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Critical realism and gang violence

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Abstract

Although police officers, health, welfare and educational professionals, local residents and their children in gang-affected neighbourhoods are familiar with the effects of gangs and gang crime (Pitts 2008; Palmer 2009; Harding 2014), some academics remain sceptical (Brotherton and Barrios 2011; Hallsworth 2008, 2013). They argue that notwithstanding the stylistic differences between contemporary youth cultures and those of the past, the contemporary furore surrounding violent youth gangs is akin to the demonising discourses—the ‘moral panics’—which attended the Teddy boys in the 1950s, the mods and rockers in the 1960s, the punks in the 1970s, the lager louts in the 1980s and so on. They argue that these periodic expressions of popular outrage tell us more about the anxieties of an adult public, opinion formers and the media than the behaviour of young people (Hallsworth 2011), for example, claims that the problem of the ‘gang’ is not the gang itself but the media driven moral panic and ‘gang control industry’ that surrounds it.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 57-88

Publication milestones

  • Published - 29/05/2016

Publication status

Published - 29/05/2016

Place of publication

London

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan Ltd., United States, United Kingdom

ISBN (Print)

9781137572271

ISBN (Electronic)

9781137572288

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/621987
  • Scopus: 85017650960

Host publication title

What is to be done about crime and punishment? Towards a 'public criminology'

Host publication editors

  • Roger Matthews

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