Abstract
Continuing the development of a ‘Debate and Dialogue’ occasional section to the journal, first established by the previous editors of Criminology & Criminal Justice, we are pleased to introduce a debate on the controversial idea of the ‘Big Society’ and its implications for criminal justice policy and practice. The aim of the ‘Debate and Dialogue’ section of the journal is to publish thought-provoking scholarly opinion pieces and controversial arguments on topical debates of the day within criminological theory and/or criminal justice policy and to solicit responses from leading criminologists. To this end, we invited Rod Morgan to tackle the vexed concept of the ‘Big Society’, its specific policy implications and what it might mean for thinking critically and differently about criminal justice practices. Rod Morgan seemed to us, the editors, to be the ideal person to stimulate a wider debate and dialogue on the subject of the ‘Big Society’ given his extensive research across diverse areas of criminology and criminal justice and his work both as an academic researcher and for many years in the policy field, first as Her Majesty’s Inspector of Probation and subsequently as Chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. We were delighted that Mike Maguire, Sandra Walklate and Todd Clear were willing to take up the challenge of responding to Rod’s initial article, developing critical reflections on its inferences in diverse policy fields and contexts.