Roger Matthews

Governing the Present

There is a line of continuity between the claims made by Stuart Hall and his colleagues in their classic Policing the Crisis (1978) and Jonathan Simon’s widely referenced Governing through Crime (2008). Both publications argue that law and order has become a prominent feature of social and political life and an increasingly central part of the state’s strategy for governing civil society. Both publications see the growing focus on crime control as a moral panic and argue that a focus on crime, victimisation and fear of crime allows the state to engage in new and extended forms of hegemonic control (Brown 2008). Both publications aim to provide an ostensibly radical attack on claims by the state and of realist and other criminologists that tackling crime and victimisation are an intrinsically positive objective. The difference between the two approaches is, however, that when Hall and his colleagues were writing these claims had a certain validity, while by the time Simon was developing his ‘governing through crime’ thesis there had been a move away from a law and order society, involving a significant shift in the culture of control.

The myth of punitiveness

There is a widespread claim in the criminological literature that the current period is characterized by a surge in punitiveness and that this ‘punitive turn’ is fuelled by a new populism. However, the key notions of ‘punitiveness’ and ‘populism’ remain largely undefined, with the result that much of the associated analysis is vague, while developments are often asserted rather than explained. Consequently, there is a tendency towards empiricism, on the one hand, and speculative idealism, on the other. It is not that one cannot find examples of punitiveness but since the deployment of punitive sanctions has historically been an endemic feature of the criminal justice system we are faced with question of ‘what is new?’ In this article it is argued that there has been a one-sided, exaggerated focus on punitiveness in recent times, which has detracted from the development of a progressive realist account of contemporary crime control.

Regulating sex work in the EU: prostitute women and the new spaces of exclusion

Contemporary prostitution policy within the European Union has coalesced around the view that female prostitution is rarely voluntary, and often a consequence of sex trafficking. Responding, different nation-states have, however, adopted antithetical legal positions based on prohibition (Sweden), abolition (UK) or legalisation (Netherlands). Despite the apparently sharp differences between these positions, in this article we argue that there is now a shared preoccupation with repressing spaces of street prostitution. Noting the forms of exploitation that nonetheless adhere to many spaces of off-street work, we conclude that the state and law may intervene in sex work markets with the intention of tackling gendered injustice, but are perpetuating geographies of exception and abandonment.

Beyond 'so what?' criminology: Rediscovering realism

There has been a growing concern about the lack of policy relevance of criminology in recent years. Two influential responses to this dilemma have been presented. On one hand, it has been argued that academic criminologists should become more active in mobilizing points of consensus about what works, while on the other hand it has been suggested that there should be a division of labour among academics and that the subject be broken down into public, professional, policy and critical criminologies. This article argues that neither of these responses are tenable and instead calls for an approach that links theory, method and intervention with the aim of developing a coherent critical realist approach that is able to go beyond the existing forms of ‘so what?’ criminology.

Issues in realist criminology

Crime, incivilities and urban change, Roger Matthews criminal women and criminal justice, Pat Carlen rethinking corporate crime, Frank Pearce and Steve Tombs appreciating the victim, Sandra, Walklate reason and unreason: the fear of crime, Richard Sparks law and order politics, Dave Brown and Russell Hogg.

Away from prying eyes? The urban geographies of 'adult entertainment'

Most towns and cities in the UK and USA possess a number of venues offering sexually orientated entertainment in the form of exotic dance, striptease or lap dancing. Traditionally subject to moral and legal censure, the majority of these sex-related businesses have tended to be situated in marginal urban spaces. As such, their increasing visibility in more mainstream spaces of urban nightlife raises important questions about the sexual and gender geographies that characterize the contemporary city. In this paper we accordingly locate the phenomena of adult entertainment at the convergence of geographic debates concerning the evening economy, urban gentrification and the gendered consumption of urban space. We conclude that these sites are worthy of investigation not only in and of themselves, but also because their shifting location reveals much about the forms of heterosexuality and homosociality normalized in the contemporary city.

Crime, disorder and community safety : a new agenda?

This book provides an analytic overview and assessment of the changing nature of crime prevention, disorder and community safety in contemporary society. Bringing together nine original articles from leading national and international authorities on these issues, the book examines recent developments in relation to a number of specific groups - the disadvantaged, the socially excluded, youth, women and ethnic minorities. Topics covered include: * the increase in local authority responsibility for crime control and community safety * the development of inter-agency alliances * the changing nature of policing * the passing of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Book Review: Crime and control in late modernity

On the assumption that I would probably write a review of David Garland’s The Culture of Control, I attended the launch of the book which was held at the London School of Economics in March 2001. At the launch a distinguished panel commented on the book in turn. There was a distinct split among the panellists with the ‘home team’ from the LSE—Stanley Cohen, Richard Sennett and David Downes—expressing strong support, while the visitors, in the form of Lucia Zedner and Nikolas Rose, expressed reservations about both the empirical and theoretical content of the book. Probably the strongest supporter was David Downes who stated that he could find nothing to disagree with in the book. At the other end of the spectrum Nikolas Rose claimed that the book made him angry and, in the short space of time which he had available, launched into a hard-hitting critique. After reading the book a few weeks later I found myself in the camp of the dissenters, although unlike Nikolas Rose I was not so much angered by the book as disappointed. My disappointment stemmed initially from the fact that I found very little that was new and exciting in the book and felt that most of its main themes had been well aired in previously published articles (Garland, 1995, 1996, 1997). The thesis which David Garland presents in these writings, for those who are unfamiliar with his previous work, is that we are witnessing a major shift in the nature of crime control R E V I E W E S S A Y

Rehabilitation, Recidivism, and Realism: Evaluating Violence Reduction Programs in Prison

There has been a growing concern about responding to violent young people within the prison setting. One of the dominant responses has been to “get tough” by introducing more authoritarian and militaristic regimes, but this strategy has become increasingly identified as being counterproductive and expensive. An alternative approach that is gaining ground, particularly in Canada and the United Kingdom, is the development of Cognitive Skills Programs, which are designed to encourage offenders to “think straight” and thereby to “go straight” and become more law abiding. Although these approaches have been subject to extensive evaluation, it is suggested that the forms of evaluation employed are flawed and that there are serious limitations to using recidivist rates as the principle measure of the success of these programs.

Assessing The Use and Impact of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) have become the main sanction for dealing with anti-social behaviour in the UK. This book represents one of the first assessments of this sanction, which has become widely used but remains extremely controversial. The report is based on detailed interviews with ASBO recipients, practitioners and community representatives in areas affected by anti-social behaviour. Examining its use and impact from these various perspectives, the book assesses the effects of ASBOs on the behaviour and attitudes of recipients as well as examining the various issues which arise in relation to their implementation. The report should be read by academics and students who want to make sense of ASBOs, practitioners who are involved in implementing them as well as policy makers who are responsible for designing this sanction. It will also be of interest to all those who have an interest in addressing the issue of anti-social behaviour.