The punitive prison currently dominates the practice of Anglo-American criminal justice, stigmatising its victims as perpetual 'offenders' and failing to change a majority of them for the better. Books of academic 'readings' sometimes profess neutrality over the controversies they invigilate. Offenders or Citizens? sits on no such fences, its pages reflect the fiercely partisan nature of the contest between rehabilitation and punishment. Probation, social work, youth justice, law, corrections, criminology, journalism, philosophy, politics, popular culture, psychology, anthropology, and sociology – the voices of participants, professionals, and writers from many realms are all represented in this lively selection. Its aim - to stimulate and furnish a debate about the proper place of rehabilitation within a plural, morally defensible, and effective response to crime.

This book will be essential reading for both students and practitioners within criminal justice, who have an interest in the rehabilitation of convicted individuals, and providing an essential broader context to the 'what works' debate.

Reviews

'Priestley and Vanstone are, quite simply, among the best in the business and they have not disappointed with this inspired and inspiring collection. Moreover, I agree with the authors that the 'time is right' for a collection like this. The convergance of various paradigms in the literature (restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, re-entry, desistance, etc), neatly described in Section Three of this book, have brought rehabilitation very much to the foreground in criminological thought again.' – Professor Shadd Maruna, Queen's University, Belfast

'This reader on rehabilitation could not be more timely for practitioners and academics. Probation practitioners in the UK are waiting to see what the government's stated 'rehabilitation revolution' will bring. European criminologi have been stimulated by the European Journal of Probation's special edition on judicial rehabilitation and Maruna's (2011) call to promote active, not passive, rehabilitation and to provide certificates of rehabilitation. Anyone wishing to understand and participate in these debates should read this excellent and important collection.'

'[The editors'] conclusion that rehabilitation is a message of promotion of justice, inclusion education and optimism is a strong one and is well supported by the contents of this excellent book.'

-Dr Brian Stout, Associate Head, School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University

'Forgive my misappropriation of the English language, but we have indeed got ourselves ‘A Reader’: a quite amazing collection of texts.

In producing such a quirky but beautifully concocted collection, the editors (and publisher) should be congratulated on the way they have distilled the various philosophical posi...