Week 2 - Crime Prevention in the Age of Responsibilization

History of the Preventive State

19th Century → prevention as an aspect of policing

1980s → shift from the welfare state to neoliberal policy

• Reduction of social services, faith in corporations to sustain the economy

• Privitzation

• Individual is responsible for their risk

1990s, 2000s → attention to the scientization of risk

• Tertiary prevention - reduction of recidivism from “risky groups”

• Risk is now something that can be calculated

2001 (9/11) → Terrorist attacks result in the perpetuation of fear and citizen involvement

• Dangerousness is perception (e.x. muslims as “high-risk”

• Ordinary people help fight terrorism

Results in the preventive state and responsibilization

Preventive State

The various state laws/policies and practices that aim to minimize risk and provide security

• Policy is backed by proactive uncertainty and possible prejudice

  • Specifically targets the marginalized

• e.x. police checks, mandatory minimums

Fighting an “unknown but known risk”

• Secondary targeting of at-risk groups is abused via tertiary methods to prevent recidivism

Responsibilization

The responsibility of crime prevention / social control is passed to non-state actors such as individuals or private businesses

• “Self governance” and empowerment to help report/prevent crime

State’s expansion of influence by influencing non-state actors to help crime control through their own conduct

• e.x. Installing security actions, call to self-governance

“Depoliticizing” → everyone has a responsibility to protect one another

Government At a Distance

State retains means of crime / social control through collaboration with NGO’s, communities, citizens, as well as the private security market

• Boundaries between state, civil society, and private sector are blurred

Formal crime control techniques are still undergoing, but through responsibilization the state reaches non-governmental actors who engage in crime prevention and social control.

e.x. Insurance, private security