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Social Exclusion and Crime

Hale, Chris and Fitzgerald, Marian (2007) Social Exclusion and Crime. In: Christian, Julie and Abrams, Dominic and Gordon, David, eds. Multidisciplinary Handbook of Social Exclusion Research. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester, pp. 137-158. ISBN 978-0-470-09513-3. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:10749)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.

Abstract

This chapter explores different notions of ‘social exclusion’ and questions the British government’s overall approach to the problem on two main grounds. One is that it has tended to define the problem in terms of its symptoms rather its causes; and the other is its over-reliance on getting people into paid work as the solution. Employment will not of itself ensure that people are able to participate in to-day’s society in a meaningful sense; and the impact of changes in the labour market on crime pose long-term challenges which governments have tended to overlook. Instead, many of the criminal justice policies pursued by the present British government have actively contributed to social exclusion. They have reflected the both government’s commitment to being tough on crime (rather than on the causes of crime) and the premium it has attached to measurable indicators of performance. Together these have eroded the scope for discretion within the criminal justice system, resulting in unprecedented rates of incarceration and the criminalisation of young people in particular. However, the impact has not fallen evenly across the population. It has fallen disproportionately on sections of society (including minority communities) who already had a heightened risk of social exclusion in the first place.

Item Type: Book section
Additional information: Chapter 8.
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Christopher Hale
Date Deposited: 15 Jul 2008 11:10 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:49 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/10749 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Hale, Chris.

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