"They were a strength, a force to be reckoned with, within the probation world and within the hostel sector as well."
—Hostel Manager, UK
In this exceptional study, Judith Rumgay unearths a treasure trove of archive material on a remarkable project, the Griffins Society. She documents the radical contribution of women philanthropists and practitioners to offender rehabilitation. Drawing on archival, interview, and observational sources, the author describes, analyses, and evaluates a distinctive model of care provision by volunteer, upper middle-class women that has since been overtaken by the professionalization of the voluntary sector. Rumgay skilfully illuminates the pathways of women into, and out of, serious crime; explores the dynamics of rehabilitative practice in the volatile setting of residential care; and also analyses the qualities of successful rehabilitative practice.
This book will appeal to academics and professionals working in the field of offender rehabilitation and those with interests in voluntary sector contributions to social programmes and social reform. It will have particular interest for those concerned with female offenders, female philanthropy, and the contributions of women to penal reform and gender-sensitive rehabilitation programs.
