A Response to Farrell

This article responds directly to an article published in this journal in February 2010 by Graham Farrell entitled ‘Situational crime prevention and its discontents: rational choice and harm reduction versus “cultural criminology” ’. (Farrell's article, in turn, was a rejoinder to my original 2007 article ‘Situational crime prevention and its discontents: rational choice theory versus the “culture of now” ’). In his article, Farrell sets out a case for the role of ‘harm reduction’ and rational choice theory as tools to reduce the contemporary crime problem, concluding that ‘Cultural criminology seems to offer little, if anything, useful to inform crime reduction efforts’. This article rejects this statement and offers a counter critique of the instrumental approach promoted by Farrell. Importantly, this response article is not intended as an outright critique of situational crime prevention per se, rather it is an assessment of Farrell's specific critical logic and the various shortcomings associated with his argument.     

Interdependency,communitarianism and reintegrative shaming in China

Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming (1989) depicts that shaming has either crime-amplifying or inhibiting effects depending on how it is done. Using a sample of residents in Shanghai, China, this study tests Braithwaite’s hypothesis that interdependency is conducive to reintegrative rather than stigmatizing shaming. We hypothesize that individuals who have greater interdependent relationships are more likely to practice reintegrative, rather than stigmatizing, shaming. While interdependency did not affect shaming practices within the family, it had a significant impact on the resident’s on shaming practices in the neighborhood. We close by discussing shaming in Chinese society and the implications of our findings for evaluating Braithwaite’s theory in a different socio-cultural context.     

Special issue: Child protection in the digital age. Latent profiles in cyberbullying and the relationship with self-concept and achievement goals in preadolescence

In recent years, the scientific community has taken an interest in cyberbullying research due to the emotional and educational impact on all those involved. However, the scant evidence on samples from primary education is derived from statistical methodologies focusing on the individual, which generate specific profiles rather than acting roles. The present study focuses on the profiles of cyberbullying and its variability with the levels of self-concept and academic goals, using a sample of 548 Spanish primary education students aged 10–13 (M = 10.95, SD = 0.7). After analysing the data using Latent Class Analysis and MANOVA, the profiles developed were ‘not-involved’ (38.82%), ‘moderate victimization’ (37.17%), ‘high bully-victimization’ (19.29%) and ‘low victimization’ (4.7%). In addition, the group of students with the not-involved profile scored higher on the self-concept of their relationship with their parents, in language, in mathematics and their general self-concept than the group with moderate victimization. The same pattern was also observed for learning goals. The findings have significant implications for the creation of person-centred cyberbullying prevention programmes that permit a more targeted approach to cyberbullying behaviours in order to halt its progress.     

On Being Unemployed and Being a Victim of Crime

The results of the first Australian National Crime Victims Survey concerning the socio-economic status of victims of crime in Australia are discussed. While the findings on occupational status and household income are somewhat equivocal, the data show a strikingly higher rate of criminal victimization among the unemployed for a number of types of crime. The unemployed, spending a large proportion of their lives in public rather than private space, may paradoxically be more likely to be both victimized by criminals and victimized by the police.     

Situational Crime Prevention and its Discontents: Rational Choice Theory versus the 'Culture of Now'

The rational choice theory of crime and its cognate field of study, situational crime prevention, have exerted a considerable influence in criminal justice policy and criminology. This article argues that, while undeniably useful as a means of reducing property or acquisitive crime, rational choice‐inspired situational crime prevention initiatives are limited when it comes to offering protection against a growing number of so‐called ‘expressive crimes’. Developing this critique, the article will criticize the sociologically hollow narrative associated with rational choice theories of crime by drawing on recent research in social theory and consumer studies. It argues that the growing tendency among many young individuals to engage in certain forms of criminal decision‐making ‘strategies’ may simply be the by‐product of a series of subjectivities and emotions that reflect the material values and cultural logic associated with late modern consumerism.     

Emotional kinship care and neutral non‐kinship care — the struggle between discourses

In this paper, social workers' ideas of kinship care and non‐kinship care as foster placement alternatives for vulnerable children are analysed and discussed. The study is based on group interviews with Swedish social workers, using a discourse analytic approach. The interviews took two vignettes of children who needed an immediate and long‐term placement because one of the parents had killed the other parent, as their point of departure. Domestic violence is a common social problem across countries, and controversies about placement alternatives become even more apparent when discussing lethal violence. The analysis revealed three main discourses: ‘emotional kinship care’, ‘neutral non‐kinship care’ and ‘a real family’. The emotional kinship care discourse also revealed two competing sub‐discourses: ‘emotions as glue that binds’ and ‘emotions as obscuring a child perspective’, displaying a struggle concerning the advantages and risks that social workers connected to kinship care. In this paper, the results and their implications for vulnerable children are discussed.     

Understanding Contemporary Homelessness: Issues of Definition and Meaning

There is little agreement in the recent academic literature about how the concept of homelessness should be defined. This is more than just a theoretical problem, because it becomes difficult to urge governments to meet the needs of homeless people, if the parameters of the homeless population are unclear. This paper reviews ‘conservative’, ‘radical’ and ‘conventional’ perspectives on homelessness in modern society, and it argues that it is possible to adjudicate between them. The paper proposes a socially constructed definition of homelessness based on the notion of minimum community standards. It argues that this culturally relative position provides a theoretically meaningful framework for understanding homelessness in the 1990s.     

Motoring Offences as Crime: Some Priorities for Social and Action Research

This paper highlights recent trends in criminology and assesses their relevance for road safety research. It is concluded that research priorities should be in the areas of general deterrence (particularly the value of random breath testing), physical prevention and study of the criminal justice system (especially the police). In addition, close attention should be paid to the political context within which the research is carried out. Lessons for methodology include greater use of direct and self reported measures of behaviour in addition to official statistics, experimental techniques rather than ‘quasi-experimental’, where possible, and interrupted time series analyses of the effects of legislative changes. There is a great need for a close analysis of the way in which traffic crash and violation data are recorded.     

Statistical equality and cultural difference in Indigenous wellbeing frameworks: A new expression of an enduring debate

Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in developing indicator frameworks for ‘Indigenous wellbeing’. Implicit in each of the frameworks are particular conceptions of what constitutes the ‘good life’ for Indigenous peoples and what ‘Indigenous development’ should entail. In developing these frameworks, then, certain judgements must be made about whether statistical equality should be prioritised as a ‘development’ goal. This issue has generated long‐standing debate and in this context must be broached anew. In this paper we briefly examine the growing interest in Indigenous wellbeing and outline three prominent indicator frameworks: the Productivity Commission's indicators for ‘Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage’; the ‘capability indicators’ developed by the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership; and the indicators of wellbeing developed by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The first prioritises statistical equality between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Australians; the second adds a concern with ‘capabilities’; and the last emphasises the importance of distinct cultural preferences. We offer an assessment of these approaches, drawing in part on Amartya Sen's work. We argue that in seeking to improve the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians, policy‐makers should not only make their own normative assumptions clear, but also be aware of the implications of their decisions for constituents with different worldviews.     

Anglo‐Australian and non‐Anglophone middle classes: ‘foreign accent’ and social inclusion

Building on the concept of ‘multicultural middle class’, this paper explores social inclusion of professionally educated and employed non‐Anglophone immigrants in Australia. We focus specifically on the perceptions and implications of ‘foreign accent’ in the interaction between two groups of middle‐class Australians: non‐Anglophone immigrants and Anglo‐Australians. ‘Non‐Anglophone immigrants’ are defined as those who arrived in Australia as adults, grew up speaking a language other than English, and therefore usually speak English with a ‘foreign accent’. ‘Anglo‐Australians’ are defined as people born in Australia who grew up in families/households where only English was spoken, therefore speaking with a ‘native Australian’ accent. Through a survey of a targeted sample of respondents, the two groups were asked about their intergroup communication, wider interaction (e.g., intermarriage, friendships and working together) and mutual perceptions. Our findings indicate high levels of agreement between the two groups that Anglophone/non‐Anglophone communication is minimally hindered by comprehension problems due to foreign‐accented speech and cultural differences. Although the positive picture that emerges may reflect specific experiences and attitudes of middle‐class professionals and may not be generalisable, increased contact of the 'multicultural middle class' with its Anglo‐Australian counterpart is likely to be a factor in dissociating foreign accent and negative stereotyping.     

The Workers' Compensation System in Victoria: Who Takes the Blame?

Four years after its inception, Workcare, the Victorian Government's new workers' compensation scheme, has failed to live up to its promise. Recent reforms have concentrated on identifying groups responsible for the ‘rorts’ and cost ‘blowouts’ of the scheme. It is argued that although this sort of intervention might make economic sense, it continues a tradition of scapegoating individual workers rather than trying to analyse the complex workings of such schemes. Several of the assumptions underlying Workcare (and similar systems) are discussed in order to demonstrate the potential for failure in any benefits delivery system based on status rather than need.     

PRECARIOUS PERSONS: DISENFRANCHISING AUSTRALIAN PRISONERS

In 1998 the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters produced a report which, among other things, recommended that all prisoners be deprived of their voting rights in federal elections. The proposal was intended to have a ‘deterrent effect’, the reasoning being that the loss of a fundamental civil right would provide an effective disincentive to crime. Apart from having little, if any. deterrent value, the proposal is difficult 10 defend within the prevailing frameworks of liberal democracy, International law, and current thinking on criminology and penology. Rather, the aim of prisoner disenfranchisement is to visit dishonour upon the subject, a practice having its origins in the archaic concept of ‘civil death ‘. The ‘reform ‘ is an eloquent symbol of a final disengagement from incarcerated people and a formal ratification of their status as non‐persons.     

Expertise: Between the Scylla of certainty and the new age charybdis

Scientists should be seen as expert advisors rather than producers of certainty. The progress of scientific controversies shows both why this is the case, and why it is so little understood. Those very close to the research front are aware of the many points at which experimental procedures and theoretical arguments could be wrong. They understand the ‘expert’ quality of their conclusions. Those further distanced from the research front are unaware of the immense complexity of the research and, consequently, are more certain of the truth of science.

That scientific results are less conclusive than they are generally taken to be does not mean that ‘anything goes’. There is a difference between experts and non‐experts; it is just that experts should not be expected to agree. Scientific controversies rarely end; it is usual to find equally well qualified experts on both sides of a scientific debate long after a view has been reached throughout the larger part of the scientific community.     

PARTICIPATION AND THE NEW WELFARE

Current discussions of welfare reform are influenced by various kinds of talk about ‘participation’. Three are predominant in Australia: talk of self‐sufficiency, paying your dues, and team effort. All imply a local/associational/voluntary model of society which deflects attention from broader structural and economic factors. This prevailing treatment of ‘participation’ is heavily biased, ignoring alternative interpretations such as the older tradition that emphasises rights. The general discourse it underwrites is at best ineffective and quite likely dangerous.     

Being there for my grandchild – grandparents' responses to their grandchildren's exposure to domestic violence

Grandparents whose grandchildren are exposed to domestic violence are faced with some unique challenges in their grandparenting, which have thus far been little discussed in research. This paper discusses the narratives of 10 Swedish grandparents whose grandchildren have been exposed to violence towards their mother. The aim was to explore grandparents' narrations of their responses in the face of violence, and their understanding of the role they play in their grandchildren's social networks. Two significant responses are discussed: ‘being there’ and ‘acknowledging the independence and self‐determination of the adult children’. Grandparents experienced these responses as contradictory and felt powerless when it came to their possibilities to protect their grandchildren. The paper suggests that grandparents could be a resource for domestic violence services, and social work practice needs to assess the roles of grandparents of children exposed to domestic violence. Social workers should consider the challenges these grandparents are facing and what support they may need in order to support their grandchildren.     

New Agendas for Social Policy and Criminology: Globalization, Urbanism and the EmergingPost-Social Security State

The subjects of social policy and criminology have long been concerned with the criminalization and regulation of the poor. The premise of this paper is that in recent years new forms of criminalization and regulation have emerged that various authors, from both disciplines, have begun to theorize. The paper aims to contribute to this growing literature by bringing together diverse themes that deserve to be extensively discussed in conjunction with one another. These are: first, globalization; second, the changing nature of the state; third, the reorganization of space and time, especially at the urban level. It proceeds through examinations of some of the recent work of Jock Young, David Garland, Ramesh Mishra, Peter Taylor-Gooby and Zygmunt Bauman. It concludes that theoretical and empirical research should analyse the reorganization of space and time which is being effected by the "post-social security state" and it is this which constitutes the new agenda for social policy and criminology.     

Internationally adopted children's general and adoption‐specific stressors,coping strategies and psychological adjustment

We examined stress, coping and psychological adjustment of 68 children, aged 8–12, who were internationally adopted to Spain. Using the Kidcope, all children were asked about the most stressful general and adoption‐related problem they experienced and the use and effectiveness of various coping strategies when dealing with the problem. For all reported problems, the nature of the problem (personal, interpersonal, regarding others), the content, the degree of stress it created and its perceived controllability were analysed. Emotional and behavioural functionings were assessed with the Behaviour Assessment System for Children. About half of the children mentioned specific problems concerning the adoption, with inracial adoptees reporting less adoption‐related problems than transracial adoptees. For general and adoption‐related problems, interpersonal problems were mentioned most often. With regard to the content, ‘relationships’ and ‘victimization’ were mentioned most often for general and adoption‐related problems, respectively. Adoption‐related problems were appraised as less controllable. No differences emerged in terms of coping with general or adoption‐related problems except for ‘self‐criticism’. Overall, the children used many coping strategies and were generally well‐adjusted. Identifying the problems and coping strategies of adoptees is important in order to help these children and their families tackle these stressors.     

Transactional links between adolescents’ and friends’ victimization during the first two years of secondary school: The mediating role of likeability and friendship involvement

The goals of this study were to examine to what extent lower likeability at the group level and lower friendship involvement can explain the bidirectional links between adolescents’ own and their friends’ victimization over time. We tested these processes by applying a cross‐lagged path model to a sample of 621 adolescents. Data were collected at four time points over the two first years of secondary school. Participants were asked to identify same grade friends within their school; classroom peer nominations were used to assess participants’ likeability as well as participants’ and friends’ level of peer victimization. Results showed bidirectional associations between adolescents’ own and their friends’ victimization by peers within the first year of secondary school. Moreover, the relation between adolescents’ own victimization at the end of the first year and their friends’ victimization next year was mediated by decreased adolescents’ likeability at the group level. Inversely, their friends’ victimization at the end of the first year predicted lower levels of adolescents’ own likeability over time, which in turn predicted adolescents’ own subsequent levels of victimization. Friends’ victimization also predicted adolescents’ lower friendship involvement during the first year, which in turn predicted decreased likeability, and ultimately higher levels of victimization.