ABSTRACT
In Chapter 10 Mike Maguire explores the impact of the privatisation and marketisation of criminal justice services on voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) and on the voluntary sector as a whole. Based on research interviews with over 200 stakeholders, he argues that the increase in competitive commissioning of such services, often in large-scale and tightly specified ‘packages’, has produced ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, but that the impact for most has been negative. Hurt by ‘austerity’ and by reductions in traditional sources of funding, many have felt it necessary to bid for contracts in unfamiliar areas, sometimes as subcontractors to private companies. Relationships between VSOs have deteriorated, and some feel that they are losing touch with local communities. Efforts to look more attractive to commissioners have led to changes in management, organisational structure and culture, and working practices, in some cases raising concerns that the organisation has drifted away from its charitable ‘mission’ and ethos. While most interviewees felt that at present these risks could be handled, they were more pessimistic about the future of the sector, which was seen as becoming increasingly dominated by large, often ‘predatory’ quasi-businesses, and whose favourable identity and reputation could eventually come under serious threat.
