CRM3308 - Critical Analysis 1

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Jan 9, 2024

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Critical Analysis: The Interrupters Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa CRM3308A: Prevention and Criminology Dr. Kate Fletcher November 7th, 2023

1 The Interrupters is a film following the stories of a community organization in Chicago called CeaseFire which was founded by Gary Slutkin in an attempt to cure violence (James, et al., 2012). CeaseFire works under the assertion that community violence is fundamentally a public health issue. In the documentary, CeaseFire focuses on one community in Chicago and contends that within this community they do not fear diseases like cancer as a way to die but instead, they all fear that death by another person's hand is imminent (James, et al., 2012). Just like medical professionals, CeaseFire violence interrupters look to find a way to prevent harm and death. The perpetration of violence is a learned behavior that can be better addressed and unlearned through the use of community efforts and legitimate opportunities rather than police. Individuals in communities with a violent stigma attached to them often feel forced into that violence and find means to justify it. The stigma surrounding those places and people becomes perpetrated by police through the abuse faced by the hands of police. This abuse creates a relationship of mistrust making community the best way to intervene. Understanding the need for community intervention and change within the community members can lead to the creation of social efficacy and make for a strong and hopeful community. During the film, one violence interrupter was focused on going into schools and connecting with youth. When the children were asked about their feelings on fighting they disclosed that, “I don't like to fight but I'll fight if I have to,” and “I fight because it is the way I grew up,” (James, et al., 2012). These children are being desensitized to the violence within their community and being taught that it is a way to survive and that there will be times when violence is just not avoidable. They view violence as a way to earn and keep respect and create an identity for themselves (James, et al., 2012). There was an example from one of the violence interrupters' lives as a criminal where he described being an immigrant child who would witness local kids his age driving around in nice cars with pretty women and he was jealous of not being able to attain that, so instead he found

2 an illegitimate way to make up for it by stealing cars (James, et al., 2012). The concept the film presented with these life stories from the children and the violence interrupter connects strongly with that of relative deprivation and dissemination. Young (2007, in Brotherton & Naegler, 2014) classifies relative deprivation as society having an excess of expectations over opportunities. The media and general public have expectations that are not always so easily attainable, especially for groups already marginally deprived. The media portrays people who are far more affluent than the majority of the population and makes it seem as if it is possible to attain their lifestyle. But the opportunities to attain such a lifestyle for the regular individual do not exist. This can also be translated for social ties and connections. Individuals who are feeling disembedded from those around them and find themselves unable to make social ties will attach themselves to the opportunity to create some (Brotherton & Naegler, 2014), in the film, individuals tended to reach for gang relations to feel a sense of connection and security with other people. People in the community were feeling ostracized, so they are instead trying to dominate their surroundings, creating an environment of interpersonal violence (James, et al., 2012). This “concentration of people who are deviant” in their orientations in order to create connections and meet societal expectations brings a social stigma to the community (Stark, 1987). Even the people in the film were associating certain areas with murders and avoiding streets that have had the most homicides take place (James, et al., 2012). Ameena, a violence interrupter, speaks on how the community still looks out for each other when needed and that she believes this means they have a bit of hope left for a better future. This “hope” in the community in the sense that they look after each other can be connected to Rodney Starks's (1987) prepositions in his Ecology of Crime theory and seems to translate in a problematic way that can be related to Oscar Newman's (1972, as cited by, Fletcher, 2023) “Defensible Space” concept. We see the youth take action to defend their community and space when children from another neighborhood transfer over to their high school after the other areas' school closed down. This contradicts the idea that high-crime areas are “demoralized” and commit crimes due

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3 to not caring for their community (Stark, 1987). An “us-versus-them” (Brown-Luthango, 2016) mentality kicks in and a transfer child ends up getting killed in a fight between the original students and transfer students. Newman also advises that low-income areas with high crime rates are easily identifiable and the people within those areas receive a courtesy stigma (Newman, 1972, as cited by, Fletcher, 2023). This visible disorder and stigma attached to it conforms with the Broken Windows Policing theory (Wilson & Kelling, 1982, in, Herbert & Grobelski, 2014) which can explain the reaction of the community in the film to formal police efforts. Wilson and Kelling (1982) assert that disorder indicates there is no informal social control or formal social control; they contend that this is the precursor to crime. Broken Windows Policing takes a proactive focus on minor offenses where certain citizens become suspect and inclusive public space is weakened. Understanding this concept explains why the people in the film do not have a trusting relationship with the police. The community feels harassed and accused of things that they may not have done (James, et al., 2012). Having a high presence of police in an area where they are not trusted does not help in reducing crime or making residents feel safe. CeaseFire is composed of employees who used to be part of the crime scene in their community which has provided them with trust and respect from those who they are trying to help. Viewers of the film are able to witness the trust community members have in the CeaseFire team, especially when the team is able to come to the educated conclusion that community members all want the same things; peace and security (James, et al., 2012). Establishing this trust and common goal in the film is critical to understanding that community-based efforts are better than formal police interference and that the community has a hope to become strong and organized. According to Warner, Beck, and Ohmer (2010), people in a space sharing a common goal are indicative that the community can be used as a resource for intervention. Communities are believed to possess all the requisite resources to manage their issues (Warner, Beck & Ohmer, 2010) as people start to internalize the idea that the state

4 may not be the most legitimate actor to live up to its roles and promises it has made (Garland, 1996). The community in the film has already internalized that the police are not the best resource for them and specific community members have adapted to enforcing informal social control while encouraging others to do the same (James, et al., 2012). Organized communities provide social networks that have strong social capital between members, collective efficacy, and effective informal social control. Having social networks with strong social capital between members allows for something that members can anchor their identity. In the film, it is spoken about how after getting out of prison some individuals want to change their ways in order to be there for their family. The film also emphasizes the building of a connection between offender and victim to instill a sense of guilt and accountability to prevent re-offending (James, et al., 2012). When individuals have relationships based on trust and respect they will feel more accountable to those around them (Warner, Beck, & Ohmer, 2010). Research by past criminologists suggests informal social control is the most important aspect of building an organized community (Brown-Luthango, 2016). This acts as a support for the film and its grounds to use social work and community-based programs as a way to prevent crime in “risky” communities. There is a possibility of amelioration within these communities if individuals within them have legitimate opportunities to succeed, can avoid the biases of formal police enforcement, have the support of community members around them, and possess the desire to operate under the common good of the community.

5 Works Cited Brotherton, D. C. & Naegler, L. (2014). Jock Young and Social Bulimia: Crime and the Contradictions of Capitalism. Theoretical Criminology, 18 (4), 441-449. Brown-Luthango, M. (2016). Collective (In)efficacy, Substance Abuse and Violence in “Freedom Park”, Cape Town. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 31 (1), 123-140. Fletcher, K. (2023, October 17). “Designing Out” or “Designing In” Crime? - Crime Prevention through Environmental Design . Garland, D. (1996). The Limits of the Sovereign State: Strategies of Crime Control in Contemporary Society. The British Journal of Criminology, 36(4) , 445-471. Herbert, S. & Grobelski, T. (2014). Dis/Order and the Regulation of Public Space. In R. Paddinson & E. McCann (Eds), Cities & Social Change: Encounters with Contemporary Urbanism (pp. 115-129). London: Sage Publications Ltd. James, S., Kotlowitz, A., Matthews, A., Williams, C., & Bocanegra, E. (2012). The Interrupters . Stark, R. (1987). Deviant Places: A Theory of the Ecology of Crime. Criminology, 25 (4), 893-909.

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