Book review: Realist Criminology
| Author | Simon Winlow |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895815604950 |
| Published date | 01 November 2015 |
| Date | 01 November 2015 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Criminology & Criminal Justice 15(5)
high point. The author rightly pours cold water on the idea of a golden age but is, per-
haps, a little precipitous with his inference that this was the point at which the decline of
probation began. The 1970s and 1980s were extraordinary periods of individual and col-
lective creativity and innovation, some of which was a direct response to the credible,
and sometimes amusing, demolition of the treatment model. Moreover, it included
ground-breaking work specific to the needs of women and minority ethnic people.
Admittedly, structured and rigorous evaluation was invariably missing but practitioner
enthusiasm and belief, it can be argued, was high. In a brief reference to the period of
probation his history does not cover, the author rightly points out that the storm clouds of
negative research and politicization began to appear in the second half of the 1970s, and
the demands of accountability, most notably in the publication of the Statement of
National Objectives and Priorities (SNOP), grew in strength in the 1980s; but in my view
the storm did not break until the appearance of the epitome of popular punitiveness,
Michael Howard in the early 1990s and the subsequent failure of the Labour government
to change the destructive trajectory he had set in motion.
That said, this is a well-written and commendable work of scholarship and a valuable
addition to historical accounts of what in the 21st century might yet tragically become an
historical curiosity. It will stimulate thinking and debate about the theory and practice of
probation, and is another reminder of the honourable role probation has played in the
criminal justice system. It will be helpful to students and should be read by all those
interested in its survival.
Roger Matthews, Realist Criminology, Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, 2014; 179
pp.: 9781137445698, £24.99 (pbk)
Reviewed by: Simon Winlow, Teesside Centre of Realist Criminology, Teesside University, UK
It is not often that one of the big beasts of modern criminology lumbers back onto the
stage. When one does it behoves us to pay attention. I will not outline Roger Matthews’
achievements and his influence on the discipline here, and instead of doffing my cap or
offering some polite applause in the form of an anodyne and congratulatory review, I
want to focus on...
To continue reading
Request your trial