Crime, Shame and Reintegration

Crime, shame and reintegration is a contribution to general criminological theory. Its approach is as relevant to professional burglary as to episodic delinquency or white collar crime. Braithwaite argues that some societies have higher crime rates than others because of their different processes of shaming wrongdoing. Shaming can be counterproductive, making crime problems worse. But when shaming is done within a cultural context of respect for the offender, it can be an extraordinarily powerful, efficient and just form of social control. Braithwaite identifies the social conditions for such successful shaming. If his theory is right, radically different criminal justice policies are needed - a shift away from punitive social control toward greater emphasis on moralizing social control. This book will be of interest not only to crimonologists and sociologists, but to those in law, public administration and politics who are concerned with social policy and social issues.

Crime, Shame and Reintegration is a contribution to general criminological theory. Its approach is as relevant to professional burglary as to episodic delinquency or white collar crime. Braithwaite argues that some societies have higher crime rates than others because of their different processes of shaming wrongdoing. Shaming can be counterproductive, making crime problems worse. But when shaming is done within a cultural context of respect for the offender, it can be an extraordinarily powerful, efficient and just form of social control. Braithwaite identifies the social conditions for such successful shaming. If his theory is right, radically different criminal justice policies are needed - a shift away from punitive social control toward greater emphasis on moralizing social control. This book will be of interest not only to criminologists and sociologists, but to those in law, public administration and politics who are concerned with social policy and social issues.

Preface; 1. Whither criminological theory?; 2. The dominant theoretical traditions: labeling, subcultural, control, opportunity and learning theories; 3. Facts a theory of crime ought to fit; 4. The family model of the criminal process: reintegrative shaming; 5. Why and how does shaming work?; 6. Social conditions conducive to reintegrative shaming; 7. Summary of the theory; 8. Testing the theory; 9. Reintegrative shaming and white collar crime; 10. Shaming and the good society; References; Index.

Braithwaite argues that some societies have higher crime rates than others because of their different processes of shaming wrongdoing. He believes if shaming is done within a cultural context of respect for the offender, then it can be a just form of social control. This book will interest criminologists, sociologists, lawyers, public administrators and politicians.