First published in 1979, Inequality, Crime, and Public Policy integrates and interprets the vast corpus of existing research on social class, slums, and crime, and presents its own findings on these matters. It explores two major questions. First, do policies designed to redistribute wealth and power within capitalist societies have effects upon crime? Second, do policies created to overcome the residential segregation of social classes have effects on crime? The book provides a brilliantly comprehensive and systematic review of the empirical evidence to support or refute the classic theories of Engles, Bonger, Merton, Cloward and Ohlin, Cohen, Miller, Shaw and McKay, amongst many others. Braithwaite confronts these theories with evidence of the extent and nature of white collar crime, and a consideration of the way law enhancement and law enforcement might serve class interest.
Crime, Inequality and Power challenges the dominant definitions of crime and the criminal through its uniquely comparative approach. In this book Eileen Leonard analyzes multiple forms of criminal behavior in the United States, including violence, sexual assault, theft, and drug law violations, whilst also asking readers to consider the parallels between crimes that are rarely thought comparable. Leonard’s juxtaposition of familiar street crimes, such as car theft, alongside large-scale corporate theft, vividly exposes profound inequalities in the way crime is defined, and the treatment it receives within the criminal justice system. Leonard’s analysis also reveals the underlying inequalities of race, class, and gender which enable the perpetuation of such crimes, as well as calling into question the reality of fundamental American ideals of fairness and equal justice. Moreover, the book questions whether current policies that punish street crime excessively while minimizing the crimes of the powerful, fail to keep the public safe. A broader consideration of crime, and the inequalities that underlie it, offers a fresh opportunity to rethink public policies and enduring issues of crime and criminal justice. Challenging the many persistent inequalities in the perception of and response to crime, this critique of American crime and punishment will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as scholars, in the fields of criminology, sociology and law.
These essays examine how and why inequality affects the patterning of crime and criminal justice. They evaluate the merits of various theoretical ideas, debates, and controversies regarding crime and inequality; document the dynamics of inequality in varied crime settings; examine methodologies used in exploring the crime-inequality relationship; and set forth new research and policy agendas for future work.
This book brings together the most recent advances in theory and research on the relationship between social inequality and the control of criminal behavior, exploring the ways in which social class, race, gender, and age shape societal and organizational responses to crime.
This book examines key relationships between material circumstances and crime, and analyzes the areas of social policy – in particular social security and labour market policy – that are most important in terms of dealing with inequality at the lower end of the income hierarchy. It seeks to explain why inequality is linked to offending behaviour and the evidence underpinning explanations for this, and looks in detail at the relationship between offending and anti-social behaviour and its management through social policy interventions. Crime and Inequality draws upon both criminological and social policy approaches to understand this vital relationship, moving beyond criminological approaches which often fail to analyse the way the state attempts to manage poor material circumstance, offending and anti-social behaviour through social policy. The main aims of the book are threefold: to draw upon the disciplines of both criminology and social policy to understand the relationship between crime and inequality; to provide an in-depth analysis of those aspects of social policy that have a bearing on the context, management and punishment of offending behaviour; to examine government crime and anti-social behaviour policies in the context of social security and labour market policies, and to identify the tensions that have resulted from attempts to address social justice issues while also making individuals responsible for their actions.
Why has crime dropped while imprisonment grows? This well-edited volume of ground-breaking articles explores criminal justice policy in light of recent research on changing patterns of crime and criminal careers. Highlighting the role of conservative social and political theory in giving rise to criminal justice policies, this innovative book focuses on such policies as ‘three strikes (two in the UK) and you’re out’, mandatory sentencing and widespread incarceration of drug offenders. It highlights the costs - in both money and opportunity - of increased prison expansion and explores factors such as: labour market dynamics the rise of a ‘prison industry’ the boost prisons provide to economies of underdeveloped regions the spreading political disenfranchisement of the disadvantaged it has produced. Throughout this book, hard facts and figures are accompanied by the faces and voices of the individuals and families whose lives hang in the balance. This volume, an essential resource for students, policy makers and researchers of criminology, criminal justice, social policy and criminal law, uses a compelling inter-play of theoretical works and powerful empirical research to present vivid portraits of individual life experiences.
Even though youth crime rates have fallen since the mid-1990s, public fear and political rhetoric over the issue have heightened. The Columbine shootings and other sensational incidents add to the furor. Often overlooked are the underlying problems of child poverty, social disadvantage, and the pitfalls inherent to adolescent decisionmaking that contribute to youth crime. From a policy standpoint, adolescent offenders are caught in the crossfire between nurturance of youth and punishment of criminals, between rehabilitation and "get tough" pronouncements. In the midst of this emotional debate, the National Research Council's Panel on Juvenile Crime steps forward with an authoritative review of the best available data and analysis. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents recommendations for addressing the many aspects of America's youth crime problem. This timely release discusses patterns and trends in crimes by children and adolescentsâ€"trends revealed by arrest data, victim reports, and other sources; youth crime within general crime; and race and sex disparities. The book explores desistanceâ€"the probability that delinquency or criminal activities decrease with ageâ€"and evaluates different approaches to predicting future crime rates. Why do young people turn to delinquency? Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents what we know and what we urgently need to find out about contributing factors, ranging from prenatal care, differences in temperament, and family influences to the role of peer relationships, the impact of the school policies toward delinquency, and the broader influences of the neighborhood and community. Equally important, this book examines a range of solutions: Prevention and intervention efforts directed to individuals, peer groups, and families, as well as day care-, school- and community-based initiatives. Intervention within the juvenile justice system. Role of the police. Processing and detention of youth offenders. Transferring youths to the adult judicial system. Residential placement of juveniles. The book includes background on the American juvenile court system, useful comparisons with the juvenile justice systems of other nations, and other important information for assessing this problem.
Preface This book was prepared, with you, the student in mind. It is designed to help you understand and apply the theories, concepts, and terms related to criminal behavior, social inequality, juvenile delinquency, and the drug crime relationship. This book can be used as a stand-alone text for criminal behavior and juvenile delinquency. The book is also designed to accompany any books in criminology. It may also be used with any sociology text to enhance specific chapters on crime and deviance, social stratification, race and ethnicity, population, urbanization, and theory. The text will aide in giving a more thorough examination of those particular chapters. The text can be used as supplemental materials in other disciplines such as criminal justice, specifically juvenile justice and corrections. I would recommend this book to law makers, legal practitioners, law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and law enforcement training personnel. This text is an interdisciplinary approach, multi-directional and multifaceted. "The fields are changing daily, as new theories of causation are proposed; as novel forms of crime take their place alongside traditional ones; and as policymakers strive to embrace ever more effective crime control techniques in legislative debates, social programs, and innovative alternatives to incarceration, in addition to examining social policies. Further, this book will provide a historical and sociological perspective on the intersection of race, communities, and crime. The course will also examine the inequalities that exist in the criminal justice system, from policy to policing, arrest, sentencing, incarceration and the scope and significance of the disenfranchisement of the individuals that are affected. The course will also conceptualize the development of the black community its maintenance and structural conditions which have a significant impact on criminal behavior. This book will discuss the theoretical explanations of social inequality, with a focus on social class. The area upon which I placed more emphasis was the development of the underclass. The factors significantly related to poverty, the Broken Window Theory, and social disorganization will be linked to crime. In chapter 3, you will find a model which illustrates the theoretical views linking social class and crime. The main objective of the model is to enhance the readers understanding of the crime and social class relationship, specifically between the underclass and crime. * Crime and Social Inequality emphasizes the wide and interdisciplinary variety of academic perspectives that contribute to a thorough and well-informed understanding of the crime problem-hence the book''s subtitle. * Crime and Social Inequality is up-to-date. It addresses the latest problems and discusses innovative alternative perspectives within a well-grounded and traditional theoretical framework for incarceration. * Crime and Social Inequality contrasts contemporary issues of crime and social order with existing and proposed crime control policies, and recommendations. The culmination of my academic and professional experiences prepared me to write this book. Chapter one through three are a demonstration of my knowledge and expertise in crime and social inequality which was used as a satisfying preliminary examination for my Ph.D. Chapter four and five were produced as a result of my research interest. As a Judicial Officer for the West Virginia supreme court of appeals I was allowed to gain firsthand knowledge of law enforcement, judicial, and correctional applications and procedures. That was an extremely rewarding experience. Further I witnessed the strong drug crime relationship, the alarming recidivism rates, disproportionate incarceration rates of the poor and minorities. I was able to examine the inequalities from policy to policing, arrest, sentencing, incarceration and the scope and significance of the disenfranchisement of the individuals that are affected. As an expert witness in Federal Court, I produced sentencing memorandums on the behalf of the defendant. I would argue the inequality in sentencing and the ineffective results of rehabilitation which recidivism rates clearly demonstrate. Further, I explored long term sentences which produce psychological states such as institutionalization and prisonization. I also would argue against determinate sentencing, three strikes you''re out policies which should not be applicable for nonviolent offenders, mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment, the King Pin labels and career criminal labels and statues. Basically, I examined the sentencing disparities that exist.
