Cities, Crime and Disorder – Book of Abstracts

Contents Social Science, Visual Criminology and the Urban Condition ................................................................. 2 Eamonn Carrabine, University of Essex .......................................................................................... 2 Illicit Urban Economies and Global Capitalist Zoning ............................................................................. 2 Alex Hall, Teesside University ......................................................................................................... 2 Privatisation, space and police ............................................................................................................... 3 John Lea, University of Leicester..................................................................................................... 3 Night-time economies and the interpretation of violence by victims ................................................ 4 Iain Brennan, University of Hull ...................................................................................................... 4 Viewing brothels in Blackpool: Between sensory urbanism and visual criminology .......................... 4 Emily Cooper, Ian R. Cook and Charlotte Bilby, Northumbria University ....................................... 4 Social boundaries and the level of crime in British cities ................................................................... 4 Nema Dean*, Gavin Dong^, Gwilym Pryce^, Aneta Piekut^, * School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow, ^ Sheffield Methods Institute, University of Sheffield .............. 4 Place-making and shopping spaces: reconciling market demands and managing anti-social behaviour ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Jill Dickinson and Vicky Heap, Sheffield Hallam University............................................................. 5 Political (Dis)ordering: Still, the role of class, race and place (WT) .................................................... 5 Anthony Ellis and Tina G. Patel, University of Salford .................................................................... 5 The changing face of urban order in Bangladesh: gangsters, violence and party politics.................. 5 David Jackman, University of Bath.................................................................................................. 5 Spaces of protest in times of hashtags ................................................................................................... 5 Lucas Melgaço. Vrije Universiteit Brussel – VUB ............................................................................ 5 “Ferguson” and the Invention of Civil Disorder .................................................................................. 6 Daniel J. Monti, Saint Louis University ............................................................................................ 6 Group-related disorder and legal regulation of public space in the Czech Republic.......................... 6 Pavel Pospěch, Masaryk University, Czech Republic ...................................................................... 6 Urban space in the social control of incivilities .................................................................................. 6 Nina Peršak and Anna Di Ronco, Ghent and Essex Universities ..................................................... 6 Nightlife ethnography, alcohol-related violence and urban (in)security............................................ 7 Stephen Tomsen and Phillip Wadds, Western Sydney University and University of New South Wales............................................................................................................................................... 7 Urban safety and the end of policy: governing Memphis through data, grants, ‘community’ and the security apparatus. ....................................................................................................................... 7 1

Simone Tulumello, Universidade de Lisboa .................................................................................... 7 Making sense of the city: police perspectives .................................................................................... 7 Liz Turner, University of Liverpool .................................................................................................. 7 Unmanned Aerials Vehicles (UAVs) in the Urban Context; Crime, Control & Contested Spatialities 8 Philip Wane, Nottingham Trent University ..................................................................................... 8 The Political Economy of Race and Crime in Britain ........................................................................... 8 Colin Webster, Leeds Beckett University ........................................................................................ 8

Keynote abstracts

Social Science, Visual Criminology and the Urban Condition Eamonn Carrabine, University of Essex The relationships that obtain between crime and place have long animated the criminological imagination. From Victorian explorations of urban squalor in London, through the moral mapping of modernity in Chicago, to recent excavations of postmodernity in fortress Los Angeles, it is clear that the city has preoccupied thinking about crime. Just under two decades ago it could be claimed that ‘visual representations. . . have been largely ignored in the social sciences’, which is indicative of a ‘deep mistrust’ of images (Holliday, 2000:503-4) in disciplines like anthropology, economics, geography and sociology, where the uses of visual material in social research has long been marginalised. Yet since then there has been a striking proliferation of diverse visual research methods across the social sciences, and in this paper I explore their potential for revitalizing dialogues between urban studies and criminology.

Illicit Urban Economies and Global Capitalist Zoning Alex Hall, Teesside University This paper explores illegal business in the post-industrial urban environment. Drawing on empirical research undertaken with suppliers and consumers of illicit lifestyle drugs, it will illustrate how local markets and changing local cultures are embedded in the processes of global political economy, particularly new technological developments and systems of trade and commerce. Fuelled by shifting consumer desires for body-image and status in the new leisure-lifestyle economy, the postindustrial urban environment is now a ‘glocal’ site for the distribution and consumption of performance and image enhancing drugs. Growing demand is met by producers and suppliers involved in complex supply chains that straddle the legal and the illegal. I will argue that the growth of these ‘glocal’ urban markets can be analysed as part of a general process of global capitalist zoning, in which elite and everyday actors respond to changes in the structures and flows of capital accumulation.

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Privatisation, space and police John Lea, University of Leicester A traditional meeting place for criminology and urban studies was public policing as 'the state on the street'. Neoliberal privatisation has proceeded from both criminal justice - the privatisation of public policing, and from the gradual decomposition of public urban space.These developments evoke in many respects a return to themes characterstic of early industrial urban capitalism with profound consequences for ideas of authority, legitimacy and class relations

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Night-time economies and the interpretation of violence by victims Iain Brennan, University of Hull Abstract: Some victims do not regard violence against them as a crime. While these incident contribute to the ‘dark figure’, they are rarely acknowledged in the criminological literature. Consequently, little is known about why victims label offensive incidents as crimes. Alongside harm and the legal definitions of crime, it is likely that these decisions are influenced by contextual factors, such as the setting for the incident. As the scene of a large proportion of violence in the UK, nighttime economies represent an ideal testing ground to examine the process of ‘labelling crime’. Using victimization survey data, this paper will show that the criminal nature of violence in these spaces is heavily discounted by victims. The implications of these findings for the ‘moral holiday’ hypothesis of drinking settings, the ‘ownership’ of victimisation and the importance of situational context in understanding crime will be discussed.

Viewing brothels in Blackpool: Between sensory urbanism and visual criminology Emily Cooper, Ian R. Cook and Charlotte Bilby, Northumbria University This paper argues that there is value in bringing together ideas from the urban studies literature on sensory urbanism with those from the visual criminology literature. To do this, it draws on a case study of brothels in the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool and focuses in particular on the physical appearance of the brothels and how they are perceived by members of the local community. Here there is a particular focus on the appearance and transparency of the windows and doors of the brothels, the visibility of their security measures, and the role of colour and light in their appearance. The case study demonstrates that in order to make sense of illicit places in the city, it is vital to relate the visual to other senses and, more than this, to capture the relationship between the senses and emotion.

Social boundaries and the level of crime in British cities Nema Dean*, Gavin Dong^, Gwilym Pryce^, Aneta Piekut^, * School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow, ^ Sheffield Methods Institute, University of Sheffield Social boundaries are potentially important features of the urban landscape.The frontiers between contrasting neighbourhoods are potential sources of conflict and also of enlightenment and interaction. But such boundaries are rarely truly “closed” – there may be a steep contrast with a particular neighbourhood in one direction, but a more gradual blending of neighbourhoods in other directions. This poses some formidable methodological challenges particularly if one seeks to compute inference for the existence of a boundary. This paper presents a method that addresses these issues using Bayesian spatial statistical methods. We demonstrate how the estimated boundaries can be used to compute transparent and easy to understand measures of segregation/diversity based on distance to social boundary. We also look at the question of whether the existence and steepness of social boundaries are indicative of potential social tensions. Do social boundaries matter for social cohesion and the impact of diversity? For example, is the proximity of contrasting neighbourhoods associated with higher levels of crime? We explore the methodological issues and illustrate our novel approach using data on selected cities in the UK.

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Place-making and shopping spaces: reconciling market demands and managing antisocial behaviour Jill Dickinson and Vicky Heap, Sheffield Hallam University The UK retail sector was one of the many areas negatively affected by the global financial crisis of 2007-2011. Savvy shopping centres have spotted the necessity for re-thinking their practices, policies and procedures in a bid to entice customers in a competitive market. This has had farreaching consequences for those who hold a stake in shopping spaces, such as: business owners, landlords, tenants, consumers and the wider public, as well as law enforcement agencies. This paper critically analyses and evaluates some of the different ways within which key stakeholder groups work together in creatively utilising the law and policy toolkit to police shopping spaces, within the much broader context of town and city centre governance.

Political (Dis)ordering: Still, the role of class, race and place (WT) Anthony Ellis and Tina G. Patel, University of Salford Using data collected from an ethnographic pilot study in Rotherham (UK), this paper engages with the recent resurgence of political views and sentiments traditionally associated with the Far Right in de-industrialised communities. It discusses the socio-political foundations offered by residents in their move towards newer emerging Far Right groups, which included narratives about the findings of the Jay Report regarding failures by professionals in the child sexual exploitation; perceptions of the Labour Party having moved away from historically representing their views to now having presided over the silencing of victims as a result of an exercise in ‘political correctness’; and, frustrations emerging from an overall sense of victimization due to localized spatial politics and resource allocation. It is argued that these factors, along with misguided yearnings for ‘justice’, are anchored in the devastating collapse of working class cultural life and the continued use of racialized logic about space and place.

The changing face of urban order in Bangladesh: gangsters, violence and party politics David Jackman, University of Bath Gangsters, often referred to locally as mastan, have been identified as central to the urban order in Bangladesh. They are portrayed as mediating access to work and public services, as running extortion networks and providing muscle for politicians. Over the past decade however Dhaka has seen dramatic change: the mastan are in radical decline and wings of the ruling party have in many ways taken their place. This represents the further party politicisation of criminality, but has in fact brought a greater degree of stability to the social order. These arguments are made on the basis of ethnographic research in a large, and infamous, market place at the centre of Dhaka. It will sketch the rise and fall of a prominent local gangster, and examine the significance of party politics today.

Spaces of protest in times of hashtags Lucas Melgaço. Vrije Universiteit Brussel – VUB In today’s connected and virtual world the demonstration of discontentment has taken on new forms and possibilities. In a matter of clicks one can start an online petition that may go viral and reach an enormous number of subscribers. It has also become common to add a filter to your profile 5

picture to demonstrate support for causes related to gay pride or victims of terrorist attacks, for example. The use of hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter or #JeSuisCharlie have helped to aggregate people towards common causes. Space, however, has not become less important today. People still take to the streets to protest even though one could take actions only online, from the comfort and safety of their homes. What is thus the importance of space for protests today? How do both demonstrators and law enforcement agents take space into account in their preparation for public demonstrations? By discussing Belgian cases, this presentation will argue that space is more than a container where actions take place, but is an active agent in protests. It will also show that space and the virtual world are not exclusive but complementary factors, an idea which is actually being reinforced with the emergence of mobile Internet, smartphones and augmented reality.

“Ferguson” and the Invention of Civil Disorder Daniel J. Monti, Saint Louis University Rioting by racial minorities in U.S. cities has diminished even as disorder in English and European cities has grown. Explored in this essay is the manner in which our understanding of the causes, character, and consequences of urban unrest has changed. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of a more “civil” pattern of disorder in which persons acting out have become more circumspect in their attacks and authorities have learned not to overreact to the provocative actions of aggrieved parties. The voluntary curtailment of deadly force and property destruction points to an important change in which newcomers to cities and more established parties are learning to deal with each other less disrespectfully than they did in the past.

Group-related disorder and legal regulation of public space in the Czech Republic Pavel Pospěch, Masaryk University, Czech Republic Following the 2000 Municipal law, Czech city administrations have been given the right to impose bans on conduct which they consider disorderly in public space. Over the past 15 years, there has been a steep rise in the number of such prohibitive ordinances, with bans on begging and public drinking followed by bans on picnicking, loitering and sitting on grass. This paper follows this process of tightening the rules of conduct in public space and links it to the discourses of disorder in the national media. Building on an extensive content analysis of the country's media coverage of disorder in public space from 1990 to the present, the paper shows that the media representations of disorder are strictly group-related and they are articulated in two separate streams, one referring to homeless/street people and the other to the Roma minority.

Urban space in the social control of incivilities Nina Peršak and Anna Di Ronco, Ghent and Essex Universities The central aim of this paper is to examine how urban space mediates the social control in the area of incivilities. To this end, we first inspect the existing literature, particularly within the group of the socio-spatial studies which emphasize the importance of culture and values in the interaction with the social control (Bottoms 2012). Partly drawing on examples from our previous studies, we suggest that people’s perceptions of urban space (which are influenced by cultural symbols and values) affect their perceptions of incivilities, while the latter often determine or at least contribute to the shaping of the social control of incivilities. The paper concludes by discussing implications of this for 6

the possible future, more integrated criminological research on the social control of incivilities in the city.

Nightlife ethnography, alcohol-related violence and urban (in)security Stephen Tomsen and Phillip Wadds, Western Sydney University and University of New South Wales In the last decade, there has been a growing level of international media, political and community concern about serious and fatal alcohol-related violence and disorder in nightlife spaces. This presentation explores the highly gendered situational context of urban drinking settings and its relationship with this violence and its policing. It draws on ethnographic research conducted over three decades in Sydney, a time of expanded liberalisation of night-time drinking that has been set against official state hypocrisy about the consequences of this process. By means of comparison, these sources provide evidence about historical shifts in levels of unreported violence and the attitudes and practices of police and private security in relation to this violence and its victims. This presentation will argue for the value of detailed ethnographic research, particularly more rare longterm comparative ethnographies, to criminology concerned with critical explorations of urban crime, disorder and violence.

Urban safety and the end of policy: governing Memphis through data, grants, ‘community’ and the security apparatus. Simone Tulumello, Universidade de Lisboa Much has been written on the global processes of neoliberalisation of urban security and safety, but less on their micro-strategies and governmentalities put on place at the local scale. This paper will discuss governmental practices of crime prevention at the municipal level in Memphis (Tennessee, USA) with the aim of emphasising ambiguities and contradictions of neoliberal policy-making in a context of long-term rule of austerity urbanism. We will discuss how the centrality of security/safety in political discourse – and the growth of the security apparatus – coexists with the disengagement of government from the political responsibility to design/implement “policies”, around three trends: (i) use of data-driven policing, (ii) replacement of policies with grants and (iii) reliance on community self-defence. In short, we will show how urban security as (public) policy was fading out at the same time as the militarised police department was becoming the only “policy actor” proper.

Making sense of the city: police perspectives Liz Turner, University of Liverpool Drawing on data from a three year ethnographic study of police work in an urban area this paper will explore the way in which police officers make sense of and respond to the built environment of the city they police and the people who live in and move through that environment. The paper will focus on officers’ own conceptualisations and analyses of the problems of the city in order to try and gain a sense of what the geography and sociology of the city look like for individuals who are traditionally charged with responsibility for maintaining order and safety for the urban population.

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Unmanned Aerials Vehicles (UAVs) in the Urban Context; Crime, Control & Contested Spatialities Philip Wane, Nottingham Trent University The increasing availability of UAVs, popularly known as drones, presents unique challenges to the conceptualisation of urban spaces, patterns of criminal activity, and the policing thereof. Conceptions of human geography, urban planning and criminological perspectives tend to emphasise the horizontal over the vertical but new technological developments mean that vertical space is increasingly important. Whereas high rise buildings have previously embodied physical manifestations of the vertical, drone technology decouples vertical spaces from individual buildings and opens up new layers of verticality. Air space is strictly regulated but criminals will likely discount legal restrictions presenting new challenges to the policing of urban air space with regards to privacy, the distribution of illegal materials including drugs, and other illegal activities. Conceptualising emerging typologies of drone technology and combatting new criminal topographies presents unique challenges to criminology and urban studies.

The Political Economy of Race and Crime in Britain Colin Webster, Leeds Beckett University Building on recent research about the long-term impact of poverty on crime, the paper will chart and analyse claims that Britain is entering a post-racial, multi-ethnic future in its urban social and economic spaces. This apparent ‘normalisation’ of minority ethnic stratification so that it more resembles that of the white majority class structure of extreme inequality, suggests a lessoning importance of inequalities between ethnic groups. This overcoming of a situation whereby minorities were disproportionately poor with few middle class or elite members, is presumed to be occurring through their improved educational performance and occupational mobility. It is claimed that the differences in social and economic outcomes between the more and less advantaged within each ethnic group are much greater than differences between ethnic groups. The paper will show that racial inequality is not trumped by class inequality; that the interplay of economic, cultural and social capital undermines such a possibility; and that spatial inequalities and segregation in urban settings remain the most salient features that concentrate minority disadvantage. Even in Britain, these racialized settings penalise and mire minorities in social stasis and urban crime, while the adverse influences of neighbourhood remain the main determinant of life chances among minorities.

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