Book Description | Now in its Sixth Edition, this remains the most comprehensive and authoritative book on the penal system, providing students with an incisive, critical account of the punitive, managerial and humanitarian approaches to criminal justice.
Fully updated to cover the most recent changes in the Criminal Justice System, the new edition:
Outlines contemporary policy debates on sentencing, staffing, youth custody and overcrowding.
Explores growing inequalities in the criminal justice system including issues of race, religion, gender and sexuality, with new content on faith, and transgender prisoners.
Considers the impact of privatisation on the probation service.
Discusses the most recent debates around the parole process, including high-profile cases and attempts at reform.
The book is supported by online resources for lecturers and students, including chapter PowerPoints, seminar plans, summaries of key legislative acts and bills, White Papers, consultation papers and official reports, regular updates on policy developments, a glossary, useful weblinks and links to further reading.
Essential reading for students of criminal justice and criminology, studying penology, punishments and the penal system. |
Editorial Review | This sixth edition of The Penal System continues the tradition of incisive analysis of the state of the nation in relation to the penal system. This is a well-crafted book which gives an excellent overview of the key challenges and directions in the contemporary English and Welsh penal system. In particular, the authors offer clear attempts to locate the crux of the problems in sentencing system, and they address key issues of how to solve the various crises of conditions in the prison system, community-based sentences, and provision for young people in conflict with the law through the youth justice system. The book also addresses the various crises of conditions, control and authority, accountability and legitimacy. This is a must read for those who wish to better understand and appreciate the complexities, the principles and practices of the penal system. Students and policy-makers alike will benefit from this extremely well-informed and insightful explanation of penal affairs. |