The first section of this book assesses ‘sides’ and values in relation to a selection of criminological theories that have come a long way from the early classical or positivistic schools of thought. The contributors in this section review, critique and evaluate what has been included and omitted from traditional criminological inquiry, placing a particular emphasis on, or arguing from, subordinated and overlooked perspectives. These chapters demonstrate some of the ‘sides’ that Becker's (1967) article sought to address while also offering perspectives on newer or emergent areas in criminological theorising, indicating the ever-expanding nature of values within this discipline.

Beginning with Chapter One, Simon Cottee sets the scene by examining the place of morals and values in criminology's traditional judgement of, and suggested responses to, offenders and offending. Drawing on the discipline's failure to account for some of the worst atrocities in history, Cottee suggests that criminologists are (implicitly at least) engaged in a moral positioning of the offender, upon which public responses to offending are based. Therefore, if theorising about crime can be argued to have a direct impact on how crime and criminals are treated, then criminologists must be aware of who they are including or omitting, and how their own values and judgements are imparted to, and received by, the public. In emphasising the diversity of such values, Cottee provides an insightful round-up of the most prominent criminological theories to date, from early positivistic depictions through to more recent cultural incarnations, demonstrating the vast range of values and judgements demonstrated within criminology while also paving the way for several of the chapters to follow.

In Chapter Two, Liz Austen and Malcolm Cowburn present the first in a series of ‘sides’, examining the social construction of criminological research and theory production through a postmodernist lens. The recognition that knowledge is informed by, shapes and determines understanding and perspectives is demonstrated by reference to several identities addressed within the postmodernist ‘umbrella’. These subject positionings are revealed to have emerged as responses to more traditional forms of criminological inquiry, and prove vital for challenging the foundational concepts upon which much criminological thought has been constructed.