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Punishment and Prisons
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Punishment and Prisons
Power and the Carceral State

First Edition
  • Joe Sim - Liverpool John Moore's University, UK


June 2009 | 200 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
'Punishment and Prisons is a scholarly, powerful and inspirational critique. With passion and humanity, Joe Sim strips neo-liberal penal policies of their reformist pretensions and demonstrates that prisons will continue to be brutal enforcers of gross economic inequalities until such time as the abolitionist alternative is realised' - Pat Carlen

Joe Sim has long occupied a key position in British and European criminology. This book is a genuinely important addition to the literature; it is controversial and will stimulate debate. Punishment and Prisons shows that critical criminology is alive, that it has a voice and that it needs to be read. - Peter Young, Professor of Criminology, University of Hull

'A satisfyingly uncompromising critique that has no fear of coming to clear conclusions and provides little succour to those satisfied with short term change in the current system. Sim provides the kind of concise, articulate and powerful critique of apparent criminological realities, which is necessary to motivate genuine reform and can help to ensure that practitioners and others do not forget the big picture.' - Probation Journal

Joe Sim offers a rich and persuasive analysis of imprisonment, providing a wealth of political and policy detail. He makes his reader confront the cruelties of imprisonment as well as its ineffectiveness in reducing crime, and it would surely be impossible to read this book without feeling profound disquiet about the deployment of the power to punish in contemporary Britain. Punishment and Prisons has a breadth and depth of scholarship, arguing powerfully for a more critical criminology and an abolitionist stance towards imprisonment. I urge all those interested in penal policy - whether as students, teachers, researchers, reformers, politicians or penal professionals - to read this important and disturbing book. - Professor Barbara Hudson, Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies, University of Central Lancashire

With prisons overflowing and penal policy the topic of hot debate, Punishment and Prisons: Power and the Carceral State presents a lively and accessible discussion of possible solutions to the current crisis, by one of the foremost scholars in the field.

Joe Sim traces the development of penal strategy over the past three decades, through a critical analysis of the relationship between penal policy and state power. Exploring the contested histories of punishment that are prominent in criminology, and its development in penal policy, the book analyses four key dimensions of modern penal trends:

" continuity and discontinuity in penal policy and practice

" reform and rehabilitation

" contesting penal power

" abolitionism.

Articulate, innovative and theoretically informed, Punishment and Prisons: Power and the Carceral State offers a critical overview of contemporary penal politics that will prove a compelling addition to the criminological library.

The book is written for not only for students and academics but also for those involved in the debates on penal policy - including prison reform groups, politicians and the media. It offers a series of suggestions for alleviating the current crisis, setting out a policy agenda for transforming the role and place of the prison in the criminal justice system.

 
Continuity and Contestation in Penal Politics
 
Law, Order and the Penal System 1974-1983
 
Hard Reign
Thatcherism and the Consolidation of Penal Authoritarianism, 1983-1990

 
 
From Big House to Bleak House
Prisons in the 'Iron Times' 1990-1997

 
 
'Piety and Iron'
New Labour and Social Authoritarianism

 
 
'Those with no Capital get the Punishment'
New Labour and the Working Prison

 
 
For Abolitionist Praxis
Transcending the Prison Mentality

 
 
Abolitionism in an Anti-Utopian Age

Overall, the book is an impressive and provocative achievement. A brief summary cannot do justice to the wealth of detail and subtlety of argument contained in the pages. Among the many important themes explored in the book perhaps the most significant is the enduring presence of the prison within the political landscape of the last three decades. Indeed, one of the major strengths of the book is the way each of the substantive chapters has a nuanced grasp of the ideological struggles surrounding crime and punishment within both Conservative and New Labour administrations.

Theoretical Criminology



A fantastic text that offers not only a supplementary overview to the prison system, but offers the level of critical discussion needed for third year students. I found this text very enjoyable to read and recommend it to any penologist.

Mr Lewis Simpson
Department of Health & Social Studies, Grimsby Institute of HE & FE
April 6, 2016

A must for students of penal institutions

Mr William Graham
School of Social and Health Sciences, University of Abertay, Dundee
March 11, 2015

A leading authoritive text on the the current strategy of punishment of the poor and the powerless. Inciting discussion, debate and critique. A must read for any undergraduate seeking to evaluate the impact of discrimination in state responses to crime, control and regulation.

Miss Gillian Dickinson
School of Business, Law and Criminology, Blackburn College
October 26, 2015

An excellent book which I read from cover to cover in a day and a half. Beautifully written and scholarly in style it offers an incisive critical analysis of the development of penal policy in Britain since the mid-1970s. This is well worth recommending to students who may not have a full understanding of the political contexts in which penal policies have been developed. As such it will assist them to offer more scope to their essay and exam answers on the subject of punishment.

Mr Andrew Henley
Department of Criminology, Keele University
June 10, 2013

The content was easy to read and comprehensive.

Miss Frances Jackson
Public Services, Peterborough Regional College
October 25, 2011

An excellent text that addresses many important and complex issues and debates within penal policy.

Ms Helen Arnold
Social Science , University Campus Suffolk
July 11, 2011

An interesting read which poses some key areas of thought for undergradute students studying this subject.
I will be putting this on a recommended reading list for one module

Miss Laura Firth
Public Services, Runshaw College
May 13, 2011

The author presents key developments and discussions in penal practice in a logical and systematic manner, with an emphasis on the chronological developments in the use of custody. The politicisation of imprisonment that is articulated in this text are pertinent to current reforms in penal thought, and therefore this serves as an essential source for those studying contemporary criminal justice practices. An excellent text for undergraduate and post graduate learners as well as scholars

Dr Paul Taylor
Social Studies and Counselling, Chester University
April 11, 2011

An excellent text which covers its topic in an informative and critically challenging manner.

Dr John Martyn Chamberlain
Fac of Social Sciences & Humanities, Loughborough University
November 4, 2010

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter One


For instructors

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