The hoods : crime and punishment in Belfast / Heather Hamill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hamill, Heather, 1971-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crime--Northern Ireland--Belfast.

Crime.

Criminals--Northern Ireland--Belfast.

Criminals.

Juvenile delinquents--Northern Ireland--Belfast.

Juvenile delinquents.

Punishment--Northern Ireland--Belfast.

Punishment.

Paramilitary forces--Northern Ireland--Belfast.

Paramilitary forces.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (200 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

A distinctive feature of the conflict in Northern Ireland over the past forty years has been the way Catholic and Protestant paramilitaries have policed their own communities. This has mainly involved the violent punishment of petty criminals involved in joyriding and other types of antisocial behavior. Between 1973 and 2007, more than 5,000 nonmilitary shootings and assaults were attributed to paramilitaries punishing their own people. But despite the risk of severe punishment, young petty offenders--known locally as "hoods"--continue to offend, creating a puzzle for the rational theory of criminal deterrence. Why do hoods behave in ways that invite violent punishment? In The Hoods, Heather Hamill explains why this informal system of policing and punishment developed and endured and why such harsh punishments as beatings, "kneecappings," and exile have not stopped hoods from offending. Drawing on a variety of sources, including interviews with perpetrators and victims of this violence, the book argues that the hoods' risky offending may amount to a game in which hoods gain prestige by displaying hard-to-fake signals of toughness to each other. Violent physical punishment feeds into this signaling game, increasing the hoods' status by proving that they have committed serious offenses and can "manfully" take punishment yet remained undeterred. A rare combination of frontline research and pioneering ideas, The Hoods has important implications for our fundamental understanding of crime and punishment.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

One. West Belfast

Two. The Hoods

Three. Search for Status

Four. Signaling Games

Five. Loyalists

Conclusion

Notes

Glossary of terms

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612821097

9781282821095

1282821091

9781400836734

1400836735

OCLC:

712994965