Communities Crime And Social Capital In Contemporary China

This book explores the theoretical and empirical dimensions of community crime prevention in China, examining in particular the role of social capital in a rapidly modernizing economic, social and political context. In doing so it provides a vivid picture of contemporary crime and crime control in China as well as analyzing the very particular Chinese approach to community crime prevention, looking at such social institutions as the household registration system, the neighbourhood committee, the work unit and the public security bureau. The particular focus of this book is on BLSCC − Building Little Safe and Civilized Communities − in the city of Shenshen which has been undergoing rapid change. The book looks at two contrasting communities within the city, looking at their different characteristics and the differing ways in which social capital operates in relation to crime and crime prevention. As well as shedding light on the hitherto largely hidden subject of crime prevention in China this book also makes an important contribution to wider debates about social capital and its potential, an invaluable study based on unique research.

This book explores the theoretical and empirical dimensions of community crime prevention in China, examining in particular the role of social capital in a rapidly modernizing economic, social and political context. In doing so it provides a vivid picture of contemporary crime and crime control in China as well as analyzing the very particular Chinese approach to community crime prevention, looking at such social institutions as the household registration system, the neighbourhood committee, the work unit and the public security bureau. The particular focus of this book is on BLSCC − Building Little Safe and Civilized Communities − in the city of Shenshen which has been undergoing rapid change. The book looks at two contrasting communities within the city, looking at their different characteristics and the differing ways in which social capital operates in relation to crime and crime prevention. As well as shedding light on the hitherto largely hidden subject of crime prevention in China this book also makes an important contribution to wider debates about social capital and its potential, an invaluable study based on unique research.

The book selects Guangzhou, which has the highest crime rate in China, as a research site to study patterns of crime and social disorganization. It combines methods of content analyses with ethnographic fieldwork. The research first selected 1422 crime cases reported by the influential Southern Metropolis Daily in 2013 to identify the general crime-distribution pattern. The findings suggest that both spatial and demographic-density distribution of criminal cases in Guangzhou show a gradient circle pattern from city center to suburb. Focusing on three selected typical communities, the thesis finds important patterns of crime and social disorganization that are very different from Western research. These findings are organized according to major correlates of social disorganization, including unemployment, marriage and family, residential stability, ethnic heterogeneity, social equality, social capital, social control, social isolation and social exclusion, community cohesion, trust and fear, traditions, morals and beliefs, language. These findings extend and elaborate Social Disorganization Theory in urban China. This book can be used as a textbook for college and Ph.D. students majoring in law and sociology, as well as a reference book for professionals in related fields. Although academic, this book is written in such a way that it will also appeal to a general audience.

This important edited collection of articles by both Chinese and American scholars attempts to promote a more accurate and in-depth understanding of crime and social control in China, as it undergoes significant cultural, economic, and social change. The editors contend that as the economic system has been transformed, many other social institutions in China have also experienced unprecedented changes, including legal institutions and other organizations responsible for social control. The essays focus on crime in China and summarize the major structural changes in Chinese society and their effects on crime and justice over the last ten to fifteen years, offer an overview of Chinese perspectives on crime, examine socio-economic changes and their impact on social control, and discuss changes in adults' and children's courts and the new changes in Chinese policing in Chinese society. Organized into four parts, this work addresses the nature, extent and special features of crime and delinquency in China under conditions of social change. It also investigates the question of the social correlation of changing patterns of crime. The impact of social transition on the changes in the grassroots level of social control is also discussed. Chinese law and criminal justice, with particular focus on the courts, police, and crime prevention are mentioned as well. This unique collection of essays is a timely and significant contribution to the fields of comparative criminology, social control, Chinese studies, and legal studies.

This work investigates inequality and social exclusion in contemporary Chinese society, specifically in the context of urbanization, migration and crime. Economic reforms started in the late 1970s (post-Mao) fuelled a trend of urbanization and mass migration within China, largely from rural areas to more economically developed urban regions. With this migration, came new challenges in a rapidly changing society. Researchers have extensively studied the rural-to-urban human movement, social changes, inequality and its impact on individuals and society as a whole. This volume provides a new perspective on this issue. It forges a link between internal migration, inequality, social exclusion and crime in the context of China, through qualitative research into the impact of this phenomenon on individuals’ lives. Using a series of case studies drawn from interviews with inmates – men and women – in a large Chinese prison, it focuses on migrant offenders’ subjective experiences, and analyses issues from the rarely-heard perspectives of migrant lawbreakers themselves. The research demonstrates how factors – including: the hukou system, rural-urban, class and gender inequalities, prejudices against rural migrants, and other structural problems – often lead to migrant offending. The author argues that to mitigate the effects of criminalisation, the root causes of these problems should be examined, emphasizing radical reforms to the hukou policy, cultural change in urban society to welcome newcomers, positive programs to integrate migrant workers into urban societies and improve their opportunities, rather than inflicting harsher penalties or reducing migration. While the research is based in China, it has clear implications for other regions of the world, which are experiencing similar tensions related to national and international migration. This work will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with an interest in Asia, as well as those in related fields such as sociology, law and social justice.

Punishment in contemporary China has experienced dramatic shifts over the last seven decades or so. This book focuses on the evolution, development and change of punishment in the Maoist (1949-1977), reform (1978-2001) and post-reform eras (2002-) of China to understand the shaping and transformation of punishment within the context of a range of socio-cultural changes across different historical periods. It aims to fill the gap of existing research by developing a distinctive theoretical framework for the China’s penality, exploring it as a separate and complex legal-social system to observe the impact social foundations, political-economic genesis, cultural significance and meanings have exerted on penal form, discourse and force in contemporary China. It sheds light on the sociology of punishment in this socialist Party-state by investigating law reform, penal policy, social control, crime prevention and sentencing as interconnected elements in the criminal justice and penal system. This book will be of great interest to those who study Chinese criminal law, penal and policing system, as well as to law academics, criminologists and sociologists whose research interests lie in the fields of comparative criminology and criminal justice.

Social Change in Contemporary China offers a wide-ranging examination of Chinese institutional change in areas of education, religion, health care, economics, labor, family, and local communities in the post-Mao era. Based on the pioneering work of sociologist C. K. Yang (1911-1999), and his institutional diffusion theory, the essays analyze and develop the theory as it applies to both public and private institutions. The interrelationship of these institutions composes what Yang termed the Chinese "system," and affects nearly every aspect of life. Yang examined the influence of external factors on each institution, such as the influence of Westernization and Communism on family, and the impact of industrialization on rural markets. He also analyzed the impact of public opinion and past culture on institutions, therein revealing the circular nature of diffusion. Perhaps most significant are Yang's insights on the role of religion in Chinese society. Despite the common perception that China had no religion, he uncovers the influence of classical Confucianism as the basis for many ethical value systems, and follows its diffusion into state and kinship systems, as well as Taoism and Buddhism. Writing in the early years of Communism, Yang had little hard data with which to test his theories. The contributors to this volume expand upon Yang's groundbreaking approach and apply the model of diffusion to a rapidly evolving contemporary China, providing a window into an increasingly modern Chinese society and its institutions.