Submission Title

Gambling related crime and sentencing with consideration to treatment need and treatment pathways in the criminal justice system in England and Wales

Session Title

Session 3-4-A: Problem Gambling and Crime

Presenters

Sarah PageFollow

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation

Location

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Start Date

25-5-2023 3:30 PM

End Date

25-5-2023 5:00 PM

Disciplines

Criminology | Public Administration | Social Policy

Abstract

This paper draws on research across England and Wales with sentencers, criminal justice staff, stakeholders, prisoners and people living in the community with lived experience of gambling and committing crime. The aim of the research was to ascertain prevalence of gambling harms and therapeutic need within the criminal justice system and to identify current sentencing practices and therapeutic pathways. Survey findings from 656 magistrates in England and Wales identified that understanding of gambling-related-crime was low to average. Focus group data collection with 26 magistrates established that a change in British sentencing guidance was needed to allow for mitigation and better therapeutic pathways when a person has offended due to gambling debts and addiction. The most common crimes associated to gambling addiction identified by sentencers from their courtroom experiences were property offences, breaches of trust from workplaces and domestic abuse. Criminal justice stakeholders (N=21 via world cafe) further advocated that reforms were needed to sentencing and therapeutic provision. This paper will then share provisional findings from survey research with prisoners and those on probation license in England and Wales and also and in-depth case study from the West Midlands region to better understand therapeutic need and pathways within the criminal justice system.

Keywords

gambling harms, prison, probation, UK, sentencing, therapeutic pathways

Author Bios

Sarah Page is a senior lecturer in criminology and action on poverty at Staffordshire University in the UK. She has conducted a large-scale research project across England and Wales in partnership with the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Magistrates Association. She is presently working with GamCare and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Services in England and Wales to determine gambling related crime and gambling harm prevalence in prisons and probation.

Funding Sources

Howard League for Penal Reform commissioned our sentencer research https://howardleague.org/commission-on-crime-and-problem-gambling/research-commissions/research-commission-sentencing/ GamCare is funding our work with HMPPS

Competing Interests

NA

Comments

This is the final report for the Howard League for Penal Reform on our sentencing research https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Sentencers-report-FINAL-Online.pdf

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May 25th, 3:30 PM May 25th, 5:00 PM

Gambling related crime and sentencing with consideration to treatment need and treatment pathways in the criminal justice system in England and Wales

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

This paper draws on research across England and Wales with sentencers, criminal justice staff, stakeholders, prisoners and people living in the community with lived experience of gambling and committing crime. The aim of the research was to ascertain prevalence of gambling harms and therapeutic need within the criminal justice system and to identify current sentencing practices and therapeutic pathways. Survey findings from 656 magistrates in England and Wales identified that understanding of gambling-related-crime was low to average. Focus group data collection with 26 magistrates established that a change in British sentencing guidance was needed to allow for mitigation and better therapeutic pathways when a person has offended due to gambling debts and addiction. The most common crimes associated to gambling addiction identified by sentencers from their courtroom experiences were property offences, breaches of trust from workplaces and domestic abuse. Criminal justice stakeholders (N=21 via world cafe) further advocated that reforms were needed to sentencing and therapeutic provision. This paper will then share provisional findings from survey research with prisoners and those on probation license in England and Wales and also and in-depth case study from the West Midlands region to better understand therapeutic need and pathways within the criminal justice system.