Informal Criminal Justice

This title was first published in 2002: This volume explores conceptual debates and provides contemporary research in the field of informal criminal justice, including chapters on paramilitary "punishment" and post-cease-fire restorative justice schemes in Northern Ireland, post-apartheid vigilantism in South Africa, and informal crime management in England.

Informal forms of justice such as mediation have been greeted enthusiastically as progress from the punishment model of justice -- and criticised as broadening rather than narrowing the reach of the criminal justice system. Here the contributors assess the evidence and re-appraise the theory of informalism.

This book delivers the most comprehensive, in-depth analysis of criminological theory and crime typologies available. In addition to its unparalleled breadth and depth of coverage, the text is unrivaled in its strong research base and currency. The chapters in Part Three (Crime Typologies) focus on some of the hottest issues in the field today: green crime, transnational crime, and cybercrime. Packed with real-world illustrations, the Twelfth Edition is completely updated and includes cutting-edge seminal research, up-to-the-minute policy, newsworthy examples, and hundreds of new references. Renowned for his unbiased presentation of theories, issues, and controversies, Dr. Siegel encourages students to weigh the evidence and form their own conclusions. New learning tools maximize students' success in the course, while a careers website gives them a clear vision of the opportunities ahead. - Provided by the publisher.

Explains and conceptualizes social control in its diversity. This title includes treatments of informal control (socialization, group formation and the controls exerted in everyday life) as well as medical control (norms regarding health and illness, particularly with regard to notions of 'normal' behaviour).

Recent years have seen the development of a growing international literature on restorative justice, community justice and reintegrative alternatives to formal criminal justice processes. This literature is stronger on theory and advocacy than on detailed evaluative studies. It often relies for its practical examples on the presumed historical practices of the indigenous peoples of colonised territories, or on attempts to revive or promote modified versions of these in a modern context, which has led to debates about how far modern communities can provide a viable setting for such initiatives. This book provides a unique study of the practice of traditional reintegrative community justice in a European society: the Parish Hall Enquiry (PHE) in the Channel Island of Jersey. This is an ancient institution, based on an informal hearing and discussion of a reported offence with the alleged offender and other interested parties, carried out by centeniers (honorary police officers elected to one of Jersey's twelve parishes). It is still in regular use as an integral part of a modern criminal justice system, and it usually aims to resolve offences without recourse to formal prosecution in court. Helen Miles and Peter Raynor's research, arising from direct observation, contributes to the literature on 'what works' in resolving conflicts and influencing offenders, and their detailed case studies of how problems are addressed gives a 'hands on' flavour of the process. The authors also document the aspects of community life in Jersey that facilitate or hinder the continuation of the PHEs, drawing out the implications of these findings for wider debates about the necessary and sufficient social conditions for reintegrative justice to succeed.

Informal Reckonings is a critical examination of mediation, restorative justice and reparations and how they reinforce yet potentially transform the formal justice system.