Whilst being here I have been reading and writing a lot. The trip has given me much needed space to document and revise some of my thinking. I was given a journal at Johns Hopkins University on Biomedical and Psychosocial approaches to drug and alcohol dependence, as well as purchasing Gottfredson’s and Hirschi’s ‘A general Theory of crime’. The relevance of my point here is about the importance of evidence. There are so many organisations and community people who have stories to tell, experiencs that can inform debate, discussion, and policy concerns, but in my discussions there is a disconnect between community, academia, and strategic bodies. Nothing new really, but at times it is a hard pill to swallow, knowing that so much needs to be done and can be changed if there were more cohesive ties in the research agenda.
Attending a recent meeting I was painfully aware of how community services see themselves at data gatherers on behalf of commissioning agencies, but not really part of the evaluation strategy. I do have concerns regarding this unequal union, as communities are ideally placed to not only gather the data, interpret it, as well as providing recommendations to vested interests. It then struck me about notions of power and how it all works. Parents can define the research, undertake it, and with the right resourcing see their tested hypothesis come to fruition with practical results. I would like to see a time when community can research its own needs and influence public, social, and cultural policy.
Inner city Baltimore has an invisible layer of criminal justice casualties; criminals who have desisted from a life of crime, but have themselves become victims of crime. Attempts to leave the gang, beating the court case by informing on others, and community justice in the form of revenge creates more victims. The difference is, these victims have no sympathy from society or community, no free healthcare, or at times, any future. Their lives are ruled by fear, governed by the code of the streets, and create little or no pathway to a new life. However, they do have something to offer in terms of experience that policy makers, researchers, and educators should access as way of understanding some of the complexities that conventional methods fail to explain or even understand.
The prospect of having no money for living, healthcare, food, or personal items, as a consequence of being involved in crime may leave society safer and the community feeling justice has prevailed. However, with the prospect of having absolutely nothing erodes any notion of pride and motivation to return back to a life of law abiding activity. This position results in forcing individuals back to the ‘corners’ as a way surviving and restoring lost pride and status. Little Melvin’s history of criminality and ultimate desistance has relevance for scholars looking at desistance. However, Melvin lives in the Inner city where many researchers fear to tred. This poses a dilemma for an important area of investigation. The need for ethnography and criminal biography is crucial here. Shows like ‘The Wire’, ‘The Soprano’s’, CSI, and so on, seldom use criminological theories as a way of exploring, explaining, and giving insight to the wider community about crime and it’s orientation. A significant gap is identified, but a wider question is raised, ‘are filmmakers the only ones who can attempt to reflect aspects of crime? or should relevant academic disciplines play more of a role in using media to generate ideas?
Ethics are the bedrock of academic research. An important and necessary process of selection of methods to be used in accessing constituents. Thus ensuring objectification in the process. In most cases it requires negotiating access, brokering relationships, and finding formats that will satisfy both the commissioning agency as well as the subjects of the inquiry. In places like Baltimore’s inner city, ethical considerations are no less important, but different. The element of risk has to be carefully balanced against the need to undertake the work required. Gaining access at times is at the discretions of criminals, gang members, or go betweens who make a series of brokered on your behalf. It is important that any researcher undertaking work in a difficult environment make appropriate choices and selections without compromising the outcomes. It is also important not to avoid engaging in these hostile environments on account of protocols that at times should be questioned and challenged.
Peace
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