Showing papers in "British Journal of Criminology in 1993"

FEAR OF CRIME: READ ALL ABOUT IT?The Relationship between Newspaper Crime Reporting and Fear of Crime

Abstract: This article reports a three-stage study of the relationship between newspaper reporting of crime and fear of crime. The first stage measured the amount of space and prominence given to crime, particularly violent crime, in ten British daily newspapers. The second stage of the study was a questionnaire survey of the relationship between newspaper reporting of crime and fear of crime. A significant positive correlation was found which appeared to be independent of demographic factors associated with readership. The third stage examined qualitative aspects of reporting styles in these newspapers. Consistent differences were found between newspapers. Those newspapers classified as 'broadsheets' carried proportionally fewer crime reports and reported crimes in a less sensational fashion than the 'tabloids', particularly low-market ones. Fear of crime (FOC) has been identified as a problem in its own right. A Home Office working party recently noted that 'fear of crime will grow unless checked. As an issue of social concern, it has to be taken as seriously as . . . crime prevention and reduction' (Home Office 1989: ii). Moore and Trojanowicz (1988) argue that reasonable fears concerning crime can be harnessed to fight the threat of crime, but when these fears become unreasonable they amount to a counterproductive response and become a social problem.

ASSAULT ON MEN Masculinity and Male Victimization

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of an exploratory study of how men experience criminally defined physical violence. It places men's responses explicitly within a framework that takes masculinity seriously. This paper concludes by raising theoretical issues about male recipients of violence, about ways to offer support to men who experience violence through an understanding about the context of masculinities in men's lives, and about gender and theorizing in the field of criminology.

Racial Harassment and the Process of Victimization. Conceptual and Methodological Implications for the Local Crime Survey

Abstract: Victimization surveys, like crime statistics and the criminal law, tend to treat racial harassment and other forms of crime as though they were static events or incidents. Racial victimization, however, does not occur in an instant and is more dynamic and complex than the notion of a racial incident' can imply. Events-oriented criminological research has yet to capture the experience of repeated or systematic victimization; the continuity of violence, threat, and intimidation; or the complex relationships among all the social actors involved. It is argued that if racial harassment and other forms of crime are to be described and explained adequately and controlled effectively, they should be conceptualized as processes set in geographical, social, historical, and political context. Surveys should be complemented by other methods of enquiry to enable an examination of the social processes which give rise to criminal incidents.

Shame and modernity

Abstract: If shaming is crucial to crime control, then is not the task of controlling crime hopeless in modern urbanized societies? It is argued here that any such pessimism must be qualified by a broader understanding of shame in human history. First, the article considers the arguments of Elias that shame became more important in the affect structure of citizens with the demise of feudalism. Elias did not consider the movement away from shame and towards brutal punishment in crime control directed at the lower classes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This period culmintaled in a demonstration of the failure of stigmatization and punitive excess, opening the way for reinlegralive ideals to gather support in the Victorian era and beyond. Finally, drawing on Goffman, it is argued that there are some neglected ways in which shaming can have more power in the city than in the village. Overall, there is no structural inevitability about the impotence of shaming in industrialized societies; there is no inexorable march with modernization towards a society where shaming does not count. My recent book, Crime, Shame and Reinlegration (Braithwaite 1989) advances the theory that nations with low crime rates, and periods of history where crime is more effectively controlled, are those where shaming has the greatest social power. For shaming to attain its maximum effectiveness, it must be of a reintegrative sort, avoiding stigmatization. Stigmatization is shaming which creates outcasts, where 'criminal' becomes a master status trait that drives out all other identities, shaming where bonds of respect with the offender are not sustained. Reintegrative shaming, in contrast, is disapproval dispensed within an ongoing relationship with the offender based on respect, shaming which focuses on the evil of the deed rather than on the offender as an irremediably evil person, where degradation ceremonies are followed by ceremonies to decertify deviance, where forgiveness, apology, and repentance are culturally important. The

The Case Against Paramilitary Policing Considered

Abstract: Tony Jefferson's recent book, The Case against Paramilitary Policing (Jefferson 1990) deserves serious consideration not only because it takes issue at length with a brief article written by me, but, more importantly, because it represents a powerful polemic against modern methods of police riot control. However, this polemic fails to convince for several reasons, both analytical and factual. This article will challenge Jefferson's thesis on four grounds: the definition of paramilitary' that is employed; the factual basis for the alleged strong correlation' between paramilitary policing and ensuing violence; the stance of viewing paramilitary policing from below'; and, finally, his criticism of the supposedly idealistic emphasis in my prescription of impartiality and restraint.

Attitudes to the police of ethnic minorities in a provincial city

Abstract: A survey carried out in Leeds, in areas with more than 10 per cent non-white households, investigated the attitudes of blacks, Asians, and whiles to the police and their experiences of them. It was found that Asians had more favourable attitudes and fewer among them had unpleasant experiences of the police than was the case with both blacks and whites. The relationships between attitudes and experience were explored. Blacks and whites were found to be more similar to each other than had been found in other surveys where area of residence was not controlled for. The areas covered in the survey contained just over half the blacks and Asians in the city, but only 6 per cent of whites, so the sample was not representative of the whole city. The attitudes to the police of Afro-Caribbeans (hereafter called blacks), Asians (from the Indian subcontinent), and whites in Great Britain have been looked at in several studies. One of the earliest was the Survey of Londoners (Smith 1983) carried out by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI). This found that blacks (and to a lesser extent Asians) tended to be more hostile to the police than whites. However, the whites differed in many ways from the non-whites, so the interpretation is not straightforward. The whites were selected to be representative of the whole of London, whereas nearly all the non-whites were representative only of those living in areas with more than 2 per cent non-white inhabitants. Since whites tend to be of higher socio-economic status and generally live in areas with less social deprivation, they would probably have had less experience of crime and of the police than the non-whites. This may in part explain the considerably higher stop and arrest rates of blacks, and the different attitudes to the police of blacks and whites. Other studies, such as those in Islington (Jones et al. 1986; Crawford et al. 1990) and in Hammersmith and Fulham (Painter et al. 1989), although carried out in only parts of London, still involved large populations (of over 300,000) with heterogeneous social conditions, which again might make the experiences of crime and of the police of the three ethnic groups not comparable with each other. This might account for the finding, once again, that blacks and whites differed in their attitudes to the police. The most recent British Crime Survey (Mayhew et al. 1989)—which included a booster sample of non-whites—also found differences in attitude. The only study of blacks and whites living in the same small area was that by Tuck and Southgate (1981) in Moss Side, Manchester. This found few differences between them. As part of a larger study of ethnicity and crime a survey was carried out in Leeds in 1987; this also controlled for area of residence.1 The survey was carried out only in

Environmental Improvements and the Fear of Crime: The Sad Case of the 'pond' Area in Glasgow

Abstract: Studies investigating the positive effect that improved street lighting has on crime and the fear of crime have become remarkably popular. Impressive results have regularly been reported. However, while most use the before-and-after' interview format, many neglect to have a long enough follow-up period or to control for the effect that interviewing at different times of the year may have. The study reported here is based on a twelve-month follow-up period, and controls exactly for time of year at follow-up interview stage. Further, in addition to relighting the area surrounding the homes of respondents, other external environmental improvements were effected, and the security precautions of the homes of respondents were substantially improved. In spite of this, little improvement in victimization or fear of victimization could be documented. Some improvement might have been noticed had respondents been consulted when the nature and type of improvements were being planned. It is more likely that improved street lighting is no panacea for all ills, and may only be effective under certain conditions.

A new methodology for assessing the level of risk in incarcerated offenders

Abstract: A review of the literature relating to the assessment of risk in incarcerated offenders is given. A new methodology for the actuarial assessment of risk based on the prediction of the way in which offending behaviour traits will be manifest in the prison environment is described. A validation of this methodology is described giving a level of accuracy of 65 per cent. A measure of the accuracy, the rated percentage agreement (RPA), is described and the inter-rater reliability of the methodology is investigated. The utility of the instrument in a prison environment is outlined and implications for future refinement and validation are discussed. A long-standing problem for the criminal justice system has been how to assess accurately the risk of re-offending for long-term prisoners, serving indeterminate sentences, convicted of serious offences. The fact that the vast majority of these offenders will eventually be released, and the desire effectively to integrate them into the community, must be balanced against the need to protect the public from the risk of further serious offences. Proposed changes introduced by the 1991 Criminal Justice Act, the decision by the European Courts regarding the right of discretionary lifers to challenge their continued incarceration, and the advent of more open reporting within the English prison system have brought the criteria and methods used to establish risk under close scrutiny. 'It is widely acknowledged that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour,' write Owens and Schoenfeldt (1979). This statement is demonstrably true for criminal behaviour, where virtually all major reviewers (Cornish and Clarke 1975; Farrington and West 1990; Andrews 1983; Hill 1985) have concluded that the best predictor of recidivism is the type and frequency of previous convictions. This finding applies across all ages, offence types, and cultures, and is quite in keeping with current psychological theories. However, when attempting to assess risk of re-offending among a group of serious offenders serving long sentences, several problems are encountered. One problem is that of base rate; the frequency of serious criminal offences (i.e. serious violent or sexual assaults) is fairly low even in such a population. Thus, predicting from past behaviour, one would expect very few of these offenders to re-offend. Unfortun ately, the consequences of a second similar offence are too great for one to accept this general prediction. A second difficulty is that data available at the beginning of sentence do not change over time. So, although one might compute sufficiently accurate actuarial parole risk scales for offenders (Andrews 1983), the level of risk suggested by such tools cannot change over time. Therefore a prisoner assessed with this pre-conviction data is judged to be equally at risk of re-offending the day after sentence and twenty years later. It is possible that this might well be the case, but it

PONDERING PARAMILITARISM : A Question of Standpoints?

Abstract: The exchange in this issue of the British Journal of Criminology between the author and P. A. J. Wadding ton constitutes the second round of a debate begun in 1987 with the publication in this journal of an article by each writer on the subject of'paramilitarism' in the British police. The present writer attempts in this article to show how the dispute between himself and Professor Waddington on this subject is rooted in a difference of standpoint rather than in a failure to engage with each other's arguments. He addresses Waddington's four challenges in the order they are presented in the tatter's article in this issue, namely, definitions, facts, the 'viewpointfrom below', and the question of idealism. I doubt Waddington and I will ever agree about paramilitary policing. Though each of us is obviously attempting to convince the reader of the Tightness of his own position, the ultimate issue is less that of who is right and who is wrong about particular points, and more about standpoints. That is to say, from our different 'standpoints'—a term currently fashionable in feminist epistemology—we may both be right (or wrong) at least some of the time. Thus, our disagreements stem less from missing each other's points—Waddington's painstakingly considered reply shows he has all the relevant points clearly in his sights—and more from seeing the same points differently, from a different standpoint. This reply is undertaken, therefore, in an attempt to clarify the nature of our differences and the different standpoints from which they stem rather than in the hope of resolving them. I will deal with Waddington's four challenges in the order he has selected, namely, definitions, facts, the viewpoint from below and the question of idealism.

Religiosity, religious climate, and delinquency among ethnic groups in the Netherlands

Abstract: In this paper the effect of religiosity on delinquent behavior is examined for Moroccan, Turkish, Surinamese (subdivided into Hindustani, Creoles, and Javanse), and Dutch boys. It is proposed that religion can be considered as an element of the social bond. Next, the distinction between moral and secular communities introduced by Stark, et al. (1982) is applied to the ethnic groups, leading to the conclusion that Moroccans and Turks live in moral communities, while the Dutch live in a secular community. The results show that there is a modet relation between religiosity and delinquent behaviour in some groups, but the distinction between moral and secular communities does not help to explain these relations. Socio-economic background variables appear to be unrelated to religiosity. Finally, some comments are presented on the characterization of communities as moral or secular. It is concluded that it may be necessary to have additional information on the social networks in a community to find an explanation of the relation between religiosity and delinquency that is applicable to different cultures.

Did shoplifting really decrease

Abstract: Home Office Criminal Statistics show a substantial decrease (of more than one-third) in the number of recorded shoplifters between 1985 and 1989. The largest decrease was for juveniles. In trying to explain why this decrease had occurred, a survey of shop theft was carried out with sixteen retail chains, totalling 7,873 retail outlets, which accounted for a quarter of total retail sales in Great Britain in 1990. The number of shoplifters apprehended by these retailers remained tolerably constant between 1985 and 1989, and their probability of reporting shoplifters to the police also remained constant. The number of apprehended shoplifters tended to increase with the number of store detectives employed by each retail chain, but the retailers reported that their use of store detectives had not changed since 1985. It is concluded from this research that the true number of shoplifters probably remained tolerably constant between 1985 and 1989, and that the number of recorded shoplifters decreased because an increasing fraction of shoplifters reported to the police were dealt with informally, and hence did not appear in the official statistics of shoplifting offenders.

INTERNAL POLICE RECORDS AND THE CONTROL OF JUVENILES Politics and Policing in a Suburban Town

Abstract: This paper examines the consequences of external (i.e., community) and internal (i.e., administrative) pressure on the police to discourage the arrest and formal processing of a community's Juveniles. The department's response resulted in a shift to surveillance and the development of internal recordkeeping as the primary form of control. Thus, the police were able to satisfy the community's demand and their own organizational needs for information regarding the nature and extent of juvenile deviance at the same time. However, increased reliance on surveillance bypasses not only the stigma of the formal process, but also its guarantees, and thereby ironically increases police control over juveniles. The results of informal recordkeeping practices also have implications for understanding official crime statistics. That is, departments are able to manage' their crime rates so that towns with apparently equal levels of juvenile deviance have very different official rates' of juvenile crime.

FIGHTING THE WAR AGAINST CRIME Television, Police, and Audience

Abstract: This article analyses the origins of the popular BBC TV crime programme, Crimewatch UK, and the initial constraints that have shaped its subsequent evolution. Crimewatch's selection criteria put it firmly in the camp of popular journalism and relate closely to the need to hold a large audience. The programme has broken new ground in British television's co-operation with the police: the production team is given an unusual measure of access to the details of cases under investigation. Furthermore, in drawing upon the vogue for audience participation Crimewatch UK has sought to bring about a new relationship between the police and the viewing public by its attempt to mobilize public responses. This shift has now been emulated by other programmes in the new genre such as Crimestoppers and Crime Monthly.

INTENSIVE PROBATION FOR YOUNG ADULT OFFENDERS Evaluating the Impact of a Non-Custodial Sentence

Abstract: This article reviews, in brief, the use of intensive probation schemes as an alternative to custodial sentencing in England and Wales and outlines the establishment of one such project in Leeds. Having briefly detailed the project's philosophy and working practices, the article reports the findings of an evaluation of the project and concludes with some suggestions as to whether the project is operating as a genuine replacement for custody.

CONTEXT AND LINKAGE Reflections on Comparative Research and ‘Internationalism’ in Criminology

Abstract: Comparative criminology has recently become a growth area, with the publication of several major books.1 With this in mind, I would like to present an argument about the current concerns and possible future directions of comparative criminological research. The argument begins with a consideration of how far we can detach crime and criminal justice data from their social, political, and economic contexts. This is treated as a matter of whether bodies of prima facie comparable data can be seen as addressing similar issues, given the context from which they come. My thesis is that both in terms of the crimes we seek to understand, and the theories we use to address them, we need to think much more carefully about the kinds of linkages that can be made between various aspects of criminal activity in different societies, about the relevances we are prepared to entertain, and what they are likely to mean in the context of any individual society. When we consider comparative data in this light, the nature of the crime and criminal justice problems under investigation may change in rather important ways. Reflection on those changes might offer some new directions for what I have termed a more internationalist' criminology. The kinds of directions that might flow from such a re-orientation are illustrated towards the end of this paper, with an admittedly eclectic set of examples.

The Nature of the Act: A Neglected Dimension in the Classification of Sex Offenders

Abstract: The common subdivision of sex offenders into rapists' and child molesters ignores the nature of the sexual act involved, classifying solely by age of victim. Using a sample of 100 convicted and imprisoned sex offenders, comparisons were made between those who had imposed sexual intercourse on their victims and those found guilty of other forms of sexual assault. Rapists were found to be younger and to have a less repetitive pattern of offending than those who did not rape their victims, irrespective of whether their victims were adults or children. This suggests that the type of sexual behaviour engaged in might be a useful guide to the understanding and management of sex offenders.

POLICE AND THE JUDICIARY IN FRANCE SINCE THE NINETEENTH CENTURYThe Decline of the Examining Magistrate

Abstract: The degree of police autonomy in relation to the judiciary in France has been the focus of considerable comment; however, to date no comprehensive analysis of the issues involved has been undertaken. On the basis of the material available, which is by no means complete for the period under study, this article outlines the evolution in relations between the police and the judiciary and points out some major features and trends in those relations since the early nineteenth century.

The Prosecutor Fine and Social Control: The Introduction of the Fiscal Fine to Scotland

Abstract: The dispersal of discipline thesis' is tested against the introduction to Scotland of the prosecutor fine, a diversionary mechanism used in several European jurisdictions. The prosecutor fine does not represent the therapeutic type of measure around which the dispersal of discipline thesis' is usually constructed. The growth of mundane monetary sanctions, including attempts at diversion through the use of fixed penalties and prosecutor fines, has largely been ignored. In Scotland, the introduction of the prosecutor fine has led to considerable net-widening' and the reasons for this are suggested. Nevertheless, rather than providing evidence of the dispersal of discipline', the prosecutor fine appears to represent a move towards a more administrative-bureaucratic style of criminal justice.