Critical Analyses of So-Called ’Clan Crime’: Phenomenological Observations and the Constitution of a Social Problem

In the current discourse field ’clan crime’, the interpretation scheme, the terminology itself and the treatment of the phenomenon by interior departments, law enforcement and other authorities are controversial. There is an intense debate about issues ranging between overestimating and underestimating the phenomenon, between self-inflicted or ’imported’ criminality and between zero-tolerance reactions by the constitutional state on the one hand and discrimination against entire population groups on the other. Put simply, there is a conflict between the antagonistic ideas of ’hard’ and negating interpretations of the phenomenon. The anthology is intended to take a scientifically dominated, differentiated or ’moderate’ path without ignoring the above-mentioned opposites. The aim is to close previous gaps in knowledge and to correct widespread discursive assumptions.

The book is aimed at an interested specialist audience from the criminal and social sciences as well as middle and higher management levels of the police and social work or crime prevention.

Alexander Wollinger is a criminologist and lecturer in criminology at the University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia. His research focuses on crime committed by members of extended families, particularly with regard to its prevention and the public discourse surrounding it.