The Expert and Research-led Criminal Justice Policy-making

Hamerton, Christopher and Hobbs, Suzanne (2014) The Expert and Research-led Criminal Justice Policy-making. In, The Making of Criminal Justice Policy. 1 ed. Abingdon. Routledge, pp. 99-121. (doi:10.4324/9781315798080).

Abstract

In recent years, there has been considerable academic debate about the relation-ship between research expertise and public policy- making. Originating in the fi eld of health policy, the idea that policy should be underpinned by research evidence spread to other policy areas, and formed part of the ‘what works’ movement adopted by the New Labour administration. However, in October 2009, in defi -ance of its own commitment to produce policy that would refl ect research- based evidence, the Home Secretary forced Professor David Nutt, the government’s appointed scientifi c advisor on the misuse of drugs, to resign after he made public research fi ndings that ran counter to the government’s policy on drugs (Tran, 2009). The controversial ‘sacking’ was a very public example of government refusal to reverse its policy- making, despite being presented with ‘a formidable body of evidence that could make a strong case’ in favour of a change of direction (Currie, 2007: 117). With this case in mind, this chapter traces the rise and fall of evidenced- based policy- making (EBP) as a primary infl uence on policy- making, and serves as a timely reminder that governments are ever mindful of how their actions will be interpreted by the media, the electorate and vested interests.

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Contributors

Author: Christopher Hamerton

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