Punishment and Sentencing: Risk, Rehabilitation and Restitution

by Melissa Bull

Punishment and Sentencing explores the expanding horizon of punishment. Using a case study approach to bring to life our shifting attitudes to punishment, and its relationship to changing technologies and programs of control, the text identifies the key concepts of risk, rehabilitation and restitution to give students an accessible framework for understanding the different approaches taken, in theory and in practice, to sentencing and punishment. The case studies provide applied examples of the distinctive questions that theoretical perspectives pose, summarise the major interpretive themes, and identify the kinds of insights each theory has to offer for the understanding of particular examples of modern penalty.

Genres: Nonfiction, Textbooks

248 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2010

Reviews

[Skye]

I actually really enjoyed the setup of this textbook. It was completely approachable. And, most importantly it showed how the theories and concepts discussed in the first part actually relate to our daily lives and made it a little more practical… something that I don’t often come across in the non-fiction texts I read for my university studies.

This text starts by outlining the sociological theories behind punishment and sentencing. And also providing a nice history of Australian criminology. Whilst there were aspects of this that I was familiar with, there were also lots of aspects which I was not so familiar with. It was a great foundation which then flowed onto the second part of the story.

This flow provided a great backdrop with which to understand some of the more contentious and difficult aspects of criminology and the case studies which highlight these issues. I really enjoyed how well written and informative this whole text was. I would definitely flick through this again.

[Louise]

As the author says "[she] aimed for conversation rather than an argument or adversarial exchange" and this is exactly what the book is. Very enlightening, and - for a text book - a good read with enough anecdotes to balance the dry statistics.