Throughout history, the powerful have created laws, developed agencies to enforce those laws, and established institutions to punish lawbreakers. Maintaining the social order to their advantage resulted in the systematic repression of disadvantaged groups—the “dangerous classes.” The third edition retains a historical approach to exploring patterns of social control and, through current examples, demonstrates how those strategies continue today. The authors trace the roots of race, class, and gender bias in how laws are written, interpreted, and applied. The management of dangerous classes is not a recent phenomenon; there is a long history of keeping those who derive the least advantage from the status quo (and therefore pose the greatest threat) under control. There was and is one system of justice for the privileged and a very different system for the less privileged. The criminal justice system—from the law to daily operations of the police, courts, and corrections—generally comes down hardest on those with the least amount of power and influence and is the most lenient with those with the most power and influence. The book raises critical questions. What is a crime? What is law? Whose interests are served by the law and the criminal justice system? What patterns are repeated generation after generation? How does the criminal justice system relate to larger issues such as social inequality, social class, race, and gender? Contemplation of these topics contributes to informed public dialogue and careful deliberation about the present state and the future of criminal justice.

This text covers the history of criminal justice from a critical perspective and explores the historical biases of the criminal justice system. The overall theme of this book is that both the making of laws and the interpretation and application of these laws throughout the history of the criminal justice system has, historically, been class, gender, and racially biased. Moreover, one of the major functions of the criminal justice system has been to control those from the most disadvantaged sectors of the population, that is, the "dangerous classes." This theme is explored using a historical model, tracing the development of criminal law through the development of the police institution, the juvenile justice system, and the prison system.

This book offers the first detailed study of the essential relationship between thought reform and the "dangerous classes"--The prostitutes, beggars, petty criminals, and other "lumpenproletarians" the Communists saw as a threat to society and the revolution. Aminda Smith takes readers inside early-PRC reformatories, where the new state endeavored to transform "vagrants" into members of the laboring masses. As places where "the people" were literally created, these centers became testing grounds for rapidly changing ideas and experiments about thought reform and the subjects they produced. Smit.

This classic text argues that crime control, rather than crime itself is the real danger for our future. Since the second edition was published in 1994, prison populations , especially in Russia and America, have grown at an increasingly rapid rate. This third edition is published to take account of these changes and draw attention to the scale of an escalating problem. It contains completely new chapters - one on 'penal geography', the other on 'the Russian case' - and has been extensively revised.

This book covers the history of criminal justice from a critical perspective and explores the historical biases of the criminal justice system. The overall theme of this book is that both the making of laws and the interpretation and application of these laws throughout the history of the criminal justice system has, historically, been class, gender, and racially biased. Moreover, one of the major functions of the criminal justice system has been to control those from the most disadvantaged sectors of the population, that is, the "dangerous classes." This theme is explored using a historical model, tracing the development of criminal law through the development of the police institution, the juvenile justice system, and the prison system. For anyone interested in the history of criminal justice.

Crime, Deviance, and Social Control in the 21st Century seeks to go beyond traditional criminology texts and handle the subject through a perspective focusing on power interest and social justice. Timely and accessibly written, the text provides a comprehensive overview of social and criminological theory, as well as recent trends in theorizing power and deviance. It also delves into the significant implications the committal and control of crime have for human rights. This text aims to answer the questions: “Who has the power to decide which acts are deviant?”; “Whose interests are being served by a given law?”; and “Which social groups are being disadvantaged when society has been constructed along such legally demarcated lines?” The contributors dissect the criminalization of dissent, the changing nature of what constitutes deviance, internet hate, self-harming, transgender identities, the growing rise of transnational criminal enterprises, internet fraud, and the increased public attention on police practices. With a Canadian focus placed in a global context, the text challenges readers to consider crime and deviance as socially structured phenomena, while recognizing that crime is a worldwide issue. Crime, Deviance, and Social Control in the 21st Century is a critical resource for undergraduate students in criminology, police services, and sociology. FEATURES: - Offers an accessible and comprehensive introductory overview of criminology theory - Employs a social justice approach to the fundamentals of criminology, deviance, law, and social control - Includes bolded key terms, a glossary, real-world case studies, and questions for critical thinking