Youth Violence— Crime or Self-Help? Marginalized Urban Males' Perspectives on the Limited Efficacy of the Criminal Justice System to Stop Youth Violence

Deanna L. Wilkinson, Chauncey C. Beaty and Regina M. Lurry
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Deanna L. Wilkinson: Department of Human Development and Family Science at The Ohio State University, wilkinson.110@osu.edu
Chauncey C. Beaty: Ohio State University
Regina M. Lurry: Ohio State University

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2009, vol. 623, issue 1, 25-38

Abstract: In 1983, sociologist Donald Black proposed the theory of “Crime as Social Control,†in which he argued that for the socially disadvantaged, crime is commonly moralistic and can be characterized as self-help in the pursuit of justice when legal protection fails. This article uses Black's theory as a framework to assess the role of violence among African American male youth in disadvantaged urban communities in New York City. Using in-depth interview data for 416 young violent male offenders, the authors analyze youths' perspectives on their personal safety; access to legal, governmental, and communal protection from violence; the effectiveness of the criminal justice system and police in addressing crime and violence in their neighborhoods; and the need to rely on self- and group/gang-protection as a means of social control. The implications for self-help theory are discussed.

Keywords: African American; youth violence; self-help; social control; marginalization; racialized groups; police protection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:623:y:2009:i:1:p:25-38

DOI: 10.1177/0002716208330484

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