Reviews : Penal Policy and Social Justice
| Author | Paul Falkingham |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059404100120 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
47
in
full,
together
with
editorial
annotations
The
editors
acknowledge
that
they
are
presenting
Jarvis
as
’work
in
progress’
and
practising
the
art
of
the
unfinished,
so
they
will
doubtless
tighten
up,
no
doubt
assisted
by
learned
correspondence
from
lots
of
readers.
In
the
meantime
they
deserve
full
recognition
for
boldly
seeking
’new
territory’
(especially
in
addressing
Thematic
Concerns)
and
aiming
for
a
readily
digestible
’one
stop’
shop
for
the
stretched
reader.
They
had
a
huge
task
of
abstracting
and
assimilation
to
perform,
and
have
achieved
this
very
creditably.
It
is
easy
to
pick
holes
but
the
old
stalwart
has
a
novel
identity.
What
next,
the
PC
disk
version?
Nigel
Stone
Penal
Policy
and
Social
Justice
Barbara
A
Hudson
MacMillan,
1993;
pp
222;
£11.50
pbk
This
is
a
book
you
would
initially
want
to
send
Michael
Howard
for his
birthday;
but,
on
reflection,
it
has
to
be
acknowledged
that
it
is
too
academic,
dense
and
detailed
in
its
arguments
to
catch
a
Ministerial
ear.
We
have
more
time,
knowledge,
expertise
-
and
probably
interest
-
than
the
Home
Secretary;
so
we
will
be
prepared
to
follow
Hudson
through
her
careful
analysis
of
the
relationship
between
penal
policy
and
social
justice.
She
begms
with
an
overview
of
penal
policy
developments
over
the
past
twenty
years;
examines
the
relationship
between
penal
policy
and
social
structure;
goes
on
to
look
at
the
connections
between
penal
policy
and
social
pohcy;
analyses
the
impact
of
penal
policy
on
penal
practice
and
the
criminal
justice
agencies;
and
considers
potential
reform
which
could
redress
the
fact
that
’criminal
justice
is
not
only
ineffective
but
also
permc~ous’.
Finally,
Hudson
considers
the
right
to
pumsh,
and
duty
to
obey
the
law,
even
in
an
unjust
society,
concluding
that
’legal
theory
needs
to
bear
m
mind
that
the
purpose
of
the
law
is
to
help
secure
the
well-being
of
citizens;
penal
policy
should
bear
in
mind
that
it
is
but
one
strand
of
social
pohcy
and
that
all
social
pohcy
should
be
directed
towards
the
attainment
of
social
justice’.
Hudson’s
analyses
and
arguments
relate
to
theories
and
trends
not
only
in
England
and
Wales,
but
also
North
America
and
Western
European
states;
and
she
detects
common
themes -
the
move
towards
twin-tracking
(imprisonment
reserved
for
more
serious
offences;
community
penalties
used
for
lesser
offences);
the
removal
of
disparities
between
regions
or
states;
governmental
concern
to
see
that
their
policies
are
implemented
by
criminal
justice
agencies;
a
focus
on
crimes,
rather
than
criminals,
accompanied
by
a
shift
from
intentionality
to
consequences;
nd
the
replacement
of
discussion
of
rehabilitation
by
a
concern
with
punishment,
and
with
punishment
fitting
the
crime.
The
most
disturbing
common
denominator
amongst
the
states
examined
is
the
criminalisation
and
disproportionate
prosecution
of
the
poor,
racial
minorities,
the
mentally
disordered,
women,
foreigners
and
the
homeless
as
a
correlative
of
social
policy
cuts.
’Social
problems
are
ignored
unless
and
until
they
manifest
themselves
in
crime
...
As
the
welfare
net
has
contracted,
the
penal
net
has
expanded
to
become
the
new
catch-all’.
Hudson
notes
how
the
introduction
of
Thatcher-Reagan
social
policies
has
been
paralleled
by
a
decline
in
confidence
amonst
the
’psy
professions’
(including
social
workers
and
probation
officers);
but
without
any
similar
decline
in
the
authority
of
’legal
discourse’.
Linked
to
this,
criminal
justice
spending
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