Crime and Inequality
Richard McHugh
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Crime and InequalityChris GroverPublished by Willan Publishing288 pagesISBN 184392329719.50
This detailed analysis explores how social policy is forcing families from less well-off backgrounds to turn to crime. At a time when welfare reforms could mean benefit sanctions for parents, Crime and Inequality is very timely.
From the outset, Crime and Inequality pays significant attention to highlighting relationships between contemporary government policy, low income, minimised life chances, culturally propelled adversities and, ultimately, crime. Within this detailed analysis, a theme of "the criminalisation of social policy" becomes apparent, as do the themes of social policy being inspired by patriarchal ideologies and free-market capitalism.
This may all sound quite radical and far removed from our daily face-to-face youth work practice. Yet, through Crime and Inequality's rigorous critical questioning of social policy, face-to-face workers can better understand some of the structural forces that may contribute to young people and their family members entering the justice system. Of particular relevance is the genealogy of policy that brought about the antisocial behaviour order, which begins to demonstrate that criminalisation theme.
Other key links are made throughout, with some of the most interesting to youth workers found in the chapters focusing on young men, which look at issues ranging from the changing positions of young men in contemporary British society to the sustained engagement of young men in low-paid work, with a view to keeping them occupied and in the home of their parents, therefore being at less risk of offending. This evolves into an explanation of employed young men then becoming better prospects as long-term partners to young women - another factor in keeping young men from offending.
The chapter "Parenting and Antisocial Behaviour" observes the links between the New Labour mantra of "rights, but only with responsibilities" and subsequent criminalisation of parents via a range of policy that, it is argued, is morally loaded.
From a more cultural perspective, chapter five "Women, Crime and Inequality" further examines how sexual inequality may affect involvement in crime and touches upon how women may find not only spending power through crime but also power through networks and camaraderie in crime. This is elaborated on in the questioning of the tensions between structural inequality of women and women as agents in the generation of crime.
Crime and Inequality is meticulous in its analysis of the ideological underpinnings of social policy and how they impact on the engagement of the least well-off in crime. My only concern is that it is almost thoroughly founded within the frame of structural explanations of crime in relation to inequality, with little said about the less considered concept that crime can be a choice.
This is undoubtedly recommended reading for any worker in the field, most significantly for those practising in youth justice and family support. But it is also a resource for any practitioner with significant interest in critical dialogue with young people within informal education.
Reviewed by Richard McHugh, an informal educator in Manchester working with young people who are involved or at risk of being involved in crime and gang culture