Book Review: Shiner M, Drug Use and Social Change: The Distortion of History, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2009, £52 Hb, ISBN 978—0—23022—272—4
| Author | Helen Beckett Wilson |
| Date | 01 April 2010 |
| DOI | 10.1177/14732254100100010703 |
| Published date | 01 April 2010 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
98 Youth Justice 10(1)
aspects which would be expected, the book also has two chapters which concentrate on
specialist areas – the Anti-Social Behaviour Order; and the Mentally Ill Juvenile. There is
also an examination... of the effect of the Human Rights Act and continuing consider-
ations for the Youth Court, and an updated section reflecting changes in the approach to
potentially ‘dangerous’ offenders. The book helpfully includes various appendices to
inform the reader – rules for Magistrates’ Court, Youth Court and Criminal Procedures;
the Code for Crown Prosecutors; police and YOT guidance for Final Warnings; a copy of
an ASSET assessment [used by Youth Offending Teams] and a crib-sheet for hard-pressed
professionals of available Youth Court sentences. The guiding principles of the youth jus-
tice system and legal frameworks are set in context, and there are numerous discussions
and examples of case law, which have affected the interpretation of statute. Being primar-
ily a reference book, the opinion of the author is not often appropriate but, where there is
apparently conflicting guidance from case law, the professional expertise of Mr Marsh is
used to suggest a way forward. Where subjects are raised which would merit closer exam-
ination outside the scope of the work, the author provides pointers to further reading.
The continuing changes in legislation and case law affecting this area of practice makes
writing such an in-depth guide an unenviable task, and the author had to rely on the gov-
ernment maintaining its anticipated timetable of introducing statute. Consequently there
are sections of this book which discuss legal developments not yet introduced at the time
of writing, specifically the introduction of the wide-ranging Youth Rehabilitation Order to
replace numerous youth sentences. These passages have a drier quality than the rest of the
book, as there is no appealed case law to interpret and illuminate legislation with specific
examples. It was also written before the ending of the Persistent Young Offender pledge,
and the subsequent concept of ‘Deter Young Offenders’ was heralded. The sections on
laws not yet in force have a drier quality than the rest of the book, as there is no appealed
case law to interpret and illuminate legislation with specific examples.
Overall, this book brings together law, case law and various agency procedures in one
manual and provides a thorough guide to the system. It neither intends nor is expected to pro-
vide assistance for participants with how to perform their various roles, but rather gives clear
guidance on the procedures to follow in conducting a case through the Youth Court. Indeed, I
would suggest that this book is intended to be accessed as need requires at relevant stages of
the judicial process, not necessarily read through from beginning to end. Whilst not a substi-
tute for law volumes, this book is – as its name intends – a systematic guide which makes it a
valuable reference work for use by all who work in the Youth Courts.
Shiner M, Drug Use and Social Change: The Distortion of History,
Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2009, £52 Hb, ISBN 978–0–23022–272–4.
Reviewed by: Dr Helen Beckett Wilson, School of Social Science, Liverpool John Moores
University, Liverpool, UK.
The driving force of this book is Shiner’s important observation that a significant amount
of literature around young adults’ drug use is not in fact ‘new’. Thus with a specific focus
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