Harold Pepinsky and Richard Quinney, "Criminology as Peacemaking"

"What is the obvious connection between crime and war? Crime is violence. So is punishment, and so is war."


"Criminology as Peacemaking" provides a collection of essays from various perspectives on criminal justice as it stands currently, what is wrong with it, and ways to create a system based on reconcilliation and peacemaking in the future. The book is divided into three different sections: Religious and Humanist Peacemaking Traditions, Feminist Peacemaking Traditions and Women's Experience, and Critical Peacemaking Traditions. One might think that starting with a religious section in a book dedicated to criminology might be a little odd, but as Pepensky explains in his closing remarks, it was arranged in this way to provide prospects of hope for an anxiety inducing subject. And although the contributors do discuss the topic from various perspectives and use contrasting parlance, common themes emerge that the authors share. Criminal justice as it is practiced uses means of violence, such as punishment, retribution, and objectification to create a system where the person who committed the criminal act is equated with the act itself. This has been proven not to work and ends up actually perpetuating crime and violence. This is not something that is only present in criminal elements, it is echoed and mirrored throughout our society to the highest levels of government, in which dominance, competition, and war are weaved into the fabric. Criminology as peacemaking on the other hand requires a restructuring of society and the manner in which we all interact with one another. This anthology calls for building positive peace and to rectify our situation by looking at act of criminality and violence in a different light, through mutualism, mediation, reconciliation, individual inner peace, inclusion rather than exclusion, and community building and action. Although these ideas seem utopian and visionary, their concrete applications be seen through such programs as the Alternatives to Violence Project in prisons, and the Safer Society Program which focuses on prevention. This book provides a framework for deep thought, shaping new perspectives, and approaching potential solutions on a problem in which reconciliation and peace is required rather than isolation and violence.

Citation Information:
Pepinsky, H. E., & Quinney, R. (1991). Criminology as peacemaking. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.