Crime, Inequality and the State

Why has crime dropped while imprisonment grows? This well-edited volume of ground-breaking articles explores criminal justice policy in light of recent research on changing patterns of crime and criminal careers.

Highlighting the role of conservative social and political theory in giving rise to criminal justice policies, this innovative book focuses on such policies as ‘three strikes (two in the UK) and youre out, mandatory sentencing and widespread incarceration of drug offenders. It highlights the costs - in both money and opportunity - of increased prison expansion and explores factors such as:

labour market dynamics

the rise of a ‘prison industry

the boost prisons provide to economies of underdeveloped regions

the spreading political disenfranchisement of the disadvantaged it has produced.

Throughout this book, hard facts and figures are accompanied by the faces and voices of the individuals and families whose lives hang in the balance. This volume, an essential resource for students, policy makers and researchers of criminology, criminal justice, social policy and criminal law, uses a compelling inter-play of theoretical works and powerful empirical research to present vivid portraits of individual life experiences.


Contents

1. Bringing Inequality Back in to Crime, Law and Authority 2. Crime, Violence and Expanding Imprisonment 3. Criminal Careers 4. Social and Spatial Structure of Community 5. Race, Class and Gender in a Deindustrializing Society 6. Sentencing Discretion and Inequality Under the Common Law 7. Autocolonialism: Governing Through Coercion or Consent? 8. Paths Holding Promise