Source: (2012) Contemporary Justice Review. 15(3):265-275.
The use of evidence-based practice as a guide for correctional investment is
widely lauded as a positive shift away from punitive approaches to criminal justice.
The value-neutral language of science, however, supplants a more fundamental
and necessary dialog about core principles of our justice system. We raise
concern that the discourse of evidence-based practice serves to avoid accountability
for the dominant correctional regime which remains overwhelmingly invested
in the imposition of punishment. Furthermore, evidence-based practice privileges
academic expertise and de-legitimizes the knowledge base within affected communities
stifling grassroots innovation and creativity. (authors’ abstract)
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