Doing Justice Better

Book excerpt: With an escalating number of criminals going to prison, longer sentences, overcrowded and ineffective regimes, high rates of re-offending and an eclectic penal policy, there is a prison crisis. In this book, the author argues that this penal malaise is grounded in media sensationalism of crime and the need of politicians and their advisers to retain electoral credibility. Change is long overdue, but it requires a fresh, contemporary penology based on restorative justice. This book challenges the status quo, asks 'different questions' and places victims of crime at the centre of the criminal justice process.