Paul Rock, Victims, Policy-Making and Criminological Theory: Selected Essays
| Author | Jan Van Dijk |
| DOI | 10.1177/1462474511406642b |
| Published date | 01 January 2012 |
| Date | 01 January 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
The selected works, and others, articulate and rehearse some constant themes
and debates. One relates to the tension, or dialogue, between Morris’ notion of
‘limiting retributivism’ under which retributive punishment sets only the upper (or
possibly the lower) limits of a sentence, and Andrew von Hirsch’s notion, which
came to be known as ‘just deserts’, whereby sentences were to be more closely
aligned or proportioned, to the offence, with possibly less regard to rehabilitative
or deterrent considerations. Having lived through more than three decades of sen-
tencing change, he is realistic enough to know that penal policy is cyclical rather
than progressive and incremental, but he acknowledges the influence of recent
developments in restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence.
Another theme relates to the importance of searching beyond superficial expla-
nations of penal change to the deeper cultural and institutional drivers of change.
For this reason helooks to authors such as David Garland to help identifystructural
transformations, of which crime and punishment may just be symptoms. Similarly,
he emphasizes the value of cross-cultural comparisons, to learn what is local and
what is universal, what works and what does not, why and in what circumstances,
what is transferable between jurisdictions and what is best kept at home.
What, if anything, has he learned over his professional criminological career?
Nothing profound, he says, just four things: the importance of mentors; that every-
thing is connected; that the world is a complicated place; and that knowledge does
sometimes influence policy and practice.
This book provides an excellent introduction to the work of one of the most
important and influential contemporary thinkers on penal policy. For the time-
poor researcher, policy-maker or practitioner, it provides an insight into some of
the significant issues of our time, but as a menu is to a meal, it should only whet the
appetite, not substitute for the experience of consuming the substantive and sub-
stantial body of his work.
Reference
Tonry M and Morris N (1978) Sentencing Reform in America. In: Glazebrook PR (ed.)
Reshaping the Criminal Law: Essays in Honor of Glanville Williams, London: Stevens
and Sons.
Arie Freiberg
Monash University, Australia
Paul Rock, Victims, Policy-Making and Criminological Theory: Selected Essays, Ashgate: Franham,
UK, 2010; 333 pp.: 9780754629469
Victims, Policy-Making and Criminological Theory consists of a broad sample of
articles written between 1968 and 2008 by Paul Rock, emeritus professor in crim-
inology at LSE, and currently visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
118 Punishment & Society 14(1)
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