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Abstract.
This paper seeks to explore and illuminate the role of social work in criminal justice, locating this discussion in the context of recent developments in Scotland. We begin by giving attention to the distinctive and shifting contexts of criminal justice social work practice before moving on to consider both the 'what' and the 'how' of the practice task. Integrated throughout the discussion is a concern to engage in the complexity and potential of contemporary criminal justice social work practice, an approach which we believe needs to more routinely inform every aspect of our professional role - from our initial engagements to our overarching expectations of what can be achieved. In conclusion, we suggest that our ability to contribute to a relevant, positive and sustainable future for criminal justice social work - an outcome which in the current context is by no means straightforward - rests not only in our capacity to understand the contemporary story but in our capacity to engage in, define and direct that story for good.
Keywords : criminal justice, social work, Scotland, offender, supervision
Introduction
Issues of crime and justice have come to occupy a prominent and often contentious position in many jurisdictions across the globe. On one level, this can be seen to reflect late modern preoccupations with risk, punishment and control - as evidenced, for example, in a prevailing and widespread notion which tends to equate punishment and justice solely with the imprisonment of offenders. On another level, it reflects new (and frequently invited) levels of public scrutiny, engagement and comment on state-funded professional activities.
The implications of the above developments for those practicing in the field of criminal justice have been significant and far reaching, resulting in what several distinguished penologists have described as very significant 'penal transformations' in the UK, the USA and other English speaking jurisdictions (see for example Garland, 2001 ; Pratt et al. 2004 ; Pratt, 2000 ; Simon and Feeley, 1995 ; Feeley and Simon, 1992, 1994). Yet, amidst this transformation, public, political and (inter-) professional understanding of the multiple professional roles which populate this landscape sometimes appear lacking and are, more often than not, constructed upon assumptions, inaccuracies and grossly simplified notions of both 'the problem' and 'the solution'.
In...