Democracy, Crime and Justice

Download or read book Democracy, Crime and Justice written by Susanne Karstedt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-02-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy has gained a strong presence in criminological debates, and not only in academic circles. Civic values are promoted in rehabilitation programmes, civil society and voluntary sector engagement are emphasised by the government as crime prevention strategies, and the democratic accountability of policing is not at all a purely academic question. Contemporary democracies and their criminal justice systems are connected to the global human rights regime and its international institutions. However, the common link between these issues – and through the lens of democratic governance - has rarely been the subject of systematic exploration and empirical research from the perspective of criminology. This book draws together contemporary debates in a systematic and accessible way, and in particular make a contribution from a cross-national and cross- cultural perspective. This book explores the relationships between democracy, crime and justice, drawing on a range of themes including the impact of democratic values and institutions on crime rates, types of crime, and on criminal justice, punitiveness and legitimacy; democracies and state violence; crime and justice in transitional democracies; and human rights, citizens’ rights and prisoners’ rights. It is essential reading for all those engaged with international and comparative criminology; and with security, policing and criminal justice.