Book Review: Dutton, D. G. (2003). The Abusive Personality: Violence and Control in Intimate Relationships. New York: Guilford press, pp. 214

AuthorArthur J. Lurigio
DOI10.1177/0734016807310603
Published date01 December 2007
Date01 December 2007
Subject MatterArticles
If readers are not familiar with the critical perspective of criminology and criminal justice,
they will find something new, as the book is written from that perspective. Chapter 4
discusses the notion that class, race, and gender cannot be treated separately in analyses and
should in fact be analyzed interactively. The final chapter of Part one discusses the history of
the study of criminology starting with the classical school, moving to the positivist school,
and finally the critical school, including various stages of feminism. All of the chapters have
current references and data, although most of the citations are from the critical perspective.
Part two of the book focuses on the various parts of the system. There is a chapter on law
making, victimization, law enforcement and the courts, punishment, and finally workers in
the field of criminal justice. The final chapter of the book discusses in detail crime, justice,
and policy. Of particular interest in the concluding chapters is the discussion on systems of
justice: equal, restorative, and social. They argue that the current system is based on equal
justice, but that it does not take into account the concept of equal treatment of nonequal
offenders or victims by class, race, gender, sexual orientation, and so on. They argue the
system should be based on a more restorative and social justice approach. With that, they
lay out recommendations for criminal reduction and crime control, based on restorative and
social approaches. As with Part one, each chapter (except the conclusion) starts with some
sort of vignette and ends with implications, discussion, and review questions.
The fundamental point of the book is that the intersections of class, race, and gender
shape not only perceptions of crime but also the nature of criminal behavior itself, as well
as the responses of the criminal justice system.
The book may be a bit dense for undergraduates but would be quite useful in an introduc-
tory masters course. The authors do a fine job of making their arguments and supporting them
with current research and data. People familiar with the critical criminology perspective
will enjoy the work and may take away something they have not thought about. Those not
familiar with the critical perspective will most likely learn a great deal and appreciate the
different perspective that critical criminology provides.
Ellen C. Lemley
Arkansas State University, Jonesboro
Dutton, D. G. (2003). The Abusive Personality: Violence and Control
in Intimate Relationships. New York: Guilford press, pp. 214
DOI: 10.1177/0734016807310603
Every year in the United States, an average of more than two million persons, mostly
women, report being victimized by an intimate partner (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2003). Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs among women of all ages, races,
and socioeconomic levels and is a longstanding public health problem with profound
consequences for the victims, their families, and also their communities (National Women’s
Health Information Center, 2003). IPV can leave permanent physical and emotional injuries,
traumatize children, and destroy families (World Health Organization, 2005). In addition, it
can lead to an intergenerational cycle of violence in which boys learn to view intimidation
Book Review(s) 449

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