Review
A welcome update to a seminal text highlighting the continuing challenges and pressures of the contemporary criminal justice system. An important text for students, scholars and practitioners alike, and an essential reference point for policy makers. The book outlines the historical, sociological and political background to this "crisis" and offers some suggestions and best practice to achieve a just and humane penal system for the future. A must read for anyone interested in this often controversial area. -- Dr Lynn Saunders OBE The Penal System comprehensively addresses one of the core facets of Criminology: How does society deal with those who break the law? The new edition reinvigorates the conversation about how we construct, utilise, and implement processes of punishment and social control. It is a must read for students, academics, and the wider public. -- Dr Jason Warr 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. -- Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe
About the Author
Michael Cavadino, who is Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Central Lancashire, is an internationally known author and researcher in the fields of penology (the study of punishment) and mental health law. He is co-author of the leading textbook on the penal system of England and Wales (M Cavadino, J Dignan and G Mair, The Penal System: An Introduction, 5th ed., Sage Publications 2013). His other works include Mental Health Law in Context: Doctors' Orders? (Dartmouth, 1989) and M Cavadino and J Dignan, Penal Systems: A Comparative Approach (Sage Publications, 2006). George Mair is Professor of Criminal Justice and Head of the Department of Social Science at Liverpool Hope. Previously (1995-2012), he was Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Law at Liverpool John Moores University; and prior to that (1979-1995) he was a member of the Home Office Research and Planning Unit, latterly as Principal Research Officer leading a team carrying out research and policy-advice on community penalties. He has been a member of the Merseyside Probation Board (2001-2007), and a member of the Liverpool Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (1999-2006).
