This thesis makes an original contribution to the study of online support on domestic violence (often referred to as online support communities/groups) through a discursive feminist perspective. Whilst the few previous studies on the topic are limited in scope, this is the first to adopt a mixed methods approach, exploring the topic through three sets of data from one online support forum on domestic violence: qualitative textual analysis of threads (n=215); an online survey (n=70); and two interviews with the manager of the forum and the moderator. The thesis aims to explore the role of an online support forum for women in the process of ending violence in their lives. Six aspects of online support are explored: forum-host’s goals, history and development of the forum; the experience of online support from the perspective of its members; exploring the themes and topics dealt with in the forum; how forum users perceive the impact and relevance of these themes; how members construct emotions, violence, victims and perpetrators in written postings; and how members use violence discourse in support processes. The analysis of these aspects provides a new body of evidence regarding the possibilities of online support groups. First, interviews with the forum hosts give a unique insight to the challenges with hosting the forum, pursuing moderation, and the limits and possibilities with using a public anonymous space. Second, through the survey, a sample of forum-members describes an eclectic form of mutual support, the experience of moderator’s work, and the interaction with other members. The forum's impact on participants’ understanding of violence, help-seeking and decision-making is measured. Third, the analysis of threads demonstrates in-depth members’ reflexive work (Giddens, 1991) in the forum, which comprehends the whole processes of ending violence, and shows how members use violence discourse to understand violence, manage emotions and encourage specific choices and actions. A discursive theoretical perspective explicates how support processes are enacted within and according to a normative practice. The findings suggest previously overlooked issues, in particular with regard to flexible long-term support for women with experiences of domestic violence (Kelly et al, 2014).

Discussions about risk are central to the formulation of criminal justice and penal policies. They shape ways of perceiving and responding to what is deemed risky behavior. This thesis builds upon research about the application and effects of “the new penology”, with its emphasis on “actuarialism”, which promotes quantitative methods used in accountancy as an analytical method for risk assessment. This thesis goes beyond policy texts and theories providing original contribution that explores how the police and the probation services actually interpret and implement policy and manage mutual institutional pressures and biases. It does so by using interviews and debriefing process with police and probation practitioners, as well as by drawing upon the author’s own professional experience. This thesis identifies some of the effects of implementing actuarial practices within police and probation working, looking at convergent and divergent views. It aims at a clearer understanding of the partnership working between police and probation services arising from different perspectives and response to risk. The findings support the notion that actuarial practices permeate this arena of public protection; influencing intra and inter-service partnerships and the implementation of MAPPA aims. Actuarial analysis accentuates a tendency to prioritise police crime control policies but not without resistance from probation officers. A number of MAPPA deficiencies including ineffective information sharing processes exist between critical partners impeding partnership working. Disagreements formed from differences in organisational aims of rehabilitation and crime control, accentuated by the actuarial risk assessment methodology. Repeated working together of personnel and development of collaborative initiatives helped alleviate misunderstandings. Conflict between the two services was most acute in relation to the transfer process, breach of licence conditions and recall to custody of offenders. Gaps in knowledge and experience created significant issues particularly for those new to risk management and the responsibilities associated to this arena of public protection work. Activities to aid communal development were identified through organisational learning founded in communities of practice and isomorphic learning encouraging the growth of networks of learning. Crisis causation models and the systemic lessons learned knowledge model (Syllk) provided diverse perspectives to assess people, learning, culture, social values, technology, process and infrastructure. Improvements in any combination of these factors supported the development of trust and learning between agencies. The Transforming Rehabilitation agenda transformed the public protection world and amplified the negative aspects of the findings in this thesis. Anxieties about data, information sharing and the effectiveness of the framework to transfer cases between agencies are a contemporary problem for the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies to tackle. Failure to do so will place the public at greater risk.

This thesis sought to explore how restorative justice (RJ) could be implemented into the Bermuda Department of Corrections using action research. The aim was to explore how RJ can work for victims and incarcerated offenders in Bermuda in regards to the potential for reduction of harm, increasing empathy and as an addition to the existing CJS. Training was provided and partnerships established with the Bermuda Police Service and Prison Fellowship Bermuda for the specific purpose of the initiative. Phase-one involved the introduction of two prerequisite programmes (Victim Empathy and the Sycamore Tree) that offenders were invited to voluntarily participate in. Respectively, one programme delivered by Corrections staff and consisting of only prisoners and the other delivered by Prison Fellowship facilitators and involving 16 surrogate victim-participants. A mixed-method approach was used to examine impact and process. These included questionnaires pre and post the phase-one programmes and the CRIME-PICS II psychometric to assess attitudinal change, participatory and non-participatory observations and a focus group. Both programmes increased the offenders’ empathy while the Sycamore Tree programme involving participants from the community, helped create further positive attitudinal change on the main scales measured by the CRIME-PICS II. 93% of the Sycamore Tree victim-participants were ‘very satisfied’ overall and ‘would definitely’ recommend the programme to others. Qualitative findings indicated victim healing, with some referring to a sense of closure and forgiveness for themselves and the offender. The second-phase introduced RJ conferencing, two conferences were held and the experience of participants was again very positive. The offenders considered trained conference facilitators from the Police and Corrections as being impartial. Overall benefits for both parties (offenders and victims) indicated a promising start to the initiative. A number of previous findings from empirical research were found in the current study. Victims valued having a voice and rehabilitation; and offenders valued the ‘victim’s forgiveness and reintegration’. The social interconnectedness of Bermuda creates a need for RJ as the stigmatization of criminality often extends beyond the offender to include their family. The pilot indicated the need in some cases for reparatory preparation work with offenders and their families before the offender feels comfortable, or able to call upon family members as conference supporters. Further the importance of community lay in the fact that the likelihood of victims coming into contact with the person who offended against them, once released is virtually inevitable. The success of the action research pilot led to the Department of Corrections adopting the initiative and continuing with it and produced nine trained facilitators. The content of the Sycamore Tree Project was superior as a phase-one prerequisite programme to RJ conferencing; however, an adaption to the programme would be needed to reduce the strong religious content. Victims and offenders benefitted from the initiative.

Tensions between public expectations for police governance and ethical governance mirror recent spectacular governance failures. Several recent Canadian commissions of inquiry and court cases critical of the police have suggested police governance need to be more direct and assertive. The small numbers of academic studies that focused on the unique field of policing have largely ignored the behaviour of police boards responsible for their governance. More importantly is the apparent lack of attention paid by those responsible for police governance to the criticality of the pluralistic nature of policing itself. This research focuses on police boards in particular and not the police, with particular attention given to the link between their ethical decision-making and public trust. National leads in police governance, representing regional and national boards and board associations from across the country, were interviewed for this research. Eight key aspects of police governance were analyzed, and a number of gaps between current and best practices were identified. Ultimately, a number of recommendations are made to close those gaps, including the contribution of a new universal assessment instrument for police governance: the parallax perspective tool.

The purpose of this study is to explore how the experience of being looked after impacts on the emotional wellbeing of black and dual heritage young people. Looked after children and young people have been identified as a specific group whose views need to contribute to the development of policy (DfES, 2007). However, studies gaining the views of black and dual heritage looked after young people are limited, thus their needs remain under researched and largely unknown. Guided by the philosophical assumptions and methodological approach of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis a semi-structured face-to-face interview was conducted with ten (n-10) care experienced black and dual heritage young people. Five (n-5) black and dual heritage social workers who were experienced in working with this demographic were also interviewed. Three superordinate themes were identified from the interpretive analysis: 1) Emotional Unavailability, 2) Ethnicity, and 3) Surviving School. A number of subordinate themes were also identified under each theme. The findings suggest that black and dual heritage looked after young people have additional and different needs from the general looked after population. The young people emphasised a lack of authentically warm relationships with their foster carers and to a lesser extent with their social workers. The findings raise challenging issues for teachers who were experienced by the young people as being insensitive and judgmental. An underpinning concern was the lack of recognition from foster carers of their identities as black and dual heritage young people. In attempting to move towards service improvement the data analysis lead to a number of recommendations for key professionals, local authorities and future research. Underpinning these recommendations is an emphasis on the importance of listening to the voices of this vulnerable group.

The term ‘producers of IIOC’ refers to individuals who create or are involved in the creation of indecent images of children. This thesis is a qualitative analysis of 22 interviews undertaken with individuals who produced IIOC. The production of IIOC is not a new phenomenon. However, producers of IIOC are a group about which little is known, even though they supply a large market. With the advancement of modern technology and the development of the internet, IIOC has become more readily available and easier to produce. Accordingly, it is important to gain a greater understanding of those who create such material in the interests of prevention, child safeguarding and detection. Law enforcement and the legal system worldwide are chasing the ever-advancing means of sexually abusing and exploiting children. Research and safeguarding organisations regularly highlight the exponential number of new IIOC available and the apparent increasing demand for such material. The low-age range of victims of IIOC and extreme abuse being perpetrated have been noted in seized material, and live streaming of child sexual abuse is a concerning development. The participants in this study emerged as a heterogeneous group in terms of social demographics. Their early life experiences were marked by prevalent issues such as neglect, abuse and exposure to violence. A large proportion of them had never had a long-term adult relationship and many others were either separated or divorced. Their grooming techniques were many and varied, and they presented as being able to adapt their grooming process depending upon the environment and victim. IIOC of both known and stranger victims were produced, demonstrating a variation in the relationships between perpetrators and the children who were exploited. The methodology employed to produce IIOC was examined, covering both remote and adjacent producers, as well as those who were covert about their behaviour. The cognitive distortions that supported the behaviour suggest minimising of harm and distancing techniques. The function of the production behaviour was not found to be exclusively sexual and included a variety of other motivating factors, ranging from commercial gain to social status. However, all participants acknowledged a sexual arousal to children. This research has found that the process of producing IIOC appears to be evolving. The advancement of technology, in particular the internet, makes it easier to produce IIOC and share such material with others. As sex offenders seem to be capitalising on new equipment and the increasingly mainstream culture of photographing and recording almost unreservedly, so too must law enforcement and front-line professionals keep pace. Recognising that production of IIOC may be an aspect of an individual’s sexually exploitative behaviour, even when there is initially no apparent evidence, is essential. It appears that it may be an overlooked or undetected area of offending and in turn, not dealt with in assessment, intervention and safeguarding. Future research is advisable to obtain a greater understanding of individuals who produce IIOC, in order to prevent, deter, and deal with the behaviour, as well as to help their victims.

This research explores the complexities of the relationship between the police and young black people. This includes considerations on how young people specifically, young black minority ethnic groups are shaped by government policies and its agents, the police. Published research supports the notion that Black young people continue to be affected by a lack of services such as education, employment as well as other social inequalities. In addition, the stop and search practices have caused much damage to BME groups and has impacted negatively on the relationship between the police and Black communities. This thesis explores the issue of Black young people within a historical and social policy context, as well as exploring the views of young Black people and the police. There is a significant body of published research about policing in general. There are however not many in depth research studies on a particular police setting about the experiences of white and black youths and how they are affected by policing. This research explores young people's thoughts on exactly this theme. The empirical research was derived from qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 18 police officers, and 17 young people taken from diverse and economically active areas of London. The findings supports published research of police discriminatory practices to explain the disproportionate treatment of black young people within the criminal justice system. It also highlighted the feelings and the effect of police stop on the individuals being stopped. This study therefore suggests a move away from the notion that black young people are criminals to involving them as contributors to social policy by giving them a true voice in policing and social policy making process.

Colombia has one of the oldest democracies in Latin American, however it has a history of violence that stretches from the time of the breakup of Gran Colombia. Simón Bolívar's vision started to erode in the 1830s and ended in 1903 with the independence of Panama. Contemporary Colombia saw violence continue with peasant revolts in the 1920s and 30s, la Violencia in the 1940s, the formation of the insurgent groups like the FARC and ELN in the 1960s, the creation of drug cartels in the 1970s and their transformation into narco-terrorist groups and then micro traffickers in the 1980s and 1990s. There have been limited periods of peace for the citizens of Colombia. These events have consequently challenged Colombia's judiciary and police forces in the areas of general violence, inequality, geographical policing challenges, corruption, case backlog and Colombian police leadership. As former president Belisario Betancur states, 'Modern times have not been easy for Colombia' (1998, p.XV). The challenges in writing this thesis have been considerable. This author has utilised experience gained from living and working in Colombia for over five and a half years and the experience of his protected sources as well as the foundations laid by other academics and the media in order to present the most significant of the challenges to Colombian policing in the last forty years. The goal of this document is to form a compendium on these areas for those who are new to Colombian policing, its judiciary and the history that has helped to shape them.

There is a notable gap in empirical studies on Black women’s lived experiences in the UK in general and of violence in particular. This thesis explores lived experiences of violence and abuse for nine African and Caribbean heritage women, including seeking help and receiving support, legacies for the body and encounters in public spaces that leave feelings of discomfort. Fifteen participants were interviewed in total: six formed a sample of experts who work in violence support services, research and health services; and nine victim-survivors participated in a two or three stage life history interview process. The expert participants were given three case studies prior to taking part in semi-structured interviews to explore issues for African and Caribbean heritage women. During life history interviews research participants were invited to bring along personal photographs to assist with speaking about past experiences of violence and abuse, drew maps of their routes to seeking help, annotated diagrams of how they have related to their bodies over the years and produced photographs of spaces, places and objects of current importance to them. The thesis mapped ways in women’s potential for participation in social life was delimited by violence and abuse, how their survival was premised on their skill in managing embodied burdens and through daily acts of self-renewal. The contribution to knowledge of this thesis are through the conceptual terms: ‘felt intensities‘; ‘a continuum of oppression’; ‘liminal displacement’; ‘a nugatory self’; ‘racialised gendered shame’; and ‘exhausting liminal rumination’ that describe the embodied burdens carried by African and Caribbean heritage women as knowers and to suggest meeting their needs within the everyday spaces they inhabit. Further explorations are required into the intersectional features of women’s lives to explore whether African and Caribbean heritage women have voice and visibility in policy, whether and how their needs are met and for this to influence the commissioning of services.

The aim of this research study is to add the voices of African- Caribbean British female victim-survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to existing knowledge(s) on childhood sexual victimization. In so doing the study will examine whether racialisation, racism and cultural identity and cultural factors have had any bearing on African Caribbean British women’s 'space to speak' of childhood sexual abuse. The study also explores Black British feminist activism on CSA from the late 1970s- mid 1980s in order to further explore the issue of spaces to speak. The thesis presents findings from 5 in-depth interviews with Black British feminists (Experts); a partial content analysis of British feminist periodicals from 1980s onward; 7 in-depth interviews with African-Caribbean British victim-survivors of CSA and a survey examining Black, Asian and Minority, Ethnic service provision (BAME) in 13 Rape Crisis Centre’s in England and Scotland.