Papers by Shane Kilcommins
British Journal of Criminology, Apr 24, 2007
Reviewed by Helen Codd At a time when edited collections are the subject of some criticism (Ruggi... more Reviewed by Helen Codd At a time when edited collections are the subject of some criticism (Ruggiero, 2005), it is encouraging to review a collection which, whilst including a diverse and varied collection of contributions, manages to retain its focus and thus make a significant contribution to criminological scholarship. One of the key aims is to 'prepare grounds for the development of a theoretical understanding of the process of how the reintegration of ex-offenders could best be designed, facilitated and implemented by exploring what is known about the 'natural process' of desistance' (p 17). That is, the authors argue that the re-entry process could be modelled on what we know about desistance. This aim has been admirably achieved: the book provides a firm and useful springboard for future research, policy and practice.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2011
Ireland's criminal justice system is showing some signs of drifting in the direction of an 'assem... more Ireland's criminal justice system is showing some signs of drifting in the direction of an 'assembly line' model of justice in which the State-individual balance is increasingly tipped in favour of the former. David Garland's 'culture of control' thesis is very useful in describing the thrust and direction of this trend, particularly given the tendency to review events through starkly juxtaposing the inclusionary elements of penal welfarism and the exclusionary elements of control. Such a juxtaposition facilitates analogies, contrasts and generalisations serving the very useful purpose of highlighting ruptures, discontinuities, and dissimilarities within orthodox practices and ways of thinking. The paper make the point that though many of the indices of control are present in Ireland, many significant phenomena and occurrences in the criminal process do not sit neatly within the four corners of the thesis.
The 1972 Criminal Justice Act made provision for the introduction of community service orders in ... more The 1972 Criminal Justice Act made provision for the introduction of community service orders in England and Wales. It was one of the key recommendations of the Wootton Advisory Council on the Penal System in 1970, a committee petitioned by the then Home Secretary, Mr Roy Jenkins, to consider what variations and annexations could be made to the existing range of non-custodial penalties. Its appointment may be regarded as the first all-embracing investigation of the adequacy of the existing powers of the courts to sentence offenders without recourse to the use of custody. The order itself requires an adult offender, who has consented, to perform between 40 and 240 hours of supervised unpaid work in the community. I Before making an order the court has to satisfy itself that the offender is capable of such service, is reasonably likely to cooperate, and has sufficient leisure time to complete the order within 12 months without interfering with his/her work, religion or education. Broadly speaking it was envisaged that the The 1982 Criminal Justice Act reduced the age of offenders who could be so sentenced to 16 but they could only perform 120 hours of work. The 1991 Criminal Justice Act increased the total number of hours for 16 year olds to 240.
Trials have evolved into an adversarial process, and the state has taken over the prosecutorial f... more Trials have evolved into an adversarial process, and the state has taken over the prosecutorial function. There are five challenges to this 'equality of arms': expanded powers of the state to address a perceived imbalance between prosecution and defence; emergency provisions becoming part of normal law; the application of criminal law to deal with regulatory issues; the use of civil jurisdiction as a crime prevention strategy; and the accommodation of victims and witnesses within the system. Maintaining a balance between security and public protection on the one hand and strong due process safeguards on the other is a complex task. But keeping both perspectives in mind helps ensure that new measures are driven by evidencebased criteria and broad considerations of strategy.
This book consists of a selection of essays commissioned by editors on the subject of Alcohol, So... more This book consists of a selection of essays commissioned by editors on the subject of Alcohol, Society and Law. Ireland has the second highest consumption of alcohol per person of any country in the world, taking second place to Luxembourg. This book is superb in its coverage of the very wide range of various aspects of alcohol - its use and misuse. Although most of the essays relate to Ireland, the editors have included work on the problems as they occur in England, Wales and Scotland, for, as they remark, although the main focus remains on Ireland, there is more than a common legal tradition between the countries. The editors say in their Preface that it was their ambition to bring together a collection of papers that otherwise would never be found between a common set of covers. They have succeeded in this comprehensive, yet most readable of volumes. Judge James O'Sullivan writes an informative Foreword
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The creative teacher is one ‘ris[es] to the needs of the situation’ (Dewey 1997; p. 174). Meyer a... more The creative teacher is one ‘ris[es] to the needs of the situation’ (Dewey 1997; p. 174). Meyer and Land’s (2003, 2005, 2006) seminal work on Threshold Concepts gives educators an important lens on the transformation of students’ disciplinary understanding. One key characteristic of a Threshold Concept is that it is likely to be ‘bounded’; a conceptual space with ‘terminal frontiers’ (2006, p.6). Meyer and Land recognise the danger of this being perceived as essentialist. In response they advocate a research-minded pedagogical design so as to avoid what Gardner calls ‘hyper-disciplinarity’. We pose the question as to how disciplinarians might embed integrative learning principles into a Threshold Concept curriculum design. Disciplinary thinking, offering different ways of conceiving phenomena, in themselves ‘reflect characteristics of the phenomenon itself and …characteristics of the social construction of that phenomenon’ (Davies, 2003; p 7-8). Therefore, the mental capacity of lea...
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Papers by Shane Kilcommins