ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book looks at the meaning and uses of community and the various ways in which academics and policy-makers have worked with the concept of ‘community’ over different periods. It explores the classic community studies of the early to mid-twentieth century and how these have informed understandings of community. The book looks at the emergence of the ‘problem neighbourhood’ and how discourses of ‘fear’, ‘disorder’ and ‘disintegration’ have shaped approaches to crime prevention. It explains the ways in which earlier debates around the social disorganization of communities have developed into a rhetoric of ‘broken’ society, exploring the political and theoretical rationale behind these developments. The book sets out the context and background to the control and containment of what have come to be known as ‘suspect’ communities.
