This Companion presents the major debates and issues in Critical Criminology. It presents new research on crime, policy and the internationalisation of the criminal justice system. It sheds light on traditional debates in critical criminology through a confronting analysis of contemporary developments in criminal justice and criminology.
This is the first textbook that brings together the major Australian and New Zealand theorists in Critical Criminology. The chapters represent the contribution of these authors in both their established work and their recent scholarship. It includes new approaches to theory, methodology, case studies and contemporary issues.
It traverses a range of debates including the criminalisation of Indigenous people, ethnic communities, the working class, rural communities and young people from critical perspectives, and introduces new concepts of state crime. It covers developments in the penal system that have responded to globalisation and neo-liberalism, particularly in law and order and anti-terror campaigns. This coverage is counterpoised by portrayals of resistance within the penal system and considerations of restorative justice.
The Companion is relevant to a broad range of courses and levels of study. It covers the major components of a Criminology course through a critical lens. It is a thorough introduction to concepts and critiques in criminology, as well as a provocative analysis of the assumptions underpinning the criminal justice system. Students, teachers and scholars in criminology, law and sociology will find this Companion invaluable.
Part I Theories and methodologies of critical criminology
Critical Criminological ResearchJulie Stubbs Culture, Critical Criminology and the Imagination of CrimeAlison Young Class Analysis and the Crime ProblemRob White Psychologising Criminals and the Frankfurt School’s CritiqueThalia Anthony and Dorothea Anthony Neo-Liberalism and Risk in CriminologyPat O’Malley Crime and Social TheoryRobert van Krieken
Part II Critical theory in action
Critical Reflections on Feminist CriminologiesKerry Carrington Masculinities, Crime and CriminalisationStephen TomsenNarrating the Chase: Edgework and Young Peoples’ Experiences of CrimeMark HalseyEthnic Minority Immigrants, Crime and the StateScott Poynting Colonial Critique and Critical Criminology: Issues in Aboriginal Law and Aboriginal ViolenceHarry Blagg
Part III Broadening definitions of crime and criminology
State Crime: Some Conceptual IssuesMike Grewcock Torture and TerrorElizabeth Stanley The New Criminals: Refugees and Asylum SeekersSharon PickeringHate CrimeGail MasonDead Man Working? Critical Criminology, Human Rights and the WorkplaceBarbara Ann Hocking and Scott Guy
Part IV Responses to crime
Key Issues in a Critical Approach to PolicingJude McCulloch Police Culture: A Brief History of a ConceptJanet Chan Giving Voice: The Prisoner and Discursive CitizenshipDavid Brown Understanding Prisoner Resistance: Power, Visibility and Survival in High-SecurityBree Carlton Risk, Punishment and LibertyMark Brown Penal Populism and the Contemporary Role of PunishmentJohn Pratt
Part V Future directions in critical criminology
Resisting a “Law and Order” SocietyRussell Hogg Understanding Restorative Justice Through the Lens of Critical CriminologyChris Cunneen Toward Constituting a Critical Criminology for Rural AustraliaGarry Coventry and Darren PalmerGlobalised Crime and Governance: The Outcomes for Understanding International Criminal JusticeMark Findlay
Index
…It is a very good book. None of the chapters is lightweight, all do what they say they are going to do, they are organized into five clearly demarcated sections and I personally found all the articles interesting, very competent and most of them distinctly original. Additionally, the range of critical perspectives represented is diverse, thereby also demonstrating the open-endedness that critical scholarship strives for….
I enjoyed this engaged and engaging volume by our Australian and New Zealand colleagues. It is a valuable and good-value-for-money book that I would certainly recommend it to all criminologists, whatever their intellectual orientation or career stage. Its triumph is that, in taking seriously—explicitly, implicitly or by default—most of the main issues raised by the concept of ‘critical criminology’, it also demands a thorough-going consideration of whether ideal–typical binaries of non-critical and critical criminologies are either possible or desirable, and, if the former, what they might look like.
Thalia Anthony and Chris Cunneen set out to showcase the best in Australian and New Zealand criminology. In so doing, they have inevitably included many contributors who are already internationally well known. Consequently, it is not surprising that some of the best writing in contemporary and critical criminology is to be found in this book, including elegant and informative chapters by such internationally eminent authors as Pat O’Malley, John Pratt and Kerry Carrington, not one of whose sophisticated essays I have even attempted to comment on in this short review. But no matter: The Critical Criminology Companion is likely (and deservedly) to be debated as a cutting-edge criminology text for some years to come—and, in criminological circles, extending way beyond Australia and New Zealand.
The British Journal of Criminology 49:276-279 (2009)
This interesting addition to the limited literature on Australian and New Zealand criminology distinguishes itself primarily through an explicit focus on critical criminology…
The field of nearly 30 contributors draws upon some well-known and established Australian-based, or connected academics working across this criminological vein, as well as a good number of more junior scholars who share these interests. In addition to addressing feminism, masulinity and Indigenous issues, the flavour of criminological challenges in the 21st century emerges in chapters delaing with torture and terror, asylum seekers and refugees, hate crime and state crime.
NSW Law Society Journal, September 2008
An important and timely edited collection that demonstrates the intellectual strength in depth of critical criminological research in Australia and New Zealand. Dealing with national and global key issues of our time it is an excellent antidote to the compromised politics and economics of mainstream criminology.
In addition to making a significant contribution to criminology the breadth of its canvas and its accessible arguments ensure relevance spanning academic disciplines. It should be essential reading for all practitioners and politicians who have responsibility for administering criminal justice and legitimizing the ever-expanding prison-industrial complex.
Professor Phil Scraton, Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, School of Law, Queen’s University, Belfast
Internationally informed, culturally aware, politically relevant, Anthony and Cunneen’s The Critical Criminology Companion is a criminological tour de force. It bristles with insight and creativity, while never flinching from its primary goal of delivering cutting edge critical analysis. As we gaze out on the ever-expanding arid hinterland of orthodox criminology, it’s reassuring to know that some still seek to explore more fertile theoretical ground.
Dr Keith Hayward, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology, University of Kent, UK
I would highly recommend The Critical Criminology Companion to anyone interested in sophisticated, thought provoking analyses of crime. Readers might initially focus on their specific areas of interest, but will find themselves enticed to consider other chapters. They won’t be disappointed.
Penny Crofts, Public Space, The Journal of Law and Social Justice
The Critical Criminology Companion is a wonderful new addition to the field of criminology. The book showcases many of the major Australian and New Zealand politically committed and theoretically sophisticated criminologists writing in their particular area of expertise.
… The examples of critical theory in action are timely and thought provoking. …
I would highly recommend The Critical Criminology Companion to anyone interested in sophisticated, thought provoking analyses of crime. Readers might initially focus on their specific areas of interest, but will find themselves enticed to consider other chapters. They won’t be disappointed.
Public Space (the Journal of Law and Social Justice), May 2008
