Criminology is an established discipline, yet non-Western criminology is still relatively ignored in the literature. Drawing upon materials from countries in Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America, and Europe, this stimulating book reflects on the experiences of people of African descent to offer a convergence of criminologies in and outside the West.

Criminology assumes the position of an established discipline, yet its influence is limited by its primary focus on the West for both theoretical and empirical substance. But the growing interest in comparative criminology now means that countries compare notes, thereby broadening the parameters of criminology. Still relatively ignored in the literature, however, are issues of crime and justice as they affect people of African descent around the globe. Drawing upon materials from countries in Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America, and Europe, this stimulating book reflects on the experiences of people of African descent to offer a convergence of criminologies in and outside the West. Simultaneously, it acknowledges Western criminology as a significant angle from which to comprehend crime and justice as they are conceptualized outside the West. The volume also investigates whether Western criminological accounts are relevant to the comprehension of crime, criminality and systems of justice in Africa, the Caribbean and South America.

Popular ’war on drugs’ rhetoric postulates drug use in the West as the product of the drug production and trafficking roles of non-western societies and non-western peoples within and outside the West. In such rhetoric, African societies and people of African descent in Africa and in Diaspora have received criticisms for their respective roles in drug production and drug trafficking, including the position of many African countries as transit routes for drugs exported to the West. By contrast, the abuse of drugs by populations of African origin around the globe and the harmful consequences of the drug trade and drug abuse on these populations has been little studied. Drawing on contributions from seven countries in Africa; two countries in Europe; and seven countries in the Americas, this volume examines the relationships between drug use, drug trafficking, drug controls and the black population of a given society. Each chapter examines the nature and pattern of drug use or abuse; the effects of drug use or abuse (illegal or/and legal) on other areas such as health and crime; the nature, pattern, and perpetration of trafficking and sale of illegal or/and legal drugs; and past and current policies and control of illegal and /or legal drugs. It will be essential reading for all students, academics and policy-makers working in the area of drug control.

Drawing on contributions from seven countries in Africa; two countries in Europe; and seven countries in the Americas, this volume examines the relationships between drug use, drug trafficking, drug controls and the black population of a given society. Each chapter examines the nature and pattern of drug use or abuse; the effects of drug use or abuse (illegal or/and legal) on other areas such as health and crime; the nature, pattern, and perpetration of trafficking and sale of illegal or/and legal drugs; and past and current policies and control of illegal and /or legal drugs. It will be essential reading for all students, academics and policy-makers working in the area of drug control.

Almost a third of all African American men in their twenties in the United States are in jail or prison, or on probation or parole. African Americans, who comprise approximately 13% of the general population, make up about half of the prison population. Between 1980 and 2000, 38 states added more African American men to their prison systems than were added to their respective systems of higher education. However, these statistics fail to tell the entire story. To understand how the dynamics of disproportionate minority confinement came to exist, one must examine the historical and cultural antecedents that affected (and continue to affect) this group. Examining proposed solutions and providing alternative perspectives, this volume addresses the overrepresentation of African Americans in the criminal justice system by critically examining the significance of race in American society and criminal justice responses to crime and African Americans. Offering a critical examination of the issues, this collection begins with a discussion of the marginalization of African Americans in the academic discipline of criminal justice and in the larger society, an assessment of the impact of the legacy of slavery on private prisons and mass imprisonment, and an empirical examination of the depiction of African Americans in prime-time television crime programs. Part II looks at racial profiling, the underrepresentation of African Americans in hate crime victimization research, the impact of race on presentencing, the trend toward trying juveniles in adult court, and the discriminatory treatment of African Americans in capital-eligible cases. Finally, Part III discusses the impact of African American police officers on the profession, analyzes black juror nullification, proposes an increase in the presence of African American jurors, and assesses the potential ameliorative impact of restorative justice on the current racial imbalance in the criminal justice system.

This book explores strategies, approaches, tools, challenges, and reflections that animate the conversation around decolonisation in UK law schools. It investigates how we can have, within the UK law school, difficult conversations about the ways in which history has influenced what the law is, how law is taught, what law is taught, who the law works for, and who the law does not work for. The conversation about decolonisation of the university and curricula continues to raise questions for knowledge production and transmission in educational institutions. Decolonisation also raises questions about the impact of the preceding issues on people within and outside these educational institutions. The decolonisation debate is an opportunity for legal academics to reflect on the origins of their own individual academic practices in research as well as the content of their curriculum. This volume examines the preceding issues as they relate to academic practices and legal pedagogy in UK law schools. The authors examine how legal scholars can achieve aims of decolonisation within the practical aims of teaching of law, as well as the limitations and possible challenges of these endeavours. This volume will be of interest to legal scholars, legal educators, law students as well as legal practitioners who are engaged in questions of how decolonisation relates to law – broadly understood. It was originally published as a special issue of The Law Teacher.

Once a marginal political issue, crime control now occupies a central place on the social, political and economic agenda of contemporary liberal democracies. Nowhere more so than in post-apartheid South Africa, where the transition from apartheid rule to democratic rule was marked by a shift in concern from political to criminal violence. In this book Anne-Marie Singh offers a comprehensive account of policing transformations in post-apartheid South Africa. Her analysis of crime and mechanisms for its control is linked to an analysis of neo-liberal policies, providing the basis for a critique of existing analyses of liberal democratic governance. Themes addressed in the book include the exercise of coercive authority, state and non-state expertise in policing, the 'rationally-choosing' criminal, and the importance of developing an active and responsible citizenship.