The typology shown in the following box is indicative of the volume and range of criminal justice policy stakeholders.
Political parties: since the mid-1970s law and order has formed part of all political party manifestos, has featured in party conferences and has become an increasingly important electoral issue. Although political parties shape their policy agenda to fit with their ideological preferences and their electoral ambitions, some argue that a new âpunitive consensusâ has been created, with parties trying to out-tough each other on law and order.
Public officials: such as the Home Office and Ministry of Justice civil servants and special policy advisors. They operate within the formal spheres of policy-making, turning the political visions of ministers into policy. They take evidence from policy entrepreneurs and âexpertsâ at select committees and through public consultations. They present policy proposals in official papers, and draft legislation. They issue policy directives to criminal justice professionals.
Criminal justice professionals and their representative organisations: such as judges, police, probation officers, prison officers, youth offender workers and crime and disorder enforcement officers. As practitioners they implement policy, and as trade unionists they lobby the government through their professional organisations (e.g. the National Association of Probation Officers). They provide formal submissions to public consultations, public inquiries and the Home Affairs Select Committee. As trade unionists, they can withdraw their labour and participate in demonstrations to promote their sectional interests, for example the probation officersâ decision to âwalk outâ in response to the outsourcing to the private and/or voluntary sector of all but high-risk cases.
Penal reform groups: such as the Howard League for Penal Reform, National Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders, Penal Reform Trust, Inquest and Women in Prison are cause-oriented groups. They tend to adopt a critical approach to government law and order policy. Many of these groups are well established, highly organised, operate with considerable professionalism and enjoy insider status. Those that have acquired insider status are invited to make formal submissions on policy issues and have their views taken into account. Although they have significant differences in terms of their ideological perspectives, constitutions and credibility with policy-makers, they share a broadly left of centre approach. They use a range of informal and formal tactics including lobbying ministers and conducting media campaigns on specific issues (such as the Howard League for Penal Reform on the detention of children in adult prisons).
Single-issue campaign groups: such as the Ben Kinsella Trust, which was established to tackle the single issue of knife crime following the murder of Ben Kinsella. Although some groups (such as Women in Prison) have longevity, others tend to come and go as the issue that has sparked their formation âwaxes and wanesâ. Despite some cause groups (such as Sarahâs Law campaign group) attaining insider status, they tend to supplement engagement with formal policy-making processes with the adoption of tactics associated with outsider groups, seeking to publicise their causes through activities that will attract media attention.
Victims and those that lobby on their behalf: such as Victim Support, are cause groups that both provide practical and emotional assistance to victims of crime, and campaign on behalf of victims. They use formal and informal means to promote their cause. As the victim has moved from the margins of the criminal justice system, victimsâ organisations have increasingly become insider pressure groups, enjoying privileged access to ministers and their officials. They are central figures in formal consultation processes and tend to be on the list of groups that receive invitations to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee and to make submissions to public consultations.
The general public: can express their preferences through the traditional means of the ballot box, as well as engaging in new forms of communication such as signing an e-petition to force a parliamentary debate, completing government online questionnaires on specific policy proposals, tweeting or emailing a member of parliament, taking part in opinion polls and focus groups, and giving feedback on talk-radio.
Media: whose voices increasingly serve as a âproxy for public opinionâ. They can act as important sources to publicise the interests of pressure groups, and mobilise public support behind specific campaigns such as Sarahâs Law. As commercial enterprises, they tend to promote the policy preferences of their owners and readership. With the decline of the traditional elite, they are an important source of law and order knowledge, and play a role in public opinion formation.
Traditional and new experts: such as academics, commercial research companies and think tanks. The marketisation of research has created a wide pool of experts that governments can both consult and use to legitimate their policy decisions. Experts provide evidence to special advisors and ministers, through both formal and informal channels. In recent years, politicians have tended to prefer to consult think tanks rather than academics. However, think tanks are not politically neutral. They provide research and disseminate their data in order to promote the ideological or sectional interests of their members.
Multinational private firms that provide penal services: such as G4S and Serco. They use their close personal connections (the âold boyâ network) and the power of their financial contributions to political party coffers to gain the ear of politicians. Operating to promote the sectional interests of their members, they seek to influence governments to enact policies that will maximise their profit through the provision of penal services. They have a vested interest in global penal expansion.
International institutions and conventions of governance: such as the European Parliament, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations. They...
