DANGEROUSNESS, RISK AND TECHNOLOGIES OF POWER

This paper provides a critical examination of the prevalence of danger ous offender legislation in modern criminal justice systems. The debat e about this has been dominated by issues of ethics and effectiveness. Here, though, I want to examine the significance of this legislation and some of the theoretical issues that this raises. This involves dis cussion of the way in which 'dangerousness' as a social construct has changed historically and similarly the mode of its calibration. Ultima tely, the dangerousness legislation today involves the use of a largel y unnoticed strategy of control - actuarialism; and seems more likely to have an effect on the behaviour of potential victims of crime rathe r than dangerous offenders themselves.