ABSTRACT
Previous chapters have explored the wealth of evidence which shows that inequality is associated with a wide range of criminal and health harms. But inequality is often ignored in policy interventions on drugs, crime and health. So this book joins a rising chorus of voices that have complained about governments ignoring the available evidence when they come up with policy solutions (e.g. Barton 2003; Berridge & Thom 1996; Gendreau et al. 2002; Naughton 2005; Shepherd 2003, 2007; Stevens 2007b; The Economist 2009; Tonry 2004; Young 2003a).28 These and other authors have suggested how we might explain this avoidance of the evidence. This chapter attempts to contribute to the development of coherent theory in this area by combining previous theoretical contributions with ethnographic data from a study of the practice of policy making in the UK government. It examines the process of policy making on drugs and crime using data from a six month period of participant observation in the UK civil service. The next chapter will further develop theory through analysis of the policy discourses that have resulted from this process of policy making over a longer period of time.
