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Is academic research as independent
as it should be?
James Irvine
Teviot Scientific, Edinburgh
Filed 13 Dec 06
©www.land-care,org.uk
The front page headline of the Scotsman newspaper
on 5th December 2006 read:
"The lecturer who refused to keep quiet'
Along with the article there was a large picture
of Dr Reece Walters, a senior criminologist at Stirling University.
On the next page, the newspaper carried a fuller article by its
Home Affairs Correspondent (1),
headed:
"Executive "airbrushed" criticism
from report on youth crime courts"
The Scotsman clearly considered this to be a serious
matter. Indeed it is.
Walters and his colleagues were commissioned three
years ago by the Scottish Executive, with a £300,000 grant,
to write an independent report to ministers on youth court pilot
schemes. The researchers identified problems with the schemes and
said so in their progress reports to the Scottish Executive. They
were also concerned that, in their quest to understand the thinking
behind the initiative, they were allegedly denied access to those
who originally drew it up.
What really got Walters upset was that he felt
that civil servants at the Scottish Executive removed his criticisms,
and then used the research to rubber stamp a "pre-determined
policy" to extend the controversial scheme. He and a colleague
published an article (2) describing
some of the issues which they felt were absent from from the evaluation
progress reports as published by the Scottish Executive.
The abstract of their paper is reproduced
here:
In 2003, the youth justice system in Scotland
entered a new phase with the introduction of a pilot youth court.
The processing of persistent 16 and 17 year old (and serious 15
year olds) represented a stark deviation from a ‘child centred’
and needs-oriented state apparatus for dealing with young offenders
to one based on deeds and individual responsibility. This article,
based on an evaluation funded by the Scottish Executive, is the
first to provide a critical appraisal of this youth justice reform.
It examines the views of the judiciary and young offenders and
reveals that the pilot youth court in Scotland represents a punitive
excursion that poses serious concerns for due process, human rights
and net widening.
The Scottish Executive took grave exception to
these criticisms, claiming breach of contract.and reported the matter
to the University, Dr Walters' paymaster.
Stirling University, rather than standing up for
the academic independence of its staff, responded by taking disciplinary
action against Walters and his co-author.
After an inquiry lasting four months the authors
of the article were cleared. Dr Walters subsequently resigned from
Stirling University and has accepted a post at the Open University,
which he is due to take up in January 2007.
It can be readily established from his publications
that Dr Walters has been highly productive whilst holding the post
of Head of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology Section at
Stirling University. No university, let alone that of Stirling,
can afford to lose such talented members of staff: - staff that
are recognised for their academic contributions far beyond the confines
of the local campus.
There is then the worrying thought that the bosses
of Stirling University must have been so scared of upsetting the
Scottish Executive, upon whom they depend for much of their funding,
that they were prepared to serve up the heads of members of their
staff rather than defend their academic freedom.
It could be that this instance represents what
is now just the tip of an iceberg, whereby academic researchers
no longer dare to speak out against the political powers who fund
them. And it could be that this fear extends to the top echelons
in the administration of other universities: they being so dependent
on the Scottish Executive for funding that they too dare not speak
out in the defence of academic freedom.
Should this be the case, then it will not take
long for Scottish Universities to lose their academic credibility,
both at home and abroad.
Recently, the Scottish Executive has let it be
known that it will concentrate research funding for projects that
comply with its political policies. But does the Scottish Executive
have a good insight into whether or not this makes good sense, or
nonsense, in terms of realistic and fruitful research projects?
What if the political policies change at the next general election
for Holyrood in May 2007? What if the Scottish Executive is so crass
in terms of scientific standards that it is prepared to "airbrush"
academic reports that is has commissioned, so that they are made
to fit its own policies? What country are we now living in?:
The case highlighted by Dr Walters is particularly
important because it provides precise evidence - not just inference.
Indeed, The Scotsman article goes so far as to state
"According to Mr Walters, James Sheffield,
the head of the Justice Department's analytical services division,
petitioned the university directly"
The Scotsman article also quotes Cathy Jamieson,
the justice minister, as saying
"the research shows it (its flagship youth
courts initiative) has made a promising start"
Last month she announced that up to three new
youth courts would be set up on the "success" of the pilots.
The Scottish Executive cannot be expected to necessarily
follow the advice of academics whose research they have commissioned.
But what is totally unacceptable is that they seek to damage the
career of anyone who dares criticise their policy by making their
views public in the manner so fundamental to academic standards:
writing an article in an academic journal.
Nor can it ever be acceptable for the Scottish
Executive - or any other such body - to misrepresent a report as
supporting their policy, when in fact the report highlights serious
misgivings about it. It is particularly ironic that it is the Justice
Department that is allegedly involved in such underhand tricks.
©www.land-care.org.uk
References
1. Howie, Michael (2006).
Executive "airbrushed" criticisms from report on youth
crime courts.
The Scotsman, Tuesday 5th December, 200: p2.
2. Piacentini, Laura &
Walters, Reece (2006). The Politicisation of Youth Crime in Scotland
and the Rise of the ‘Burberry Court’
Youth Justice. Vol 6: n0 1: pp 43 - 60.
Finis
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