The authors of this major book in criminal jurisprudence develop a framework for evaluating policies that focus on dangerous offenders. They first examine the general issues that arise as society considers the benefits and risks of concentrating on a particular category of criminals. They then outline how that approach might work at each stage of the criminal justice system--sentencing, pretrial detention, prosecution, and investigation.

This highly controversial new book considers how the dangerous offender has become such a figure of collective anxiety for the citizens of rationalised Western societies. The authors consider: * ideas of danger and social threat in historical perspective * legal responses to violent criminals * attempts to predict dangerous behaviour * why particular groups, such as women, remain at risk from violent crime. This inspired collection invites us to rethink the received wisdom on dangerous offenders, and will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of criminology and the sociology of Risk.

This highly controversial new book considers how the dangerous offender has become such a figure of collective anxiety for the citizens of rationalised Western societies. The authors consider: * ideas of danger and social threat in historical perspective * legal responses to violent criminals * attempts to predict dangerous behaviour * why particular groups, such as women, remain at risk from violent crime. This inspired collection invites us to rethink the received wisdom on dangerous offenders, and will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of criminology and the sociology of Risk.

On 19 February 2014, the Committee of Ministers adopted Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)3 to member States concerning dangerous offenders. The main objective of the recommendation is to strike the right balance between the protection of public safety and the rights of offenders, particularly in relation to secure preventive detention. These considerations have been given further weight thanks to several European Court of Human Rights judgments. The recommendation defines the concept of a “dangerous offender” with a view to characterising more precisely this group of offenders and also considers how best to recommend their management and treatment. The recommendation acknowledges and promotes the idea that protecting the public from dangerous offenders must be carried out while respecting the fundamental rights of dangerous offenders and established legal guarantees. It also aims at establishing rules for the preparation of their release, which is important not only for the prisoner but for the protection of society, as it diminishes the risk of reoffending or recidivism. The recommendation is a useful text and a reference for governments, lawmakers, all relevant authorities, professionals, non-governmental organisations and associations which deal with dangerous offenders, as well as for the offenders themselves.

Lonnie H. Athens’ path-breaking work examines a problem that has baffled experts and the general public alike: How does a person become a predatory violent criminal? In the original edition, the process that Athens labeled “violentization” encompassed four stages: brutalization, defiance, dominative engagements, and virulency. In this edition, Athens identifies a new final stage, violent predation, as the culmination of the violent criminal’s development. He uses vivid first-person accounts gleaned from in-depth interviews and participant observation of nascent and hardened violent criminals to back up his theory. In this vastly expanded edition, Athens examines how his thinking and ideas have evolved over the past thirty years and renames and clarifies two stages of development. Athens also addresses, for the first time, criticisms of his original theory. Milestones of this important work are discussed, as well as the paradoxes surrounding its present-day status in the field of criminology. Athens proposes a revised theoretical model that will be useful for classroom use, as well as for interested general readers and professionals.

Dangerousness, Risk and the Governance of Serious Sexual and Violent Offenders is a fully up-to-date, comprehensive and user-friendly guide on dangerous offenders. It considers what a dangerous offender is and how such offenders are assessed and classified.

“This is an extremely important and timely book written by a pre-eminent scholar in the field. Hazel Kemshall has a proven track record not just of exceptional scholarship but, equally importantly, of engaging effectively with policy and practice. Given the damaging synergies between media hype and public insecurities about 'dangerous' offenders, the evidence-based, measured and thoughtful analysis provided in this book provides a vital counterpoint to increasingly punitive and exclusionary discourses around public protection. In promoting a more balanced, humane and integrative approach to risk, the book deserves to influence not just scholars but also policy makers and practitioners facing the complex challenges of managing risk and dangerousness.” Fergus McNeill, Associate Fellow of the Centre for Sentencing Research, Strathclyde University, UK High risk offenders have attracted much media, policy and practice interest in recent years. New legislation and extensive multi-agency partnerships have been initiated to improve the assessment and management of these offenders in the community. Drawing on a wide range of cross-national literature and original research by the author,this timely book reviews current approaches to the community management of high risk offenders. The book examines in detail a range of risk management techniques, including: Community protection measures (such as sexual offender registration and community notification) Restorative and re-integrative measures (such as Circles of Support and Accountability, pro-social modelling, public health campaigns and environmental risk management approaches) Hazel Kemshall argues for a ‘blending’ of these two approaches to provide risk management interventions for the ‘protective integration’ of high risk offenders back into the community.In addition, the book examines contemporary difficulties in risk assessment, effective multi-agency partnership working, and recent policy and legislative initiatives in this challenging area of work. Understanding the Management of High Risk Offenders is a vital resource for criminology and criminal justice students and stimulating reading for probation officers, social workers, police and prison staff, among others.

Serious Offenders: A Historical Study of Habitual Criminals examines the persistent offending careers of men and women operating in northwest England between the 1840s and 1940s. The book focuses on a group of serious and persistent offenders who as well as offending in the region, had lengthy offending careers spanning several decades in various other locations. These were highly mobile persistent serious offenders who appear not to have been so closely bound in to the processes and structures which aided desistence from offending for the vast majority of the petty offenders. The authors discuss questions such as: Why did some people remain minor offenders, whilst others developed into serious offenders? What were the triggers which propelled previously minor offenders towards persistent serious criminality? What part did changes in criminal legislation play in these processes? They conclude by drawing on the lessons to be learnt for today's debates about the regulation and surveillance of serious habitual offenders.

Expectations of the ISSP (Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme) and the ICCP (Intensive Control and Change Programme) have been high, but the evidence relating to their effectiveness is mixed. This book seeks to address these issues, providinga review of the literature, and presents findings of a national evaluation of ISSP.