NCJ Number
195809
Journal
Criminal Justice Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 173-203
Date Published
2002
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the increasingly transnational character of criminal justice policies in industrial democracies with a focus on what the idea of “policy” entails and how policies come about.
Abstract
The authors discuss the emergence of seemingly American-style crime control policies in other industrial democracies, such as the United Kingdom. Two main theories are typically used to explain this convergence of crime control policy: a structuralist approach and an agency-led approach. A structuralist approach cites changes in the economic or social structure or culture of a nation as reasons why crime control policies are becoming transnational. An agency-led approach focuses on political decision-making and the degree of international influence involved in policy transference. The main argument made in this article is that both approaches would benefit from a more detailed consideration of what the idea of “policy” entails, as well as the process through which “policy” comes about. The authors explain that studies of the process of penal policy formation would better explain how shifts in cultural and social routines are reflected in policy decisions. In order to illustrate their point, the authors offer examples of three high profile British penal policy decisions that have occurred in recent years, all of which have reflected similar policy changes that occurred in the United States. Through these examples, the authors argue that an understanding of the structural and cultural context in which policies are developed is imperative to gaining a true understanding of transnational policy making. Furthermore, the examples show how detailed studies of how policies come about is also crucial to understanding our increasingly global world of criminal justice. Notes, references