Charting the place of islands in criminology: On isolation, integration and insularity

Abstract

In this article, we seek to chart the place of islands in criminology with respect to both their place- and space-based attributes. We explore the possibilities of island criminology through the case of Pitcairn Island, which in 2004 formed the backdrop for a series of sensational sexual assault trials. The trials thrust the Island, its people, history and customs into the international spotlight, acting as a counter-narrative to the popular mythology of islands as idyllic paradises. This case study provides us with an opportunity to re-examine how fundamental concepts for understanding crime and regulation, such as social integration, community and belonging, and exclusion are practised in the often closed and bounded networks of island ecologies.

Family Structure and Delinquency in the English-Speaking Caribbean: The Moderating Role of Parental Attachment, Supervision, and Commitment to Negative Peers

“…Each country is also considered a small island developing state by the United Nations, characterized similarly by geographic isolation, reliance on imported goods, and poverty (United Nations, 2021). This “islandness” often results in distinctive mechanisms of social control that may play a role in influencing family processes (Scott & Staines, 2021).…”

Social Quarantining in the Construction and Maintenance of White Australia

“…James Cook’s Endeavour diaries, repealed laws, parliamentary speeches), and research conducted by the author and colleagues, published elsewhere (e.g. Scott and Staines, 2020, 2023; Staines, 2020; Staines and Scott, 2019). Although the following examples trace some of Australia’s colonial history, they are not intended to provide an exhaustive account of the violence perpetrated by the settler state.…”

Reimagining access to justice through the eyes of rural domestic violence survivors

“…The urbannormative gaze through which social policy is produced also applies to access to justice, in which ailing rural social infrastructure is largely the result of rurality and rural people being 'out of sight, out of mind'. Access to justice in both its sociolegal and reimagined contexts are limited or nonexistent because of remoteness and geopolitical barriers (Scott and Staines, 2020). Rural regions often exist in imperiled circumstances, where housing insecurity and homelessness, food deserts and food insecurity, limited access to reliable transportation, and chronic, generational poverty color much of the lived experience for those living rurally (Tickamyer et al, 2017).…”