Internal Migration, Crime, and Punishment in Contemporary China (eBook)

An inquiry into rural migrant offenders

Anqi Shen (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2018
XIII, 146 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-030-00674-7 (ISBN)

Infos

This work investigates inequality and social exclusion in contemporary Chinese society, specifically in the context of urbanization, migration and crime. Economic reforms started in the late 1970s (post-Mao) fuelled a trend of urbanization and mass migration within China, largely from rural areas to more economically developed urban regions. With this migration, came new challenges in a rapidly changing society. Researchers have extensively studied the rural-to-urban human movement, social changes, inequality and its impact on individuals and society as a whole.

This volume provides a new perspective on this issue. It forges a link between internal migration, inequality, social exclusion and crime in the context of China, through qualitative research into the impact of this phenomenon on individuals' lives. Using a series of case studies drawn from interviews with inmates - men and women - in a large Chinese prison, it focuses on migrant offenders' subjective experiences, and analyses issues from the rarely-heard perspectives of migrant lawbreakers themselves. The research demonstrates how factors - including: the hukou system, rural-urban, class and gender inequalities, prejudices against rural migrants, and other structural problems - often lead to migrant offending.

The author argues that to mitigate the effects of criminalisation, the root causes of these problems should be examined, emphasizing radical reforms to the hukou policy, cultural change in urban society to welcome newcomers, positive programs to integrate migrant workers into urban societies and improve their opportunities, rather than inflicting harsher penalties or reducing migration. While the research is based in China, it has clear implications for other regions of the world, which are experiencing similar tensions related to national and international migration.

This work will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with an interest in Asia, as well as those in related fields such as sociology, law and social justice.

Anqi Shen is Professor of Law at Northumbria Law School, Northumbria University Newcastle, United Kingdom. Her research focus is in the areas of sentencing, judicial culture, policing, organised crime, youth, gender, crime and justice, the legal profession, and migration and crime. She is author of Offending Women in Contemporary China: Gender and pathways into crime (Palgrave, 2015) and of Women Judges in Contemporary China: Gender, judging and living (Palgrave, 2017), and co-author of Fake Goods, Real Money: The counterfeiting business and its financial management (Policy Press, 2018).

Inhalt

Acknowledgements 6
Contents 8
List of Charts and Tables 11
About the Author 12
Chapter 1: Introduction 13
Contextual Background of the Study 13
Aims of the Study and Methodology 17
Research Method and Data 18
Limitations of the Research 19
Contents and the Organisation of the Book 20
References 22
Chapter 2: Social Identity of Migrant Offenders 26
Introduction 26
Hukou, the Rural-Urban Divide, Inequality and Social Exclusion 27
Socio-demographic Profile of Rural Migrant Offenders 29
Migrant Offenders’ Account of ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’ Factors to Rural-to-Urban Migration 33
Major Push Factors 34
The Pull Factors 35
Rural Migrant Offenders’ Life Conditions in the City 36
Social Biases, Prejudices and Discrimination 36
Living as Rural Migrants in the City 38
Working and Making Money in the City 39
Self-Reflection of Rural Migrant Offenders: ‘We lost already at the starting line’ 42
Conclusion 44
References 45
Chapter 3: Criminal Acting of Rural Migrants 49
Introduction 49
Crimes Involving Rural Migrants: The Empirical Data 50
Migrant ‘Gangsters’: Rural Migrants’ Involvement in Gangs 53
Definitional Issue of Gangs and ‘the Gang’ in the Context of Migrant Offending in China 53
Profile of Migrant Gangsters 54
Gang Life of Rural Migrant Youths 56
Money-Making Activities of Migrant Gangs 57
Violence and Risk–Taking 58
Identity of Migrant Gangs and the Relationships in the Gang Setting 59
Rural Migrants’ Account of Gang Participation 61
Rural Migrants Who Are Drug Offenders 63
Drug Law in China, the Harm Principle and the Notion of Social Supply of Drugs 64
Drug Use and Drug–Related Offences Involving Rural Migrant Workers 67
Drug Use and ‘Providing Shelter to Others for Drug Taking’ 69
Drug Dealing 71
Rural Migrants Who Engage in Fraud 73
The Concept of Fraud 74
Definition of Fraud and Fraud Law in China 75
Profile of ‘Migrant Fraudsters’ 77
The Nature of Frauds Involving Rural Migrant Offenders 79
The Criminal Firms Engaging in Fraud 80
Partnerships in Fraud 81
Motivations of Rural Migrants for Participation in Fraud 83
Self–Reflection of Migrant Fraudsters 85
Conclusion 86
References 87
Chapter 4: Female Rural Migrants and Criminality 94
Introduction 94
Migrant Women Who Are Lawbreakers in Urban China 96
Case Study 1: Rural Migrant Women Who Participate in Illegal Pyramid Selling 100
The Nature of Pyramid Schemes and Chinese Law Concerning Illegal Pyramid Selling 100
Rural Migrant Women’s Paths to Illegal Pyramid Selling and Their Motives 102
Women’s Role in the Illicit Business 104
Gains and Losses of Migrant Women in Illegal Pyramid Selling 105
Case Study 2: Migrant Women Who Are Involved in Sex Work-Related Offences 106
Gendered Conditions of Rural Migrant Women Who Are Perpetrators in the Sex Trade 107
Rural Migrant Women’s Entry into the Illicit Trade and the Roles They Play 109
Discussion and Conclusion 111
References 114
Chapter 5: Punishing Rural Migrant Offenders 118
Introduction 118
Rural Migrant Offenders’ Perception of Interpersonal Treatment in Criminal Justice 119
The Police: Investigators and Custody Officers 121
The Procuratorate and the Courts 123
Legal Representation for Rural Migrant Offenders 125
Law and Law in Action that May Discriminate Rural Migrants in Criminal Justice 129
Conclusion 135
References 136
Chapter 6: Conclusion 140
Highlights of the Book’s Findings 141
Implications of the Study 145
References 147
Index 150

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.11.2018
• Reihe/Serie: Springer Series on Asian Criminology and Criminal Justice Research
• Reihe/Serie: Springer Series on Asian Criminology and Criminal Justice Research
• Zusatzinfo: XIII, 146 p. 1 illus.
• Verlagsort: Cham
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► Strafrecht
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Schlagworte: Asian Criminology • Globalization • Immigration and Crime • Migration • Social Causes of Crime • Social Inequality • Social Stratification and Crime • Women Offenders
• ISBN-10: 3-030-00674-3 / 3030006743
• ISBN-13: 978-3-030-00674-7 / 9783030006747