All research and evidence on NICCO is reviewed using a Quality Assessment Tool (QAT) developed by the University of Huddersfield and Barnardo's.
Research and evidence is assessed in four key areas: Methodological Quality, Child-Centredness, Relevance to Policy and Strategy, and Relevance to Practice with offender's children. This ensures that items on the NICCO website are as useful as possible to academics, practitioners, commissioners and other professionals. For more information about the development of the QAT or to review research in order to list it on NICCO, please see the QAT webpage where you can download the Tool, Guidebook and a short step-by-step 'How To' document. Please contact us to submit quality assessed research on to NICCO.
Click on the icons to see a full list of items which have been awarded a standard icon or icon+ (for items which have scored particularly highly) in each key area:
Results 19 - 24 of 27
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This peer-reviewed study investigates the effects of fathers' imprisonment on the criminal convictions of their children (aged 18 to 30). The study uses data taken from various studies and European countires, and the authors demonstrate an association between fathers' imprisonment and child convictions, especially when fathers are imprisoned when the child is between 0 and 12 years old. When fathers' criminal history is controlled for, the influence of paternal imprisonment becomes much weaker, although it remains significant. The authors conclude that more research is needed to adequately test the mechanisms causing the relationship between paternal imprisonment and child crime.
See The Long-Term Effects of Paternal Imprisonment below:
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This book contains an introduction to the relationship between families, prisons and penal policy. It explores debates in relation to prisoners and their families, and introduces relevant theoretical approaches.
The book is interdisciplinary and incorporates perspectives drawn from criminology, sociology, social work and law. The book includes: - a current exploration of key aspects of the consequences of imprisonment for prisoners and their families - an assessment of the role of current prison policies and practices in promoting and maintaining family relationships - a summary of the current law in relation to prisoners and their families, with reference to the relevant legislation and recent case law.
See In the Shadow of Prison below:
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You will need to register with Oxford Journals to gain access to the full report.
This peer-reviewed study explores the notion of official bias, that is, where the criminal justice system is more focused on particular criminal families. Bias was measured using several variables including: families on low incomes, with histories of convictions, poor employment history and others which were controlled for self-referred convictions. The notion of official bias was supported by the research although it concludes that more research into other mechanisms for intergenerational transmission of convictions are needed.
Read about official bias in conviction transmission below:
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You will need access to Wiley Online to access the full report.
This piece of research is another which utilises the large scale longitudinal Cambridge study in delinquent development. It compares boys under 10 who were separated from their fathers by imprisonment with those separated by prison before their birth by hospitalisation or death, disharmony in the family, and with those that were not separated from their fathers. The findings show that separation due to imprisonment was much more likely to account for all delinquency factors up to age 32 and was strongly associated with other risk factors for delinquency. The study reports that of boys separated because of parental imprisonment, 65 percent were convicted themselves between ages 19 and 32, compared with 21 percent of boys with no history of parental imprisonment or separation. Effects of parental imprisonment remained even after controlling for other childhood risk factors in the study (including parental criminality), suggesting that parental imprisonment might have a causal effect on children. The conclusions drawn point to the need for research into minimising risk factors such as stigma and reduction in family income so that the children of prisoners are not adversely impacted on.
Learn more about the effects on boys of parental imprisonment below:
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This paper focuses on imprisoned mothers in Ireland but is relevant to practitioners and policy-makers in the UK.
Examining the particular situation of imprisoned mothers in Ireland the authors explore current provision within the Irish Prison System to support them in their efforts to maintain relationships with their children and wider family members. Deficits in provision are highlighted and a case for reviving the role of supportive social work practitioners to work alongside imprisoned mothers is proposed, justified within a welfare and rights-based framework of evidence. To read more about reviving social work provision for imprisoned mothers in Ireland see the Probation Journal.
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You will need a subscription to Probation Journal to access this article in full.
This article is focused on the Irish criminal justice system but the analysis and conclusions are relevant to a wider context. Taking a children's rights perspective throughout, the researchers explore case law from South Africa and England and Wales which demonstrates how courts have taken the impact on children into account when sentencing offenders with parenting responsibilities. It looks at how child impact statements could be incorporated into the Irish sentencing process and explores the barriers to this being done through exisiting pre-sanction reports completed by Probation. The article concludes that Probation services, with their offender-focused practice, are not the best party to gather child impact information for courts, however the preference for an independent advocate role to do so is also problematic in the current Irish context.
Read more about introducing child impact statements into the Irish sentencing process below:
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