Chapter 21 - Crime and Deviance - Polity

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Crime and Deviance variously seen as a sickness, a deviance and an evil. Today, some individuals and groups retain these views, even though homosexuality is, no longer a crime. The question of crime and homosexuality now focuses on those who would express their dislike and disapproval of homosexuality through violent means. The Criminal Justice Act, 2003, permits judges to increase sentences in the context of ‘hate crimes’ including homophobic attacks. Read the subsection ‘Crimes against homosexuals’ (pages 946-7), which outlines a paper by Diane Richardson and Hazel May (1999). Now read this extract from that paper: Consideration of how we understand and explain violence differently in relation to who the victim is, rather than the circumstances in which the violence occurs, raises the question of the social recognition and worth accorded certain individuals or social groups and, related to this, the degree to which they are considered to have ‘lives worth living’ … The focus on lesbians and gay men is extremely useful in highlighting how interpretations of violence are mediated through notions of culpability and victimisation. As a marginalised and stigmatised group within society, lesbians and gay men are unlikely to be construed as ‘innocent’ victims. On the contrary, the idea of the ‘homosexual’ as dangerous, a threat both to individuals they have contact with, especially children, and to national security and social order has a long history … Analysis of the meanings attributed to violence towards lesbians and gay men, therefore, helps to make explicit the normative processes by which we define someone as an ‘undeserving’ or ‘deserving’ victim … … The idea that the public existence of ‘homosexuals’ represents some form of provocation, which renders violence and harassment intelligible, is evident in institutional as well as informal assessments of public violence. This is supported by the literature on homophobic violence … which draws attention to the failure of the police to acknowledge the significance of recording ‘sexual orientation’ among the reasons which motivate attackers to abuse and kill, and the reluctance of the courts to impose harsh sentences on the perpetrators of such crimes. (Diane Richardson and Hazel May, ‘Deserving victims?: sexual status and the social construction of violence’, Sociological Review, 1999, pp. 308–31) 1. What other groups are sometimes seen to be ‘asking for it’? 2. In what ways is this analysis of the position of gay men and lesbians as victims of crime similar to the analysis of ethnic minority groups as victims of crime? 3. Could there be a link between anti-gay crime and the ‘crisis of masculinity’? Activity 3: Young people and prison The section ‘Youth and crime’ points to the ways in which public fears about a general social and moral breakdown become focused upon the question of youth crime. These fears far outstrip the reality of youth crime and often focus upon deviant rather than strictly criminal acts. The ‘law and order’ emphasis upon drug use and the use of Anti- Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) can have the effect of criminalizing behaviour which in other ways can be seen as a normal part of growing up. Read that section now. 188
Crime and Deviance The section ‘Prisons and punishment’ points to the tensions which create a situation where the prison population in the UK is growing and is significantly higher as a proportion of the population than other European countries, despite evidence which strongly suggests that prison is not a rehabilitative or deterrent force and may, in fact, contribute to hardening the criminality of inmates. Read that section now and pay particular attention to the case of Adam Rickwood (pages 956-7). Barry Goldson conducted research over a 12-month period in 2001 and 2002 into young people (he prefers the term ‘children’) held in locked institutions. Locked institutions take two different forms: Secure Units, run by local authorities and the Department of Health, where young people deemed to be ‘at risk’ can be placed; and Young Offender Institutions, managed by the prison service and the Home Office, which hold young people charged or convicted with criminal offences. In fact, the backgrounds and circumstances of the young people in these two types of institution share much in common. The extract below refers specifically to Young Offender Institutions. Some children interviewed for the study reported negative treatment from the prison staff. Even if prison staff were willing to meet the inmates’ needs, Goldson found that understaffing meant that in practice staff were unable to give them appropriate care. For Goldson, the consequences of such neglect for children are apparent: It hurts all the time. All you do is miss your family and you can’t hack it sometimes. I wouldn’t send kids to a place like this. (Boy, 16 years) I felt very lonely and that, very lonely really. You are on your own and there is no one to talk to. All you can do is think and it really winds you up. I had no one to speak to and it all built-up and I started thinking that I can’t take anymore. (Boy, 16 years) Worse still, young offender institutions are not just neglectful, they are sites of concentrated bullying in all its forms – physical assault, sexual assault, verbal abuse, racist abuse ad assault, intimidation, extortion and theft. Prison staff explain: It comes in waves, it depends who’s on the wing. You get kids bullying each other, you get staff bullying kids and you get staff bullying staff. … Outside the kids can get status in lots of ways. In here status is measured in different ways: fear and respect become very confused. (Female prison officer) I think that it occurs all the time in different ways. … Especially with verbal bullying, or just an attitude which is a form of bullying, people don’t always see it, particularly staff I would say. They call it discipline but it’s really bullying, it’s an abuse of power. (Male prison nurse) In other settings such behaviour would be called child abuse. (Barry Goldson, ‘Victims or threats? Children, care and control’, in Janet Fink (ed.), Care: Personal Lives and Social Policy, Bristol: The Policy Press in association with the Open University, 2004, pp. 103–4) 189
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Chapter 21 - Crime and Deviance - Polity

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