- School of Social Science, Education and Social Work
Queen's University Belfast - 07982448492
- Correctional Rehabilitation, Desistance, Cultures of Punishment, Criminality and Punishment, Criminal Justice, Penology, and 12 morePrisoner reentry, Criminology, Community Corrections, Prison Literature, Psychoanalysis, Criminal Psychology, Prisons, Prisoners Families, Assessment and treatment of offenders, Sex Offender Treatment, Parole, and Punitive Attitudes (Criminology)edit
The concept of stigma and labeling has been central to the sociology of punishment since at least the writings of Durkheim and Mead. However, the vast transformations brought on by the expansion of the internet over the past 20 years... more
The concept of stigma and labeling has been central to the sociology of punishment since at least the writings of Durkheim and Mead. However, the vast transformations brought on by the expansion of the internet over the past 20 years suggest the need for revisiting the dynamics of labeling. While the power to apply extralegal criminal labels is now in the hands of many, stigma in the form of a digital footprint is arguably more difficult than ever to escape. This paper draws on two small studies to better understand these new dynamics of labeling: a discourse analysis of the motivations of online labelers and interviews with individuals struggling to cope with online labels. This evidence describes how the internet has become a fertile space for the expression of public anxieties about social problems and a digital prison that can discourage the labeled from engaging with the processes of reintegration.
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This chapter explores mixed method research designs that seek to combine elements of qualitative and quantitative research into a criminological investigation. This is neither a new nor a radical concept. Indeed, the differences between... more
This chapter explores mixed method research designs that seek to combine elements of qualitative and quantitative research into a criminological investigation. This is neither a new nor a radical concept. Indeed, the differences between so-called qualitative methods and ...
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Abstract 1. Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 2000, Vol 45 (2), 156-158. Reviews Within the Hearts and Minds of Prisoners: An In-Depth View of Prisoners in Therapy (see record 1998-06421-000). Late in... more
Abstract 1. Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 2000, Vol 45 (2), 156-158. Reviews Within the Hearts and Minds of Prisoners: An In-Depth View of Prisoners in Therapy (see record 1998-06421-000). Late in the book, Scott rolls out the ...
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The Vertigo of Late Modernity confirms that Jock Young is among the pre-eminent theorists in the history of criminology. Building on his now legendary 'Merton with Energy, Katz with Structure'(Young, 2003), the book covers a... more
The Vertigo of Late Modernity confirms that Jock Young is among the pre-eminent theorists in the history of criminology. Building on his now legendary 'Merton with Energy, Katz with Structure'(Young, 2003), the book covers a remarkable amount of ground for 230 pages. ...
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Escape Routes: Contemporary Perspectives on Life After Punishmentaddresses the reasons why people stop offending, and the processes by which they are rehabilitated or resettled back into the community. Engaging with, and building upon,... more
Escape Routes: Contemporary Perspectives on Life After Punishmentaddresses the reasons why people stop offending, and the processes by which they are rehabilitated or resettled back into the community. Engaging with, and building upon, renewed criminological interest in this area, Escape Routesnevertheless broadens and enlivens the current debate. First, its scope goes beyond a narrowly-defined notion of crime and includes, for example, essays on religious redemption, the lives of ex-war criminals, and the relationship between ethnicity ...
Research Interests: Criminology and Law
Abstract In this article, we seek to clarify and develop the concept of ontological insecurity by linking it to the better developed, empirical literature on 'terror management theory'in social psychology. We argue that the... more
Abstract In this article, we seek to clarify and develop the concept of ontological insecurity by linking it to the better developed, empirical literature on 'terror management theory'in social psychology. We argue that the understanding of both ontological insecurity and terror ...
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It is fashionable in some departments of criminology and sociology, perhaps especially in the United Kingdom, to be 'anti-psychology'or to otherwise oppose the spread of influence of the 'psy sciences'(involving... more
It is fashionable in some departments of criminology and sociology, perhaps especially in the United Kingdom, to be 'anti-psychology'or to otherwise oppose the spread of influence of the 'psy sciences'(involving psychology, psychiatry, and whatnot). The argument is that ...
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... True story: In my first year of graduate school, facing a growing mountain of loan debt and an uncertain funding situation, I applied ... Once a criminal, always a criminal. ... In the end, I got a nice letter saying I had been... more
... True story: In my first year of graduate school, facing a growing mountain of loan debt and an uncertain funding situation, I applied ... Once a criminal, always a criminal. ... In the end, I got a nice letter saying I had been short-listed and that they liked my proposal, but that criminology ...
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In the hotel bar at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference, a friend and I were debating who the smartest living criminologists might be. I quickly mentioned Stanley Cohen. My friend shot this vote down on a... more
In the hotel bar at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference, a friend and I were debating who the smartest living criminologists might be. I quickly mentioned Stanley Cohen. My friend shot this vote down on a technicality.'Cohen's not a criminologist, really, ...
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ABSTRACT In this article we draw attention to the recent and extraordinary increase in the number of people in England and Wales recalled to prison during the licence period of their sentence (by examining the published Parole Board and... more
ABSTRACT In this article we draw attention to the recent and extraordinary increase in the number of people in England and Wales recalled to prison during the licence period of their sentence (by examining the published Parole Board and prison statistics). This is followed by a description of the existing law and the recent changes to it, which we suggest will exacerbate the current trend. We seek then to explain the increase by looking primarily at the US experience (which reveals a system which is costly, discriminatory and apparently ineffective at reducing crime) and at recent judicial review cases (which reveal a system which is increasingly acknowledged to be unfair), concluding that current sentencing law and practice puts inappropriate emphasis on ‘front door’ sentencing practices rather than the equally important ‘back door’ practices of release, supervision and recall. Unsurprisingly, the article ends with a call for much more research in this area.
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Abstract Self-help (or mutual aid) processes play a substantial role in the reintegration of stigmatized individuals, in particular, a substantial self-help movement has developed around addiction recovery. Prisoners and ex-prisoners have... more
Abstract Self-help (or mutual aid) processes play a substantial role in the reintegration of stigmatized individuals, in particular, a substantial self-help movement has developed around addiction recovery. Prisoners and ex-prisoners have also established self-help ...
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To cite this article: Maruna, Shadd. Critical Criminology: Issues, Debates, Challenges [Book Review][online]. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, The, Vol. 36, No. 1, Apr 2003: 118-123. Availability:< http://search.... more
To cite this article: Maruna, Shadd. Critical Criminology: Issues, Debates, Challenges [Book Review][online]. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, The, Vol. 36, No. 1, Apr 2003: 118-123. Availability:< http://search. informit. com. au/documentSummary; dn= ...
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Blumstein and Nakamura‟ s policy essay Processes of Redemption Should Be Built into the Use of Criminal-History Records for Background Checking is ground-breaking in many ways. The innovative and rigorous data analysis makes a... more
Blumstein and Nakamura‟ s policy essay Processes of Redemption Should Be Built into the Use of Criminal-History Records for Background Checking is ground-breaking in many ways. The innovative and rigorous data analysis makes a considerable contribution in ...
... Bonger (Patrick Hebberecht) 58 Anthony E. Bottoms (Loraine Gelsthorpe) 227 John Braithwaite (Shadd Maruna ... Joanne Belknap is Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, USA. ... The French physician Claude Bernard framed... more
... Bonger (Patrick Hebberecht) 58 Anthony E. Bottoms (Loraine Gelsthorpe) 227 John Braithwaite (Shadd Maruna ... Joanne Belknap is Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, USA. ... The French physician Claude Bernard framed this concisely in his famous quote,'Art is I ...
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Summary: Criminology, by its very nature, has always been an applied discipline, yet in recent years there has been a consistent push to encourage academic researchers to engage with the 'real world'and demonstrate the impact... more
Summary: Criminology, by its very nature, has always been an applied discipline, yet in recent years there has been a consistent push to encourage academic researchers to engage with the 'real world'and demonstrate the impact their research has on wider society outside of so-called 'ivory towers'. This paper describes one such effort at 'knowledge exchange'funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council that sought to bring the academic research on 'desistance from crime'to a wider audience than the one that ...
Livre: Contemporary perspectives on life after punishment: escape routes (hardback) FARRALL Stephen, SPARKS Richard, MARUNA Shadd, HOUGH Mike.
Self-report research suggests that much violence is triggered by perceived insults and disrespect. This may be particularly true in the context of a prison or another environment of acute deprivation, whereby individuals have little other... more
Self-report research suggests that much violence is triggered by perceived insults and disrespect. This may be particularly true in the context of a prison or another environment of acute deprivation, whereby individuals have little other recourse to means of reputation enhancement. This paper presents the findings of two studies conducted with prisoner volunteers inside a Category C (minimum security) prison in England. In the first study, the authors randomly assigned a sample of 89 prisoners to one of two conditions: the experimental group were asked to discuss times they have been disrespected by authority figures inside and outside the prison; the control group were asked more neutral questions. Both groups then completed several measures of cognitive beliefs, distortions, and hostile attribution biases. None of the measures differed across the two groups except the measure of excuse and justification acceptance. Controlling for other factors, the experimental group endorsed these rationalisations at a significantly higher rate than the control group. This finding suggests that raising the salience of disrespect - reminding prisoners of times they have been made to feel unworthy of consideration - may raise the risk that prisoners will engage in violence by providing prisoners with justifications or excuses for actions they might not otherwise endorse. These findings received some additional validation in the second study, a qualitative analysis of offender accounts of violence and aggression within the prison. Implications for reducing violence within prisons are discussed.
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Sykes and Matza’s neutralization theory, though a popular framework for understanding deviant behavior, remains badly underdeveloped in the criminological literature. In particular, few attempts have been made to connect it to narrative... more
Sykes and Matza’s neutralization theory, though a popular framework for
understanding deviant behavior, remains badly underdeveloped in the criminological
literature. In particular, few attempts have been made to connect it to narrative and
sociocognitive research in psychology and related fields. From the perspective of this
wider context, it appears that one reason neutralization theory has received only mixed
empirical support is that it has been understood as a theory of criminal etiology. This
makes little sense (how can one neutralize something before they have done it?).
It also makes the theory difficult to test. Neutralization should instead be seen as
playing a role in persistence in or desistance from criminal behavior. Additionally,
the theory’s central premises need to be substantially complicated. The notions that
all excuses or justifications are “bad” and that reform involves “accepting complete
responsibility” for one’s actions are not tenable. Sykes and Matza were right to draw
attention to self-understandings and attributions, but criminology was wrong in seeing
neutralization theory as the last word on cognition in criminal behavior.
understanding deviant behavior, remains badly underdeveloped in the criminological
literature. In particular, few attempts have been made to connect it to narrative and
sociocognitive research in psychology and related fields. From the perspective of this
wider context, it appears that one reason neutralization theory has received only mixed
empirical support is that it has been understood as a theory of criminal etiology. This
makes little sense (how can one neutralize something before they have done it?).
It also makes the theory difficult to test. Neutralization should instead be seen as
playing a role in persistence in or desistance from criminal behavior. Additionally,
the theory’s central premises need to be substantially complicated. The notions that
all excuses or justifications are “bad” and that reform involves “accepting complete
responsibility” for one’s actions are not tenable. Sykes and Matza were right to draw
attention to self-understandings and attributions, but criminology was wrong in seeing
neutralization theory as the last word on cognition in criminal behavior.
Research Interests:
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A response to Bushway and Apel paper "A Signaling Perspective on Employment-Based Reentry Programming Training Completion as a Desistance Signal" from the ASC journal Criminology and Public Policy's Feb 2012 Special Congressional Issue.
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In this article, we argue that the history of bail foretells the future of parole. Under a plan called the Conditional Post-Conviction Release Bond Act (recently passed into law in three states), US prisoners can secure early release only... more
In this article, we argue that the history of bail foretells the future of parole. Under a plan called the Conditional Post-Conviction Release Bond Act (recently passed into law in three states), US prisoners can secure early release only after posting ‘post-conviction bail’. As with pre-trial bail, the fledgling model would require prisoners to pay a percentage of the bail amount to secure their release under the contractual responsibility of a
commercial bail agency. If release conditions are breached, bounty hunters are legally empowered to seize and return the parolee to prison. Our inquiry outlines the origins of this post-conviction bond plan and the research upon which it is based. Drawing on the ‘new penology’ framework, we identify several underlying factors that make for a ripe advocacy environment and set the stage for widespread state-level adoption of this plan in the near future. Post-conviction bail fits squarely within the growing policy trends toward privatization, managerialism, and actuarial justice. Most importantly, though,
advocates have the benefit of precedent on their side, as most US states have long relied on a system of commercial bail bonding and private bounty hunting to manage conditional pretrial release.
commercial bail agency. If release conditions are breached, bounty hunters are legally empowered to seize and return the parolee to prison. Our inquiry outlines the origins of this post-conviction bond plan and the research upon which it is based. Drawing on the ‘new penology’ framework, we identify several underlying factors that make for a ripe advocacy environment and set the stage for widespread state-level adoption of this plan in the near future. Post-conviction bail fits squarely within the growing policy trends toward privatization, managerialism, and actuarial justice. Most importantly, though,
advocates have the benefit of precedent on their side, as most US states have long relied on a system of commercial bail bonding and private bounty hunting to manage conditional pretrial release.
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Maruna, S. (2011). Judicial Rehabilitation and the ‘Clean Bill of Health’ in Criminal Justice. European Journal of Probation, 3(1), 97-117.
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Research Interests: Forensic Psychology, Health Psychology, Criminal Law, Criminal Justice, Peace and Conflict Studies, and 11 moreSecurity, Parenting, Family, Women, Prisons, Reproductive health, Prison Psychology, Prison, Forensic Psychology, Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Women, Peace & Security, Care of Prisoners Family, and Prisoners Families
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King, A. & Maruna, S. (2011). “Moral Indignation in the East of England: A Youthful Twist on Ranulf’s Ageing Thesis.” (pp. 123-145). In Karstedt, S., Loader, I., and Strang, H. (Eds.) Emotions, Crime and Justice. Oxford: Hart Publishing