Book review: Regulation and Criminal Justice: Innovations in Policy and Research
| Author | Elizabeth Burney |
| Published date | 01 July 2012 |
| Date | 01 July 2012 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1748895812446115 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Criminology & Criminal Justice
12(3) 329 –337
© The Author(s) 2012
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1748895812446115
crj.sagepub.com
Hannah Quirk, Toby Seddon and Graham Smith (eds),
Regulation and Criminal Justice: Innovations in Policy and Research.
Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2010; x + 344 pp.: 978052119070, £65 (hbk)
Reviewed by: Elizabeth Burney, University of Cambridge, UK
This book offers a series of essays arising from seminars held at the University of
Manchester which aimed to fill the gap between regulation and criminal justice, suggest-
ing that they should no longer be seen as discrete systems but as being closely intercon-
nected. In particular, the study of criminal justice should be seen in the light of regulation,
both as a form of regulation and as being subject to regulation. This approach offers many
new ideas and opportunities for analysis, pointing to scope for more research in this area.
Early chapters consider the aims and principles of both regulation and criminal justice
as systems of governance. Each has different aims: regulation aims to secure compliance
with rules and norms, while criminal justice deals with perpetrators of crimes through
prosecution and punishment, although serious breaches of regulations (e.g. health and
safety regulations) can be treated as crimes.
In his chapter Andrew Sanders argues that ‘freedom’ is the best guiding principle for
both systems, that is freedom from harm done by criminals and rule breakers and free-
dom from undue interference by the agencies of regulation and justice. Peter Grabosky
considers the relationship between the two systems with an elaboration of the well-
known Ayres–Braithwaite (1992) pyramid, a figure which depicts a wide base of infor-
mal interventions, such as warnings, leading up through narrowing stages to a small
apex of criminal justice as the ultimate control mechanism. Grabosky says more is
involved than these state-operated sanctions. He creates a three-sided pyramid which, in
addition to the first side of governmental escalation of interventions, depicts a second
side composed of professional regulators and another side of third parties such as land-
lords who operate their own systems, although sometimes with recourse to state sanc-
tions, and including informal social controls. Several contributors make the point that
civil sanctions can be more severe in their effect than prosecutions: a short prison sen-
tence may, for instance, be less damaging than loss of the right to practise a profession.
How far can businesses be left to regulate themselves? This seems to be the trend of
current policy debate. Gary Lynch-Wood and David Williamson argue that this can be
done effectively in the environmental field by targeting regulatory resources to where
they are likely to be most useful. This view is fiercely denounced by David Whyte, who
perceives the relationship between regulators and big business as hand in glove.
446115CRJ12310.1177/1748895812446115Book reviewsCriminology & Criminal Justice
2012
Book reviews
To continue reading
Request your trial