King's professor publishes new book on dangerous offender legislation

What does it mean to be labelled dangerous? This is the topic of a new publications by Dr. Matthew G. Yeager, Associate Professor of Sociology, titled Dangerous Men: Ideology and the Personification of Evil by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Case studies, interviews and literature reviews are used to describe the construction of dangerousness in Canada.    

Dangerous Men offers an analysis of dangerous offender (DO) legislation and related designations of similar offenders in Canada. The topic is timely and important given the conceptualizations of crime and its control in contemporary Canada and around the world.  The book argues that the label of dangerousness obscures the social and economic conditions that many convicts experience throughout their lives.

Dr. Yeager’s interest in the topic of Dangerous Offenders began nearly 30 years ago.  He picked up a case, profiled in the book, involving a Dangerous Offender application, in which he concluded the accused was not dangerous but instead could be manageable within the community. The courts concluded otherwise, and the accused was sentenced to penitentiary.

“This led to my Ph.D. dissertation on dangerous offenders in 2006, and a long-time interest in this penitentiary population. This book represents a 20-year project of research and thinking on the subject of dangerousness and the so-called dangerous offender,” says Dr. Yeager. 

“I am hoping the book will interest some parliamentarians in taking another look at Dangerous Offender legislation in Canada,” says Dr. Yeager. Beyond that, he also hopes it will appeal to graduate students in criminology, criminal lawyers and those passionate about public policy.