This book presents a study of street children's involvement as workers in Bangladeshi organised crime groups based on a three-year ethnographic study in Dhaka. The book argues that 'mastaans' are Bangladeshi mafia groups that operate in a market for crime, violence and social protection. It considers the crimes mastaans commit, the ways they divide labour, and how and why street children become involved in these groups. The book explores how street children are hired by 'mastaans', to carry weapons, sell drugs, collect extortion money, commit political violence and conduct contract killings. The book argues that these young people are neither victims nor offenders; they are instead 'illicit child labourers', doing what they can to survive on the streets. This book adds to the emerging fields of the sociology of crime and deviance in South Asia and 'Southern criminology'.

This book presents a comparative look at the norms and attitudes related to youth violence. It aims to present a perspective outside of the typical Western context, through case studies comparing a developed / Western democracy (Germany), a country with a history of institutionalized violence (South Africa), and an emerging democracy that has experienced heavy terrorism (Pakistan). Building on earlier works, the research presented in this innovative volume provides new insights into the sociocultural context for shaping both young people's tolerance of and involvement in violence, depending on their environment. This volume covers: Research on interpersonal violence. Thorough review of the contribution of research on gangs, violence, neighborhoods and community. Analyses on violence-related norms of male juveniles (ages 16-21 years old) living in high-risk urban neighborhoods. Intense discussion of the concept of street code and its use. Application of street code concept to contexts outside the US. An integrating chapter focused on where the street code exists, and how it is modified or interpreted by young men. With a foreword by Jeffrey Ian Ross, this book aims to provide a broader context for research. It does so via a rigorous comparative methodology, presenting a framework that may be applied to future studies. This open access book will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, as well as related fields such as sociology, demography, psychology, and public health.

This book explores the journey of young people through a Secure Training Centre and, more generally, the criminal justice system in the UK. It examines the extent to which young people have been failed by the system at every stage of their lives, with incarceration used as a means of removing 'the problem' from society. To explore this process, the authors utilise an integrated theoretical framework to develop a new rehabilitative approach focused on developing positive outcomes for young people. The book deploys a social impact measurement methodology to evaluate the experience and outcomes of youth justice interventions at a Secure Training Centre. Such an approach provides a fresh perspective on the youth justice debate which has traditionally utilised outcome data to measure immediate impact relating to recidivism and is therefore not focused on the young person holistically. Using a social impact framework to evaluate youth justice, underpinned by an integrated theoretical framework, allows for assessment to be made which place the young person at the centre of evaluation.

This book offers a sociological exploration of street children in India and what pulls and pushes them into delinquency, at a time when the government of India is contemplating strengthening its juvenile justice system. It draws on in-depth, qualitative research carried out by an NGO which included unstructured and structured interviews with over 600 children as well as stakeholders. Through the stories of Indian children, this book examines the major factors which together play a crucial role in their engagement in deviant behaviour as they grow up. However, the authors argue that they should not be viewed not as a dangerous threat but as the country's most valuable resource. The authors conclude that a punitive strategy may not be the best option, advocating instead for a focus on restorative justice which has been found to be effective and beneficial alongside other strategies which help strengthen families and enhance parenting skills.

This brief explores the current theories, trends, risk factors, and intervention efforts related to juvenile crime. Although arrest rates for juveniles in the US have declined over the last two decades, the amount of severe crimes warrants increased examination as the US reports higher rates than most other developed countries. The authors examine individual, family, and environmental risk and protective factors for juvenile crime, while considering the need for better integration of treatment into critically at-risk areas of the community. Covering notable topics of interest for researchers and public policy makers alike, this brief provides an overview of factors and trends related to juvenile crime, aiming to support more effective, evidence-based treatment and prevention.

This brief sheds light on evolving drug markets and the county lines phenomenon in the British context. Drawing upon empirical research gathered in the field between 2012-2019 across two sites, Scotland's West Coast and Merseyside in England, this book adopts a grounded approach to the drug supply model, detailing how drugs are purchased, sold and distributed at every level of the supply chain at both sites. The authors conducted interviews with practitioners, offenders, ex-offenders and those members of the general public most effected by organised crime. The research explores how drug markets have continued to evolve, accumulating in the phenomenon that is county lines. It explores how such behavior has gradually become ever more intertwined with other forms of organised criminal activity. Useful for researchers, policy makers, and law enforcement officials, this brief recommends a rethinking of current reactive policing strategies.

This book explores the treatment of junevile offenders in modern Western history. The last few decades have witnessed major debates over youth justice policies. Juvenile and youth justice legislation has been reviewed in a number of countries. Despite the fact that new perspectives, such as restorative justice, have emerged, the debates have largely focused on issues that bring us back to the inception of juvenile justice: namely whether youth justice ought to be more akin to punitive adult criminal justice, or more sensitive to the welfare of youths. This issue has been at the core of policy choices that have given juvenile justice its orientations since the beginning of the twentieth century. It also gave shape to the evolution that paved the way for the creation of juvenile courts in the nineteenth century. Understanding those early debates is essential if we are to understand current debates, and place them into perspective. Based on primary archival research, this comprehensive study begins by presenting the roots, birth and evolution of juvenile justice, from the nineteenth century up to the beginning of the twenty-first. The second part deals with nineteenth century responses to juvenile delinquency in England and Canada, while the third focuses on the welfare orientation that characterized juvenile courts in the first half of the twentieth century in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Finally, the fourth part focuses on the perspective of the youths and their families in Belgium, France and Canada.

This book explores two major social problems facing Chinese society today: increased strain in the lives of young people and heightened rates of crime and delinquency, ultimately examining the links between them. More broadly, it draws on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and Agnew's general strain theory to examine the factors and processes affecting young people, leading to life strain and delinquency. It represents the first study of this kind and involves the most systematic and comprehensive literature review of studies on major social, economic, political and cultural changes, as well as youth crime in contemporary China. Bao's arguments are supported by empirical evidence including data findings and over a decade's worth of observational research. Shedding new light on the nature of youth crime in a rapidly changing society, this methodical study will benefit policy makers and researchers, helping them to develop tactics and methods to reduce strain in the lives of young people, and thus effectively prevent delinquency in China.

This book analyses common perceptions about drink-spiking, a pervasive fear for many and sometimes a troubling reality. Ideas about spiked drinks have shaped the way we think about drugs, alcohol, criminal law, risk, nightspots, and socializing for over one hundred and fifty years, since the rise of modern anaesthesia and synthetic 'pharma-ubiquity'. The book offers a wide-ranging look at the constantly shifting cultural and gender politics of 'psycho-chemical treachery'. It provides rich case histories, assesses evolving scientific knowledge, and analyses the influence of social forces as disparate as Temperance and the acid enthusiasts of the 1960s. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, the book will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of criminal law, forensic science, public health, and social movements.

Sinner and Saint is the inspirational story of Martin Murray, St Helens' flawed yet favourite son. A promising amateur teenage boxer, Murray was drawn into a life fuelled with drugs, alcohol and street fighting. By the age of 24, he had completed four jail sentences, one of them in a notorious Cypriot prison. He still managed to win the ABA welterweight title in 2004 - while on the run! The reintroduction of boxing back into his life and a settled family life proved to be his saviour. Turning pro in 2007, Murray went on to win the Commonwealth and British middleweight titles, and challenged for the world title on no fewer than four occasions. Murray pulls no punches as he recounts his story in the most intimate and vivid way - a rollercoaster life ultimately redeemed through his success in boxing.

Sex, Crime, Drugs, and Just Plain Stupid Behaviors: The New Face of Young Adulthood in America is written for students, parents, and practitioners to provide insight into how emerging adulthood impacts the lives and behaviors of young people. Salvatore provides an insightful examination of the evolution of emerging adulthood as a distinct stage of the life course, bridging the gap between macro-level social forces and micro-level life experiences and behavior. Chapters discuss the influence of social institutions such as marriage, the family, religion, and parenting on behavior during emerging adulthood. Exploration and sensation-seeking are examined in relation to the behaviors and identity of emerging adults alongside issues such as criminal offending, substance use, and other risky/dangerous behaviors. Finally, the book concludes with informed policy recommendations for social institutions such as educational establishments and the criminal justice system on how to work with emerging adults.

Truly international in scope, this Handbook focuses on approaches to discipline, surveillance and social control from around the world, critically examining the strategies and practices schools employ to monitor students and control their behavior. Bringing together leading scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, the chapters scrutinize, analyze and compare schools' practices across the globe, providing a critical review of existing evidence, debates and understandings, while looking forward to address emerging important questions and key policy issues. The chapters are divided into four sections. Part 1 offers accounts of international trends in school discipline, surveillance and punishment; Part 2 examines the merging of school strategies with criminal justice practices; Part 3 focuses on developments in school technological surveillance; and Part 4 concludes by discussing restorative and balanced approaches to school discipline and behavior management. As the first Handbook to draw together these multiple themes into one text, and the first international comparative collection on school discipline, surveillance and social control, it will appeal to scholars across a range of fields including sociology, education, criminology, critical security studies and psychology, providing a unique, timely, and indispensable resource for undergraduate educators and researchers.

Youth justice has always focused on criminal justice but this work argues that taking a social justice approach is the best way to reduce youth crime. Drawing on philosophy, new research, and practitioners' views, a new organizational structure and approach is developed. Urwin outlines the philosophical and historical background of youth justice and clarifies how this has led to problems within current practice. Prominent debates within the field are also explored in depth, such as care vs. control, and the issue of professional identity. Ultimately, all of these factors are considered in relation to the organizational structure of youth justice, and this bold and engaging study highlights the need for a more principled approach to practice. Timely and authoritative, this book is will be of great interest to youth justice practitioners, academics, students, and those who would like to apply social justice to social institutions.

This book examines the role of religion and spirituality in desistance from crime and disengagement from gangs. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with male gang members and offenders as well as insights gathered from pastors, chaplains, coaches and personal mentors, the testimonials span three continents, focusing on the USA, Scotland, Denmark and Hong Kong. This volume offers unique empirical findings about the role that religion and spirituality can play in enabling some male gang members and offenders to transition into a new social sphere characterised by the presence of substitute forms of brotherhood and trust, and alternative forms of masculine status. The author presents critical insights into the potential relationship between religious and spiritual participation and the emergence of coping strategies to deal with the 'stigmata' that gang masculinity leaves behind. With its wide-ranging and multi-perspective approach, this book will be essential reading for students and scholars of gang culture, masculinity and spirituality, as well as policy makers and practitioners.

This book examines the processes for social integration and social cohesion among young people, drawing on data collected from the International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD) study, which covered 35 studies.This report examines case studies from 5 selected countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to provide an in-depth comparative study. Social integration processes are defined by sociologists as the mechanisms through which a society is held together, and populations are transformed into collectivities and communities. They are understood by criminologists to be an important factor in crime prevention, and factors such as peer groups and families are strong determinants of criminal behavior. In a time when society, and particularly young people, can seem increasingly fragmented (due to new technologies, rapidly increasing migration, economic inequality, and increased individuation), the researchers in this volume seek to understand whether and how these phenomena affect young people, and how they may have an impact on the development of criminal and antisocial behavior. This work will provide a framework for researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with an interest in juveniles, developmental criminology, and crime prevention, as well as related fields such as sociology, social work, and demography.

This book examines the implications of the professional and judicial discourses on migrant youth in the Belgian youth justice system. Drawing on a detailed study of 55 court case files and in-depth interviews with over forty youth justice professionals, the book explores the problematisations of migrant Roma and Caucasian young people in the youth justice system to argue that they result in 'discursive harms'. It discusses the assumptions and the effects of explanations of deviant behaviour, ambiguities in representations of young people's agency and responsibility, differing assumptions about the moral potential of Roma and Caucasian families, and the reframing of assessments in school-based reports as signals of delinquency. The book reflects on how to address the 'discursive harms' identified and calls for a review of protection practices and ideals from a fundamental rights perspective. This book contributes to a topic that will have increasing significance for youth justice practice in Belgium as well as the rest of Europe.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This edited collection explores the background and implementation of the Nordic Barnahus (or 'Children's House') model - recognised as one of the most important reforms related to children who are the victims of crime in the Nordic region. This book discusses both its potential to affect change and the challenges facing it. The model was introduced as a response to a growing recognition of the need for more integrated and child-centred services for children exposed to violence and sexual abuse. In the Barnahus structure, different professions work together to ensure that victimized children receive help and treatment and that their legal rights are met. This original study is organised into four broad themes: child-friendliness, support and treatment; the forensic child investigative interview; children's rights perspectives; and interagency collaboration and professional autonomy. Each themed section includes in-depth chapters from different Nordic countries, outlining and analysing the practice and outcomes of the collaborative work engaged in by Barnahus from different perspectives. The introductory and concluding chapters offer a comparative lens useful for policy and practice implementation within the Nordic welfare state context and beyond, ensuring this book has global academic and practical appeal.

This book highlights the developmental changes in aggression and violence during adolescence from a uniquely psychological perspective. Developmental changes and risk factors as direct causes for violence and psychopathy have started to receive increased recognition over the last few years, and in this volume Marcus charts these changes against criminological activity. A meta-theoretical model consisting of developmental, personality, and situational factors which are common, or unique, to each form of aggression and violence are offered with research support. Empirically supported by rigorous data studies, this innovative work goes a long way towards addressing the methods of prevention by which we might lower the frequency and prevalence of aggression and violence. Well-researched and timely in its findings, this book will be of special interest to scholars of violence and crime, as well as developmental psychologists.

This book explores young people's experiences of social control and the state, especially those living at the margins of society within the UK. In particular, the book focuses on disadvantaged young people's experiences in education, in the labour market, with police and within the criminal justice system. It draws upon insights gathered by the authors in Scotland and England via in-depth interviews with, and observation of, young people in multiple settings and the barriers they come across in terms of justice, equity and inclusion. Deuchar and Bhopal present a range of creative and engaging case studies that illustrate where barriers have been broken down between young people and the agents of social control and elucidate upon how a sense of justice and inclusion has emerged. With its wide-ranging, multi-perspective approach, this study will be essential reading for scholars and students of sociology, criminology and youth studies, as well as holding appeal for policy-makers and practitioners.

This book examines how conflict has affected the rights of youth in Northeast India. Examining youth engagement in protracted conflict and its impact on youth rights, the author considers the complex issues besieging the region, including armed insurgency, conflicts between ethnic groups, human rights violations, poor governance and a lack of economic development, all factors contributing to the lack of growth in the region, and a consequent sense of alienation from the Indian mainstream. Moving beyond considering Northeast India as a theatre of insurgency, this pivot offers an alternative understanding of youth unrest in India and issues of non-representation in terms of rights and ethnic, national and cultural identities.

This book examines the lives of the sentenced to argue that 'sentencing' should be re-conceived to consider the human perspective. It combines a range of modern criminological and legal theories together with interviews with prisoners in New South Wales, to examine their lives during and beyond completing the terms of imprisonment, for a more continuous and coherent perspective on the process of 'sentencing'. This book makes a strong argument for the practical advantages of listening to the voices of the sentenced and it is therefore a useful tool for the correctional community engaged in providing services and programmes to reduce recidivism. A methodological and well-researched text, this book will be of particular interest to scholars of criminal justice and the penal system, as well as policy makers and practitioners.

This second volume of Richard Jessor's influential works applies his groundbreaking theory to illuminating the psychosocial determinants of adolescent health. Focusing on a range of both health-compromising and health-enhancing behaviors, including problem drinking, marijuana use, risky driving, and early sexual experience as well as regular exercise and healthy diet, these writings advance understanding of the role of health behavior in adolescence and adolescent development. Chapters illustrate the relevance of the theory and of its interdisciplinary approach for research on behavioral health in adolescence and for the design of prevention/intervention programs to promote healthy development. In addition, the book's comparative studies of U.S. and Chinese youth reveal the generality of the theory across societal and national differences. Topics featured in this book include: Alcohol use and problem drinking in adolescent health and development. Psychosocial research on marijuana use. Understanding early initiation of sexual intercourse in adolescence. Smoking behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Developmental change in risky driving. Healthy eating and regular exercise in adolescent health and development Problem Behavior Theory and Adolescent Health is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, and related professionals as well as graduate students in developmental and health psychology, sociology, criminology, criminal justice, public health, and related disciplines.

This book provides a fully-contextualised, multidisciplinary examination of bullying and violence in South Korean society. Bullying and violence has been a pressing societal issue since 2011, having been labelled as a 'social evil' to be eradicated by the government. However, the issue has been incorrectly confined to schools when in fact it is widespread in society and in professional settings, as Bax argues in this original new text. Through twenty in-depth case studies and original case material from a Juvenile Detention Centre, Bax examines the historical, cultural, political and social contexts of bullying and violence to better understand the nature of these crimes, the perpetrators, and how they come together in the broader cultural landscape within which the individual, the family, the school and the community are embedded.

This book offers an ethnographic study of the lives of girls in the juvenile justice system. Based on rich, narrative accounts, the girls at the center of the study are viewed as confronted with the power of simultaneous race, class, and gender hierarchies. Through this framework, we see how the girls navigate this challenge by seeking status in their everyday lives: in their families; juvenile justice institutions; and neighborhood organizations, including gangs. Through analyzing the ways that the girls strive for higher social status, this book provokes debate about how policies and programs may be creatively rethought to incorporate this pursuit. Girls and Juvenile Justice offers a glimpse into the hearts, minds, and souls of adolescent girls. It will be of great interest for scholars of criminal justice, sociology, women's studies, and social-psychology.

This book provides a sociological examination of young people's pathways into, and out of, substance abuse. Drawing from in-depth, life-history interviews with over sixty young people who have experienced problematic drug use, the author uses participants' narratives to throw light on the relationship between trauma and issues such as homelessness, crime and self-injury. Contesting the view that substance abuse is either a medical issue or individual failing, the book examines the wide variety of factors which lead to youth substance abuse such as extreme poverty and other structural factors. Whilst it does not overlook individual agency, the rich descriptions from young people's oral histories show us that the contexts in which agency was exercised, was often considerably constrained by significant structural forces. The sociological concept of 'situated choice', which is used to explain and understand how people make choices within their individual context, is used throughout the book as we witness young people wrestling to escape intergenerational disadvantage. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of Social Work, Social Policy, Youth Studies, Sociology and Health Studies.