Crime, Culture & Violence: Understanding How Masculinity and Identity Shapes Offending

Dr Katie Seidler

From prison interviews with violent offenders and a wealth of experience and research, psychologist Dr Katie Seidler explores the complex interaction between crime and culture. Featuring the voices of the offenders themselves, 15 convicted adult male violent offenders from various ethnic cultural communities explain their understanding, motivations and rationalisations for their actions and how these relate to questions of identity, community and responsibility within their cultural experience and values. In challenging current criminological theory, Dr Seidler suggests that offenders from group-oriented (collectivist) cultures offend for group-oriented reasons, whereas those from cultures prioritising individualism offend for individual reasons. This more nuanced understanding of crime and criminals within the context of culture adds significantly both to criminological theory, as well as providing suggestions for improvements to policing and offender management and rehabilitation within the criminal justice system.

Acts of violence often have profound consequences for those who have been victimised, those who witness violence, and those who are concerned about being victimised in the future. There is a pressing need to understand more about what motivates violent offending if policies and programs are to be developed that can effectively reduce the risk of aggressive and violent behaviour occurring. In this book Dr Seidler makes an important contribution to this field. Her detailed and careful analysis of the accounts of men in prison clearly illustrates how violence can be explained in relation to the familial, social, and cultural context in which it takes place, showing how cultural identity can both enable and constrain aggressive behaviour. The book is essential reading for those who work with violent men and, indeed, for anyone who has an interest in understanding more about why some men act violently.
Associate Professor Andrew Day
Centre for Offender Reintegration
Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia