Irish Penal Reform Trust

#CRISISJAM: Crime and Crisis in Three Easy Election Clichés

25th February 2011

Liam Herrick discusses budgets and looming crises on #CRISISJAM:

"Structural economic inequality is the elephant in the room when it comes to projecting future crime levels. If we take the view that levels of crime in society are determined largely by the inequality in that society (a view which forms a central part of the thesis put forward in The Spirit Level), then we are faced with the uncomfortable truth that in an unfair recession, the economic opportunity offered by involvement in crime will make offending an ever more attractive choice for young men and women. (The failed response of the State to the trade in illegal drugs is only the most obvious sign of this trend.)

"The next Government has a choice: continue to waste resources on punitive responses to what are, at core, complex social issues – or take the once-in-a-century opportunity which now presents itself to radically rethink our responses to both criminal justice and social injustice, to make a better and safer society for all."

Read the #CRISISJAM entry in full here: Crime and Crisis in Three Easy Election Clichés

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