NCJ Number
166798
Journal
Indian Journal of Criminology Volume: 24 Issue: 1 & 2 Dated: (January & July 1996) Pages: 1-7
Date Published
1996
Length
7 pages
Annotation
An address at the 24th Criminological Congress of the Indian Society of Criminology dealt with criminalization of the political process in India and factors associated with political crime and corruption.
Abstract
The address characterizes some government policies and programs as political adventurism and administrative imprudence and notes that much crime in India has political overtones. Major concerns in the criminalization of politics include aggressive personal drive, abuse of power and authority, political processes that rely heavily on expressive violence, and effects of political instability and political change. The analysis of crime associated with the political process has two different but overlapping perspectives, criminalization of politics and politicization of criminals. Political offenses are committed to achieve political goals, and political offenders believe their status is different from that of traditional offenders. Certain contemporary trends have contributed to a violent political process: anti-authoritarianism and increased consciousness of collective power, egalitarianism and the rise of anti-meritocracy among young people who are socioeconomically marginalized, overemphasis on free economic growth and technological development, polarization of wealth and power, rise of a powerful neo-middle class that defies the government, and inversion of political values. Crime results when laws are not strictly enforced, and law enforcement is vulnerable to both political corruption and public disrespect.