Community Punishment ― European Perspectives

In Community Punishment: European perspectives, the authors place punishment in the community under the spotlight by exploring the origins, evolution and adaptations of supervision in 11 European jurisdictions. For most people, punishment in the criminal justice system is synonymous with imprisonment. Yet, both in Europe and in the USA, the numbers of people under some form of penal supervision in the community far exceeds the numbers in prison, and many prisoners are released under supervision. Written and edited by leading scholars in the field, this collection advances the sociology of punishment by illuminating the neglected but crucial phenomenon of ‘mass supervision’.

As well as putting criminological and penological theories to the test in an examination of their ability to explain the evolution of punishmentbeyond the prison, and across diverse states, the contributors to this volume also assess the appropriateness of the term ‘community punishment’ in different parts of Europe. Engaging in a serious exploration of common themes and differences in the jurisdictions included in the collection, the authors go on to examine how ‘community punishment’ came into being in their jurisdiction and how its institutional forms and practices have been legitimated and re-legitimated in response to shifting social, cultural and political contexts.

This book is essential reading for academics and students involved in the study of both community punishment and comparative penology, but will also be of great interest to criminal justice policymakers, managers and practitioners.

Gwen Robinson is Reader in Criminal Justice at the University of Sheffield, UK. After qualifying as a probation practitioner in 1996, she has pursued a career in academic research, and has published widely in the areas of community sanctions, offender rehabilitation and restorative justice. Her recent publications includeRestorative Justice in Practice: Evaluating What Works for Victims and Offenders(co-authored with Joanna Shapland and Angela Sorsby) published in 2011 by Routledge. She is co-leader of the COST Action on Offender Supervision in Europe’s Working Group on Practicing Supervision.

Fergus McNeill is Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow, where he works in the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research and is Head of Sociology. His research and publications address institutions, cultures and practices of punishment, rehabilitation and reintegration, particularly in the community. His recent publications includeOffender Supervision in Europe (co-edited with Kristel Beyens), published by Palgrave in 2013 andUnderstanding Penal Practice (co-edited with Ioan Durnescu), published by Routledge in 2014. He is the Chair of the COST Action on Offender Supervision in Europe.