The Hunting of the Snark: Reflections on a Half Century of Crime

Abstract

John Croft is a former head of the UK's Home Office Research and Planning Unit, so is able to draw on extensive experience to offer this reflective examination of half a century of involvement in the criminal justice system. He surveys the shifting patterns of research, popular attitudes and social emphasis, relates them to the changing political context, and asks a number of telling questions — including 'What works?' The author concludes that not much does work, and that government has had little influence on fluctuations in the crime rate since the Second World War. He recommends periodic reviews of research across the whole criminal justice system, perhaps on a ten‐year cycle; more comparative research, which would help to illuminate problems and perhaps suggest solutions; a closer look at the interaction between social and criminal policies; and a re‐examination of risk assessment, particularly in its implications for penology.

Relations between Government Researchers and Academics

“…Maintaining the integrity and reputation of government research was a major role of senior management within the Unit, and this was achieved by establishing a set of principles, as detailed below, and fiercely defending them (see Clarke and Cornish 1983;Cornish and Clarke 1987;Croft 1977Croft , 1980aCroft , 1980bCroft , 1981Croft , 2005Tarling 1986).…”