book review - street crime

http://crj.sagepub.comCriminology and Criminal Justice

DOI: 10.1177/1748895806068585 2006; 6; 461 Criminology and Criminal Justice

Marian FitzGerald Book Review: Street Crime

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mining of various data sources, ranging from court and prosecutorial files toannual state reports, sometimes the data are more anecdotal than systematicand generalizable. So, while the analysis is infused with a commitment toempirical inquiry, it is not always evident to the reader when points aresupported by systematic empirical data and when, though fascinating, byqualitative and illustrative data. Relatedly, more information on dismissals/nolles could have added additional insight into plea and trial proportionsduring both periods. Furthermore, the data, as rich as they are, cannotaccomplish in any systematic way the kinds of controls the authors con-template. For example, the authors imply they will control for culpability, race,gender and ethnicity in their assessments of pleas and sentences (p. 173).Anecdotally this is possible; but it would take a far larger and more system-atically collected set of data to make judgements confidently about thesematters. Finally, on the generalizability point, we should acknowledge thegeneral limits of a single site case study.

Overall, this study is a major contribution to the understanding of theorigins of plea bargaining, and one that transcends cheap shots which wouldsimply dismiss it as relevant only to New York. McConville and Mirsky tackletwo of the biggies in plea bargaining literature, and they amassed a massiveamount of empirical evidence to do so. It is in their disagreements with extanttheories and in their socio-legal scholarship that their major contentions andcontributions to the literature rest. Though one can dispute that the golden ageof trials was as pristine as is implied, and one can argue from a policyperspective about what this understanding of the proliferation of pleas meansfor an understanding of plea bargaining in todays courts, there is no gainsayingthe remarkable analysis McConville and Mirsky undertook, the invaluableconclusions they draw debunking popular theories of plea bargainings originsand the valuable hypotheses they present for understanding plea bargainingseventual triumph.

Simon HallsworthStreet CrimeCullompton, Devon and Portland, OR: Willan, 2005. 193 pp. 17.99 ISBN184392028-X (pbk)

Reviewed by Marian FitzGerald, University of Kent, UK

DOI: 10.1177/1748895806068585

Simon Hallsworths study of street crime in Britain is wide-ranging and at thesame time unusually personal. Almost the first quarter of the book is taken upwith the history of street crime in two substantive chapters, which respectivelycover: outlaws and highwaymen; and street robbery in an urban context. Thesecond part of the book looks at the current explanations of street crime. Herefour chapters are devoted to considering the relevance of different theoretical

Book Reviews 461


understandings, as well as drawing on the wider literature. They provide thebasis for a framework of analysis, which allows Hallsworth, in the final part ofthe book, to look critically at the policy responses to date and on which hebuilds his own conclusions about the significance of street robbery in contem-porary society, as well as the wider issues this raises.

The reader is left in no doubt that these issues exercise Hallsworth due to thestyle in which the book is written. His opinions are not only expressed robustlythroughout but repeatedly in the first person singular and they pose a numberof challenges. Why, Hallsworth asks, do we fail to recognize that theproblem is nothing new but that its present-day form simply reflects thepathological bulimic quality of a society where the inhumanity of free-marketcapitalism . . . sets in motion the logic of consumption that establishes the basisfor the consuming desire that underpins the contemporary problem of streetcrime (p. 169)? Why do politicians refuse to recognize that the popularsolution of locking our way out of the street crime problem is so fraught withrisks as to undermine its credibility as either an appropriate response or indeeda just one (p. 171)? Why also, has the political left largely failed to address theproblem of street crime at all?

The answer to the last question, Hallsworth suggests, is that academicsanger and embarrassment on the subject of street crime has been compoundedby the contentious issue of race (p. 80). Overlooking the brave attempt ofElizabeth Burney to engage with the issues in her report to the Lambeth PoliceCommunity Consultative in the late 1980s, he claims that those who haveengaged with the topic have mostly chosen to deflect their attention onto socialresponses to the problem; and the few who have tried to understand its causeshave fallen back on a research tradition which ascribes street crime todeprivation or poverty or social exclusion or rising patterns of relativedeprivation (p. 81). His own view is that for some young men (and blackyoung men in particular):

The turn towards street crime can . . . be viewed as a practical and rationalresolution of the contradiction of being socialized into a world which shapesyou to aspire to the consistent consumption of material goods and beinglocated in a socio-economic reality that does not universalize the legitimateavenues by which such goods can be appropriated.(p. 127)

It would have helped Hallworths conclusions if he had included moresupporting evidence from his own empirical work on the subject; and thiswould also considerably have enriched the book by giving expression toyoung people whose voice is rarely heard. Their view of the world is lightyears away from that of policy makers and, as Hallsworth implies, that ofmany academics. They cannot hope to inform effective responses to theproblem by statistical analyses alone; but, in any case, many prefer toabrogate any responsibility for finding solutions rather than expose theirideological positions to the reality check of ethnographic research. Yet if theycrossed the political pain threshold, he argues, they would find an in-

Criminology & Criminal Justice 6(4)462


tellectually respectable home for their findings, especially by reference tostrain theory and a theory of differential association.

His own position seems to be that it is a problem of relative deprivationalbeit in a context where deprivation can no longer be measured in terms of theclassic basic needs but against norms dictated by the consumerist imperatives oflate capitalism which he rails against. That is, in fact, what I have always seenas the real challenge for policy. In sum, it is difficult to see how even agovernment which had the courage to espouse overtly redistributive policiescould justify evaluating their success against these norms. Yet as long as thesenorms prevail and inequalities in income grow we can only expect to see morecrime of this type, especially where the rich and poor are living cheek-by-jowla situation which, ironically, seems likely increasingly to be the case inareas of regeneration and new housing developments where creating a sociallymixed community is a planning requirement.

Brian Littlechild and Debra Fearns (eds)Mental Disorder and Criminal Justice: Policy, Provision and PracticeDorset: Russell House Publishing, 2005. 165 pp. 15.95 ISBN190385556X (pbk)

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgibbon, Hertfordshire University, UK

DOI: 10.1177/1748895806068586

This book manages to identify and bridge the different aspects of the mentalhealth and the criminal justice systems by exploring the commonalities and thedifferences between the various agencies involved in the process. The editorshave asked both academic and professional specialists to explore the experi-ences of those with mental disorders who offend. Thus the book would appealto practitioners in the various mental health, social work and probationservices, as well as those working in core criminal justice agencies such as thepolice or criminal courts. It is also a useful overview of the issues in a readilyassessable form to those studying at graduate level.

Chapter 2 is concerned with police detention of mentally disorderedoffenders. Littlechild and Fearns summarize the roles of those involved, namelyappropriate adults, solicitors and community psychiatric nurses. There areuseful case studies to illustrate good practice. Chapter 3 by Angus explores theexperiences of mentally vulnerable victims and the differential effects of crimeon this group. It suggests ways in which both practice and policies could bechanged to improve the treatment of these often neglected victims.

Chapter 4 examines in detail the sections of the Mental Health Act 1983and the ways it affects mentally disordered offenders. By unpacking the variouscodes of practice that govern professionals dealing with the implementation ofthis Act, it debates the human rights issues. It is, however, somewhat surprising

Book Reviews 463


book review - street crime

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