Conclusions and Policy Implications

Abstract

The two major issues taken up in this book — crime and punishment during the recent recession — have already been summarised in chapter conclusions, and do not need further repetition. However, they do require contextualising. It is important to see these issues against the wider context of academic debates over the ‘causes of crime’ and the ‘politics of prison overcrowding and abolition’. After that, some implications, particularly for crime and penal policies in a democratic society, need to be considered.