Book Review: M.E. Vogel, Crime, Inequality and the State, Routledge, London, 2007, £26.99 Pb, ISBN: 978—0—41538—268—7
| Author | David Scott |
| Published date | 01 December 2009 |
| Date | 01 December 2009 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14732254090090030904 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Youth Justice 9(3)
follows a critical review of New Labour’s implementation of the contemporary youth justice system
in a wider structural context.
The target audience of the book is second or third year undergraduates or those commencing
postgraduate studies in this area and a particular strength of the text is its ability to engage students
in critical thought. Furthermore, the book is also useful for the conscientious practitioner within
youth justice, as well as those training for work in the youth justice system; providing an insightful
introduction to key themes and debates that may otherwise be absent from such training. Overall,
Young People, Crime and Justice is a well-informed and well-written text.
References
Hopkins Burke, R. (2001) Introduction to Criminological Theory. Cullompton: Willan Publishing.
Hopkins Burke, R. (2005) Introduction to Criminological Theory, Second Edition. Cullompton: Willan
Publishing.
M.E. Vogel, Crime, Inequality and the State, Routledge, London, 2007, £26.99 Pb,
ISBN: 978–0–41538–268–7.
Reviewed by: Dr David Scott, Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, University
of Central Lancashire, UK.
The stated aim of Crime, Inequality and the State is to contextualize why and how some high risk
youth become embroiled in the criminal justice system while others of similar backgrounds do not.
The book contains 43 contributions by infl uential contemporary thinkers such as David Garland,
Colin Sumner, Elliot Currie, Katherine Beckett, Scott Christianson, Jurgen Habermas, and William
J. Wilson. Though it is a long book – the introduction and its eight parts are 633 pages in total –
it is one that covers a wide range of issues and debates that students and tutors alike should fi nd
highly engaging.
The 50-page introduction explores the ‘irony of imprisonment’, in which Vogel explains how
the recent punitive turn and increasing reliance upon imprisonment has nothing to do with either:
(1) increasing crime; or (2)...
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