Towards a criminology of institutional accountability

In the twenty-first century, a set of grievous miscarriages of justice involving institutional actors have captured the public imagination. Criminology has so far had relatively little to say about these public crisis events, partly because they are so often investigated outside of the criminal justice system, by inquiries, inquests and other forms of independent review. This article makes the case for a criminology of institutional accountability, one that attends to the organization, uses and institutional effects of accountability mechanisms and is interested in the distinctive form of justice they afford. I make the case for approaching this set of review mechanisms as belonging to a distinctive institutional sphere—an accountability justice system—and trace its changing remit and purpose in the post-1980s period. As part of this, the article points to a new role for the accountability justice system in mopping-up after criminal justice failures. The article ends with a consideration of the chief institutional effects of the accountability mechanisms in transposing institutional maladministration and harm.