Jon Garland

Hate Crime: Impact, Causes and Responses

This engaging and thought-provoking text provides an accessible introduction to the subject of hate crime. In a world where issues of hatred and prejudice are creating complex challenges for society and for governments, this book provides an articulate and insightful overview of how such issues relate to crime and criminal justice. It offers comprehensive coverage, including topics such as: •Racist hate crime •Religiously motivated hate crime •Homophobic crime •Gender and violence •Disablist hate crime The book considers the challenges involved in policing hate crime, as well as exploring the role of the media. Legislative developments are discussed throughout. Chapter summaries, case studies, a glossary, and advice on further reading all help to equip the reader with a clear understanding of this nuanced and controversial subject. Hate Crime is essential reading for students and academics in criminology and criminal justice.

Reconceptualizing hate crime victimization through the lens of vulnerability and ‘difference’:

This article suggests that the concepts of vulnerability and ‘difference’ should be focal points of hate crime scholarship if the values at the heart of the hate crime movement are not to be diluted. By stringently associating hate crime with particular strands of victims and sets of motivations through singular constructions of identity, criminologists have created a divisive and hierarchical approach to understanding hate crime. To counter these limitations, we propose that vulnerability and ‘difference’, rather than identity and group membership alone, should be central to investigations of hate crime. These concepts would allow for a more inclusive conceptual framework enabling hitherto overlooked and vulnerable victims of targeted violence to receive the recognition they urgently need.

'Race', Space and Place: Examining Identity and Cultures of Exclusion in Rural England

Rural village communities in England are commonly portrayed as being neighbourly and close-knit, with villagers perceived as having a deep-seated sense of local identity complemented by strong feelings of belonging. This narrow view obscures, and marginalizes, the experiences of minority ethnic residents who can often feel excluded from village life. This article assesses whether the process of ‘othering’ that works to ostracize minority ethnic households is similar to that experienced by all ‘outsiders’ who are newcomers to rural living. It is argued that the conflation of rurality with notions of Englishness and ‘whiteness’ serves to reinforce this marginalization. Indeed, the scattered distribution of minority ethnic populations in the rural means that any understanding of these ‘communities’ needs to recognize that they are not ‘communities of place’ but instead are ‘communities of shared risk’, as it is the risk of racist harassment that provides commonality, kinship and shared experience amongst these diverse populations.

War Minus the Shooting? Jingoism, the English Press, and Euro 96

The European Championship held in England during June 1996 marked an important stage in the popular rehabilitation of football in Britain. Coupled with the financial revolution that has been occasioned by revenue the game now receives from television companies and sponsors, events such as Euro 96 have seen football become a major aspect of popular culture. Such a transformation would have been unthinkable to many during earlier periods when the game was widely regarded as a ‘slum sport,’ unloved by mainstream society. This article explores the press coverage of the England team’s progress in Euro 96 and argues that the xenophobia that was in abundant evidence cannot be understood in isolation from broader social and political trends. Furthermore, the relation between militarism and the sporting ethic is considered, and it is suggested that the discourse of warfare now tends to inform popular representations of sport, reversing the relationship between the two which characterized earlier periods.

England's Green and Pleasant Land? Examining Racist Prejudice in a Rural Context

Popular constructions of rural England have perpetuated images of idyllic, problem-free environments that have largely masked the process of ‘othering’ that works to marginalize particular groups within rural society. Drawing on the findings of studies conducted in two rural English counties, Chakraborti and Garland assert that racist prejudice is very much part of the reality of rural living for minority ethnic groups whose presence in the countryside tends to be overlooked. They discuss the perceptions of established white rural communities and those of the victims of racial harassment to illustrate the disturbing nature, extent and impact of racism in rural areas, and suggest that the enduring ‘invisibility’ of the problem is compounded both by the under-reporting of such racist incidents and the reluctance of agencies to acknowledge the needs of minority ethnic groups in the countryside. Consequently, racist prejudice in the rural context will only be recognized as a significant issue through a greater appreciation of the diverse complexity of rural space, and the abandonment of singular, outdated notions of rurality.

“HAVE YOU BEEN DIVERSIFIED YET?” DEVELOPMENTS IN POLICE COMMUNITY AND RACE RELATIONS TRAINING IN ENGLAND AND WALES

For several decades, the police in England and Wales have been providing in-house training in community and ‘race relations’ (CRR). In recent years, largely in response to pressure from Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary, there has been an increase in the importance placed upon evaluating the effectiveness of this training. This article is based on findings of one such evaluation programme, carried out by the authors. Key features of police CRR training are outlined, and discussed in relation to criticisms of such training in the 1980s. It is argued that many of the concerns raised in that earlier period are still apparent today. A central reason why CRR training remains a problematic area is because it is different from most other police training in that it seeks to address the affective domain, rather than taking a cognitive approach, which presents challenges not found with police training in other fields. The article concludes by arguing that training strategy needs to consider the dynamic relation between structural and cultural dimensions of policing if significant improvements in community and race relations are to be made.

Difficulties in defining hate crime victimization

This article analyses the issues involved with deciding which identity groups are categorized as specific hate crime victim groups and which are not. It assesses whether theories of hate crime based around hierarchical notions of group dominance and subordination are helpful in determining which groups should be included under the hate crime ‘umbrella’. Through a discussion of the victimization of disabled people, the elderly and the homeless, the article outlines key concepts – relating to community, risk, harm and vulnerability – that are central to comprehending the nature of the abuse that they suffer. It also notes the common misreading of ‘low-level’ targeted harassment as anti-social behaviour, and assesses the impact this has upon the development of a more in-depth understanding of the circumstances of victims. The article also highlights the problems with using collective terms like ‘communities’ or ‘groups’ in this context, as such entities can be very diverse – indeed ‘separate’ groups often intersect with each other. As an alternative, it is suggested that moving the debate away from collective terminology towards an understanding of the risk of targeted victimization that individuals face would be helpful when trying to assess the circumstances of disabled people, the elderly and the homeless, who currently are still at the margins of the hate debate.

Divided by a common concept? Assessing the implications of different conceptualizations of hate crime in the European Union

In recent years the European Union (EU) has witnessed rising levels of hate crime. However, although there have been a number of legislative and other policy initiatives introduced across the EU to combat such offences, these have developed in a piecemeal and sometimes half-hearted fashion. This article outlines the difficulties evident in theorizing hate crime and how these problems have been reflected in the divergent ways that hate crime legislation has developed across the EU. It argues that an approach to combating hate crime based on human rights, which is endorsed by many EU institutions, has failed to tackle the problem effectively and has resulted in the uneven protection of hate crime victim groups. By utilizing an individual rather than a group-based human rights approach, the damaging nature and effect of such ‘targeted victimization’ upon all hate crime victims can be better understood and addressed.

The hooligan's fear of the penalty.

(2000). The hooligans fear of the penalty. Soccer & Society: Vol. 1, The Future of Football: Challenges for the Twenty‐First Centu, pp. 144-157.

Recognising and Responding to Victims of Rural Racism

In recent decades policy-makers and academics have afforded increasing levels of recognition to the needs of victims of crime. However, much of this ‘new’ focus has centred upon urban environments, with only limited attention given to rural crime and victimisation. Significantly, even within the small body of rural-based work, the concerns of victims of racist harassment have been largely neglected. This article seeks to redress this situation by examining and contextualising issues of racist victimisation in the rural arena. Drawing from the authors’ own research conducted across different rural locales in the UK over a four-year period, it is argued here that this victimisation is an ongoing process rather than a collection of distinct, one-off events. Whilst ‘low-level’ incidents of harassment, such as verbal abuse, are worryingly commonplace, ‘high-level’ forms, such as criminal damage or physical assault, also feature regularly in the lived experiences of many rural minority ethnic households. These can leave the recipient feeling frightened, depressed, isolated and anxious, and these emotions may be exacerbated by ineffective responses from agencies that do not grasp the significance or implications of racist victimisation in the countryside. It is suggested that agencies need to adopt a range of long-term, sustainable initiatives that recognise the unique characteristics of rural environments, as well as the heterogeneity of the processes and experiences of victimisation itself, if the situation for victims of racism is to be improved.