Street Justice
Retaliation in the Criminal Underworld

This 2006 book explores retaliation from the perspective of those who have experienced it first hand.

Bruce A. Jacobs (Author), Richard Wright (Author)

9780521617987, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 May 2006

168 pages
22.6 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.25 kg

'This book on retaliation in the criminal underworld is very innovative in the way that it incorporates lived experiences from active offenders and criminals. … an engaging addition to criminology, and, in particular, for those interested in the areas of victimology and cultural criminology. For me, it specifically feeds into the increasing research with a 'gang gaze'. I welcome more controversial studies of this type, which are not overly policy driven yet advance understanding in the field.' Sociology

Street criminals live in a dangerous world, but they cannot realistically rely on the criminal justice system to protect them from predation by fellow lawbreakers; they are on their own when it comes to dealing with crimes perpetrated against them and often use retaliation as a mechanism for deterring and responding to victimization. Although retaliation lies at the heart of much of the violence that plagues many inner-city neighborhoods across the United States, it has received scant attention from criminologists. As a result, the structure, process, and forms of retaliation in the real world setting of urban America remain poorly understood. Street Justice: Retaliation in the Criminal World, first published in 2006, explores the face of modern day retaliation from the perspective of currently active criminals who have experienced it first hand, as offenders, victims, or both.

1. Background and methods
2. The retributive ethic
3. A typology of criminal retaliation
4. Gender and retaliation (with Christopher Mullins)
5. Imperfect retaliation
6. Retaliation in perspective.

Subject Areas: Sociology & anthropology [JH]