Policy Research Assignment On Carol Hedderman’s Research Work

Question

Task:
Policy Research Assignment Instructions: Select ONE individual and write a commentary of 1500 words (+/- 10%) that answers the following questions:

The introduction to your commentary should provide a brief summary of your selected individual’s professional background and an explanation of her/his area(s) of expertise.

What has been the contribution of your selected individual to the development of policy and/or our understanding of policy?

What research methods has your individual used in her/his research and why have these methods been selected?

The conclusion to your commentary should present an overall evaluation of her/his contribution to policy and/or our understanding of policy.

Answer

Introduction
Carol Hedderman, an individual selected in this policy research assignment, presently retired professor of criminology, works under a trustee known as the Revolving Door Agency. Hedderman was a professor of Criminology at the University of Leicester since 2004. She has also carried out her work in the Home Office Research and the Statistics Director from 1986-1999 by conducting research as well as managing projects that include the sentences on the death decision-making. Further, from 1999-2000 (Gelsthorpe, 2018), Carol Hedderman was also appointed as the Deputy Director of the Criminal Policy Research Unit at the Southbank University. Hedderman also worked for the Parole Board during her tenure as a deputy director. Further, she returned to the home office and thus started working as the assistant director at the Home Office Research and the Statistics Directorate from October 2002. During this particular period, Carol has also taken the lead for carrying out the statistical research for the management and the impact of probation and the period services (Earle, 2018). Carol Hedderman was appointed as the director of a team of 64 researchers and statisticians in the Home Office where she has adopted the responsibility of carrying out the research and analysis thereby sentencing individuals to death and prison. Carol Hedderman was expertise in the criminal projects investigating the alternative ways of measuring the reoffending such as the self-report and the criminal report by the offenders (Hogarth, 2017). Moreover, she also managed the budget of £5M during a particular year efficiently along with providing specific advice to the senior officials and the Ministers for the effective functioning of the Governmental policy. Carol Hedderman has carried out her research work excellently in tackling the research profile and the research output (Earle, 2018). The different topics on which Carol Hedderman has laid stress include the victims of domestic violence, the identification of the age through reliable evidence, sentencing and measuring the disparities across varied parts of the country, managing the female offenders, and the effectiveness of the programs to tackle the offenders (Hogarth, 2017).

This study will highlight the contribution of Carol Hedderman to the development of the policy, the research methods used by her in conducting the research along valid reasons. Further, it will also discuss my understanding of the policy chosen by Carol Hedderman.

Contribution to policy development and our understanding of policy
Professor Carol Hedderman has favoured the government policy on the women offenders in Wales and England because the female population of prisoners has increased at a much sharper rate than the male. According to the report published by Hedderman (2012), it has been found that the population of women in prison has increased over to 4,000 in the last two decades. This has been because of the increased number sentenced to custody, the frequent recalls, and the longer sentences. However, with time, Carol Hedderman has found that the number of the convicted women offenses fell in the 1990s and thus it did not begin to rise till 2004, thereby being hard to find out the adequate reason why women are being sent to jail for serious offenses.

Carol Hedderman has found that the women offenders are dealt with very badly and thus there has to be reformation made in the criminal justice system to deal with men. This will assist in making sharpening changes to the toughening sentences that are made on women thereby moving them to ameliorate that is ineffective and weak (Hogarth, 2017). The policy that is framed by Carol Hedderman focused on the reduction in the use of custody for women that are equally applicable to the Women’s Offending Reduction Plan as well as the management of the women project. This approach of Carol Hedderman has been supported by the Women’s National Commission as it focused on providing sentences to women and improved community options reducing the use of women in custody that is opposite to history (Hedderman, 2012).

Carol Hedderman has also supported the need to understand the widening range of community service for women which is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the management of custodial sentences. In such a situation, it has been found that both the magistrates and the judges denied the sentencing of the women or the men to custody because of the lack of improper community alternatives (Hedderman, 2012). Carol Hedderman has stated that the alternatives to the custody should be chosen as it includes a wider range of community options without highlighting the power of imprisonment that is not always considered to be an effective way of lowering the custodial sentences (Coverdale, 2018). However, such sentences can be an alternative to the community sentences and each other. With time, there is no such introduction of the new orders that lay an effect on the court’s usage of the immediate custody.

Carol’s Hedderman policy in controlling the rate of women offenders and the labour legacy includes understanding the broadening role of the women in the community and thus listening to their viewpoints rather than providing them direct custodial sentences (Hedderman, 2012). It is important to take preventive actions from replacing the custody, the availability of the community-based provision to tackle the widening process. I think that it is important to take preventive actions for the development of a better community leading to the net-widening process. Further, I have found that the labour government is trying its best to carry out the improved level of progress in fostering as well as supporting the community-based intervention program for women and thus I think this can be considered to be an important practice. I think that the development of the coalition policy will reduce the number of women offenders thereby considering the minimum sentences.

Research methods used by Carol Hedderman and the reasons for choosing the method.
Carol Hedderman has utilized the qualitative research approach in evaluating work while working with women offenders. The evidence for this assumption can be equivocal and thus this can be considered to be stronger and clearer. Further, with the help of this qualitative research, it has become easier to embed the consideration and the needs of the women in the existing system to tackle the new resources that are made available for the secured delivery process (Hedderman, 2012). While using the qualitative research, Carol Hedderman has preferred to use the interview approach when dealing with women clients thereby seeking feedback from them. This has assisted in the development of effective services and thus it can be considered as the effect of the early indicator. The final assessment of impact relies on the quantitative assessment tackling the criminal record and the project data. The interview that is to be conducted will focus on the sentencers and how it diverts the women from the custody (Coverdale, 2018). The interviews are to be conducted along with the consultation of the women clients in the project development phase thereby assisting in the outcome evaluation process. Moreover, it must be checked that the outcome evaluation will focus on the information linked with the criminal records and the project element so that the key elements can be captured with the help of the intervention process (Hogarth, 2017). On the other hand, care should be taken off the neglected service users who are linked with the under-estimation of the resource needs, setting up unrealistic targets, and the abandonment of the promising ideas linked with the magic bullet.

Carol Hedderman has preferred to choose this qualitative method because she thought that the interview process of the women could be successful only through interacting with them. Although this may be considered a serious issue by the service users, it has been found that with the help of interviews, it becomes easier for the researchers to deal with homelessness, substance abuse, and violence (Hogarth, 2017). There is less chance of change in the preferences and the opinions of the women during the interview stage and thus it becomes easier for the researcher to arrive at a valid conclusion. Moreover, another important aspect for the empowerment of the women through the interview process includes handling the responsivity issue and the style of delivery linked to the offending behavioural program (Coverdale, 2018). It can be said that with the help of the interview Carol Hedderman has found it effective to carry out the counselling process thereby assisting in the welfare of society.

Conclusion
Thus, it can be said that it is important to take careful steps in reducing the number of women going to jail. I think the steps adopted by Carol Hedderman will lower the imprisonment thereby providing more expensive opinions for the protection of the women. This development of the community-based holistic information will support the women who are involved in the crime. Moreover, I think that the use of qualitative research through interviews, counselling and the case study approach will reduce the number of violent cases, and thus it will be easier to know about the opinions of the women. Therefore, I think that with the help of Carol’s Hedderman policy in reducing the number of women offenders, it would be easier to reduce the women who are exposed to custody and the reconviction rate.

References
Coverdale, H.B. (2018) Punishment and welfare: defending offender’s inclusion as subjects of state care. Ethics and Social Welfare, 12(2), pp.117-132.

Earle, J. (2018) Why Focus on Reducing Women’s Imprisonment? In Women and the Criminal Justice System (pp. 187-219). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Gelsthorpe, L. (2018) Women, Crime and Criminal Justice: Tales of Two Cities. Women and the Criminal Justice System, pp.221-244.

Hedderman, C. (2012) Report for the Criminal Justice Alliance. [online]. Available at: https://criminaljusticeallian.ce.org/wp-content/uploads/CJA_WomenPrisonReportFINAL.pdf (Accessed 25 May 2021).

Hogarth, L. (2017) Trapped in the Justice Loop. Past, present and future of the woman-centred services at the heart of the systems-change called for in the Corston Report.