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Exploring Autonomy in the Finnish and New Zealand Penal Voluntary Sectors: The Relevance of Marketisation and Criminal Justice Policy Environments in Two Penal Voluntary Sector Organisations
Author(s) -
HELMINEN MAIJA,
MILLS ALICE
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the howard journal of crime and justice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 2059-1101
pISSN - 2059-1098
DOI - 10.1111/hojo.12319
Subject(s) - voluntary sector , criminal justice , autonomy , agency (philosophy) , politics , ideology , relevance (law) , political science , criminology , public administration , sociology , law , social science
Our understanding of the structural factors shaping the agency of penal voluntary organisations in different jurisdictions is limited. This article explores how political, economic, and ideological factors in the voluntary and criminal justice sectors have affected two voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) which work with offenders – Finland's KRITS and New Zealand's NZPARS – and their ability to pursue their charitable goals and values. Based on qualitative thematic documentary analysis, our findings indicate that while marketisation and the populist penal policy environment contributed to the downfall of NZPARS, KRITS has been able to pursue its value‐based mission of introducing unique elements to the criminal justice system, in spite of also experiencing pressures of marketisation. By contrasting these accounts it is clear that the current structures in New Zealand society have not supported the autonomy of all penal voluntary sector organisations, adding to the challenges of reforming the criminal justice system.