ABSTRACT
The 'punitive tum' in criminal justice is one of the more disturbing features of contemporary western societies. Tougher sanctions imposed gleefully on disadvantaged sections of the community seem to provide an ideal social policy for opportunistic politicians, bringing jobs, votes and consumer satisfaction. Yet from a criminological perspective it is all madness: harsher sanctions increase re-offending and decrease public safety (Zimring and Hawkins 1995), while more money spent on prisons means less spent on education, and more family disruption. How can sentencing become a process that restores rather than destroys societies?
