Dd208 Tma 03

How does the concept of ‘problem’ populations highlight the ‘entangled’ nature of the relationship between crime control and social welfare policy? In what ways does the entanglement raise issues of social justice?

This essay will highlight the ‘entanglements’ between crime control and social welfare, and how these entanglements raise issues of social justice. I will achieve this by using examples of ‘problem’ populations. Crime control and social welfare are employed and enforced by the state to produce equal rights in society, however sometimes these policies can highlight entanglements. The term entanglements is used to describe the relationships between the different polices, practices and processes of change which are sometimes blurred and can work both with and against each other. The notion of social justice can be difficult to define as it is a changing and contested concept that can initiate people to take action and bring change. The idea of social justice is to produce rights and entitlements for all people within society against issues and injustices such as poverty, inequality and social exclusion. Social justice is linked to social harm through the problems that can emerge from changes in society and manifest in ways such as discrimination, anti-social behaviour and violence. It is in the course of redressing undesirable issues such as these that the entanglements between social welfare and crime control are found.
Social justice issues are often associated with ‘problem’ populations; deprived, poverty ridden places. One example of a problem population facing social justice issues is Lake Naivasha, Kenya. More than 250,000 people have settled there for the opportunities from the global flower industry. Such opportunities include employment, housing and medical care. However, the local people working in the factories get paid very little, and as a result, many of the people turn to crime in order the supplement the meagre pay that they receive....