NCJ Number
130985
Date Published
1990
Length
252 pages
Annotation
This study analyzes the views of British miners who were targeted for State censure and regulatory power in the long miners' strike of 1984-85.
Abstract
The miners, labeled as the "enemy within," were subjected to a wide range of policing practices. In addition to the enforcement operations of the police, the law (both civil and criminal), the Federal Government, the welfare agencies, the National Coal Board, the mass media, and the trade union bureaucracy all played major roles in applying pressure to the striking miners; each had a role in changing the political consciousness of the striking community. The analysis of the dynamics of this policing effort portrays the recurrent class character of criminal justice and notes the necessity for criminology to address the processes of criminalization involved in industrial relations. The study emphasizes class consciousness as a major factor in a society's response to disputes, censures, and policing. The analysis describes the political consciousness of the politically criminalized and the way this consciousness changes in relation to repressive policing and social regulation. Overall, the book identifies the effects of repressive policing on a divided mining community's consciousness of class, State, and justice. Chapter notes, a 175-item selected bibliography, and a subject index