Sociology of Crime and Deviance

The Politics of the Bailey Review (with Meg Barker)

by Robbie Duschinsky

Draft Only; Forthcoming in Gender & Education

This paper explores the considerations of sexualisation, and of gender stereotyping, in the recent United Kingdom... more This paper explores the considerations of sexualisation, and of gender stereotyping, in the recent United Kingdom government report Letting Children be Children. This report, the Bailey Review, claimed to represent the views of parents. However, closer reading reveals that, whilst the parents who were consulted were concerned about both the sexualisation and the gender stereotyping of products aimed at children, the Bailey Review focuses only on the former, and dismisses the latter. ‘Sexualisation’ has four faces in the Bailey Review: it is treated as a process that increases 1) the visibility of sexual content in the public domain, 2) misogyny, 3) the sexuality of children, and 4) the mainstream position of ‘deviant’ sexual behaviours and lifestyles. Through this construction of ‘sexualisation’, gendered relations of power are not only hidden from view, but buttress a narrative in which young women are situated as children, and their sexuality and desire rendered pathological and morally unacceptable as judged by a conservative standard of decency. Comparison of the treatment of sexualisation and gender stereotyping in the review is revealing of the political motivations behind it, and of wider discourse in these areas.

Cheliotis, L. K. and S. Xenakis (2011) ‘Crime, Fear of Crime and Punitiveness’, in L. K. Cheliotis and S. Xenakis (eds) Crime and Punishment in Contemporary Greece: International Comparative Perspectives, pp. 1-43. Bern: Peter Lang AG. (With a response by Jonathan Jackson, Monica Gerber and Carolyn Côté-Lussier, pp. 45-64).

by Leonidas Cheliotis

Over the last the three decades, punitiveness on the part of the state in Greece in the field of law and order has... more Over the last the three decades, punitiveness on the part of the state in Greece in the field of law and order has been on the ascent. The most obvious indicator of this has been the steeply rising use of imprisonment. A striking accompaniment of state punitiveness has been punitive public opinion. As soon as one broaches the question of why this is the case, however, one is confronted with at least two puzzling findings. First, the prevalence of crime has only risen modestly, in sharp disproportion to the high recorded levels of fear of criminal victimisation, of distrust in the police and judicial authorities, and of public punitiveness. And second, fear of criminal victimisation itself does not axiomatically bear a positive correlation with expressed public support for state punitiveness, though it does predict lack of confidence in criminal justice authorities. This chapter sets out to review these contradictions and the limits of available explanations. We begin by outlining the different ways in which Greece’s authoritarian past and the dictatorship of 1967-1974 in particular are thought to have influenced state and public punitiveness in the years that have followed. The next section summarises scholarly and commercial research on the levels and patterns of fear of crime and public punitiveness in contemporary Greece, as both distinct and interrelated themes. Attention is then drawn to the disconnect between crime and imprisonment rates as an illustrative example of the irrational foundations of state punitiveness and its degree of public support; a disconnect that is all the more prominent when examined with reference to the nationality of prisoners. Taking inspiration from political economies of punishment in jurisdictions elsewhere, the remainder of the chapter points to state deployment of a law-and-order discourse and the use of punishment as symbolic devices by which social insecurities, generated in large part by the state itself, are displaced and discharged onto suitably weak subsections of the population.

Hard to Reach Communities: Living in the UK, and Issues Facing British Muslims of Kashmiri Heritage Born & Bred in the UK

by Owais Rajput

In my presentation I will focus on British Muslim Communities living in UK; my main focus will be on the British local... more In my presentation I will focus on British Muslim Communities living in UK; my main focus will be on the British local community with Kashmiri heritage, as most of the time they are labelled in the media as “Home Grown Radicalised” Muslims, even if they are the fourth & fifth generation born & bred in UK.

I will also focus on Processes to Radicalisation in UK, in local communities, again particularly in the Kashmiri community.

I will also focus on design and delivery processes so far used by authorities in de-radicalisation processes and the results so far, and why we need to change those design and delivery processes, especially when we focus on the British Diaspora with Kashmiri heritage, the fourth & fifth generation born & bred in the UK.

Should environmental issues be securitised?

by Owais Rajput

Environmental issues
The variables that have defined national security for the most part of the World’s history... more Environmental issues
The variables that have defined national security for the most part of the World’s history have largely been military in nature. Security was primarily made up of the physical defence of the country, its people and whatever they possessed. Profound factors outside the traditional area of military operations have been realised that could affect the securities of many countries.
It is within this background that environmental issues have raised to importance, and the term ‘Environmental Security’ has entered the language of environmentalists, policy makers and security planners. With the ending of the cold war, the usual concepts of the nature of national security and the methods to achieve it have changed. The global powers at the time were engaged in military containment of each other, as in the case of America and the Soviet Union containment of each other.

COLLECTING DIGITAL EVIDENCE OF CYBER CRIME.

by Historically Digitized

COLLECTING DIGITAL EVIDENCE OF CYBER CRIME.

COLLECTING DIGITAL EVIDENCE OF CYBER CRIME. COLLECTING DIGITAL EVIDENCE OF CYBER CRIME.

Why is US defence spending still at Cold War levels despite the dissolution of the Soviet Union?

by Owais Rajput

The idea of moral panic – ten dimensions of dispute

by Amanda Rohloff

Co-authored with Matthew David, Julian Petley, and Jason Hughes. Published in 'Crime, Media, Culture', 2011, Volume 7 Number 3, pp.215-228

This paper explores the open and contested concept of moral panic over its 40-year history, exploring the... more This paper explores the open and contested concept of moral panic over its 40-year history, exploring the contributions made by the concept’s key originators, as well as contemporary researchers. While most moral panic researchers are critical, humanist, interpretivist, interventionist and qualitative, this paper highlights ten areas of productive dispute within and around the meaning of moral panic theory’s ‘common sense’. Such diversity of interpretation creates multiple possibilities for convergent and divergent theorization and research within a supposedly singular conceptual framework. This lack of closure and consequent diversity of political standpoints, intellectual perspectives and fields of empirical focus, rather than representing the weakness of the concept of moral panic, reflects and contributes to its successful diffusion, escalation and innovation.

Foreword: Moral panics in the contemporary world

by Amanda Rohloff

Co-authored with Jason Hughes, Matthew David and Julian Petley. Published in 'Crime, Media, Culture', 2011, Volume 7 Number 3, pp.211-214

Special Issue: Moral panics in the contemporary world

by Amanda Rohloff

Co-edited with Jason Hughes, Julian Petley and Matthew David. Published in 'Crime, Media, Culture', 2011, Volume 7 Number 3

Autoritarismo e costruzione di personalità fasciste nelle forze armate italiane: un’autoetnografia

by Pietro Saitta

Charlie Barnao & Pietro Saitta (2012) Autoritarismo e costruzione di personalità fasciste nelle forze armate italiane: un’autoetnografia, "I quaderni del Cirsdig", n. 50, Messina: Cirsdig.

The present article focuses on the learning of aggression in a “total institution” within the Italian army – namely,... more The present article focuses on the learning of aggression in a “total institution” within the Italian army – namely, an elite corpse of paratroopers called Folgore. The extremely violent training and rituals of this group can be seen as both symbolic and particularly representative of the ideal model pursued within the army, and the armed forces in general. The central hypothesis of the work is that the learning of aggression within the military institution is wanted and controlled, being necessary and functional for the purposes of the military institution itself. Based on an autobiographic ethnography, main rituals and practices in the everyday life of the squad are described and analyzed by making conceptual references to the notions of rites of passage, rites of institution, and the psychological behaviourist learning model. Moreover, the authors argue that Italy is witnessing the transmission of practices and ideologies from the military to the police – thus producing a blend which makes the custom between war and peace ever more blurred.


Il presente articolo indaga le modalità di apprendimento della violenza all’interno di una “istituzione totale” e di un corpo d’elite dell’esercito italiano: la Folgore. L’addestramento e i riti estremamente violenti di questo gruppo possono essere considerati simbolici, oltre che particolarmente rappresentativi, di un modello ideale perseguito dall’esercito e dalle forze armate in genere. L’ipotesi centrale presentato nel lavoro è quella per cui l’apprendimento dell’aggressione dentro le forze armate è voluta e controllata, essendo funzionale ai fini di queste
stesse istituzioni. Attraverso un’etnografia autobiografica e il riferimento alle nozioni di rito di passaggio, rito di istituzione e, infine, al modello comportamentista di apprendimento, vengono descritti e analizzati i principali riti e le pratiche quotidiane di un reparto di paracadutisti. Gliautori sostengono inoltre che in Italia si stia assistendo alla trasmissione di pratiche e ideologie dall’esercito alla polizia, producendo una commistione che rende il confine tra guerra e pace sempre più confuso.

Evaluating the Due Process and Crime Control Perspectives Using Rasch Measurement Analysis

by Kenneth Royal

Edkins, V. A., & Royal, K. D. (2011). Evaluating the Due Process and Crime Control Perspectives Using Rasch Measurement Analysis. Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, 7(16), 48-65.

Background: The biases jurors possess may influence everything from the interpretation of case evidence to impressions... more Background: The biases jurors possess may influence everything from the interpretation of case evidence to impressions of the defendant to, ultimately, verdict and recognition of this has led to a number of juror attitude scales attempting to tap into important biases. A common ideology discussed in legal research is that individuals attitudes toward the law and the legal system differ along a continuum moving from due process (a concern for the preservation of individual rights) to crime control (a focus on swift and harsh punishment for those who break the law) although an agreed upon assessment of these perspectives has yet to be created.

Purpose: The current research addresses due process and crime control perspectives and uses the ideology as a source for a new measure of juror bias: The General Attitudes toward the Legal System (GALS) scale.

Research Design: The GALS scale was constructed based on existing theory and administered to nearly 700 undergraduate psychology students at a large Midwestern university. The psychometric properties of the instrument were then evaluated to determine instrument quality.

Data Collection and Analysis: The Rasch Rating Scale Model (RRSM) was used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the GALS. Evaluation focused on six characteristics of the instrument: dimensionality, reliability, rating scale quality, item quality, item hierarchy, and measure quality.

Findings: Results indicate the GALS is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring juror bias.

Keywords: juror decision making; juror bias; scale development; instrument validation; psychometric evaluation

“There Can Be No Orcs in New Zealand”: Do Media Representations of Crime Tarnish Tourism

by John Buttle

Buttle, J.W. & Rodgers, J. (2011) “There Can Be No Orcs in New Zealand”: Do Media Representations of Crime Tarnish Tourism . In R. Mawby, E. Barclay, & C. Jones, (eds) Tourism, Leisure and Crime: The Problem of Pleasure. London:Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 

Sensationalist accounts of crime and disorder represented in the Media can threaten the tranquil image of tourist... more Sensationalist accounts of crime and disorder represented in the Media can threaten the tranquil image of tourist destinations by portraying them as dangerous and not suitable for vacationers. This discussion focuses on New Zealand where the tourist industry utilizes the rural aspects of the countryside to construct an image of peace and traquillity to sell vacations to perspective holidaymakers.

Actrices sociales en el escenario carcelario

by Estibaliz De Miguel Calvo

V Congreso Internacional de la Asociación de Estudios de Mujeres (AUDEM) 2008

RESÚMEN
El artículo presenta diferentes perfiles y problemáticas de las mujeres encarceladas desde una... more RESÚMEN
El artículo presenta diferentes perfiles y problemáticas de las mujeres encarceladas desde una perspectiva de género. Lo común a todas ellas es que se encuentran en espacios precarios, alejados de sus lugares de origen y que cuentan con menores actividades formativas. Sometidas a un tratamiento paternalista y estereotipado de género, sus principales preocupaciones derivan de su papel de madres y de sus carencias en las relaciones familiares. La inmensa mayoría provienen de estratos sociales bajos, producto de la selección social, penal y penitenciaria. El eje presencia/ausencia de una pareja masculina en sus vidas parece tener relevancia en sus trayectorias. Al mismo tiempo, muchas mujeres no encarceladas tienen que padecer las consecuencias de la prisión de una u otra manera. Ellas son las parejas, esposas y otras familiares de quienes se encuentran encarcelados y encarceladas.

ABSTRACT
The article presents several profiles and issues of women incarcerated from a gender perspective. They are situated in precarious spaces, far from their places of origin and they have minor formative activities. Having been submitted to a paternalistic and stereotyped treatment of gender, their main concerns are those of motherhood and their gaps in family relationships. Most of them come from the lowest social status, a product of the social, penal and penitentiary selection. The key presence/absence of a male companion in their lives, seems to be relevant for their development. At the same time, many women, not incarcerated, have somehow to suffer the consequences of the prison system. They are the companions, wives, and other relatives of those incarcerated.

land and crime in the contemporary syrian courts

by Zouhair Ghazzal

A chapter from my forthcoming book "the crime of writing," which analyzes criminal cases in contemporary Syria.

There is neither a science of "criminology" for the Arab world at large nor a sociology of crime for that... more There is neither a science of "criminology" for the Arab world at large nor a sociology of crime for that matter. In my forthcoming book "the crime of writing" I attempt to study the narratives of contemporary criminal case-files in Syria by looking at how crimes are narrated from the perspective of actors participating in the criminal investigation, beginning by accounts of witnesses, lawyers and judges, doctors and various court experts. This chapters tackles criminal cases where land stands as the main source of conflict. What is important is to be attentive to the logic of narrative and avoid recoiling the case into broader sociological perspectives that would distract us from that main endeavor.

"Une volonté infinie de sécurité: vers une rupture générale dans les politiques pénales?"

by Claude-Olivier Doron

Published in Chevallier, Philippe & Greacen, Tim (ed.) Folie et justice: relire Michel Foucault, Erès, Paris, 2009, pp. 179-204

Cet article fait le point sur les évolutions qu’ont connues les politiques pénales en France depuis les années 1990,... more Cet article fait le point sur les évolutions qu’ont connues les politiques pénales en France depuis les années 1990, en utilisant le concept foucaldien de « dispositif de sécurité », et en analysant tout particulièrement le dispositif de mesures de sûreté mis en place depuis 1998 autour de la délinquance sexuelle. Il pose l’hypothèse, depuis largement confirmée, d’une véritable rupture dans les politiques pénales aboutissant à un progressif découplage du système pénal d’avec une rationalité légale.

"Soigner par la souffrance: la prise en charge des auteurs de violences sexuelles"

by Claude-Olivier Doron

Published in Doron, Claude-Olivier, Lefève, Céline & Masquelet, Alain, Soin et subjectivité, Les Cahiers du Centre Canguilhem, n°4, pp. 87-114

In this article, we study the question raised by the care of the sex psychopaths between justice and psychiatry. We... more In this article, we study the question raised by the care of the sex psychopaths between justice and psychiatry. We show the ambiguity of the so-called pathology to which this care is supposed to be directed: a pathology that is not a mental disease and that doesn’t produce any distress to the patient who doesn’t ask for any treatment. This ambiguity, coupled to the fact that this kind of treatment implies the cooperation of the medical staff with justice, explains why so many psychiatrists and psychologists don’t feel at ease with this kind of care. We eventually analyze two ways medical staff have to solve this tension: either they accept to develop a psycho-criminology which aims to reeducation and correction of deviant behaviors, or they try to convert all the resistances and obstacles they meet in their practice in the more familiar vocabulary of disease and care.

"La volonté de soigner : d’un singulier désir de soin dans les politiques pénales""

by Claude-Olivier Doron

Published in in Lefève, C., Worms., F. (dir.), La philosophie du soin, PUF, Paris, 2010

Cet article envisage la manière dont le soin psychiatrique se trouve mêlé de plus en plus profondément aux pratiques... more Cet article envisage la manière dont le soin psychiatrique se trouve mêlé de plus en plus profondément aux pratiques pénales, depuis la prison jusqu’en post-carcéral, transformant ainsi le sens même du "soin" et celui de la "peine" et bousculant les frontières de l'un comme de l'autre. On y montre les diverses fonctions que le soin vient occuper au cœur des politiques pénales : instance de redoublement des mécanismes légaux, visant à intervenir à un niveau où ni la loi, ni les normes disciplinaires n’ont de prises ; instance de repérage et de sanction de ces écarts infra-légaux, en les recodant comme facteurs pronostiques de dangerosité ; instance de suivi indéterminé.

Detecting Disability: Moving beyond metaphor in the crime fiction of Jeffrey Deaver

by Helen Meekosha

London Riots: Decentralized Intelligence Collection and Analysis

by Alexandre Cristina

Published in the Small Wars Journal

The purpose of this paper is to comment on one of the developments arising from the 2011 summer riots in England,... more The purpose of this paper is to comment on one of the developments arising from the 2011 summer riots in England, where a website was set up so that the public could identify those involved and report them to the Police. The use of modern technology to identify insurgents could be a response to the lack of working censuses in many areas where stability operations are conducted, seen by some observers as a major weakness.
The central idea is to tell friend from foe, or in classical Maoist terminology, fish from the water, using some of the widely available tools which, on the other hand, seem to have been used to spread the violence in the UK.
The use of a website to spread pictures of violent incidents and have the perpetrators identified by the population would be a way to plug a gap in police capabilities, since the British authorities are unlikely to have the necessary manpower and knowledge to do so on their own.
This is why we can talk of "decentralized intelligence collection and analysis."

Uniform Guidelines, Spirituality, and Predictors of Ethical Workplace Behaviors

by Daniel Martin

Martin, D.E., Margolin, J. (2012) Uniform Guidelines, Spirituality, and Predictors of Ethical Workplace Behaviors Journal of Law, Business & Ethics

Spirituality provides descriptions that represent relevant psychological phenomena which can be discretely measured.... more Spirituality provides descriptions that represent relevant psychological phenomena which can be discretely measured. Because of the requirements of the 1978 Federal Uniform Guidelines, the relationship between spirituality and job-related traits and characteristics need to be well understood in the event they are used for decisions affecting personnel . The merit of any metric associated with performance must be established through a validity study (Uniform Guidelines, Sec. 60-3.2 Scope. B, 2000). Accordingly, we consider the construct validity of the aforementioned measures in the context of the uniform guidelines. As hypothesized, religiosity and spirituality instruments are independent of measures commonly used for personnel selection purposes or measures of workplace deviance. We also establish the impact of gender on the measures and provide implications for recruitment and selection.