This book develops a more nuanced, and technically rigorous, account of persons and groups in the context of intentional action and responsibility. Until now criminologists have taken groups as fairly straightforward associations and neglected the technical - and problematic - issues of how intention and action both structure membership and action. Amatrudo also assesses the often-overlooked fleeting nature of many groups and the overstated continuity of group membership, and this book has radical implications for the way we describe criminal groupings e.g. "criminal" groups with their loose bonds but tight sense of intentionality from criminogenic groups with their tight bonds and loose sense of intentionality. A key issue investigated here is the implications involved for people incarcerated on joint criminal enterprise charges and gang membership-related charges; and this timely topic will be of great interest to academics and students of Criminology, Law, Sociology and a variety of other Social Sciences. The volume will also be useful for lawyers, social workers, community workers and others involved in the criminal justice system.

This edited collection focuses on the sociology of 'social censure' - the sociological term advocated by Colin Sumner in his seminal writing of the 1980s and 1990s. Social censure has become increasingly important in contemporary criminological writing. This can especially be seen in recent writing on gender and race and also in terms of the way that the state's relationship to crime is now understood. This collection addresses a deficit in the published literature and both revisits themes from an earlier era and looks forward to the development of new writing that develops Sumner's seminal work on social censure. The contributors are drawn from leading scholars from across the Social Sciences and Law and they address a wide range of issues such as: race, youth justice, policing, welfare, and violence. The resulting volume is an interdisciplinary text which will be of special interest to scholars and students of Critical Criminology and Socio-Legal Studies, as well as those interested in the operation of the criminal justice system and criminological theory.

In recent years there has been a significant growth in interest of the so-called "law in context" extending legal studies beyond black letter law. This book looks at the relationship between statute law and legal practice. It examines how law is applied in reality and more precisely how law is perceived by the general public in contrast to the legal profession. The authors look at a number of themes that are central to examining ways in which myths about law are formed, and how there is inevitably a constitutive power aspect to this myth making. At the same time they explore to what extent law itself creates and sustains myths. The book will be of general interest to a number of different disciplines such as legal theory, general law, criminology and sociology. -- .

We now live in a world which thinks through the legislative implications of criminal justice with one eye on human rights. Human Rights and the Criminal Justice System provides comprehensive coverage of human rights as it relates to the contemporary criminal justice system. As well as being a significant aspect of international governance and global justice, Amatrudo and Blake argue here that human rights have also eclipsed the rhetoric of religion in contemporary moral discussion. This book explores topics such as terrorism, race, and the rights of prisoners, as well as existing legal structures, court practices, and the developing literature in Criminology, Law and Political Science, in order to critically review the relationship between the developing body of human rights theory and practice, and the criminal justice system. This book will be of considerable interest to those with academic concerns in this area; as well as providing an accessible, yet sophisticated, resource for upper level undergraduate and postgraduate human rights courses.

This edited collection focuses on the sociology of 'social censure' - the sociological term advocated by Colin Sumner in his seminal writing of the 1980s and 1990s. Social censure has become increasingly important in contemporary criminological writing. This can especially be seen in recent writing on gender and race and also in terms of the way that the state's relationship to crime is now understood. This collection addresses a deficit in the published literature and both revisits themes from an earlier era and looks forward to the development of new writing that develops Sumner's seminal work on social censure. The contributors are drawn from leading scholars from across the Social Sciences and Law and they address a wide range of issues such as: race, youth justice, policing, welfare, and violence. The resulting volume is an interdisciplinary text which will be of special interest to scholars and students of Critical Criminology and Socio-Legal Studies, as well as those interested in the operation of the criminal justice system and criminological theory.

We now live in a world which thinks through the legislative implications of criminal justice with one eye on human rights. "Human Rights and the Criminal Justice System "provides comprehensive coverage of human rights as it relates to the contemporary criminal justice system. As well as being a significant aspect of international governance and global justice, Amatrudo and Blake argue here that human rights have also eclipsed the rhetoric of religion in contemporary moral discussion. This book explores topics such as terrorism, race, and the rights of prisoners, as well as existing legal structures, court practices, and the developing literature in criminology, law and political science, in order to critically review the relationship between the developing body of human rights theory and practice, and the criminal justice system.

This book will be of considerable interest to those with academic concerns in this area; as well as providing an accessible, yet sophisticated, resource for upper level undergraduate and postgraduate human rights courses.

In recent years there has been a significant growth in interest of the so-called 'law in context' extending legal studies beyond black letter law. This book looks at the relationship between statute law and legal practice. It examines how law is applied in reality and more precisely how law is perceived by the general public in contrast to the legal profession. The authors look at a number of themes that are central to examining ways in which myths about law are formed, and how there is inevitably a constitutive power aspect to this myth making. At the same time they explore to what extent law itself creates and sustains myths. The book will be of general interest to a number of different disciplines such as legal theory, general law, criminology and sociology. -- .

A lucid, sophisticated and timely vindication of the importance of Marxist, feminist and other radical perspectives on the state and political economy to the analysis of crime, control and justice. It offers a valuable guide to issues of political philosophy for students and teachers of criminology, critically deconstructing the taken-for-granted categories of law and criminal justice. - Professor Robert Reiner, London School of Economics, UK This clear and concise book sets out the relationship between political theory and criminology. It critically analyzes key theories and debates within criminology and addresses the major political ideas that lie beneath them. Organized around key criminological concepts and issues, the book covers: " power and ideology " the nature of the state " social control and policing " punishment " economics and criminal activity " morality. The book has been carefully developed to support practical teaching and learning and contains chapter summaries, further reading and a comprehensive glossary, which combine to provide a full understanding of the themes.