Coercion in the Foreground of Crime

Abstract

To this point our discussion has focused on the background factors that play a role in producing criminality. The propensity for chronic criminal behavior springs from a developmental process during socialization that is punctuated on an erratic schedule with coercion. This developmental process, as discussed in chapter 3, is shaped by the immediate social contexts of family, school, peer associations, and state agencies, including those of the juvenile and criminal justice systems. To the extent that these contexts contain coercive relations, an individual interacting with them is more likely to develop coercive ideation and thus a greater propensity for chronic criminal behavior. In turn, as discussed in chapter 4, this developmental process is influenced by wider economic and cultural trends that to varying degrees over time and space promote coercive relations and coercive ideation. Taken together, these are the immediate and larger social contexts that promote coercion. These contexts, along with the individual’s experience of coercion, form the background from which criminal behavior arises. The more coercive this background, the more likely the individual will engage in criminal behavior, especially predatory and violent criminal behavior.KeywordsCoercive ForceCriminal BehaviorStreet CrimeCriminal EventInal InvolvementThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.