ABSTRACT
The criminological literature has long demonstrated how crime is not confined to socially deprived groups in poverty. Debates about a possible causal link have often been constructed along political lines. On the left, high rates of crime have been associated with poverty, unemployment, economic and political discontent and an absence of economic and political opportunities. It is argued from this position that poverty itself has become criminalised in that the poorest in societies are being disproportionately punished for the excesses of neoliberal global capitalist economies. Criminal justice systems are increasingly punitive, commercialised and based on risk assessments of questionable accuracy which can have a differential social impact. Explanations on the right of politics have emphasised links between an underclass, social disorganisation, inadequate parenting skills, low IQ and the perpetration of crime. Other forms of analysis combine elements of both these positions. The rise of the digital society has created new forms of inequality and global risk which differentially impact on poorer people. While complex explanations of crime are differentiated and nuanced, being tough on crime has been a consistent feature of social policy as reflected in global incarceration rates.
