Set within the context of a late modern world where crime is both controlled and commodified, this thesis explores young people’s crime concerns and their opinions on the cultural representation of crime. Following a reconceptualisation and widening of the notion of fear of crime, crime concern is employed to investigate young people’s concerns regarding crime prevalence, crime management and crime representation. Encompassing a cultural criminological approach and an interpretive phenomenological attitude, this thesis utilises performative drama alongside focus groups to explore how crime concerns and the cultural representation of crime interact to inform everyday lived experience. The thesis finds that the young people in the study demonstrate an acute awareness of the processes which shape their understandings of crime. Such awareness is rooted in their sense of agency and embedded in a resistance towards the dominant discourse of problematic and risky youth. The crime concerns that the participants expressed were primarily regarding the representation and management of crime. Varying concerns around crime prevalence were identified. The findings reveal that gendered implications play a key role in shaping crime concern and forming opinions on the cultural representation of crime. The thesis concludes by reflecting upon the research process and pointing towards future directions for criminology.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:709741 |
Date | January 2017 |
Creators | Dodsley, Thomas Paul |
Publisher | Durham University |
Source Sets | Ethos UK |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Source | http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12042/ |
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