Book Review
| Published date | 01 July 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13657127231176969 |
| Author | Polly Hernandez |
| Date | 01 July 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Review
Ed Johnston and Anna Pivaty (eds), Efficiency and Bureaucratisation of Criminal Justice: Global Trends.
Introduction
The rise of managerialist values and the ‘efficiency drive’within the criminal justice system has been
well-documented in the English and Welsh context (McEwan, 2011). Much of the literature has
focused on the implications of this managerial drive on traditional criminal justice principles (Roberts,
2022), as well as the impact of increasingly managerialist environments on various legal actors within
the justice process (Thomason 2021; Derbyshire, 2014). Given the pace of change and the increasing
endorsement of managerial values in justice systems around the world, important questions still
remain as to the impacts of managerialism in the criminal justice context. How does managerialism, in
its many and various guises, impact traditional criminal justice values in different jurisdictions? How
does managerialism impact the different stages of the justice process? What are the impacts of manager-
ialism in the inquisitorial and adversarial contexts respectively? This book seeks to answer those ques-
tions, and goes some distance in providing answers on the manifestations and impacts of the
‘managerialist creep’that is of concern not only in England and Wales but in justice systems around
the world.
This edited collection brings together a range of contributions that consider these complex questions
and, crucially, through a global lens. The book comprises seven chapters focusing on the impacts of bur-
eaucratisation and efficiency drives in criminal justice, with each chapter offering a perspective from a
different jurisdiction. The first four chapters examine the effects of managerialism in the pre-trial
stages of the justice process, by evaluating the changing role of public prosecutors in France, the
Netherlands, Greece and China. The remaining chapters then consider the impacts of managerialism
on specific actors within the justice system. Chapter 5 explores how judges have responded to an increas-
ing environment of managerialism, Chapter 6 considers the impact on defence lawyers, and Chapter 7 on
victim support agencies. The chapters are expertly woven together, and are presented in a logical order
that reflects the sequential stages of the justice process.
This book will be of particular interest to those working and studying in the area of criminal justice and
procedure, and the quality of the text is such that it will be illuminating and of interest to those with either
a comparative or a domestic focus. This review sets out chapter-by-chapter analysis before offering some
final reflections, critique and praise for the editors.
Chapter commentaries
After an insightful introductory chapter by Pivaty and Johnston, Chapter 1 walks the reader through an
expert summation of French (inquisitorial) criminal justice culture before providing a valuable commen-
tary on the creeping pressures of managerialism in the context of prosecutorial decision-making.
Book Review
The International Journal of
Evidence & Proof
2023, Vol. 27(3) 254–256
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/13657127231176969
journals.sagepub.com/home/epj
To continue reading
Request your trial