Random Violence

How We Talk about New Crimes and New Victims

By: Joel Best

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Paperback | 2 March 1999 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

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237 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.5 x 15.43 x 1.59

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Random Violence is a deft and thought-provoking exploration of the ways we talk about-and why we worry about-new crimes and new forms of victimization. Focusing on so-called random crimes such as freeway shootings, gang violence, hate crimes, stalking, and wilding, Joel Best shows how new crime problems emerge and how some quickly fade from public attention while others spread and become enduring subjects of concern. Best's original and incisive argument illuminates the fact that while these crimes are in actuality neither new, nor epidemic, nor random, the language used to describe them nonetheless shapes both private fears and public policies.

Best scrutinizes the melodramatic quality of the American public's attitudes toward crime, exposing the cultural context for the popularity of "random violence" as a catch-all phrase to describe contemporary crime, and the fallacious belief that violence is steadily rising. He points out that the age, race, and sex of homicide victims reveal that violence is highly patterned.

Best also details the contemporary ideology of victimization, as well as the social arrangements that create and support a victim industry that can label large numbers of victims. He demonstrates why it has become commonplace to "declare war" on social problems, including drugs, crime, poverty, and cancer, and outlines the complementary influence of media, activists, officials, and experts in institutionalizing crime problems. Intrinsic to all these concerns is the way in which policy choices and outcomes are affected by the language used to describe social problems.

Industry Reviews

"This book looks at the patterns of crime and violence in U.S. society and how the language people use to describe it distorts how it is understood. Turning to roles of the news media and social activists in communicating threats to personal safety and public order, best argues that American culture tends to avoid the reality of crime and its underlying causes."--J"ournal of Social Work Education

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Social Services & Welfare Crime & Criminology Society & Culture Cultural Studies Politics & Government Central Government Central Government Policies Social Issues & Processes Violence in Society Law Laws of Specific Jurisdictions

Criminal Law & Procedure Media Studies Sociology & Anthropology

Acknowledgments
Preface
Random Violence	p. 1
From Incidents to Instances: The Media Discover Wilding and Freeway Violence	p. 28
Beyond Instances: Institutionalizing Stalking and Hate Crimes	p. 48
Gangs, Conspiracies, and Other Cultural Resources	p. 72
The New Victims	p. 93
The Victim Industry	p. 119
Declaring War on Social Problems	p. 142
Connections among Claims: The Context for New Social Problems	p. 162
New Ways to Study Media Coverage of Social Problems	p. 189
Notes	p. 197
References	p. 211
Index	p. 237
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Random Violence

How We Talk about New Crimes and New Victims

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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