Criminal justice? Using a social capital theory to evaluate probation-managed drug policy

Abstract

Policy must be theoretically informed and appropriately targeted if it is to be effective (Kerr et al., 2011). In probation-managed drug policy, this demands an appropriate theory framework within which the multi-dimensional nature of problematic drug use can be understood. To engender genuine justice in such policy, theory must give ‘proper weight to both structure and agency, in continuous interaction’ (Bottoms, 2004) (agency refers to the ability of individuals to act of their own free will and structure refers to the social, legal and economic institutions, arrangements and practices which can facilitate, or indeed constrain, the agents’ capacity to do so). This article responds to these challenges by presenting a theory of ‘social capital portfolios’ which was developed from the social capital; substance misuse and desistance literatures and refined through an 18-month longitudinal study of probation-managed drug interventions. The theory is used here to critically evaluate contemporary probation drug policy and developments and to make recommendations on what constitutes criminal and social justice.