Social Exclusion and the Criminal Justice System

This book presents the results of the latest in a long-running research project using the RIMES instrument, developed by scholars in Spain. Here, RIMES is used to measure the extent of social exclusion resulting from the penal system in comparative perspective. The volume shows the results of the application of the instrument in seven criminal justice systems: Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, England and Wales, California, and New York. Divided into two parts, the first provides a general overview of the RIMES instrument, including a discussion of the theoretical model and the methodology. The second part focuses on the results of the application of RIMES in the seven jurisdictions. The comparative results are organised according to the nine dimensions included in the RIMES instrument: control of public spaces; legal safeguards; sentencing and sanctions systems; harshest penalties; prison rules; preventive intervention; legal and social status of offenders and ex-offenders; police and criminal records; and youth criminal justice. The last chapter summarizes the comparative results and ranks them in terms of the findings on social exclusion. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of Comparative Criminal Justice, Criminology, Criminal Law and Policy.

Elisa García España, University of Malaga, Spain. Anabel Cerezo, University of Malaga, Spain.

Introduction; Part I: A general overview to RIMES Instrument; 1. A Roadmap for Comparative Criminal Policy Research; 2. Social Inclusion and Comparative Criminal Justice Policy; 3. RIMES: An Instrument to Compare National Criminal Justice Policies from the Social Exclusion Dimension; 4. Constructing, Validation and Application of the RIMES Instrument: Methodological Issues; 5. The Pilot Application of RIMES Instrument in Spain; Part II: AP-RIMES Project: Results of the Application of RIMES Instrument in Western Jurisdictions; 6. Pool 1. Control of Public Spaces; 7. Pool 2. Legal Safeguards; 8. Pool 3. Sentencing and Sanction Systems; 9. Pool 4. Harshest Penalties; 10. Pool 5. Prison Rules; 11. Pool 6. Preventive Intervention; 12. Pool 7. Legal and Social Status of Offenders and Ex-Offenders; 13. Pool 8. Police and Criminal Records; 14. Pool 9. Youth Criminal Justice; 15. Overview of the RIMES application: insights for comparative criminal policy; Appendix: RIMES Instrument