Getting to the Point? Reframing Narratives on Knife Crime

Abstract

Amid rising public concern of knife-enabled crime, this article seeks to review and reframe the contemporary debates on knife crime which remain tied to concepts of fear, protection and fashion. Concepts of social field theory and street capital theory have much to offer in reframing a more contemporary narrative. Through such analysis, knife crime can be redefined as a logical response to the unpredictable asymmetrics of the social field, offering mechanisms for agency and control while providing both a pressure release and opportunity to demonstrate authenticity in ‘The Game’.

Violence, worry and trust in the emergence of weapon-carrying

“…The study provides further evidence, albeit the first based on a sample from England and Wales, that worry about victimisation does not predict weapon-carrying longitudinally. That does not mean people involved in violence are not concerned about victimisation -they have repeatedly said they are (Harding 2019) and this should not be ignored -but it does suggest that this concern is not a direct cause of their weapon-carrying over a significant length of time. One interpretation of this finding is that weapon-carriers play down their concerns about victimisation in social surveys, leading to a measurement error that hides a real effect of worry on weapon-carrying.…”

“…Furthermore, the evidence for a longitudinal relationship between concern about future victimisation and weapon-carrying suggests only modest associations. However, this evidence is complicated by the conceptual differences between fear, worry and perceived likelihood that are regularly discussed in criminological research (Jackson 2005;Farrall et al 2009) and the narrative accounts of weapon-carriers who claim that they only carry weapons for self-defence (Traynor 2016;Harding 2019).…”

Exploring legacies of the baby boomers in the twenty-first century

“…Insofar as street capital here is linked not only to social trust but also a sense of belonging, as research on knife crime indicates it is (Harding, 2020), the contribution to this Special Issue of Fox et al is instructive for illuminating the rarely considered relationship between religion and social capital, and how that might affect generational differences generally and intergenerational inequalities in particular. Drawing data from the UK's Household Longitudinal Study, Fox et al contend millennials have lower levels of religious and social capital than baby boomers, albeit the overall impact of religion on social capital is somewhat limited.…”

Can Professional Interventions Contribute to an Escalation in Cases of Youth Violence? Considering the Impact of the Shift from Informal to Formal Youth Support on an Inner City Housing Estate

“…The isolation experienced by young people when the 'Old Head' relational support is missing can lead to a criminogenic street culture developing where the symbolic capital of violence, sexual promiscuity and drug dealing become embodied street capital and a vital way of achieving material goals and status (Fraser, 2013;Harding, 2014Harding, , 2020Ilan, 2012;Pitts, 2020;Sandberg, 2008, Stewart and Simons, 2007.…”