Criminal justice and social (in)justice

The obstacles to achieving criminal justice in a society marked by structural injustice have long been recognised. Inequalities in social attitudes to certain groups and in the distribution of resources and opportunities in fields ranging from family life, education, health, shelter and employment are most obviously relevant, while the experience of abuse, prejudice or nutritional or emotional deprivation affects both life opportunities and psychological development. The threat to the legitimacy of punishment is particularly acute when the state itself bears responsibility for creating, or failing to alleviate, the relevant conditions. Doing criminal justice remains important, however, because disproportionalities in the impact of criminalisation and punishment on groups disadvantaged by injustice are matched by comparable disproportionalities in criminal victimisation. This challenge has been exacerbated by the growth and embedding of economic inequalities. This paper considers the implications for criminal justice systems, and for the re-emergence of new forms of criminal justice abolitionism.