Criminology, difference and justice: Issues for critical criminology

The principal task of criminology is to produce the criminal as object-know ledge. Whether the sources of criminality are located in biology, psycholog y or culture - as in the various right realisms - or in the class, racist a nd sexist structures and values of societies - as in left realisms and the new criminologies of masculinities - the offender as object-of-knowledge ge nerally emerges as young, impoverished, often black, usually male, and marg inalised.The offender is portrayed as different, as Other.The article point s out that"difference" is the central focus of criminology, and also a key motif in "affirmative postmodern" work aimed at reconstruction of theories of justice. Some emergent theories and practices of justice are mentioned, and it is argued that theories and institutions of justice need to bring to gether acknowledgement of difference, and elaboration and defence of rights .