Penal Systems

Michael Cavadino, who is Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Central Lancashire, is an internationally known author and researcher in the fields of penology (the study of punishment) and mental health law. He is co-author of the leading textbook on the penal system of England and Wales (M Cavadino, J Dignan and G Mair, The Penal System: An Introduction, 5th ed., Sage Publications 2013). His other works include Mental Health Law in Context: Doctors′ Orders? (Dartmouth, 1989) and M Cavadino and J Dignan, Penal Systems: A Comparative Approach (Sage Publications, 2006).

′Cavadino and Dignan′s Penal Systems: A Comparative Approach looks across national boundaries to see how penal systems differ and why. It is hands-down the most comprehensive and up-to-date book on the subject and should become a staple textbook for use in law and social science courses on comparative penal policy and practice′ - Michael H. Tonry, University of Minnesota′This book is an important addition to the literature on punishment. It is a highly readable and very well researched overview of some of the major differences in punitiveness between neo-liberal, corporatist and social democratic countries… This is a major contribution to comparative penology by two of the leading authors in this field′ - Alison Liebling, Director of the Prisons Research Centre, UK

• Foreword - David DownesPART ONE: ABOUT COMPARATIVE PENOLOGYIntroducing Comparative PenologyPENAL SYSTEMS IN CRISIS?Globalized Penal Crisis?The United States of AmericaLaw and Order Ideology, Hyperincarceration and Looming CrisisEngland and WalesStop-Go and the Upwards Zig-ZagAustralia and New ZealandNeo-Liberal Punitiveness Down UnderSouth AfricaThe Transition From ApartheidGermanyArchetypal CorporatismThe NetherlandsA Beacon of Tolerance DimmedFrance and ItalyCorporatism and CatholicismSweden and FinlandNordic Social DemocracyJapanIron Fist in a Velvet Penal GlovePART TWO: PATTERNS OF PENALITYComparative Youth JusticeNeo-Liberal Youth Justice SystemsYouth Justice Systems: Corporatist VariantsGeneral Patterns in Youth Justice?Prison PrivatizationPART THREE: IN CONCLUSION′A Boot Stamping on a Human Face Forever?′