Abstract
For many of us the criminal justice system is seen as necessary for preventing crime; it is sometimes credited with reducing crime by deterrence, rehabilitation and incapacitation. Those embracing the theoretical approach of labelling are vigorously critical of this line of reasoning, and suggest that rather than prevent crime the criminal justice system is part of the problem by labelling people as criminals. This labelling helps anchor people in ‘criminal careers’ rather than restrain illegal conduct. The system of criminal justice and state intervention is considered to be dangerously criminogenic. Known as the ‘societal reaction’ to crime, it was made popular in the 1960s and early 1970s by Becker (1963), Erikson (1966) and Kitsuse (1964) and focusses on the social construction of crime, what is crime and how it is linked to societal reaction.
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