Ello Ello - Criminal Record Checks on volunteers

[Austin Ainsworth]

quote:Originally posted by troll

Devils advocate time...
Imagine a scenario where archaeology opens its doors to volunters taken directly from the probation service. Community service orders largely result in grass cutting, painting or graffiti removal. Archaeology could and in my view should consider making real contributions to society on the whole and by and large-we don`t. By that, I mean that on the whole, our contributions begin and end with volunteer schemes and public archaeology.

I would argue that we could offer structured placements aimed directly at those who find themselves trapped within the criminal justice system. We simply have so much to offer young minds and if we can motivate youngsters towards real tangible change in their lives through opening them up to critical theory and a whole host of meaningful processes-all the better.

Archaeology could be seen as a fringe of society. The information we collate remains largely for the benefit of those with an interest and although there are some excellent moves towards an inclusive public ethos, we still occupy a position of "entertainment" for some and opportunities to be Indiana Jones for others.

Could we not become an integral component for social change? We could make real differences to peoples lives and in the context of offenders, rather than holding them at arms length and shirking our social responsibilities, could we not look into our collective potential and see that there is a very real role we could be playing here? :face-huh:

..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)

Hi Troll, young offenders programmes have been worked into outreach programmes by quite a few community archaeological officers, the one that springs to mind, if you want information on how it works, is York Archaeological Trust's Hungate site. The person to contact would be Dr. Jon Kenny, YAT's community archaeologist.

[u]PLUG</u> Also watch out for my article in the next edition of 'Past Horizons' about outreach work with marginalised communities in Gloucester. [u]PLUG</u>