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Article: Crime and civilization.
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- August 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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RS: Why do you claim there is little connection between the crime rate and the number of people being sent to prison?
NC: I hesitate to use the word `crime', because in a way `crime' does not exist, it is just a social definition of certain unwanted acts. Sometimes there is no official action at all following such acts. Look at family matters - teenagers often act in ways that, if it were outside the family, would be labelled as `crime', but because it is inside it's just your son, who takes some money from the kitchen table or is hitting his brother. You don't call that `theft' or `violence' because you know reasons for his behaviour; but if it were a new ...