Book Review: Crime and punishment: A sourcebook
| Author | Peter King |
| DOI | 10.1177/146247450300500114 |
| Published date | 01 January 2003 |
| Date | 01 January 2003 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
to detail the ‘psycho-social adversities’ experienced by the young people and, in particu-
lar, the devastation wrought on their self-esteem both prior to and during their incar-
ceration. There is an implicit assumption running throughout the book that it is
precisely these complex psycho-social needs and poor self-esteem that contribute to the
young person’s incarceration in secure units. The construction of these children as
‘damaged’ by their pasts left this reader curious about the degree to which young people
in secure accommodation are different from other children who also have ‘complex
psycho-social needs’. O’Neill’s focus on the failure of secure accommodation to address
or meet these needs necessarily forecloses an analysis in which the similarities between
these children and others can be explored, and explanations put forward as to why it is
that these particular children end up in ‘secure’. So, a question arises concerning the
social and political conditions that make it possible to incarcerate some of Britain’s most
‘damaged’ children.
The second question comes about because of the good quality of the data. Given that
most of the professional respondents had few positive remarks or assessments to make
of secure accommodation as a technique for dealing with troubling young people, the
question of why it continues to be used becomes paramount.
In summary, this reader was impressed by the eloquent way in which O’Neill presents
the punishing regimes of Britain’s public childcare institutions. A system that puts young
men who sexually abuse and young women being offered protection against sexual abuse
in the same institution, and then subjects them to the same regime is one that should
cause concern. And, with an increased use of secure accommodation as punishment, it
seems possible that the punitive culture of control O’Neill identifies will only intensify
– regardless of the needs of the vulnerable and abused girls inside. The key question
therefore remains: if secure accommodation is so damaging and ‘ineffective’, why is it
being increasingly used in England and Wales? Jo Phoenix
University of Bath, UK
Crime and punishment: A sourcebook, A. Barrett and C. Harrison. London: University
College London Press, 1999. 347 pp. £14.99. ISBN 1857288726 (pbk).
This book fills an important hole in the existing textbook market in this field. We do
not have an undergraduate-friendly sourcebook on the history of crime, justice and
punishment, and this volume does much to fill the gap. The authors clearly designed it
for an undergraduate readership. They include in the introduction, for example, a
number of tips for student readers on how to read primary sources and on the kinds of
questions that the reader should ask about them before drawing any conclusions. The
volume begins in the early medieval period and finishes at the end of the 19th century.
The book is strongest on that last century. The first four chapters are devoted to crime
and punishment in four discrete periods: medieval, the 16th century, 17th century, and
18th century. The last four chapters deal with crime, police, justice and punishment in
the 19th century.
The informed reader will find many old favorites here: Harman on crime in the
16th century, the Earl of Castlehaven’s trial for rape and sodomy in the 17th, long
PUNISHMENT AND SOCIETY 5(1)
126
06book revs (ds) 30/10/02 2:21 pm Page 126
To continue reading
Request your trial