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October 27, 2008
CRIMINOGENIC NEEDS OF OFENDERS - PASSE
"When I hear phrases like 'criminogenic needs of offenders' it drives me nuts, for two reasons. First, it is pretty impenetrable jargon designed to put a barrier between the practitioner and public. And second, because I profoundly disagree that we should describe someone's amoral desire to go thieving as a 'need' equivalent to that of victims or the law-abiding public."
This is from a speech by Jack Straw (27/10/08) which was trailed as an attack on criminal justice reform groups. What, of course, is ironical is that the offending 'impenetrable jargon' has nothing to do with reformist movements, but was very much a product of the beloved OASys which was very much a product of government and home office thinking and a phrase frequently cited in court reports. Looks like it's now out of fashion and it's all the fault of criminal justice reformers. Looks like the probation script is being rewritten...
Jack Straw also said: "No one in the system should hide behind jargon".
"For a man to attack jargon while boasting in the same speech of "multi agency public protection agreements" and "integrated offender management" is absurd."
http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/sp271008a.htm
STRAW MAN:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/28/jack-straw-prisons-crime
Posted by Hampshire at October 27, 2008 06:40 PM