Madness raises intriguing—and complex—criminological questions, not least the famous trio of ‘triability, responsibility, and punishability’. Furthermore, law-enforcement agencies frequently face a choice between invoking the criminal law or using mental-health remedies. And if and when sentences are passed, not all mentally disordered offenders receive treatment. That prompts a number of additional questions, such as: how effective are institutions to which these offenders are sent? And: do mentally disordered offenders differ qualitatively from the criminal population as a whole?

As serious research on and around madness and crime continues to flourish, this new four-volume collection from Routledge’s Critical Concepts in Criminology series addresses these and other questions. Indeed, Madness and Crime provides an authoritative and highly readable anthology of major works, compiled by one of the leading authorities in the field.