Comparative Criminal Justice

Discussing how various countries around the world have organized their police, courts, and corrections agencies, this insightful text provides the rationale for studying cross-national issues in criminal justice by giving students a knowledge base for understanding and appreciating the different ways justice is conceived and achieved around the world.

This book offers an accessible introduction to comparative criminal justice and examines and reflects on the ways different countries and jurisdictions deal with the main stages in the criminal justice process, from policing to sentencing. This popular bestseller has been fully updated and expanded for the third edition. This textbook provides the reader with: a comparative perspective on criminal justice and its main components; a knowledge of methodology for comparative research and analysis; an understanding of the emerging concepts in comparative criminal justice, such as security, surveillance, retribution and rehabilitation; a discussion of global trends such as the global drop in crime, the punitive turn, penal populism, privatization, international policing and international criminal tribunals. The new edition has been fully updated to keep abreast with this growing field of study and research, including increased coverage of the challenge of globalization and its role and influence on criminal justice systems around the world. Topics such as state crime, genocide and the international criminal court have also grown in prominence since the publication of the last edition and are given increased coverage. This book will be perfect reading for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates taking courses in comparative criminal justice and those who are engaged in the study of global responses to crime. New features such as lists of further reading, study questions and boxed case studies help bring comparative criminal justice alive for students and instructors alike.

David Nelken is the 2013 laureate of the Association for Law and Society International Prize The increasingly important topic of comparative criminal justice is examined from an original and insightful perspective by David Nelken, one of the top scholars in the field. The author looks at why we should study crime and criminal justice in a comparative and international context, and the difficulties we encounter when we do. Drawing on experience of teaching and research in a variety of countries, the author offers multiple illustrations of striking differences in the roles of criminal justice actors and ways of handling crime problems. The book includes in-depth discussions of such key issues as how we can learn from other jurisdictions, compare ′like with like′, and balance explanation with understanding – for example, in making sense of national differences in prison rates. Careful attention is given to the question of how far globalisation challenges traditional ways of comparing units. The book also offers a number of helpful tips on methodology, showing why method and substance cannot and should not be separated when it comes to understanding other people′s systems of justice. Students and academics in criminology and criminal justice will find this book an invaluable resource. Compact Criminology is an exciting series that invigorates and challenges the international field of criminology. Books in the series are short, authoritative, innovative assessments of emerging issues in criminology and criminal justice – offering critical, accessible introductions to important topics. They take a global rather than a narrowly national approach. Eminently readable and first-rate in quality, each book is written by a leading specialist. Compact Criminology provides a new type of tool for teaching, learning and research, one that is flexible and light on its feet. The series addresses fundamental needs in the growing and increasingly differentiated field of criminology.

For junior/senior-level courses in Comparative (or International) Criminal Justice Systems, Comparative Criminology, and Comparative Government. Unique in approach, this is the only comparative criminal justice text that follows a natural progression from law, police, courts, to corrections, and that explores these topics, individually, by using over 30 different countries to show the different ways policing, adjudication, and corrections can be carried out.

International criminal justice is in transition. This book explores the growing internationalisation of criminal justice as a phenomenon of global governance. It provides students with a critical understanding of the international institutions for regulating transnational crime, the development of alternative justice processes across the globe, and international and supra-national co-operation criminal justice policies and practices. Key topics covered include: The historical development of International Criminal Justice institutions and traditions International Restorative Justice Victim communities and collaborative justice The relationship between crime and war International Human Rights The ‘War on Terror’ The globalisation of crime and control Developments in global governance, communitarian justice and accountability This text will familiarize students with the literature and debates surrounding international criminal justice and enable them to critically appreciate their theoretical and policy context. In doing so, it encourages students to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to the study of global justice and the analysis of comparative policy convergence and research. It will also help students to reflect on, and communicate in an informed and critical way theoretical accounts and empirical studies within the field of international criminal justice. This book will be essential reading for upper level undergraduates taking courses in criminal law, international relations and governance and postgraduates engaged in international criminal justice, international law, regulation and governance and human rights.

Written for students of criminal justice, Comparative Criminal Justice Systems: Global and Local Perspectives examines the nature of crime and justice in varying countries and cultures in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Using a topical approach, it compares different systems of crime and justice in terms of their differences from, and similarities to, the laws and institutions of modern criminal justice, focusing on the United States as a standard of comparison. By examining different criminal justice systems in terms of their local peculiarities and understanding their change and continuity, readers will gain a well-rounded international perspective of the world's varying systems of criminal justice. Key Features: -Explores the rise of modern criminology and the criminal justice system in the nineteenth century. It is critical for students to understand the history of modern systems to fully comprehend the varying nature of today's main legal systems, focusing on the United States as a standard of comparison. -Employs a topical approach to examine the criminal justice systems in varying countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including comparative views on law enforcement, judicial systems, corrections, due process of law, and search and seizures. -Includes discussions on comparative processes of criminalization and decriminalization on such issues as domestic violence, child abuse, homosexuality, and sexual harassment. -Discusses new global crimes and their impact on modern and traditional criminal justice systems, including human smuggling, global sex trade, global illegal drug trade, illegal trafficking of conventional military weapons, money laundering, cybercrime, and global terrorism. -Discussion questions ensure that student's grasp the core theoretical concepts.

Comparative, International and Global Justice: Perspectives from Criminology and Criminal Justice presents and critically assesses a wide range of topics relevant to criminology, criminal justice and global justice. The text is divided into three parts: comparative criminal justice, international criminology, and transnational and global criminology. Within each field are located specific topics which the authors regard as contemporary and highly relevant and that will assist students in gaining a fuller appreciation of global justice issues. Authors Cyndi Banks and James Baker address these complex global issues using a scholarly but accessible approach, often using detailed case studies. The discussion of each topic is a comprehensive contextualized account that explains the social context in which law and crime exist and engages with questions of explanation or interpretation. The authors challenge students to gain knowledge of international and comparative criminal justice issues and think about them in a critical manner. It has become difficult to ignore the global and international dimensions of criminal justice and criminology and this text aims to enhance criminal justice education by focusing on some of the issues engaging criminology worldwide, and to prepare students for a future where fields of study like transnational crime are unexceptional.

In this exciting and topical collection, leading scholars discuss the implications of globalisation for the fields of comparative criminology and criminal justice. How far does it still make sense to distinguish nation states, for example in comparing prison rates? Is globalisation best treated as an inevitable trend or as an interactive process? How can globalisation's effects on space and borders be conceptualised? How does it help to create norms and exceptions? The editor, David Nelken, is a Distinguished Scholar of the American Sociological Association, a recipient of the Sellin-Glueck award of the American Society of Criminology, and an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences, UK. He teaches a course on Comparative Criminal Justice as Visiting Professor in Criminology at Oxford University's Centre of Criminology.