Books by Robert Reiner

Crime is a source of endless fascination and fear. Yet behind the apparent consensus that crime must be fought, there is considerable conflict about what should or should not be treated as criminal, and even the most shocking crimes can inspire divisive debate.

Robert Reiner has been one of the pioneers in the development of research on policing since the 1970s as well as a prolific writer on mass media and popular culture representations of crime and criminal justice. This title brings together many of Reiner's most important essays on the police as well as selected essays on mass media.

Robert Reiner addresses the way in which police unions had become increasingly militant and formed a significant political force, demanding better pay, conditions and a say in social and penal policy. This 1978 study considers the development of British police unionization, and the views of the police themselves towards unionism.

Law and order has become a key issue throughout the world. Crime stories saturate the mass media and politicians shrilly compete with each other in a race to be the toughest on crime. Prisons are crammed to bursting point, and police powers and resources extended repeatedly.