ABSTRACT
Although the terms danger, dangerous and dangerousness are used in common parlance, their actual precise meanings in criminal justice terms is much more elusive, with Shaw arguing that ‘the problem of “dangerousness” is [in] its definition’ (1973: 269). Considering the nature of this book, it would seem appropriate that the first task is to decide on, or at least attempt to define, what such concepts mean and appraise their use in the context of historical, political, legal and social perspectives. Such an assessment, albeit in brief, is the main aim of this chapter (for a fuller discussion, see Rennie 1978; Pratt 1997, 2000).
