Subjects:

Criminology

Contents:

Crisis? What Crisis? / Justifying Punishment / Explaining Punishment / Court Decisions: The Crux of the Crisis / Community Penalties and the Future of Punishment / Prisons and the Penal Crisis / Prison Privatization / Panacea or Pandora's Box? / Early Release: The Penal System's Safety Valve / Young Offenders: Systems Management or System Disaster? / Bias in the Criminal Justice System / Solving the Crisis?

The Third Edition of this highly successful textbook provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the penal system of England and Wales. Now fully revised and updated, it includes an examination of the direction of penal policy under New Labour. The book: * offers an overview of all aspects of punishment and the penal system * provides an analyses of the theories which purport to justify and explain the practice of punishment * critically examines the so-called 'penal crisis' and offers a programme for radical reform * draws comparisons between the English penal system and others from around the world * includes a self-study guide, directing the reader to useful websites