Respect and Criminal Justice

Gabrielle Watson

Clarendon Studies in Criminology

The first book on 'respect' in criminal justice, where the value is elusive but of persisting significance
Presents a rare joint discussion of policing and imprisonment in England and Wales
Marks a refreshing departure from established patterns of working by reconciling abstract theory and concrete discussion of criminal justice practice and reform
Sets up an interdisciplinary dialogue between the humanities and social sciences, enabling more than the incremental development of a single discipline and ensuring a wide audience

Respect and Criminal Justice

Gabrielle Watson

Clarendon Studies in Criminology

Description

Respect and Criminal Justice offers the first sustained examination of 'respect' in criminal justice in England and Wales, where the value is elusive but of persisting significance. The book takes the form of a critique of the 'respect deficit' in policing and imprisonment. It is especially concerned with the ways in which both institutions are merely constrained and not characterised by respect. In the course of the critique, it emerges that they appeal to the word 'respect' but rarely and only superficially address the prior question of what it is to respect and be respected. Despite academic interest in the democratic design of these institutions in recent decades, the book concludes that respect is more akin to a slogan than a foundational value of criminal justice practice.

Respect and Criminal Justice

Gabrielle Watson

Clarendon Studies in Criminology

Introduction
1: In Search of Respect in Criminal Justice

On Respect, Policing, and Procedural Justice
2: Procedural Justice and Narrow Instrumentalism
3: Stop and Search as a Respectful Encounter

On Respect and Prison Life
4: Penal Policies and Institutional Sociologies
5: Respect at Prison Mealtime

6: Realising Respect

Respect and Criminal Justice

Gabrielle Watson

Clarendon Studies in Criminology

Author Information

Gabrielle Watson, Shaw Foundation Fellow in Law at Lincoln College, University of Oxford

Gabrielle Watson, Shaw Foundation Fellow in Law at Lincoln College, University of Oxford Gabrielle Watson is the Shaw Foundation Fellow in Law at Lincoln College, University of Oxford. She was formerly a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Faculty of Law and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Law at Christ Church, Oxford. In Spring 2019, she held the Inaugural Visiting Fellowship in Law at the newly instituted Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice. In Autumn 2021, she will return to Cambridge as a Visiting Fellow in Law at the CCCJ and at Downing College. She works on topics at the intersection of Criminal Law, Criminal Justice, and Jurisprudence.

Respect and Criminal Justice

Gabrielle Watson

Clarendon Studies in Criminology

Reviews and Awards

Winner, Policing Book Prize of the European Society of Criminology 2021
Shortlisted, Book Prize of the European Society of Criminology (General Category) 2021
Shortlisted, Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2021

"Gabrielle Watson argues that the real value and potential of respect as a critical and regulative ideal in criminal justice has been diminished by the tendency to construct it as a side-constraint on (dominant) instrumental concerns such as order, crime prevention, or control. This is an imaginative, sensitive, and finely-textured interpretation of the role that respect might play in a critical analysis of criminal justice." - Nicola Lacey FBA CBE, (London School of Economics) for Oxford University Press

"Gabrielle Watson offers a refreshingly original and bold interdisciplinary analysis of respect in criminal justice settings. The novel paradigm she develops invites us to think creatively and critically about the intrinsic value of respect. She shows us how we might (re)design institutions based on this paradigm. This is work of outstanding quality; it will change the way researchers and policymakers view respect in criminal justice contexts." - Justice Tankebe, (University of Cambridge) for Oxford University Press

"Watson's account is admirably far-reaching and serves as a timely defence of the importance of intrinsic values in criminal justice processes. [It is] innovative in its combination of policing and imprisonment as subjects of study. This pellucid, rigorous, and informed study is a superb contribution to the field and represents an impressive debut monograph." - David Hayes, (University of Sheffield) for Criminology & Criminal Justice

"A significant contribution to the field... an indispensable reference." - Loraine Gelsthorpe and Kyle Treiber, (University of Cambridge) General Editors' Introduction

"Gabrielle Watson's Respect and Criminal Justice is a highly innovative and extremely well written contribution on the role played by respect within the criminal justice system in England and Wales. Having a mainly normative character, the book casts much needed light on the significance of respect as a critical value in fields such as procedural justice and prison conditions. In so doing, Watson elaborates path-breaking perspectives to shift policing and prison practices in Britain." - Executive Committee of the European Society of Criminology

"Fascinating... this work will no doubt serve to stimulate real and sustained debate about what we mean by respect and what role it commands in contemporary policing arenas." - Policing Working Group of the European Society of Criminology