Introduction

The study of crime has conventionally dwelt on the pathology of the individual offender or on the groups in which he organises his behaviour. Heavily dominated by a statistical approach, it was never the peculiar province of any one discipline. Psychology, psychoanalysis, anthropology, law, applied statistics and sociology all laid claim to criminology. Many criminologists were tacitly committed to multidisciplinary syntheses ¹ whose goals were dictated by practical ¹ correctional objectives rather than the refinement of theoretical understanding. ² The rules, whose infringement constituted deviancy, were simply taken for granted. They were not only absolute but also unproblematic. Similarly, social control and nondeviant behaviour were treated as only the backcloth against which pathology was displayed. They were discrete, isolated and unworthy of analysis.