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Drinking is frequently described as a contemporary, worsening and peculiarly British social problem that requires radical remedial regulation. Comparative data, however, undermines such views and historical research shows that extreme bouts of alarm about drinking have occurred in this country for at least four centuries. So why is Britain such a fertile breeding ground for public anxieties about alcohol? This innovative book takes a genealogical look at both public attitudes and the regulation of alcohol in England and Wales. It draws on the concept of moral regulation and makes extensive use of press and legal sources in its analysis. Ultimately it is argued that, rather than a response to current behavioural trends,the continuing anxiety apparent in how we think about and regulate alcohol is best understood as a historic hangover which derives, in particular, from the Victorian period. The product of several years of research, this book is essential reading for students, academics and anyone with a serious interest in understanding Britain’s ‘drink problem’.

Approaches based around complexity theory are increasingly being used in the study of organisations and the delivery of services. This is the first book to explore the application of complexity theory to difficult practice issues in criminal justice and social work and is intended to stimulate debate. It brings together experts in this emerging field to address complexity theory from a range of perspectives (positivist, realist, and constructivist), providing a detailed but accessible discussion of the key issues to whole systems approaches. The chapters cover theory and research on the nature of complex adaptive systems, their application to key areas of service delivery and the efficacy and ethics of criminal justice and social work interventions. The book argues for the usefulness of applying complexity theory to address significant and intractable social problems and also challenges the reductionist approaches to solving those problems currently favoured by policy makers. It will be of interest to academics and postgraduate students in social work and criminal justice.

We live in a society that is increasingly preoccupied with allocating blame: when something goes wrong someone must be to blame. Bringing together philosophical, psychological, and sociological accounts of blame, this is the first detailed socio-legal account of the role of blame in which the authors present a novel study of the legal process of blame attribution, set in the context of criminalisation as a social and political process. The book identifies the problematic and elusive nature of blame and contrasts this with the uncritical way in which it is often used in the criminal justice process. Using a range of examples, the book addresses a number of contemporary issues including moral luck, blame amplification and growing criminalisation. The authors conclude that whilst allocation of blame is often simplistic and arbitrary and reflects little more than the ability of the powerful to coerce the marginalised, deconstructing the process of blame attribution would allow more progressive alternatives to be advanced.

This book asks what can be learned from the problem-solving focus of crime prevention to help face the challenges of climate change in this call to arms for criminology and criminologists. Industries such as energy, food, and tourism and the systematic destruction of the environment through global capitalism are scrutinized for their contribution to global warming. Ideas of ‘state–corporate crime’ and ‘ecocide’ are introduced and explored in this concise overview of criminological writings on climate change. This sound and robust application of theoretical concepts to this ‘new’ area also includes commentary on topical issues such as the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate agreement.

This publication explores the legal, media and social constructions of coercion as a pathway into crime for some co-offending women. Coercion has been increasingly acknowledged as a pathway into crime for female offenders, particularly those whose relationship with their male partner/ co-offender is characterised by abuse, control and/or obsession (Barlow, 2015; Jones, 2008; Richie, 1996; Welle & Falkin, 2000). However, the construction of such women within the law and media and the consequential ways in which they are understood is often limited to over-simplistic explanations and dichotomies, which are usually rooted in gendered assumptions and expectations. Informed by newspaper articles and materials accessed via case and court files, this publication will analyse four cases of co-accused women, all of which utilised the notion of ‘coercion’ (by their male partner/ accomplice/s), albeit to differing levels, as part of their defence. These case studies are used as a tool to understand how media and legal institutions and society more broadly attempt to make sense of coerced women. The alternative, feminist conceptual framework of a ‘continuum of coercion’ is also introduced, to develop a more nuanced conceptual and theoretical framework of coercion as a pathway into crime. The publication also considers the extent to which criminology currently contributes to this discussion and more specifically, what it fails to say about coerced women.

The ethical question confronting all of us is how to live alongside each other where the other person is our neighbour, not our disposable enemy. This monograph refines thinking on the subject of the other and rejects that othering, the imposition of a pejorative status, is an inevitable feature of human life. If the conditions of existence under which we live is a contingent creation, the political and economic, the ethical and cultural, can be reconstructed to reduce pejorative othering. There is the scope to refine and develop thinking on the other by incorporating a longer-term stream of history perspective that reaches back to antiquity; acknowledge troubling transformations imposed upon the criminal justice system by a succession of ‘modernising’ governments; foreground moral responses to contest the production of the relegated and demonised other; and to forge a new agreement on ethical priorities to establish the conditions of existence that benefit all of us. These four themes represent the four substantive chapters of this monograph. It is imperative to think about the other in relation to macro (historical, political, material conditions, and ideological commitments); mezzo (organisational transformations); and micro (human subjectivity) that feature in this monograph. Importantly, the scope exists to contest othering; to proceed from the construction and function of othering through new political and ethical commitments to change the way we organise ourselves. Therefore, it is possible to reframe the contours of the debate and to move things on from where they reside at present.

This book explores how evidence-based skills and practices can reduce re-offending, support desistance, and encourage service user engagement during supervision in criminal justice settings; and how those who work with service users in these settings could apply these skills and practices to their work. This book is the first to bring together international research on skills and practices in probation and youth justice, while exploring the wider contexts that affect their implementation in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Wide-ranging in scope, it also covers effective approaches to working with diverse groups such as ethnic minority service users, women and young people. There are chapters on specific practice in England and Wales, the United States, Canada, Spain, Belgium, Romania and Australia.

To date, approaches to understanding serial murder have focused on individual cases rather than the social context in which they occurred. This book marks a departure by situating nineteenth century serial killer Mary Ann Cotton within the broader social structure. Using archival records of her court appearances, local histories and newspaper articles, it uniquely explores how institutions such as the family, economy and religion shaped the environment she inhabited and her social integration through the roles of wife, mother, worker and criminal. Acknowledging that it takes a particular type of individual to commit serial murder, the book shows that it also takes a particular type of society to enable that murderer to go unseen. As the first work to analyse serial murder through the theoretical framework of institutional criminology and institutional anomie theory, it will equip criminologists with a methodological toolkit for performing institutional analysis.

Within the criminal justice system of England and Wales, the Crown Court is the arena in which serious criminal offences are prosecuted and sentenced. On the basis of ethnographic research findings, this book provides a detailed description of what it is like to attend Crown Court as a victim, witness or defendant; the interplay between the various participants at court; and the extent to which the court process is viewed as legitimate by those involved in it. The findings reveal that appearing at court can be a frightening, upsetting and frustrating experience, and that there are many aspects of the court process that are chaotic and confusing. It is, moreover, a process characterised by profound incongruities: high levels of formality are mixed with informality; the most intimate, personal and often sordid details of individuals’ lives are publicly recounted in elaborate fashion; matters of greatest seriousness are discussed alongside trivialities; and grief and (black) humour coincide. Notwithstanding the inherent and often immense contradictions and difficulties of the court experience, the vast majority of victims, witnesses and defendants alike are highly compliant in the courtroom: they come to court when told to do so (albeit sometimes late); they sit or stand as instructed; they answer the questions posed to them and in the required manner; and they conduct themselves according to the social rules of the courtroom. This ‘reluctant conformity’ of court users appears to reflect an implicit belief in the legitimacy of the court process and its outcomes.

Radio produced and broadcast behind prison walls is redefining traditional meanings of ‘public service broadcasting’ and disrupting traditional power structures within the prison system. Focusing on one of the most interesting developments in UK prisons over the past ten years, this book examines the early history of the Prison Radio Association (PRA) and the formation of the first national radio station for prisoners. Highlighting the enduring importance of social values in broadcasting, this book shows how radio can be used as a powerful force for social change. It will be of interest to those involved in media, criminal justice, and social activism.

It is well known that the social definition of individuals and ethnic groups helps legitimize how they are addressed by law enforcement. The philosophy of the social construction of crime and criminal behaviour reflects how individuals, such as police officers, construct meaning from the perspective from which they emerge, which in turn influences their law enforcement outlook. In the field, this is generally viewed through a positivist frame of reference which fails to critically examine assumptions of approach and practice. Written by an international specialist in this area, this is the first book which attempts to situate the social construction of crime and criminal behaviour within the philosophical context of phenomenology and how these constructions help inform, and ultimately justify, the policies employed to address them. Challenging existing thinking, this is essential reading for academics and students interested in social theory and theories of criminology.

This book examines critical issues in prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV) at the individual, community, and systems levels. The contributors present an overview of the extant evidence from current evaluations of promising, innovative prevention programs, including those designed to meet the needs of underserved groups, in the United States and throughout the world, and ways that obstacles to prevention may be overcome. In addition, the contributors, who are researchers in a variety of disciplines along with practitioners in the field, discuss the meaning of "success" in relation to IPV prevention and how successful outcomes may be measured. The contributors present collaborative, interdisciplinary work to identify gaps in knowledge about IPV prevention, and to offer recommendations for future research on and prioritizing of prevention strategies.

Prison suicide is a global problem, but little is known about about investigatory processes occurring after prison suicides. This book addresses this gap, providing a case study of the investigations that follow prison suicides in England and Wales. Despite the large range of prison oversight institutions in England and Wales, prison suicides reached a record high in 2016, with the rate having doubled between 2012 and 2016. These deaths represent the sharp end of a continuum of suffering, self-harm, despair and distress within prisons, which affects prisoners, their families and prison staff. This book details and critiques the lengthy and expensive police, ombudsman and coroner investigations that follow prison suicides. Drawing on extensive document analysis, including over 100 Prison and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations, and original semi-structured interviews with stakeholders undertaken between 2016-2017, this book provides a novel analysis of prison oversight. This book argues that post-suicide investigations create a significant burden for bereaved families and prison staff. The investigations are valuable, but can manufacture mystery around entirely manifest prison problems and obfuscate the role of deliberate political decisions in creating those problems.

Custody visitors are volunteers who, under a statutory scheme, make unannounced visits to police custody blocks and check on the welfare of detainees, in all parts of England and Wales. This book analyses custody visiting by reference to three principal issues. The first issue is the impact of official policy, based on archival and desk research, which shows that the police and the Home Office have ensured that the visiting scheme causes the least trouble to the police, sidelining any concerns about deaths in custody. A detailed local case study is used to analyse the second and third issues, independence and effectiveness. Because the visiting scheme is controlled by the Police and Crime Commissioner, and the visitors are trained with no input from influences other than the Commissioner and the police, custody visiting has no independence; and the case study also shows that, principally because of the power of the police, the monitoring work is not effective. The fundamental power imbalance between the police and visitors is a characteristic shared by all schemes, which is why the book’s conclusions can be applied generally. Custody visiting, ineffective in its present form, could be an effective regulator of police behaviour in custody blocks, if it were radically reformed. The book makes detailed proposals for the necessary reforms, with an explanation of the political context that could make that a reality.

Why has so much hate crime policy seemingly ignored academic research? And why has so much of this research been conducted inside of its own separate academic bubble? This book addresses those questions by bringing together internationally renowned hate crime experts from the domains of scholarship, policy and activism. It provides new perspectives on the nature of hate crime victimisation and perpetration, and considers an extensive range of themes, challenges and solutions which have hitherto been un- or under-explored. In doing so, the book offers innovative ways of combating and preventing hate crime that combine cutting-edge research with the latest in professional innovations. Essential reading for students, academics and practitioners working across a range of disciplines including criminology, sociology and social policy, Responding to Hate Crime makes a clear and compelling case for closer and more constructive partnerships between scholars and policymakers.

Solitary confinement has been used in correctional practice since the very inception of the penitentiary system in the United States. However, by the late 1840’s, it usefulness as a rehabilitative strategy was placed into question. By the late 1880’s, it’s utility as a mode of rationalized retribution quickly became the sole function of this type of correctional strategy. By the 1980’s, a number of states in the U.S began to build supermax penitentiaries. Within the current context, isolated confinement has become a regular correctional strategy of every state correctional system in the U.S., including the federal supermax facility located in Colorado. As the use of solitary and supermax confinement became more mainstream, the U.S. Supreme Court was often called upon to determine if this type of correctional strategy violated constitutional protection. Though the Supreme Court has moved rather slowly on this issue, it has begun to prohibit certain individuals to be placed in this type of confinement due to the psychological damage it can impose on certain individuals. What has been consistently observed both historically and within the context of personal accounts of this experience is the profound effects of isolated confinement. The phenomenology of this event is evoked within the relationality between the structural limitations of the physical space of solitary and individual experience. Within this context, the most basic aspects of embodied existence—the possibility of human touch, the possibility of bodily movement by which to take up the world and the absence of direct intersubjective experience—are denied.

This work offers a new theoretical perspective on how young people survive the violent street gangs of south London. Using the principles of social field analysis and habitus from Pierre Bourdieu, Harding establishes the gang as a social arena of competition where actors struggle for distinction and survival. Establishing the metaphor of a Casino in which young people strive to become Players in The Game, Harding proposes that success is determined by accruing and retaining playing chips – street capital. This tradable, but highly variable, asset determines one’s position in The Game and the actions Players take as they seek to increase their position in the hierarchy and gain more chips. To gain chips Players strategise using tested techniques from different menus of strategic action. Grouped into Gang Repertoires, these menus operate to dictate the norms and help manage the social order of the field. However The Game is controlled by incumbents who strive to maintain their privileged position. Younger people, new arrivals, immigrants and women are all disadvantaged in this game but they can rise to become challengers to the status quo. This dynamic ensures the Game is one of constant flux, of jostling for position, reputation, status and distinction. This comprehensive theory generates numerous valuable insights into the social field of the gang which Harding identifies as highly violent, gendered, whilst increasingly embedded and constantly evolving. The street gang is a violent world where increasingly fatalistic young people are hyper-vigilant of risk: a Street Casino of winners and losers.

Policing–primarily the activities of the public police–is at a turning point and the pace of change is accelerating, with a renewed emphasis on crime reduction yet with austerity. Both the UK and The Netherlands, the two societies that are being compared in this book, have been going through their most convulsive changes since the 1960s. These changes have the danger of taking policing backwards if decision-makers overlook the fact that the police is a unique agency with exceptional powers: or if the emphasis is on ‘what works?’ in stead of ‘what matters in policing?’. To counterbalance this misunderstanding of the police role one has to appreciate the nature and culture of police work and the police organization; the challenges that policing faces in its institutional and operational functioning; and how within a complex, shifting and at time perilous environment police leaders have to juggle constantly in trying to cope with the dilemmas and resilient issues that confront them. Rather than a focus on either ‘control’ or ‘consent’ a comprehensive paradigm–built around the three main pillars of policing: crime and security management; social-welfare and community outreach; and order maintenance–provides a sound basis for confident and competent police leaders to shape policing in the 21st-century.

This book focuses on developments since the publication in 2007 of the Corston Report into women and criminal justice. While some of its recommendations were accepted by government, actual policy has restricted the scale and scope of change. This book explores developments since Corston, as well as possible future directions resulting from the Coalition Government’s ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ plans. This timely analysis engages with wide-ranging considerations for policy-makers, providers and practitioners of services and interventions for women who offend, and questions whether women should be treated differently in the criminal justice system.