Hulley, Susie, Young, Tara (2021) Silence, joint enterprise and the legal trap. Criminology & Criminal Justice, . ISSN 1748-8958. E-ISSN 1748-8966. (doi:10.1177/1748895821991622) (KAR id:84307)
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Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1748895821991622 |
Abstract
The so-called ‘wall of silence’ presents a threat to successful police investigations and criminal trials. Explanations for it have focused on cultural narratives, including distrust in the police, a ‘no snitching’ culture and manipulative ‘professional criminals’. Drawing on a study of serious multi-handed violence and ‘joint enterprise’ as a legal response, this article highlights the role of the law, and its agents, in generating silence among young suspects, whose primary concern is the legal risks of talking. Yet, these young people face a precarious trap, as their silence is interpreted as guilt by the police, propelling them towards charge. This article concludes that to avoid over-charging and to encourage young people with knowledge of serious violence to talk, structural change is needed. The system must reverse the legal rules regarding silence and reform the law on secondary liability to reduce the legal risks of talking.
Item Type: | Article |
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DOI/Identification number: | 10.1177/1748895821991622 |
Uncontrolled keywords: | Joint enterprise, legal risks of talking, wall of silence, young people |
Subjects: | H Social Sciences |
Divisions: | Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research |
Funders: | Economic and Social Research Council (https://ror.org/03n0ht308) |
Depositing User: | Tara Young |
Date Deposited: | 20 Nov 2020 14:37 UTC |
Last Modified: | 26 Feb 2024 23:09 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/84307 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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