NCJ Number
216890
Date Published
2006
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This chapter surveys changes in the class situation of young people and the responses of the state to the existence and activities of the disadvantaged.
Abstract
The consequences of class inequality and transformation in the class structure that deepen this inequality, sharpens social tension and antagonism. A common element from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in youth justice is the essential construction of the problem and those young people who are held to be responsible. Most justice systems deal predominantly with offenders from working-class backgrounds (including indigenous and ethnic minority people), and thereby reflect the class biases in definitions of social harm and crime, as well as basing responses on these biases. The reinforcement of this dialogue enhances the legitimacy of coercive state intervention in the lives of working-class young people. These processes confirm the role of crime as the central problem, rather than poverty, unemployment, and racism, neglecting or avoiding entirely the roles of class division and social inequality. This chapter considers the making of a new layer of socially disadvantaged young people and the response of the state to the growth in what are seen as problematic populations. It discusses the central place of social class in understanding the reasons for the marginalization and criminalization of substantial sections of the youth population in advanced industrialized countries. References