Farrall, S., Jennings, W., Gray, E. et al. (1 more author) (2017) Thatcherism, Crime and the Legacy of the Social and Economic ‘Storms’ of the 1980s. The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 56 (2). pp. 220-243. ISSN 0265-5527
Abstract
Using insights from the classical sociology of deviance and social structure (notably Durkheim and Merton) we explore the enduring impact of the social and economic changes which started in the UK in the early 1980s. In the two subsequent decades the UK went through a period of radical economic restructuring, leading to lasting social change. We seek the gauge the effect of these combined social and economic processes, which we label social and economic ‘storms’, at the national level. In so doing we assess and ultimately defend the heuristic utility of this conceptualisation, considering the extent to which such social and economic storms (individually and collectively) weakened bonds between individuals, within and between families and across communities. We use proxy measures of economic and social changes in combination with recorded crime statistics to explore the degree to which such processes might be associated with victimisation rates. We find that crime was related to these macro-level ‘storms’, although ultimately they were driven by economic variables. Our analyses show how political decision-making can shape long-term trends in crime rates.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2017. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/K006398/1 ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/P002862/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 29 Mar 2017 13:35 |
Last Modified: | 17 May 2019 00:39 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12202 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/hojo.12202 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:114246 |