Book Review: Roger Billingsley, Teresa Nemitz and Philip Bean (eds) Informers: Policing, Policy Practice Cullompton, Devon: Willan, 2001. 179 pp. (incl. index). £25.00 ISBN 1—903240—07—7 (hbk)
| Author | James Sheptycki |
| Published date | 01 February 2002 |
| DOI | 10.1177/17488958020020010503 |
| Date | 01 February 2002 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Criminal Justice 2(1)
control’ (p. 58). Criticism of the latter may be merited but this is only the most
extreme and problematic of the strategies that may follow from risk calcula-
tion. Risk management and risk reduction are more common. This is an
insightful chapter, reflecting the realism of writers working with the criminal
justice system to improve rehabilitation and reintegration, rather than sitting
comfortably outside and hurling ‘critiques’. In this respect, O’Malley’s chapter
is refreshing for the acknowledgement that some of his earlier argument about
individualization of risk was ‘probably overstated’.
In other essays, Stenson and Edwards grapple with the implications of the
‘Third Way’ for liberal governance and discuss with reference to case studies of
local crime prevention partnerships; O’Malley neatly exposes the tensions
inherent in new right and neo-liberal approaches to crime control; and
McLaughlin and Murji examine the influence of neo-liberalism in models of
managerialism and modernization applied to the British police. Thoughtful and
diverse chapters concerning media, populism, risk and crime/control are pro-
vided by Reiner et al., Sparks and Green.
For me, the most striking chapter is by Simon. Here he pursues the questions
of ‘whether’, and if so ‘why’, we are seeing a rise in cruelty in modern criminal
justice and social life, after several centuries of what Elias called the civilizing
process? If this really reflects ‘a present in which so many of the Enlight-
enment’s fondest constructions are eroding’ then this argument will be influen-
tial elsewhere. Paradoxically, societies today seem more aware and intolerant of
violations and abuses, e.g. of children, prisoners, older people, human and
animal rights. Yet, at the same time, as Simon argues, there are undercurrents
to the sensibilities of modern society that mean cruelty is appealing in a
seductive sense (following Katz). If Simon is correct, Hudson’s valuable discus-
sion of the contemporary appeal of vengeance over justice connects well.
The book has a few production errors and the focus on the Blair/Clinton
‘Third Way’ agenda issues is already looking a little dated. However, overall
this is a collection to be warmly welcomed, both for its reflections on the recent
past and its suggestions for future work.
Roger Billingsley,...
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