The origins of this book are a panel discussion on the ‘violence of austerity’ that was part of the conference, How Violent is Britain?, hosted by the University of Liverpool and the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies in May 2014. The conference brought together many of the authors in this book. Our first debt of gratitude is to Will McMahon, co-organiser of the conference, and who has supported us throughout this project. We are also grateful to others involved in organising the conference, especially Rachel Barrett, Rebecca Roberts and Arianna Silvestri. We would like to acknowledge those who participated in the conference and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Foundation who supported it. Thanks also to the people at Criminal Justice Matters and Open Democracy who first published some of the ideas developed in the book. The support from our friends and colleagues at the Open University Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative and the University of Liverpool at different stages in the book’s development is greatly appreciated. We want to acknowledge the warmth and generosity of the people at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law (IISL), Onati – especially Ainhoa Baños-Antigua, Susana Arrese, Rakel Lizarralde, Ainhoa Markuleta and Elvira Muñoz – for their support during our visits and in the use of its remarkable library. The IISL is a special place that should be protected and treasured. We are so grateful to our friends and family for their support throughout the long process of putting this book together, and especially thank Davey Blackie and Kirstie Wallace for sharing their home comforts and allowing us to complete the project in its final stages. There are a number of people who, although their names do not appear as authors, made important contributions to the development of the book. Thanks especially go to Joe Halewood and Rory O’Neill for their unacknowledged contributions. David Castle has been a consistent source of encouragement, and a model of professionalism in seeing the project through from its beginning to the end.
In particular, we thank the contributors to this book for sharing their hugely valuable insights and experiences, and also for putting up with what must have sometimes seemed like unreasonable requests and demands from us. We hope that it has all been worth it in the end.