THE ARTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE : A STUDY OF RESEARCH FEASIBILITY / DCMS, December 2006
PDF - http://digbig.com/4rsas
Andrew Miles ; Rebecca Clarke
"Emanating from the multi-agency, inter-departmental Research into Arts and Criminal Justice Think Tank (REACTT), this study is the second element of a three-part research plan designed to strengthen the evidence base for the arts as an effective medium in offender rehabilitation. Its focus is on the practical, logistical and methodological issues involved in carrying out effective research on the impact of arts interventions in criminal justice settings. Rather than producing evidence of project outcomes, it is concerned to address the issue of what constitutes good quality research and evidence in this context and, most particularly, what the obstacles are to producing it.
The study took place against the backdrop of the drive towards ‘evidence based’ policy and practice in the criminal justice arena and the recent Home Office review of the evidence base for the ‘what works’ agenda. This has resulted in the assertion of a set of standards for research quality which the arts in criminal justice sector, as currently configured, has great difficulty in meeting."