Recent Book: It Does Happen!: Sex, Crime, and the Law
| Author | Colin Staples |
| Published date | 01 July 1979 |
| Date | 01 July 1979 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X7905200330 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
preventive. Against this background the
Cranfield Conference was held. A
distinguished gathering of people from
thirteen countries presented papers on
many aspects of Crime Prevention which
are now published in this volume.
This is not an ordinary book on Crime
Prevention although one can read
familiar
material
about
physical
prevention. In many ways it is a book
about
social science. There are papers on
urbanisation.
urban
development.
female criminality. insurance. industrial
security. education and social work.
But the central theme emerging from
these papers is community involvement
in
crime
prevention.
The
whole
community. How can the service change
"attitudes in the population in matters of
crime prevention') This is a difficult
question to answer. There is some
guidance offered here.
An interesting analysis of the
preventive role of the police in Northern
Ireland. written by the Chief Constable.
concludes that the maintenance of law
and order requires the co-ordination of
the activities of the security forces into an
overall plan which takes the whole
community into account. This indicates
the change of direction in tuture attitudes
to crime prevention. This is far removed
from the statement of 1829. but the
service must accept that nuts and bolts
are no longer sufficient. Whether the
service possesses the general will to
pursue the goal of full community
involvement in the terms presented here
is open to debate. but the fact remains
that the great majority ofcitizens are law-
abiding and probably willing to give
active assistance.
Reading this book might give one a
preview of the road to community
involvement. It is an interesting volume
containing something for people at all
levels in the service. It appears to be a
book designed to make people think
about
the issues.
It
will probably succeed
despite the very small print which makes
concentration difficult. M.W.
IT
DOES
HAPPENl
DO'AL
E.
J.
MACNAMARA
AND
EDWARDSAGARIN:
Sex. Crime. and the
Law
MacMillan £3.70, £9.75
This is an extremely interesting book
which will repay a great deal of study and
thought.
Despite its title, it is in no way a legal
text book, because it does not set out to
offer instruction on the legal intricacies
of sexual offences. It is concerned
basically with the general nature of such
offences and of related offences, such as
those concerned with pornography. It
considers some of the causes of sexual
criminal conduct and looks at some of
the differing statutory provisions to be
found in different jurisdictions relating
to offences of this nature. The different
jurisdictions to which it refers are mainly
those of the various States in America.
From
the point of view of Police
Officers in this country, the book.
dealing mainly with foreign law and not
dealing with
that
in any great detail, will
be of no value in improving their
knowledge of the law relating to the
sexual offenders with whom they will
have to deal. Nevertheless, they are likely
to find it very rewarding reading.
It shows
that
the problems of one
urban society are very like those of
305
another; it highlights the especial
difficulties in sexual offences of relying
on statistics. or other data. in
order
to
assess the problems whenthe offences are
often not reported. are sometimes
reported untruthfully and when the
motivation of the offenders sometimes
stems
from
complex
mental
abnormalities, and. most important of
all, it looks at the conflict between the
view of those who feel
that
the proper
function of the law is to protect potential
victims and those who argue
that
the law
should operate to uphold generally
accepted morality.
No
doubt
the views of Police Officers
on this last point will vary in the same
way as the views of others, but it is of
particular importance to them because.
whatever else may be uncertain. it is
beyond
doubt
that the existence of too
many laws makes law enforcement
difficult
for
the
Policeman
and
unsatisfactory for the public.
The authors are to be congratulated on
providing valuable food for thought in a
balanced and reasonable way.
COLIN
STAPLES
July 1979
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