Book Review: The emergence of EU criminal law

• Date: 01 September 2015
• Published date: 01 September 2015
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567715578268
• Author: Chad Posick
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

lifers post-release, such as Heinlein’s (2013) Among Murderers: Life After Prison and Mullane’s

(2012) Life After Murder: Five Men in Search of Redemption. Munn and Bruckert, however, trans-

cend these anecdotal accounts by taking an academic, rather than journalistic, approach to the reset-

tlement process of former prisoners. Beyond simply recounting their stories, the authors tried to

understand these men’s narratives ‘‘within a socio-economic-political context’’ (p. 168).

Even though their sample is fairly small and consists only of male offenders, by incorporating an

extensive amount of research literature, the authors succeeded in painting a compelling picture of the

post-release process of a forgotten population. This work adds to the existing body of research on

reentry by giving a new, exploratory account of successful, and struggling former long-term offen-

ders. The question that remains, however, is how the experiences of ex-prisoners on parole differ

from those who are not on parole. Likewise, what distinguishes these 20 relatively ‘‘successful’’

ex-prisoners selected by the authors, from those who were not able to cope on the outside, and were

sent back to prison for either parole violations or new crimes? As their ‘‘unsuccessful’’ counterparts

remain undiscussed, a critical reader may consider these men’s narratives of success as perhaps

painting a too rosy picture.

In conclusion, On the Outside is a unique book that gives a face to those who often disappear in

mere figures and numbers. Against all odds, tough-on-crime policies, lasting stigma, and struggles in

numerous life-domains, these ex-prisoners have managed to stay on the right track. On the Outside

would fit well in upper-level prison studies and criminal justice policy courses. Given the long-

lasting and far-reaching implications of long-term confinement, it also speaks to a larger public

of psychologists and public health practitioners. Munn and Bruckert succeeded in providing an

accessible, optimistic, and contemporary account of a much understudied population.

Summers, S., Schwartzenegger, C., Ege, G., & Young, F. (2014).

The emergence of EU criminallaw. Portland, OR: Hart Publishing. Pp.335 pages, £45.00, ISBN 978-1-84113-727-8.

Reviewed by: Chad Posick, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1057567715578268

The impact that technology has made on our everyday lives is, by now, quite obvious. In fact,

Summers and her colleagues (2014) state it well when they claim that the rapid development in

technology innovation has led to a ‘‘general mood of euphoria’’ (p. 87). As a society, we

rely on and use technology both in our home and work lives, and the Internet has become almost

ubiquitous across the globe. For most of us, buying a new gadget, whether it is the newest cell

phone or tablet, is an exciting and integral part of our everyday lives. However, our legal world

is struggling to keep up with technological advancement. While it is true that existing legal laws are

adequate for some cybercrimes, it struggles to keep pace with others and lags behind the rapid

changes in technology. Aside from cybercrimes that specifically use computers and the Internet

in the commission of a crime (e.g., hacking, fraud, identity theft, and cyberterrorism), these tech-

nologies also facilitate other behaviors that may or may not be lawful such as the invasion of privacy

(e.g., cookies, cyberstalking,and spam). Here, age old laws and rights such as freedom of expression

bump up against new concerns related to the ease of widespread hate speech and terroristic threat s.

Inherent in crimes committed using the Internet and other similar technologies are issues

related to jurisdiction of both location and court. Since the Internet generally allows access to

anywhere in the world, committed crimes can span multiple cities and even countries. Addition-

ally, both criminal and other courts may take issue with behavior that is facilitated by the internet.

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