This book explores the nature of criminal justice policy and decision making during a period of complex reform. Recent shifts in criminal law and criminal justice policy have resulted in an increased use of preventive measures (orders and detention), which have led to claims of a 'preventive state' or 'preventive justice'. Preventive Justice and the Power of Policy Transfer explores how measures introduced to control minor crime and anti-social behaviour (such as the iconic 'ASBO') have incrementally spread into quite distinct areas of crime control such as organised crime and terrorism.
Ogg demonstrates how a preventive justice system can be constructed by the ad hoc actions of policy-makers (often with good intentions) as time-poor executives and politicians demand rapid policy responses, and public scrutiny of their actions strengthens every day. As policy-makers look first (and easily) for existing policy solutions which could be adapted from elsewhere, policy transfer becomes increasingly central to policy development.