Institute of Criminal Justice Studies
Naming and shaming young offenders will backfire
Sun, Jun 7, 2009
It could also attract vigilante-style attacks on the offenders, their supervisors and on the community projects, including the grounds of schools and churches where community service is often carried out, researchers say.
Bright orange high-visibility vests with ‘Community Payback’ in bold lettering on the front and back have been compulsory for adult criminals doing community service since last December.
Though the Youth Justice Board has no plans to introduce such vests for 10-17 year old offenders, the idea has been mooted as part of the government’s ‘Justice Seen, Justice Done’ campaign.
However, new research by Nicholas Pamment and Tom Ellis, of the university’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies suggests it would be a backwards step.
Mr Pamment said: “Branding offenders is designed to make them feel shame and bring condemnation on them but it risks creating a class of outcasts.
“Making young offenders wear these vests means people will see crimes are being paid for but that will come at a high price – fewer youths will turn up for community service to avoid the humiliation and that may well result in more of them being locked up.
“Community service supervisors say identifying these youngsters as criminals is likely to attract violent attacks which will endanger staff and the projects as well.”
The researchers say the problem with high visibility vests is they focus on 'disintegrative' rather than 're-integrative' shaming.
Re-integrative shame starts with disapproval or denunciation by society through the courts, followed by forgiveness and acceptance when unpaid work has been done and the offender has made amends. However, high visibility vests cause ‘disintegrative shame’ which humiliates and isolates offenders and publicly labels them as delinquent., making it less likely they will be able to re-join their communities once they have paid for their crimes.
The new research is published in the Howard Journal and is based on the views of young offenders and their supervisors in a Youth Offending Team. Though the sample size is small, it is the most systematic and in-depth study on the subject and the results point clearly to the likely problems if wearing high visibility vests is made compulsory, Mr Pamment said.
Asked their views on wearing high visibility vests one young offender in the study said: “We would be taken the p**s out of and we would have rocks thrown at us.”
Another said: “This would make me feel even worse. It’s like kicking us when we are already down. It would p**s us off even more and none of us would turn up.”
The supervisors' views were similar. One said: “If we dress these young people up in high visibility clothing and advertise them as offenders we are likely to be targeted. It will be dangerous for offenders and their supervisors.”
Another said: “If they are made to wear uniforms we will have a lot more not turning up and there will be more conflict and we just won’t get anywhere.”
The supervisors said that the court process and sentencing rightly brought shame on offenders and community service was designed to put things right and make amends, not bring further humiliation and shame on them.
Mr Pamment said: “Community service is the unsung success story in criminal justice, with re-conviction rates well below those for prison and other punishments. If such public naming and shaming is made policy there is a high chance that all that good work will be undone.”