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In the Conservative‐led coalition's recent green paper Breaking the Cycle Ken Clarke aims to justify reducing the scale and costs of imprisonment. These proposals have been met with a generally positive response from penal reform groups and academic criminologists who see them as a departure from the expansionist policies of the last two decades. Many of the reform proposals presented in the green paper are however unlikely to save the taxpayer money or increase community safety.

In an analysis of the recent White Paper Respect and Responsibility ‐ Taking a Stand Against Anti‐Social Behaviour, the author argues that anti‐social behaviour lacks an effective definition and that little theoretical rigour is contained in the document. Its main concern is with the marginalised members of the population but at the same time it offers little possibility of constructive interventions.

International trends indicate that the rate of crime has declined in the developed world over the past decade. The reductions have had little impact upon the fear of crime. The impact of victimisation falls disproportionately on the disadvantaged. There is little understanding of this phenomenon beyond obvious correlations. It may be compounded by the ability of the middle classes to insulate themselves from crime.