Carjacking, streetlife and offender motivation
For all of the media attention it has received in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, carjacking remains an under-researched and poorly understood crime. In this article, we explore the decision-making processes of active carjackers in real-life settings and circumstances, focusing on the subje...
Authors: | ; ; |
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Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2003
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In: |
The British journal of criminology
Year: 2003, Volume: 43, Issue: 4, Pages: 673-688 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Availability in Tübingen: | Present in Tübingen. IFK: In: Z 7 |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Keywords: |
Summary: | For all of the media attention it has received in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, carjacking remains an under-researched and poorly understood crime. In this article, we explore the decision-making processes of active carjackers in real-life settings and circumstances, focusing on the subjective foreground conditions that move such offenders from an unmotivated state to one in which they are determined to act. Drawing from semi-structured ethnographic interviews with 28 active carjackers in St Louis, Missouri, we argue that while the decision to commit a carjacking stems most directly from a situated interaction between particular sorts of perceived opportunities and particular sorts of perceived needs and desires, this decision is activated, mediated, and shaped by participation in urban street culture |
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ISSN: | 0007-0955 |
DOI: | 10.1093/bjc/43.4.673 |