School of Law University of Edinburgh Old College South Bridge Edinburgh EH8 9YL UK
Biographical Details
Dr Anna Souhami is Lecturer in Criminology at the School of Law. Her main research interests lie in the sociology of criminal justice policy and practice, in particular in the areas of youth justice and policing. Her current research explores the emergent system for the governance of youth crime in England and Wales, using an in-depth ethnographic study of the operation of the Youth Justice Board as a basis to explore wider questions of the organisation and culture of contemporary youth justice. Her previous research in youth justice explored the radical restructuring of the youth justice system in England and Wales under the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) and its effects on youth justice professionals' sense of occupational identity and culture. She has also conducted a major Home Office-funded study (with Tim Newburn and Janet Foster at LSE) to understand the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry on policing in England and Wales.
Anna was previously a Research Fellow at the London School of Economics. In 2004 she was awarded a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Award for three years. She has a PhD from the Department of Criminology, University of Keele, an MSc in Social Policy and Administration from LSE and a BA in Literae Humaniores (Classics) from Oxford University. Anna is a member of the Centre for Law and Society and an Associate of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research. She is currently external examiner on the Professional Doctorate in Children and Young People's Services at the University of Bedfordshire.
Anna teaches on a number of criminology undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including those on the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and welcomes applications from prospective PhD students.
'Short sentences, prisoners’ families and social capital: An examination of the impact of sentencing policy on the family and the implications for desistence, resettlement and reintegration.'
In 1997 the newly modernized Labour party swept into power promising a
radical overhaul of the youth justice system. The creation of inter-agency
Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) for the delivery of youth justice services
were the cornerstone of the new approach. These new YOTs were designed to tackle an `excuse culture' that was alleged to pervade the youth justice system and aimed to encourage the emergence of a shared culture among youth justice practitioners from different agencies.
The transformation of the youth justice system brought about a period of
intense disruption for the practitioners working within it. The nature and
purpose of contemporary youth justice work was called into question and
wider issues of occupational identity and culture became of crucial
importance.
Through a detailed ethnographic study of the formation of a YOT this book
explores a previously neglected area of organisational cultures in criminal
justice. It examines the nature of occupational culture and professional
identity through the lived experience of youth justice professionals in
this time of transition and change. It shows how profound and complex of
the effects of organisational change are, and the fundamental challenges it
raises for practitioners' sense of professional identity and vocation.
Transforming Youth Justice makes a significant contribution not only
to the way that professional cultures are understood in criminal justice,
but to an understanding of the often dissonant relationship between policy
and practice.
Journal Articles
Anna Souhami 'Inside the Youth Justice Board: ambiguity and influence in New Labour's youth justice' (2011) Safer Communities Vol 10 (3), pp7-16
The YJB was established in 1998 as a central part of the Labour government’s radical programme of youth justice reform. Yet while it has had a central role in directing the culture, organisation and activities of youth justice in England and Wales, it is poorly understood. As its future hangs in the balance, this article draws on a unique empirical study of the operation of the YJB to explore what it is, what it does, and why it is so difficult to describe. Drawing on an 18 month, ethnographic study of the operation of the YJB, this article argues that the YJB is an inherently ambiguous organisation. This ambiguity has made it simultaneously highly insecure and extremely productive, enabling it to extend its influence and activities beyond those initially envisaged in New Labour’s reforms. However, the difficulty in defining the YJB also suggests the full effect of its activities will only become clear once it has gone.
Anna Souhami 'After the Inquiry: reactions to institutional racism in the police service' (2007) Prison Service Journal 169/3-8
Anna Souhami, A. Worrall 'Social Work Practice in the Criminal Justice System' in L.-A. Cull and J. Roche (eds) The Law and Social Work (Basingstoke: Palgrave in association with the Open University, 2001)
Reports
Anna Souhami, J. Foster and T. Newburn Assessing the Impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Home Office Research Study 294 (Home Office, 2005)
Papers and Presentations
Anna Souhami 'Becoming a police ethnographer: ethics, authenticity and academia' presented at Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Hull, 2012
Anna Souhami 'Inside the Youth Justice Board: Re-thinking 'policy' in English and Welsh youth justice' presented at British Society of Criminology Conference, Northumbria University, 2011
Anna Souhami 'Policing vulnerable communities: the challenges of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry' presented at 9/11 Anniversary Seminar: Reflecting on police-Muslim relations within the legacy of Stephen Lawrence and ongoing police reform, University of Edinburgh, 2011
Anna Souhami '"Telling policy stories": a response' presented at Social Policy Seminar Series, University of Edinburgh, 2011
Anna Souhami 'Culture, change and the police canteen: the shifting boundaries of organisational banter' presented at European Society of Criminology Conference, Liège, 2010
Anna Souhami 'The ethics of authenticity: becoming a police researcher' presented at Centre for Law and Society Seminar Series, Edinburgh, 2010
Anna Souhami 'Insecurity, creativity and the changing shape of Labour's youth justice' presented at Social Sciences Research Seminar Series, University of Hull, 2009
Anna Souhami 'Governing Youth Crime: Technologies and Transformation' presented at Centre for Criminology Seminar Series, All Souls College, Oxford University, 2009
Anna Souhami 'Inside the Youth Justice Board: Power, ambiguity and the governance of youth crime' presented at Centre for Crime and Justice Studies: Public Seminar Series, University of Leeds, 2008
This paper draws on a year-long, ethnographic study of the operation of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) to explore the changing shape of youth justice 10 years after the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. In particular it focuses on the new and complex series of relationships between central government and localities that the formation of the YJB has set in place: the ambiguities and insecurities that these have created; the possibilities that they have opened up; and their impact on the nature of English and Welsh youth justice.
Anna Souhami 'Transforming youth justice' presented at Centre for Law and Society Seminar Series, Edinburgh, 2007
Anna Souhami 'Governing youth crime' presented at British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Symposium, British Academy, London, 2007
Anna Souhami 'Researching youth justice organisations' presented at Professional Doctorate in Youth Justice seminar series, University of Bedfordshire, 2006
Anna Souhami 'Assessing the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: institutional racism and police culture' presented at Social Policy Research Seminar Series, LSE, London, 2006
Anna Souhami 'Institutional racism and police culture: the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry' presented at British Criminology Conference, Glasgow, 2006
Anna Souhami 'Constructing inter-agency conflict: identity, change and resistance in a developing YOT' presented at British Criminology Conference, Leeds, 2005
Anna Souhami 'Researching institutional racism: problems of trust, collusion and conflict' presented at Crime and Deviance Research Seminar Series, Mannheim Centre for Criminology, LSE, London, 2005
Anna Souhami 'Transforming youth justice: occupational identity and cultural change' presented at British Criminology Conference, Portsmouth, 2004
Anna Souhami 'Working with young offenders' presented at Network of Postgraduate Research in Adolescence, London, 2000
Synopsis