Book review: Emotions, Crime and Justice
| Author | Lode Walgrave |
| Published date | 01 February 2013 |
| Date | 01 February 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1748895812468662 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Criminology & Criminal Justice 13(1)
Before the subject of social class is addressed the reader is guided through sensitively
analysed data about many themes of previous studies. Similarities and differences are
pointed out in a style that avoids repetition – this is still relevant, that is different. Bethan
Loftus crafts a vivid portrait of the occupational culture that significantly adds to the lit-
erature. Expressions of solidarity among officers, of cynicism about groups within the
population policed; of a police moral mission; of crime fighting as central to police work;
of territorial control; and many other subjects are documented to seal the thesis that many
generic features of the occupational culture remain within the social context of late moder-
nity. The argument is convincing and important, developing rather than repeating previous
work. When it comes to the consideration of change, the analysis suggests an interruption
of, rather than a radical or significant rupture to, some features of the occupational culture.
Aspects of work about domestic violence and of ethnic relations are examples of where
policy and law have made an impact. Here, the argument is again subtle and convincing.
Returning to the marginalization of young men within late modern conditions, Loftus
describes and analyses policing tactics that reproduce their exclusion and, importantly,
express symbolic domination. The ways in which officers identify and characterize young
men are detailed; their related actions are documented skilfully. Important aspects of
social class within late modernity are analysed through the lens of policing.
Bethan Loftus has written a fine book that makes an excellent contribution to an estab-
lished, international field of study. Her thesis must have been of A++ quality! It seems
somewhat churlish to make criticisms of the work but I wondered if her discussion of mar-
ginalized youth underemphasized that many of them dealt with by officers could have been
offenders rather than ‘youth’? Checking this matter would have provided deeper insights.
The book is within the sociological tradition but I would have liked a more critical approach
to the sociological assumptions underpinning previous studies and how her work has added
to and, more importantly, questions them. The notion that the occupational culture has been
interrupted rather than fundamentally changed could have been discussed further. What,
for example, seem to be the generic and more transitory features of the occupational cul-
ture? Why do some of its features change and others abide? What counts as cultural change?
Indeed, more widely, the analysis is sufficiently sophisticated to comment on a wider field
of organizational studies dealing with cultural change. If other scholars took up these sub-
jects it would signal the importance not the inadequacy of Bethan Loftus’s contribution to
our understanding of the police and of organizations. Loftus has revived a sociological
understanding of the police and other subjects that is lacking in far too much contemporary
criminology
2012
. This is an excellent book that deserves close attention.
Susanne Karstedt, Ian Loader and Heather Strang (eds)
Emotions, Crime and Justice, Onãti International Series in Law and Society, Hart
Publishing: Oxford, 2011; 394 pp.: 9781849461610, £50 (hbk)
Reviewed by: Lode Walgrave, University of Leuven, Belgium
Emotions steer our lives. If they did not, we would all drive the same useful cars, eat
healthy food instead of enjoying pleasant dinners with friends, live in the same practical
Book reviews
121
houses, and take some rest instead of enjoying holidays. Emotions make the human
world diverse, surprising, coloured, sometimes pleasant, hedonistic, sometimes sad,
painful or even cruel. It is the essential difference between the real world and a science
fiction world populated by robots. Some political regimes have tried in recent history to
create emotionless – in their view practical – systems. But these regimes were not attrac-
tive and they failed completely. Imagining a life without emotions is impossible.
Therefore, the title of the book edited by Susanne Karstedt, Ian Loader and Heather
Strang, Emotions, Crime and Justice (2011), may sound like as self-evident a title as
‘The wheels of a car’, or ‘Food in a restaurant’.
Yet, the book is a must read. It presents a series of state of the art chapters on various
subjects that are critical in criminology. The chapters are deeply rooted in the patrimony
of criminological literature; many of them offer an excellent balance of theoretical reflec-
tion and empirical work; the empirical methodology ranges from insightful qualitative
observation, even introspective reflection, to clever quantitative measuring and sophisti-
cated statistics; all chapters witness a critical concern for the instrumental, social, politi-
cal and moral implications. In short, the book is an example of what I have called
‘criminology as I see it ideally’ (Walgrave, 2008b).
A Wide Spectrum of Essential Topics for Criminology
In the introductory problem statement, ‘Handle with care: Emotions, crime and justice’,
Susanne Karstedt notes the conflicting pressures to be reconciled when ‘re-emotionaliz-
ing’ justice. On the one hand, the criminal act and subsequent efforts to do justice are
imbued with emotion. On the other hand, giving way to emotions when responding to
crime may risk an ‘outburst of the populace’ (p. 2).
In the first part of the book, ‘Emotions in transgression and crime’, Randall Collins
analyses the process that may lead groups to ‘forward panic and violent atrocities’.
Willem De Haan shows...
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