Institute of Criminology Public Seminars: 'Rationing Relationships: Street-Level Bureaucrats and the Search for Professional Status?'

Speaker: Geoff Page, Ph.D Student – Institute of Criminology.

This PhD seminar precedes the seminar to be given by Professor D. Wayne Osgood at 5.30pm.

Using empirical data from nine months of participant observation and 70 semi-structured interviews, I will
look at the role of therapeutic relationships in the work and identity of Drug Interventions Programme (DIP)
case managers. DIP is theoretically a criminal justice organisation, working with class A drug-using
acquisitive offenders. However, many case managers choose to identify their work as primarily health or
social welfare rather than criminal justice related. I will argue that this emphasis is shaped by the role of the
therapeutic alliance, which acts as a key repository of credibility, status and job satisfaction for frontline DIP
workers. It supports claims to professional standing and expertise, and the lack of managerial oversight (in a
field riven with file audits, paperwork and checks on process) leaves therapeutic relationships and client time
as one of the only remaining sites of professional discretion. In line with Lipsky's model of Street Level
Bureaucracy, I venture that demand for these relational resources outstrips supply, and that professionals'
conceptions of their roles, perception of clients, and constructions of shared stereotypes shape their use of
discretion to ration access to their time, therapeutic support, and willingness to 'go the extra mile.' I will draw
on case studies to illustrate this contention.

All seminars are held in Seminar Room B3, Institute of Criminology, Sidgwick Ave, Cambridge, CB3 9DA. A drinks reception in the basement foyer will follow this seminar for attendees.

The IoC Public Seminar Series is open to all interested in attending, with no ticket required. If you wish to be added to the seminar mailing list, please contact: Joanne Garner, on: jf225@cam.ac.uk