Home-based businesses lack policy support


Offenders view short-term sentences as waste of time


terms as transformative or effective at rehabilitation or deterrence, says a recent study among prisoners themselves into the meaning of serving short-term prison sentences repeatedly and over a long period of time. In a three-year study, researcher


U


Dr Marguerite Schinkel interviewed 35 Scottish offenders who had been repeatedly punished over at least 15 years and whose most recent sentence was one of short-term imprisonment. “For our interviewees the meaning of these short-term sentences changed over time,” says Dr Schinkel. It was common for some to experience their early sentences as a pleasant surprise, after the initial fear of going to prison was overcome. Early sentences were often very short, which meant it was possible to see them as mostly fun. As prisoners started to become older, prison became both more and less painful. Increasingly, it felt ‘like home’ but feelings of missing out on experiences in ‘real’ life such as birthdays, Christmases and time with their children also grew. The meaning of sentences also changed with prisoners’ circumstances outside. Changes in patterns of addiction or offending meant, for example, that short-term


NLIKE LONG-TERM prisoners, those with short, repeated sentences rarely view such prison


imprisonment might mean a chance to get off drugs – a potentially life- saving measure. Sometimes prisoners described intentionally offending in order to be imprisoned, or asking for a prison sentence in court, due to a lack of emergency drug services and housing on the outside. But, in general, the lack of impact of short, repeated sentences on prisoners’ futures underpinned the view that these prison terms are a waste of life and time. Interestingly, the study found


that even those labelled as ‘persistent offenders’ often experienced prolonged periods of stability, during which offending was minimal or non- existent. These periods tended to be ended by some kind of traumatic experience in their adult lives resulting in a return to drugs or alcohol abuse. “Such positive periods of stability are not recognised by the criminal justice system, which often returns people to prison on the basis of their record alone, when a community sentence at such points might prevent a return to the cycle of offending and imprisonment,” says Dr Schinkel. n


i Contact Dr Marguerite Schinkel,


University of Glasgow Email marguerite.schinkel@glasgow.ac.uk Telephone 0141 330 8257 Web www.researchunbound.org.uk/ punishmentcareers/ www.my-sentence.com ESRC Grant Number ES/L009389/1


AUTUMN 2018 SOCIETY NOW 7


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF home-based businesses for entrepreneurship in cities is underestimated, suggests a seminar series organised by researchers from the Universities of Southampton, Middlesex, Glasgow and Delft University of Technology. “Home-based businesses are significant as approximately half of all small- and medium-sized businesses in the UK and the US are home-based, and the proportion of home-based businesses is rising over time,” says researcher Dr Darja Reuschke. Today 59% of UK small businesses without employees and 24% of small businesses with employees are home-based. Researchers believe the needs of home-based businesses are largely ignored by policymakers. A policy focus on, for example, the creation of entrepreneurial environments in designated areas such as Enterprise Zones misses the great potential for local growth in entrepreneurship and self-employment which occurs ‘under the radar’ of enterprise policy and business services, Dr Reuschke argues. Home-based businesses have specific needs such as digital connectivity and access to IT support and other business expertise. And they can be hindered by, for example, housing regulations which prevent people from using their homes for business purposes. New perspectives on local economic growth are required that view home-based business activities as essential in increasing start-up rates and inclusive entrepreneurship, researchers conclude. n


i


Contact Professor Dr Darja Reuschke, University of Southampton Email d.reuschke@soton.ac.uk Telephone 023 8059 2866 Web www.entrepreneurship-space.co.uk ESRC Grant Number ES/L001489/1


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40