The book offers a critical examination of modern criminological ideologies, particularly focusing on the reliance on suppressive technologies in crime control. Authors Kramer and Oleson argue that these technologies are not only misguided but also selectively address certain harms while neglecting others. Their passionate analysis highlights the injustices perpetuated by the fantasies surrounding technological solutions to crime, challenging prevailing narratives in the field.
This pivot analyzes the historical emergence of legal graffiti and how it has led to a new ethos among writers. Examining how contemporary graffiti writing has been brought into new relationships with major social institutions, it explores the contemporary dynamics between graffiti, society, the art world and social media, paying particular attention to how New York City's political elite has reacted to graffiti. Despite its major structural transformation, officials in New York continue to construe graffiti writing culture as a monolithic, criminal enterprise, a harbinger of economic and civic collapse. This basic paradox - persistent state opposition to legal forms of graffiti that continue to gain social acceptance - is found in many other major cities throughout the globe, especially those that have embraced neoliberal forms of governance. The author accounts for the cultural conflicts that graffiti consistently engenders by theorizing the political and economic advantages that elites secure by endorsing strong 'anti-graffiti' positions. Dr Ronald Kramer is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.