27. Critical perspectives on crime and punishment

This chapter examines a range of perspectives which question the assumptions underlying the concept of ‘punishment’. It first explains what is meant by the idea of critical perspectives on punishment before discussing a number of critical perspectives on the justice system including abolitionism, social control theories, community justice, and transformative justice. It then explores unjust punishment and problems for criminal justice of discrimination and inequality, focusing on the disparities in treatment between white, BME, and other sectors of the population in the criminal justice system. It also considers how ‘crimes of the privileged’ and state crimes can remain unseen or unpunished and concludes with an evaluation of the limitations of critical analyses of crime and punishment.

24. Punishment and the idea of ‘just deserts’

This chapter examines punishment as a means of dealing with crime and its implications for justice. It first introduces the key arguments advanced in support of the idea of punishment in general and specific punitive practices in particular. It then considers the historical development of punishment and its changing role in society, along with specific forms of penal sanction such as death penalty, imprisonment, and community based alternatives to the deprivation of liberty. The chapter goes on to discuss the role of the judiciary in administering punishments as well as the consequences of imposing punitive measures. Finally, it evaluates the potential limitations of the use of punishment, including miscarriages of justice and its apparent failure to affect the likelihood of reoffending.

15. Critical criminology—part 1

This chapter examines a range of criminological perspectives which are collectively known as critical criminology, with particular emphasis on labelling perspectives, Marxist inspired critical theories, and feminist perspectives. It begins with an overview of the four main ideas of positivism (in either its biological, psychological, or sociological forms): determinism, scientism, consensus, and treatment/rehabilitation. It then considers the philosophical and political arguments that underpin critical criminologies, along with the different foundational strands within critical criminology. It also discusses the importance of the ideas of social construction, power and power relations to critical criminology, as well as the problems of ‘deviance’ and its interpretation and control. Finally, it explores the development of critical criminology in Britain, the rise of the ‘new’ criminology, Taylor et al's (1973) notion of a ‘fully social theory’ of crime and deviance, and the issue of violence in relation to gender.

11. Gender and feminist criminology

This chapter examines the origins, definitions, and principles of feminist criminology. It begins with a discussion of the main theoretical traditions that underpin feminist criminology, namely liberal feminist theory, radical feminist theory, Marxist feminist theory, and socialist feminist theory. It then considers feminist epistemologies such as feminist empiricism, standpoint feminism, and postmodern feminism, as well as the intersections between gender and other structures of disadvantage. It also evaluates the interrelationships between gender and crime by addressing feminist explanations of female crime and masculinities studies of male crime, along with the role of gender in the criminal justice system. The chapter concludes by analysing feminist criminologists' criticisms of what they describe as the androcentricism of mainstream criminological theories as well as some of the key criticisms against feminist perspectives on gender and crime.

9. Explaining youth crime and youth justice

This chapter deals with youth crime and youth justice: offending behaviour committed by children and young people and their subsequent treatment in the justice system. It considers the argument for a bespoke understanding and response to youth and crime as distinct from offending behaviour committed by adults. The discussion begins by looking at how the concepts of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ have been theorised and socially constructed over time. The chapter then examines how youth crime and ‘delinquency’ have been explained in individualised, developmental, and agentic terms; how young people may grow into crime, with particular emphasis on the role of culture in deviance; and the link between radicalisation and youth crime. It also describes the dominant formal responses to youth crime before concluding with an overview of progressive, contemporary approaches to delivering youth justice/responding to youth crime, namely, diversion and positive youth justice.

6. How does criminology ‘know’ about crime?

This chapter examines the means by which different forms of knowledge are created in criminology and what it means to know about crime, with particular emphasis on the empirical research methods used by criminologists. It also discusses the complex interplay between subjectivity, supposition, and study in producing knowledge in criminology; the benefits and limitations of different research study methods on the creation of criminological knowledge; criminological theory as knowledge; and various research methods in criminology such as experiments, surveys, bservations, and secondary analysis. Finally, it considers how subjectivity, supposition, and study interact with, and impact on, understanding and knowledge production in criminology.

4. What is justice?

This chapter discusses both the theoretical notions and practical applications of justice. It considers some definitions of justice and examines criminal justice models, the philosophical underpinnings of justice as a concept, and the systems of criminal justice. It shows why justice is so important and the fact that justice may be approached form differing standpoints. After providing an overview of preliminary issues regarding justice, the chapter looks at justice issues within criminal justice and justice as a social construct. It then outlines the reasons why it is important to study justice and why justice matters to criminology. It also evaluates the four philosophical approaches to justice that take a broad view of the concept and allow us to see how justice and injustice can impact on society, crime, security, and well-being. Finally, it compares the two main systems of criminal justice: adversarial and inquisitorial.

23. Crime control, policing, and community safety

This chapter examines crime control strategies, policing, and community safety. It first explains what constitutes ‘crime control’ before discussing the distinction between crime control and due process models. It then considers the different methods of delivering ‘crime control’, including deterrence, target hardening, offender surveillance, and incapacitation and associated intervention programmes. It also analyses the role played by the police in crime control; the effectiveness of different crime control methods, such as situational crime prevention and zero tolerance initiatives; and issues surrounding the use of technology in crime control. Finally, it evaluates the consequences of crime control as well as the practical limitations and moral challenges of crime control.

17. Right and left realism

This chapter examines left and right realism, which address real problems faced by society and suggest solutions. It first considers the political context surrounding the emergence of realist criminologies before discussing three common themes which unite right realism: a focus on ‘street crime’; anti-intellectualism; and a focus on punishing criminals. It then outlines the policy implications of right realist theorising, paying attention to the work of James Q. Wilson and Charles Murray's arguments about criminality. It also explores the ideas of individualism, consumerism and relative deprivation as they relate to criminal behaviour and concludes with an assessment of the key ideas of left realism, including social inclusion and exclusion, as well as its policy implications.

12. Free will, classicism, and rational choice

This chapter explores the importance of free will and rational choice in the criminal justice system. It first explains the purpose of theory and how to interpret, test, and critically consider ideas in the context of criminological study before discussing classical theories which assert that people freely and rationally choose to offend and therefore can — and should — be punished or have their choices prevented (by, for example, reducing offending opportunities). It then considers the main theoretical schools in criminology including classicism, positivism, interpretivism, and critical criminology. It also looks at classical criminology and the key thinkers that shaped it, including John Locke and Jeremy Bentham, as well as the policies to which it gave rise. The chapter concludes with an analysis of neo-classical criminology, rational choice theory, routine activity theory, and situational crime prevention.