Street Crime

Simon Hallsworth

• Publisher: Willan
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781138155404
• eBook ISBN: 9781134044382
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

Street crime remains high on the public and political agenda, and is frequently the subject of media attention and concern. This book aims to provide a detailed and accessible account of the phenomenon, placing the subject in its theoretical, historical and political context. It addresses the question of how serious a problem street crime really is, and why it has become such a hot political issue. The book draws upon contemporary debates about the supposed presence of an emerging underclass, and in particular the 'criminalisation' and 'racialisation' of black communities with whom it has come to be particular associated in the public mind. The author then develops a framework of analysis which focuses upon the relationship of three key variables: the production of motivated offenders, the availability and suitability of victims, and a study of the limits inherent in current control strategies. Finally, the book concludes that a successful prevention strategy requires an agenda for revitalising the public sphere in inner city areas --rather than reliance policies of situational crime prevention, zero tolerance policing and increased punishment.

Index

accessibility, suitable targets 100

accident costs, corporate crime 65

activities, for young people 153

adaptive behaviours, fear of victimization 116

adaptive strategy, street crime as 129

adult groups, victimization 119–21

advertising, exposure to 125

aetiology of crime 97–8

Afro-Caribbeans, offender profiling 57

age

of offenders 56

of victims 59

aggressive masculinity 135–6

agility, need for 131

alcohol use 60

alien quality, street robbers 162

alienation, prison life 148

Allen, Thomas 25

An Arrant Thief 21

Anabaptists 37

anglers 35

anti-street crime messages 129–30, 152, 153

apprenticeship, street crime 6

aristocracy, participation in robbery 17

armies

participation in robbery 18

see also soldiers

Asians, offender profiling 58

aspirations, of offenders 98

assailants, assumptions about 52

atavistic degeneracy 46

authoritarian state 87

autonomy

through street crime 139–40

to implement solutions 176

BCS see British Crime Surveys

Beggs, Thomas 44, 74

The Beggars Opera 31, 41

benefit claims 126

bicycle theft 54, 55

biological reductionism 46, 68

black population

assumptions of criminality 52

racist agenda to prove criminality of 80–1, 89

representation in street crime 57, 58–9

see also young black males

Blair, Tony 160

blitz approach 62t, 64, 112

Blunkett, David 160

blunt instruments, use of 64

body language 137

bogus reports, criminal offences 52

boredom 132

bourgeoisie, identification with highwaymen 31

brand labels, inappropriate 117

British Crime Surveys

importance and limitations 53

mobile phones 63

perpetrators of street crime 56, 57

street robbery

compared to other offences 54–6

mod...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• A Short History of Street Robbery
• Accounting for Street Crime
• Street Robbery and Contemporary Society
• Bibliography
• Index