Author: Simon Hallsworth
ISBN No: 1-84392-028-X
Review date: 16/12/2025
No of pages: 193
Publisher: Willan Publishing
Year of publication:
Brief:
About the editor: Simon Hallsworth is a Principal Lecturer in the Department of Applied Social Science at London Metropolitan University where he is also the Director of the Universities Centre for Social Evaluation Research.
Our reviewer runs the rule over a criminologist’s take on street crime; and a book on risk.
In the introduction the author of this book tells the reader that he was the victim of a street robbery. As a consequence of this fact it may be assumed that the author would be concerned about the violent nature of the crime of robbery and its impact on victims. And yet the reader may well be left wondering if that is the case, for this book seems to propose a number of causes for street robbery that may be interpreted as suggesting that society, rather than the offender, is to be blamed. Any security professional reading this challenging book can therefore be reassured that while they may not necessarily be in agreement with the views that are expressed they will nevertheless be thoroughly engaged in the process. If the purpose of any book is to cause the reader to think then this book has achieved its aim, and then some.
The book begins by tracing the history of street or highway robbery and highlights the general popularity within which robbers were held by the public. We need only to think of Robin Hood to understand the point. However, some of the early comments by the author may cause a few raised eyebrows among security professionals, for example describing street robbery as a ‘job’ whose ‘art and craft’ and ‘skills’ are honed to become a state of ‘art’. Another early indication of the nature of the arguments that are advanced is that class disadvantage is a factor in street robbery. The influence of the consumer society and the desire among young people to own the latest products is highlighted as a key factor in prompting criminal behaviour. A rather interesting comparison is made in the conclusion to the book between the price of a mobile, often the very type of consumer product stolen in a street robbery, as set against the cost of imprisoning a young person convicted of that crime, some £35,000 a year. This simple comparison in the book seems rather to have been left unfinished and raises perhaps more questions that it seeks to answer. In addition the author suggests that a possible solution to overcoming such crimes is for victims to use rucksacks rather than a handbag. This suggestion again raises questions for the readers: for example is the author being too gender-specific and what might the consequences be for victims who use rucksacks, could it lead to increased violence?
There is no doubt that street crime, is and will remain high on the political agenda and as such will feature as one of the problems security professionals may be asked to address. As such this book makes a significant, interesting but also challenging contribution to assist any security professional in learning more about this type of crime.
Martin Wright
