining
media interest and involvement in miscarriages of
justice over this period including those internal to
the profession and developments within the Criminal
Justice System that may have made cases less
attractive and/or more difficult to investigate from
this perspective.
25
Notes

26 27
 2018
2018

CONFERENCE
WEDNESDAY 25 APRIL 2018

#NEcrime2018