The dark footprint of state violence: A synthetic approach to the American crime decline

This project combines the conversation on the national crime rate with emerging discussions on the violence that the state perpetrates against civilians. To measure US lethal violence holistically, we reconceptualize the traditional definitional boundaries of violence to erase arbitrary distinctions...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Roussell, Aaron (Autor)
Otros Autores: Sexton, Lori ; Deppen, Paul ; Omori, Marisa ; Scheibler, Esther
Tipo de documento: Electrónico Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2022
En: Theoretical criminology
Año: 2022, Volumen: 26, Número: 2, Páginas: 326-346
Acceso en línea: Presumably Free Access
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Palabras clave:
Crime Control
Crime trends
Critical Criminology
Homicide
State violence
Violent Crime
crimes of the state
definitions of crime
police and policing
police homicide
Descripción
Sumario:This project combines the conversation on the national crime rate with emerging discussions on the violence that the state perpetrates against civilians. To measure US lethal violence holistically, we reconceptualize the traditional definitional boundaries of violence to erase arbitrary distinctions between state- and civilian-caused crime and violence. Discussions of the “crime decline” focus specifically on civilian crime, positioning civilians as the sole danger to the health, wealth, and safety of individuals. Violence committed by the state—from police homicide to deaths in custody to in-prison sexual assault—is not found in the traditionally reported crime rate. These absences belie real dangers posed to individuals which are historical and contemporary, nonnegligible, and possibly rising. We present Uniform Crime Report data side-by-side with data on police killings, deaths in custody, and executions from sources such as Fatal Encounters, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the Center for Disease Control to produce a robust discussion of deaths produced through the criminal legal system. We ground this empirical analysis in a broader conceptual framework that situates state violence squarely within the realm of US crime, and explore the implications of this more holistic view of crime for future analyses.
ISSN:1461-7439
DOI:10.1177/1362480620984233