Marginality and Condemnation, 4th Edition

Now in its fourth edition, Marginality and Condemnation: A Critical Introduction to Criminology uses a critical lens to examine how crime is defined, measured, and governed. The authors demonstrate that what is considered criminal, how the criminal justice system responds to crime, and why certain individuals and groups come into conflict with the law are shaped by individual choices and, more importantly, by social inequalities in power. Critical criminologists ask not only why people break the law but also how class, race, and gender influence criminalization, whose harms are recognized, and what forms of justice are possible.

New chapters explore crime statistics, the criminalization of homelessness, street gangs and marginalization, police street checks and racialized surveillance, Indigenous legal traditions, and the gendered and racialized experiences of imprisonment. This fully revised edition concludes with a transformative justice section, examining gender-based violence, Indigenous justice, and online incel communities, while emphasizing care, accountability, healing, community well-being, and harm prevention.