ABSTRACT
Chapter Three explains how 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. It considers the range of policies which have been used to ‘fix’ broken society, to maintain order at the local level and to manage crime and anti-social behaviour with a focus on the ‘problem’ behaviour of young people and marginalized communities. The chapter therefore charts the emergence of interventions into high-crime neighbourhoods, from situational and social crime prevention strategies, to urban regeneration, zero tolerance, community efficacy and appeals to the active citizen.
