A political ecology of youth and crime / Alan France, Dorothy Bottrell, Derrick Armstrong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

France, Alan.

Contributor:

Armstrong, Derrick, 1953-

Lipman Criminology Library Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crime--Sociological aspects.

Crime.

Criminology.

Juvenile delinquency.

Physical Description:

viii, 203 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke, Hampshire : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Summary:

This book proposes a new conceptual framework for theorising young people's relationship with crime. It emerges from a critique of the narrow approach advocated by developmental criminology and argues for an analysis that recognises and includes the important contribution that the young themselves can make to the theorising and understanding of their relationship with crime. Explicitly using the voices of a group of working-class young people who are defined as 'a social problem', this approach emphasises how criminal identities and pathways are strongly influenced by the interactions embedded in political ecological systems and relationships.

Drawing upon the work of the social psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner and sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this book explores young people's 'nested' and 'political' ecological relationships with crime. A Political Ecology of Youth and Crime examines the impacts of these relationships through an empirical investigation of the important 'places' and 'spaces' in young people's lives; in their social relationships with peers and family members; and within formal institutional systems such as education, youth justice and social care. This book makes an important new contribution to how we understand the relationship between youth and crime in the contexts of sociology, criminology, social psychology and education. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 A Theory of the Political Ecology of Youth and Crime 18

Introduction 18

A political ecology of human development 19

Power and political ecology 22

Human development and social identity 27

Conclusion 33

2 The Ecology of Place and Space 35

Introduction 35

Social disorganisation in disadvantaged neighbourhoods 35

The normalisation of crime, risk and danger in places and spaces 39

The ecology of 'protection' in high-crime areas 42

Social control and regulation in high-crime areas 44

'Feeling safe' in risky and dangerous places 46

Place, space and 'disrupted' lives 48

Conclusion 52

3 Being Criminal 54

Introduction 54

Pro-social and anti-social childhood 54

'Ordinary lives' 57

Being criminal: 'Things' happen 58

The 'situating' and management of boredom 62

'Being a kid' and social ecology 64

'In the system' 67

Assessment in youth justice 72

Early interventions for those 'at risk' 75

Conclusion 76

4 The Ecology and Culture of Peer Groups 79

Introduction 79

Peer groups as 'delinquency training' 80

Peer groups and friendships 82

Friends, 'others' and the contexts of peer relations 83

Hanging out, going out and 'chilling out' 85

Peer back-up on the streets 90

Peers, conflict and empowerment in school 91

Changing peer groups 95

Conclusion 97

5 Education and Crime 99

Introduction 99

Accounts of low achievement and low commitment 99

Policy construction of behavioural categories 100

Truancy, exclusion and criminal careers 101

Permanent exclusion from mainstream schools 103

Acquiring special educational needs 108

Young people's views on PRUs and special schools 112

Alternative provision and pathways 115

Commitment, achievement, resilience and restoration 116

Conclusion 118

6 The Ecology of Family Relationships 120

Introduction 120

Family risk factors in developmental criminology 120

Young people and families: Routines and relationships 122

Home rules 125

Family roles and young people's offending 128

The impact of offending and interventions on families 132

Family adversities 136

Conclusion 142

7 The Ecology of Being 'in care' 145

Introduction 145

Being in care as a 'risk factor' 145

In and out of care 147

The nature of 'being in care' 148

The social ecology of care: Diversity and trajectories 149

Managing identities in care 152

The importance of peers and friends 156

The social care system and risk 159

Professional intervention 162

Conclusion 167.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [179]-193) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Lipman Criminology Library Fund.

ISBN:

0230280536

9780230280533

OCLC:

798615410

Publisher Number:

99951538013