Reconnecting genealogies of criminal justice and excise tax enforcement

Although various state and non-state agencies are central to criminal justice, our understandings of criminal justice's past remain dominated by histories of public police and modern prisons. Inspired by Braithwaite's call to reconnect genealogies of criminal justice and business regulation, this article presents an original historical study of the Excise as a criminal justice agency. It illustrates that criminal justice has historically involved a shifting ensemble of regulatory actors whose remits and functions have converged, diverged or been transferred over time. Importantly, this perspective illuminates the usually hidden offending of more privileged or powerful social actors, adding a significant historical dimension to wider efforts to rebalance criminology away from ‘crimes of the streets’ and towards ‘crimes of the suites’.