Towards a criminology of public inquiries: From cautious optimism to contestation in the Brook House Inquiry

Schlembach, Raphael and Hart, Emily Luise ORCID: 0000-0003-0805-0806 (2022) Towards a criminology of public inquiries: From cautious optimism to contestation in the Brook House Inquiry. CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE. p. 174889582211157.

Text
17488958221115797.pdf Brooke House R. Sclembach and E. Hart.pdf - Published version
Download (134kB) | Preview

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17488958221115797

Abstract

<jats:p> Although UK public inquiries garner huge amounts of public attention, there have been few systematic studies of their role in scrutinising and reforming criminal justice policy and practice. This is despite a growing number of inquiries, held under the Inquiries Act 2005, into critical matters relating to policing, justice and home affairs. This article explores the contested nature of statutory inquiries as mechanisms for accountability and opportunity for policy reform. We suggest that inquiries provide fertile grounds for criminological analysis, if we understand them as sites of contestation where political priorities compete over questions of procedure, scope and participation. Our focus is on the Brook House Inquiry into the mistreatment of detainees in a British immigration removal centre. The analysis shows a tension between the public-facing nature of inquiries and their legalistic processes. </jats:p>

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Accountability, contestation, immigration detention, public inquiry, reform
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	08 Aug 2022 12:22
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 20:53
DOI:	10.1177/17488958221115797
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3160701