CRM 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Victimless Crime, Endangerment, John J. Diiulio Jr.
5 Jun 2018
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Department
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New Right Criminology
Social Context:
● “New Right” refers to a particular political orientation rather than a systematic coherent
theory on its own right
● Conservative perspective, opposed to the liberalism of strain theory and labelling
perspectives
● Mid 1970s-- world economic recession
○ Likely to be an increase in property and personal crime at both the corporate and
street level
● The alienation and marginalization of a significant layer of the population, many of them
young people, were associated with a range of anti-social and deviant behaviour
● 1977--saw the rise of punk rock music and the rebellion of many young people against
the commercial music industry
The Rise of Free-Market Economic Policies:
● By the 1980s there had been a swing to the right at the level of policy formulation
● 1984 election of the Conservative Party in Canada resulted in changes in policy and
implementation of new trade agreements
● Global policies emphasized the notion of “economic efficiency”
○ According to economic rationalists, the wealth created by these measures would
benefit both the rich and the poor
● Efforts were made to neutralize any resistance to the economic restructuring that aimed
to increase competitiveness and efficiency
● 1980s saw an emphasis on controlling union power and enhancing wealth creation
● In the “decade of greed”, much media prominence was given to business entrepreneurs
, many of whom gained near folk-hero status
● Labour and financial markets were deregulated, and the idea of a “free economy and a
strong state” was entrenched in places such as the United Kingdom through the rhetoric
of defending the “people’s capitalism”
● Recession in 1980s led politicians to believe that the key to Canadian economic success
was free trade
Law-and-Order Agendas:
● Rise in law-and-order politics, both domestically and internationally
● Domestically, the law-and-order push assumed the tone of a “war on crime” and an
attack on the disorder of society
● 1980s--increased police personnel, powers, and resources, longer jail sentences, the
provision of more prisons, stronger discipline within families and schools, and a return to
more traditional values
● For young people this was a demand for “greater responsibility” which translated into
more punitive attitudes in the area of juvenile justice
Populism of the Law-and-Order Agenda:
● New Right Criminology tends to revolve around the individual in society and to provide a
moralistic and punitive approach to issues of crime and criminality
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New Right Criminology
● Populism isn’t a political ideology, but a loosely defined mood
○ Appeals to people on the basis of “us” versus “them”
○ The “us” is always viewed as virtuous
○ “Them” are viewed as being parasites and destructive to the social body
● Essence of populism exaggerates the dangerousness of crime and the foreign or alien
nature of the criminal
● The criminal is seen to be outside of society--its networks, institutions, communities,
morals, values, methods of income, and ways of life
● The rhetoric of populism is one that reduces all crime problems to simple solutions
○ Offenders are made entirely responsible for their actions, not seen as members
of the community, and are sometimes presented as not being members of the
human race
○ “Super predator” coined by John DiIulio in the early 1990s refers to children and
young men, mostly of colour, who were cold-blooded and brutal in their violence
and who showed no sign of compassion for their victims or remorse for their
brutal actions
● Canada’s youth justice system has legislated impediments against harsh sentences like
life in prison which occur in the United States, but it’s under attack by conservative
policies that lobby to implement more punitive sentences for young offenders
Authoritarian Populism in the Political Process:
● Refers to a process in which crime is ideologically conveyed in a series of moral panics
about law-and-order issues
● The extent and seriousness of crime is highlighted and is used to justify harsher
penalties and the assertion of state authority in more spheres of everyday social life
● As part of this process specific groups or categories of people are singled out for special
attention: young people, indigenous people, welfare recipients, striking workers, sole
parents, and in recent years youth gangs
● The broad appeal of authoritarian populism is due in part to the pervasive influence of
the print and electronic media in conveying particular types of images regarding crime in
society
● “Law-and-order” common sense:
○ Crime rates are soaring
○ Crime is worse than ever
○ The criminal justice system is “soft” on crime
○ The criminal justice system is loaded in favour of criminals
○ There should be more police
○ Police should have more powers
○ Courts should deliver tougher penalties
○ The greater satisfaction of victims demands more retribution through the courts
● Crime is sensationalized both in and by the media
○ Heightens the fear of crime, feeding the stereotypes regarding the “typical
offender”, exaggerating the extent of extremely violent and serious crimes, and
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
New right refers to a particular political orientation rather than a systematic coherent theory on its own right. Conservative perspective, opposed to the liberalism of strain theory and labelling perspectives. Likely to be an increase in property and personal crime at both the corporate and street level. The alienation and marginalization of a significant layer of the population, many of them young people, were associated with a range of anti-social and deviant behaviour. 1977--saw the rise of punk rock music and the rebellion of many young people against the commercial music industry. By the 1980s there had been a swing to the right at the level of policy formulation. 1984 election of the conservative party in canada resulted in changes in policy and implementation of new trade agreements. Global policies emphasized the notion of economic efficiency . According to economic rationalists, the wealth created by these measures would benefit both the rich and the poor.
