265 FOURTEEN ‘Binge drinking’, anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related disorder: examining the 2003 Licensing Act Paul Norris and Derek Williams In this chapter, we locate the patterns of behaviour now routinely labelled as ‘binge drinking’ within spatial, economic and cultural changes associated with the growth of the night-time economy of British cities and towns since 1987 (see Taylor, 1999; Hobbs et al, 2000; Hadfield, 2006). We also explore recent policy interventions in respect of licensing hours, regulation and ‘liberalisation’. Such changes are
Alcohol consumption is frequently described as a contemporary, worsening and peculiarly British social problem that requires radical remedial regulation. Informed by historical research and sociological analysis, this book takes an innovative and refreshing look at how public attitudes and the regulation of alcohol have developed through time. It argues that, rather than a response to trends in consumption or harm, ongoing anxieties about alcohol are best understood as ‘hangovers’ derived, in particular, from the Victorian period. The product of several years of research, this book aims to help readers re-evaluate their understandings of drinking. As such, it is essential reading for students, academics and anyone with a serious interest in Britain’s ‘drink problem’.
This book critically explores the urban governance of healthy lifestyles and the contemporary problematisations of the obesity, sedentarism and alcohol “epidemics". To do so, it uses US and UK case studies to shed light on the complex socio-spatial dynamics of responsibilities for health and argues for an engagement with the construct of “sensible" behaviour at a time of its rising political salience. This book will appeal to sociologists, geographers, anthropologists and those concerned with the governance of health and lifestyle.
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) has been a major preoccupation of New Labour’s project of social and political renewal, with ASBOs a controversial addition to crime and disorder management powers. Thought by some to be a dangerous extension of the power to criminalise, by others as a vital dimension of local governance, there remains a concerning lack of evidence as to whether or not they compound social exclusion.
This collection, from an impressive panel of contributors, brings together opinion, commentary, research evidence, professional guidance, debate and critique in order to understand the phenomenon of anti-social behaviour. It considers the earliest available evidence in order to evaluate the Government’s ASB strategy, debates contrasting definitions of anti-social behaviour and examines policy and practice issues affected by it.
Contributors ask what the recent history of ASB governance tells us about how the issue will develop to shape public and social policies in the years to come. Reflecting the perspectives of practitioners, victims and perpetrators, the book should become the standard text in the field.
This accessible guide provides a stimulating analysis of the governance of the night-time economy in cities for practitioners and newcomers alike.
Drawing on a wide range of case studies of after dark activity in cities around the world, it reviews labour, environmental services, healthcare, the role of leaders including night mayors, managers and commissioners, and the influence of both public and private sectors.
Offering invaluable insights for the future of night-time governance during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, this book deepens our understanding of the benefits, challenges and impacts of a neglected aspect of the economy.
This collection adds weight to an emerging argument that suggests that policies in place to make cities better places are inextricably linked to an attempt to civilize, pacify and regulate crime and disorder in urban areas, contributing to a vision of an urban renaissance which is perhaps as much about control as it is about the broader physical and social renewal of our towns and cities.
The book has three key themes: the theories, strategies and assumptions underpinning the securing of 'Urban Renaissance'; the agendas of current urban policy in the field of crime control; and, thirdly, the role of communities within these agendas. The book provides focused discussions and engagement with these issues from a range of scholars who examine policy connections that can be traced between social, urban and crime policy and the wider processes of regeneration in British towns and cities. The book also seeks to develop our understanding of policies, theories and practices surrounding contemporary British urban policy where a move from concerns with 'urban renaissance' to those of sustainable communities clearly intersect with issues of community security, policing and disorder.
Providing a rare disciplinary crossover between urban studies, criminology and community studies, "Securing an Urban Renaissance" will be essential reading for academics and students in criminology, social policy and human geography concerned with the future of British cities and the political debates shaping the regulation of conduct, crime and disorder in these spaces.
Lurid headlines on every aspect of migration have been a consistent feature of the last decade, from worries over asylum seekers to concerns about unprecedented economic immigration from Eastern Europe.
This book presents the first comprehensive account of government policy on immigration over the last ten years, providing an in-depth analysis of policy and legislation since Tony Blair and New Labour were first elected. The account begins by placing policy change under Labour in their proper historical context, before examining the key policy themes - economic migration; security; integration; asylum; delivery - of the last decade.
Through an analysis of such policy themes, the author contends that immigration policy has undergone an intense and innovative transformation in the period from May 1997 to May 2007. Arguing that a more plural system of governance exists, the author challenges traditional accounts of policy development. By addressing the various influences on immigration policymaking, from globalisation, the European Union and the law, to politics, the media and the networks of special interests, he seeks to provide a holistic explanation for the transformation of immigration policy. The author concludes with an evaluation of Labour’s immigration reforms, and whether government policy can be judged a success.
The book will be of interest to policymakers, academics, students studying immigration, and readers interested in serious current affairs.
What is it like to be a child growing up in Britain these days? Is it a happy time, or is there too much to worry about? What are the best and worst aspects of being a child today? Children these days draws on the accounts of over two thousand children, and five hundred adults, to examine the present day meaning of childhood and its implications for policy and practice.
Key questions addressed by the study include how is childhood perceived? What is it like to grow up and become an adult? What are the influences and controls on young people? Are young people protected or over-protected? How much do young people and adults respect and talk to each other? To what extent is Britain a child-friendly society?
The book provides unique evidence on children’s and adults’ views of childhood, and draws conclusions on the attitudes and policies to be challenged and developed in the 21st century. It will make a significant contribution to contemporary debate and discussion on the future of childhood.
Children these days is essential reading for policy makers, practitioners, academics, researchers, and students on childhood studies, social sciences, and social policy courses. It has been written in a style that means it is also accessible to others with a more general interest in children and childhood.
Substance misuse (including alcohol) and mental health problems constitute a significant proportion of the work carried out in the criminal justice system. Approaches to these often intractable problems have seen the rise of a dominant risk paradigm concerned with public protection and the use of coercion through court orders to access treatment. This original and valuable book considers notions of risk and rehabilitation in detail within the practice of those court orders, whilst contextualising them within a wider comparative literature and research base. The efficacy of these approaches, practice issues and innovations including for example therapeutic jurisprudence are analysed. Risk and rehabilitation also includes discussions of the implications for partnership working and the importance of reconfiguring the nature of rehabilitative relationships. This is a timely book as probation practice in the UK and elsewhere moves into a post ‘what works’ era, providing opportunities to review the evidence base for effective interventions.
Community safety emerged as a new approach to tackling and preventing local crime and disorder in the late 1980s and was adopted into mainstream policy by New Labour in the late ‘90s. Twenty years on, it is important to ask how the community safety agenda has evolved and developed within local crime and disorder prevention strategies. This book provides the first sustained critical and theoretically informed analysis by leading authorities in the field. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of the community safety legacy, posing challenging questions, such as how and why has community safety policy making become such a contested terrain? What are the different issues at stake for ‘provider’ versus ‘consumer’ interests in community safety policy? Who are the winners and losers and where are the gaps in community safety policy making? Do new priorities mean that we have seen the rise and now the fall of community safety?
The book provides answers to these questions by exploring a wide range of topics relating to community safety policy and practice, including: anti-social behaviour strategies; victims’ perspectives on community safety; race, racism and policing; safety and social exclusion; domestic violence; substance misuse; community policing; and organised crime.
“Community safety” is primarily aimed at academics and students working in the areas of criminology and local policy making. However, it will also be of interest to community safety and crime prevention practitioners who need to have a critical understanding of the development and likely future direction of community safety programmes.
