The limits of the sovereign state: Strategies of crime control in contemporary society

David Garland

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The article offers a descriptive analysis of strategies of crime control in contemporary Britain and elsewhere. It argues that the normality of high crime rates and the limitations of criminal justice agencies have created a new predicament for governments. The response to this predicament has been a recurring ambivalence that helps explain the volatile and contradictory character of recent crime control policy. The article identifies adaptive strategies (responsibilization, defining deviance down, and redefining organizational success) and strategies of denial (the punitive sovereign response), as well as the different criminologies that accompany them.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)445-471
    Number of pages27
    JournalBritish Journal of Criminology
    Volume36
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 1996

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
    • Social Psychology
    • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
    • Law

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