ABSTRACT
The view of criminological psychology presented in this book could be regarded as the mainstream of theory and research in the field. However, there is a long tradition of critical thinking in research into crime, victimisation and criminal law that calls into question the assumptions, methods of enquiry and conclusions of the dominant view. This chapter explores some of the themes and ideas developed by critical researchers into criminology and criminological psychology. The term ‘critical perspectives’ covers a great range of viewpoints and it would be impossible in a single short chapter to do justice to this diversity. Consequently, what is presented here should be taken only as a very general introduction to the area. The chapter starts by identifying key features of the majority view and contrasting this with some of the assumptions critical perspectives tend to share. There is then an exploration of how critical thinking about gender and race has led to conceptions of crime, criminality and victimisation that contrast with those of the mainstream.
