We live in a society that is increasingly preoccupied with allocating blame: when something goes wrong, someone must be to blame. Bringing together philosophical, psychological, and sociological accounts of blame, this is the first detailed study of blame to approach the phenomenon from a criminological perspective. Gavin Dingwall and Tim Hillier present a novel take on the legal process of blame attribution, set in the context of criminalization as a social and political process. This timely and topical book will be essential reading for anyone working or researching in the criminal justice field and will also be of wider interest to anyone wishing to understand the growing role of blame in modern society.
About the Author
Gavin Dingwall is professor of criminal justice policy at De Montfort University, UK. He is the author of Alcohol and Crime.
Praise For…
“Blame, and its relation to criminalization, have been neglected in criminal justice studies. Drawing on legal philosophy, this book puts them firmly under the spotlight of a thorough multidisciplinary interrogation.” — Colin Sumner, University College Cork, Ireland
“Raises more questions than it answers . . . in scoping a relatively new area of inquiry. It is a very welcome addition.” — Criminology & Criminal Justice
“A much-needed critical review of the role and parameters of ‘blame’ within criminal regulation. Accessibly written and insightful in its analyses throughout, this book compels a reevaluation of our attributions and tactics of blaming in twenty-first-century criminal justice policy.” — Vanessa Munro, University of Nottingham
