This book speaks to those interested in topics related to punitiveness and public attitudes to crime and punishment. Punitiveness has been the focus of increasing criminological attention in recent decades. This book extends this focus by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to examining punitiveness in the criminal justice system, the welfare system, and the education system in British society today. In doing so, this study uses new survey data (n=5,781) applying ordinal and linear regression and structural equation modelling to examine the relationship between public punitiveness towards ‘rulebreakers’ and political values. This is explored through assessing punitive attitudes towards the treatment of i) school pupils who break school rules, ii) towards the treatment of benefit recipients who fail to comply with the rules, and iii) towards people who break the law. It examines the relationship between political attitudes (neo-conservative values, neo-liberal values), nostalgic values (social, economic, and political), and public punitive attitudes towards the three rule-breaking groups. This book’s appeal may extend to an interdisciplinary audience including welfare, education, and social policy disciplines.

This book seeks to bring understanding of both complexity and temporality into criminology. It outlines why these are important in criminological models of causation and explanation and explores them by drawing on theories and approaches in political science, comparative history, social theory and systems analyses. It discusses what is meant by complexity and introduces historical institutionalism (which is rarely used in criminology) to criminological audiences; it introduces what is known as 'why-because' analyses to the social sciences. This style of thinking is used to explore the causes of major transportation accidents (such as aeroplane or ferry disasters) and involves the integration of structural, organisational and agentic inputs in accounting for such disasters. Chapters on realistic evaluation, theories of structuration and agency, and research design and research methods are included with an example project based on the author's recent studies of Thatcherism which shows how these theories can be applied to empirical data. This book speaks to those interested in criminology, sociology, political science, research methods and the wider social sciences.

The crime drop is one of the most important puzzles in contemporary criminology: since the early-1990s many countries appear to exhibit a pronounced decline in crime rates. While there have been many studies on the topic, this book argues that the current crime drop literature relies too heavily on a single methodological approach, and in turn, provides a new method for examining the falling rates of crime, based on ideas from political science and comparative historical social science. Farrall's original new research forwards an understanding of trends in crime and responses to them by questioning the received theoretical assumptions. The book therefore encourages a 'deepening' in the nature of the sorts of studies which have been undertaken so far. Firmly grounded in Political Science, this innovative study is a must read for scholars of Critical Criminology, Criminological Theory, and Politics.

The concept of the political legacy, despite its importance for institutionalist and historically-minded political analysts more generally, remains both elusive and undeveloped theoretically. This book seeks to address that oversight by building on existing studies which have approached the notion of a legacy to offer a clear definition and operationalisation of the term which might be used to inform future research. Legacies we view as traces of the past in the present; the claim to the existence of a legacy is both a causal and a counter-factual claim. We propose, in the light of this, a multi-dimensional approach to gauging political legacies, reflecting on some of the theoretical, analytical and methodological concerns which need to be addressed in establishing credible claims to their existence. These we develop and illustrate with respect to the literature on Thatcherism.

1. In a time when the probation service is looking to reverse its privatisation, it is a good time to look back at the importance and legacy of past studies. 2. Rather than a straight new edition, this critical edition offers a wealth of new content, including a new chapter from the author, a new preface and four critical essays from key international figures in the field.

The volume of studies into desistance has grown dramatically in recent years. Much of this research has focused on the internal dynamics of desistance such as decision-making, choice and restraint. Bringing together leading figures and drawing upon case studies from around the world, this book seeks to fill a vacuum in the contemporary literature on desistance by considering processes and practices at a societal level that influence how and why people desist from crime. Beginning with an outline of what is known about how social, cultural and economic structures shape desistance from crime, this book proceeds to explore studies of desistance in countries such as the UK, Brazil, France, Israel, Ireland, Sweden and Chile. These studies touch on variations by ethnicity, the nature of the criminal justice system, economic cycles, gender, religious belief systems and the use of time and space. Policy matters relating to desistance such as the rehabilitation and supervision of former offenders are also explored. This book will be invaluable reading to students and scholars of criminology, sociology and social studies engaged in studies of desistance, criminology, criminal justice, victimology, penology and probation.

An attention to the 'fear of crime' has found its way into governmental interventions in crime prevention and into popular discourse with many newspapers, local government and the like conducting their own fear of crime surveys. As a concept, 'fear of crime' has also produced considerable academic debate since it entered the criminological vocabulary in the 1960s.

Bringing together a collection of new and cutting edge articles from key scholars in criminology, Fear of Crime challenges many assumptions which remain submerged in attempts to measure and attribute cause to crime fear. But, in questioning the orthodoxy of 'fear of crime' models, along with inquiries that have supposed that fear is objectively quantifiable and measurable, the articles collected here also offer new paradigms and methods of inquiry for approaching 'fear of crime'.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, Western societies entered a climate of austerity which has limited the penal expansion experienced in the US, UK and elsewhere over recent decades. These altered conditions have led to introspection and new thinking on punishment even among those on the political right who were previously champions of the punitive turn. This volume brings together a group of international leading scholars with a shared interest in using this opportunity to encourage new avenues of reform in the penal sphere. Justice is a famously contested concept and this book takes a deliberately capacious approach to the question of how justice can be mobilised to inform new reform agendas. Some of the contributors revisit an antique question in penal theory and reconsider the question of what fair or just punishment should look like today. Others seek to make gender central to understanding of crime and punishment, or actively reflect on the part that related concepts such as human rights, legitimacy and trust can and should play in thinking about the creation of more just crime control arrangements. Faced with the expansive penal developments of recent decades, much research and commentary about crime control has been gloom-laden and dystopian. By contrast, this volume seeks to contribute to a more constructive sensibility in the social analysis of penality: one that is worldly, hopeful and actively engaged in thinking about how to create more just penal arrangements. Justice and Penal Reform is a key resource for academics and as a supplementary text for students undertaking courses on punishment, penology, prisons, criminal justice and public policy. This book approaches penal reform from an international perspective and offers a fresh and diverse approach within an established field.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, Western societies entered a climate of austerity which has limited the penal expansion experienced in the US, UK and elsewhere over recent decades. These altered conditions have led to introspection and new thinking on punishment even among those on the political right who were previously champions of the punitive turn. This volume brings together a group of international leading scholars with a shared interest in using this opportunity to encourage new avenues of reform in the penal sphere. Justice is a famously contested concept and this book takes a deliberately capacious approach to the question of how justice can be mobilised to inform new reform agendas. Some of the contributors revisit an antique question in penal theory and reconsider the question of what fair or just punishment should look like today. Others seek to make gender central to understanding of crime and punishment, or actively reflect on the part that related concepts such as human rights, legitimacy and trust can and should play in thinking about the creation of more just crime control arrangements. Faced with the expansive penal developments of recent decades, much research and commentary about crime control has been gloom-laden and dystopian. By contrast, this volume seeks to contribute to a more constructive sensibility in the social analysis of penality: one that is worldly, hopeful and actively engaged in thinking about how to create more just penal arrangements. Justice and Penal Reform is a key resource for academics and as a supplementary text for students undertaking courses on punishment, penology, prisons, criminal justice and public policy. This book approaches penal reform from an international perspective and offers a fresh and diverse approach within an established field.

Escape Routes: Contemporary Perspectives on Life After Punishment addresses the reasons why people stop offending, and the processes by which they are rehabilitated or resettled back into the community. Engaging with, and building upon, renewed criminological interest in this area, Escape Routes nevertheless broadens and enlivens the current debate. First, its scope goes beyond a narrowly-defined notion of crime and includes, for example, essays on religious redemption, the lives of ex-war criminals, and the relationship between ethnicity and desistance from crime. Second, contributors to this volume draw upon a number of areas of contemporary research, including urban studies, philosophy, history, religious studies, and ethics, as well as criminology. Examining new theoretical work in the study of desistance and exploring the experiences of a number of groups whose experiences of life after punishment do not usually attract much attention, Escape Routes provides new insights about the processes associated with reform, resettlement and forgiveness. Intended to drive our understanding of life after punishment forward, its rich array of theoretical and substantive papers will be of considerable interest to criminologists, lawyers, and sociologists.

Escape Routes: Contemporary Perspectives on Life After Punishment addresses the reasons why people stop offending, and the processes by which they are rehabilitated or resettled back into the community. Engaging with, and building upon, renewed criminological interest in this area, Escape Routes nevertheless broadens and enlivens the current debate. First, its scope goes beyond a narrowly-defined notion of crime and includes, for example, essays on religious redemption, the lives of ex-war criminals, and the relationship between ethnicity and desistance from crime. Second, contributors to this volume draw upon a number of areas of contemporary research, including urban studies, philosophy, history, religious studies, and ethics, as well as criminology. Examining new theoretical work in the study of desistance and exploring the experiences of a number of groups whose experiences of life after punishment do not usually attract much attention, Escape Routes provides new insights about the processes associated with reform, resettlement and forgiveness. Intended to drive our understanding of life after punishment forward, its rich array of theoretical and substantive papers will be of considerable interest to criminologists, lawyers, and sociologists.

This collection examines the social and cultural legacy of Thatcherism in the 21st century. Drawing upon perspectives from a range of disciplines, it considers how Thatcherism manifests itself today and how we can assess its long-term impact. The book is divided into four sections, which offer different ways of conceptualising and addressing questions of legacy: the ideological impact of Thatcherism on the Conservative Party and on the country; the long-term impact of Thatcherism across different parts of the UK; how Thatcherism has altered social attitudes to everything from welfare spending to Europe; and how popular historical accounts of Thatcherism have become embedded in different parts of contemporary British culture. The essays in this volume draw upon newly available archival materials, oral histories, social attitudes surveys and parliamentary debates to provide a well-rounded perspective on Thatcherism today.

An attention to the 'fear of crime' has found its way into governmental interventions in crime prevention and into popular discourse with many newspapers, local government and the like conducting their own fear of crime surveys. As a concept, 'fear of crime' has also produced considerable academic debate since it entered the criminological vocabulary in the 1960s.

Bringing together a collection of new and cutting edge articles from key scholars in criminology, Fear of Crime challenges many assumptions which remain submerged in attempts to measure and attribute cause to crime fear. But, in questioning the orthodoxy of 'fear of crime' models, along with inquiries that have supposed that fear is objectively quantifiable and measurable, the articles collected here also offer new paradigms and methods of inquiry for approaching 'fear of crime'.

The volume of studies into desistance has grown dramatically in recent years. Much of this research has focused on the internal dynamics of desistance such as decision-making, choice and restraint. Bringing together leading figures and drawing upon case studies from around the world, this book seeks to fill a vacuum in the contemporary literature on desistance by considering processes and practices at a societal level that influence how and why people desist from crime. Beginning with an outline of what is known about how social, cultural and economic structures shape desistance from crime, this book proceeds to explore studies of desistance in countries such as the UK, Brazil, France, Israel, Ireland, Sweden and Chile. These studies touch on variations by ethnicity, the nature of the criminal justice system, economic cycles, gender, religious belief systems and the use of time and space. Policy matters relating to desistance such as the rehabilitation and supervision of former offenders are also explored. This book will be invaluable reading to students and scholars of criminology, sociology and social studies engaged in studies of desistance, criminology, criminal justice, victimology, penology and probation.

This important and original new book reports on a major investigation of the outcomes of probation supervision, is concerned with the key question of what works in probation, and comes at an important moment of change and development for the probation service in the UK. Unlike previous studies which have relied mostly on official data, this book makes use of over 200 interviews with men and women on probation, and their supervising Probation Officers. Rethinking What Works with Offenders has the following objectives: to understand probation work from the perspectives of those who deliver it and those to whom it is delivered to study probation intervention as a whole (in particular the probation order) rather than specific aspects to locate probation work in the wider social contexts of those on probation to analyse how probation works, and to reconceptualise probation outcomes in terms of degrees of success rather than as 'successful' or 'unsuccessful' to assess the policy implications of these conclusions This book presents an important and challenging range of findings on 'what works' in probation and with offenders, and will be essential reading for anybody professionally concerned with the present and future of probation. raises central issues at a critical time for the reorganised National Probation Servicebased on extensive research, including 200+ interviewsessential reading for anybody interested in 'what works' in probation

This important and original new book reports on a major investigation of the outcomes of probation supervision, is concerned with the key question of what works in probation, and comes at an important moment of change and development for the probation service in the UK. Unlike previous studies which have relied mostly on official data, this book makes use of over 200 interviews with men and women on probation, and their supervising Probation Officers. Rethinking What Works with Offenders has the following objectives: to understand probation work from the perspectives of those who deliver it and those to whom it is delivered to study probation intervention as a whole (in particular the probation order) rather than specific aspects to locate probation work in the wider social contexts of those on probation to analyse how probation works, and to reconceptualise probation outcomes in terms of degrees of success rather than as 'successful' or 'unsuccessful' to assess the policy implications of these conclusions This book presents an important and challenging range of findings on 'what works' in probation and with offenders, and will be essential reading for anybody professionally concerned with the present and future of probation. raises central issues at a critical time for the reorganised National Probation Servicebased on extensive research, including 200+ interviewsessential reading for anybody interested in 'what works' in probation

This collection examines the social and cultural legacy of Thatcherism in the 21st century. Drawing upon perspectives from a range of disciplines, it considers how Thatcherism manifests itself today and how we can assess its long-term impact. The book is divided into four sections, which offer different ways of conceptualising and addressing questions of legacy: the ideological impact of Thatcherism on the Conservative Party and on the country; the long-term impact of Thatcherism across different parts of the UK; how Thatcherism has altered social attitudes to everything from welfare spending to Europe; and how popular historical accounts of Thatcherism have become embedded in different parts of contemporary British culture. The essays in this volume draw upon newly available archival materials, oral histories, social attitudes surveys and parliamentary debates to provide a well-rounded perspective on Thatcherism today.

The crime drop is one of the most important puzzles in contemporary criminology: since the early-1990s many countries appear to exhibit a pronounced decline in crime rates. While there have been many studies on the topic, this book argues that the current crime drop literature relies too heavily on a single methodological approach, and in turn, provides a new method for examining the falling rates of crime, based on ideas from political science and comparative historical social science. Farrall's original new research forwards an understanding of trends in crime and responses to them by questioning the received theoretical assumptions. The book therefore encourages a 'deepening' in the nature of the sorts of studies which have been undertaken so far. Firmly grounded in Political Science, this innovative study is a must read for scholars of Critical Criminology, Criminological Theory, and Politics.

In recent years attention has switched from how adolescents are attracted into crime, to how adults reduce their offending and then stop - the process of desistance. There are now around a dozen major longitudinal and in-depth studies around the world which have followed or are following offenders over their life course, charting their offending history and their social and economic circumstances. The book is the first to offer a global perspective on desistance and brings together international leading experts in the field from countries including the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain, the USA, and Australia to set out what we know about desistance, and to advance our theoretical understanding. Drawing on leading studies, this book sets the academic agenda for future work on desistance and examines the implications and potential positive effects of this research on desistance processes among current offenders. Global Perspectives on Desistance is divided into three sections: Agency, structure and desistance from crime, Life phases and desistance, Criminal justice and state interventions. Comprehensive and forward-thinking, this book is ideal for students studying criminology, probation and social work, social policy, sociology, and psychology. It is also essential reading for academic criminologists, sociologists, and policy makers and practitioners working in corrections and reform.

In recent years attention has switched from how adolescents are attracted into crime, to how adults reduce their offending and then stop - the process of desistance. There are now around a dozen major longitudinal and in-depth studies around the world which have followed or are following offenders over their life course, charting their offending history and their social and economic circumstances. The book is the first to offer a global perspective on desistance and brings together international leading experts in the field from countries including the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain, the USA, and Australia to set out what we know about desistance, and to advance our theoretical understanding. Drawing on leading studies, this book sets the academic agenda for future work on desistance and examines the implications and potential positive effects of this research on desistance processes among current offenders. Global Perspectives on Desistance is divided into three sections: Agency, structure and desistance from crime, Life phases and desistance, Criminal justice and state interventions. Comprehensive and forward-thinking, this book is ideal for students studying criminology, probation and social work, social policy, sociology, and psychology. It is also essential reading for academic criminologists, sociologists, and policy makers and practitioners working in corrections and reform.

Serious Offenders: A Historical Study of Habitual Criminals examines the persistent offending careers of men and women operating in northwest England between the 1840s and 1940s. The book focuses on a group of serious and persistent offenders who as well as offending in the region, had lengthy offending careers spanning several decades in various other locations. These were highly mobile persistent serious offenders who appear not to have been so closely bound in to the processes and structures which aided desistence from offending for the vast majority of the petty offenders.
The authors discuss questions such as: Why did some people remain minor offenders, whilst others developed into serious offenders? What were the triggers which propelled previously minor offenders towards persistent serious criminality? What part did changes in criminal legislation play in these processes? They conclude by drawing on the lessons to be learnt for today's debates about the regulation and surveillance of serious habitual offenders.

The concept of the political legacy, despite its importance for institutionalist and historically-minded political analysts more generally, remains both elusive and undeveloped theoretically. This book seeks to address that oversight by building on existing studies which have approached the notion of a legacy to offer a clear definition and operationalisation of the term which might be used to inform future research. Legacies we view as traces of the past in the present; the claim to the existence of a legacy is both a causal and a counter-factual claim. We propose, in the light of this, a multi-dimensional approach to gauging political legacies, reflecting on some of the theoretical, analytical and methodological concerns which need to be addressed in establishing credible claims to their existence. These we develop and illustrate with respect to the literature on Thatcherism.

Why do people stop offending? What are the processes they undergo in stopping? What can be done to help more people who have offended put their pasts behind them? The growth of interest in why people stop offending and how they are resettled following punishment has been remarkable. Once a marginal topic in criminology, it is now a central topic of research and theorising amongst those studying criminal careers. This book is both an introduction to research on desistance, and the report on a follow-up of two hundred probationers sentenced to supervision in the late 1990s. The reader is introduced to some of the wider issues and debates surrounding desistance via a consideration of the criminal careers of a group of ex-offenders. This lively engagement with both data and theoretical matters makes the book a useful tool for both academics and students. The book will appeal to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics studying criminology, criminal justice, sociology, social work, social policy and psychology, as well as trainee probation officers.

Continuing previous work exploring why people stop offending, and the processes by which they are rehabilitated in the community, Criminal Careers in Transition: The Social Context of Desistance from Crime follows the completion of a fifth sweep of interviews with members of a cohort of former probationers interviewed since the late-1990s. The research undertaken since the inception of the project in 1996 has focused on developing a long-term evidence base, rather than a rapid assessment, examining whether (and how) probation supervision assists desistance from crime. Building on interviews from previous sweeps, the authors continue their exploration into the needs identified by probation officers and probationers, the extent to which these have been successfully met over the medium to long-term, and whether this suggests that probation helps probationers to desist. The authors argue that probation supervision did indeed help the probationers, but that this had taken a long time to 'bear fruit' and was related to other social and personal changes. There is discussion of a number of key topics, including sample members' continued social and personal development (including the impact of parenthood on them) and their motivation to change and maintain a law-abiding lifestyle, as well as their experiences of dealing with the stigma of a criminal record and the long-term process of 'remaking' themselves. This core empirical research and analysis is framed by a comprehensive review of not only the contemporary literature on desistance and reoffending, but also what constitutes a successful and effective research design in this field. Whilst there have been several attempts to develop theories of desistance, few have attempted to understand and theorise the long-term impacts of probation supervision. Criminal Careers in Transition addresses this by building an account of the processes which help to shape the speed, nature, and direction of an individual's efforts to avoid further offending and, thus, develop a theory of assisted desistance. The book continues the authors' exploration of the emotional trajectories of crime, victimisation, and desistance and the role of citizenship values in pathways out of crime, as well as original research into the spatial dynamics of desistance.

This book uses historical data to directly address modern criminological debates. There is currently a huge growth of interest in histories of crime, and intellectual conversations and connections between historians and criminologists are becoming much more frequent. However, published work which uses historical data to this extent is rare. This book's aim is to draw a wide audience from the worlds of criminology, history, and social policy and engage in a genuinely interdisciplinary debate. This book addresses a number of important questions about offenders' persistence in, or desistance from, crime and questions the current theoretical frameworks that are given to explain why some people stop, or slow down, their offending, and why offenders' children become involved in crime. By using criminal registers, census material, and newspaper reports from 1880 -1940 for one industrial town in North-West England, this book asks how and why did some people stop offending, and what part did employment, relationship formation, and family responsibility play in that process; was criminality passed on from parent to child, and if so, how; and to what extent were persistent offenders also persistent victims?