This collection of research essays demonstrates how economic factors underpin the workings of the criminal justice system at every stage. It insists that any useful debate on offending must put issues of poverty and deprivation to the forefront.;The four essays examine: crime and poverty in Dublin - an analysis of the association between community deprivation, District Court appearance and sentence severity; crime, punishment and poverty - how the criminal population is constructed through decisions made by the gardai about when and where to pursue action; punishing poverty and personal adversity - an examination of the characteristics of samples of Mountjoy prisoners at different times, revealing the atypical social features of the prisoners' lives; and juvenile justice and the regulation of the poor - a historical analysis examining patterns of biased policing.