Crime, Anxiety and Locality: Responding to the `Condition of England' at the End of the Century

This article consists of an evaluation of the legacy of the critical criminological tradition in Britain in respect of the understanding of crime and anxiety about crime in the `new times' of post-Fordism. It moves on to an examination of the uneven expression and character of crime and anxiety about crime in different localities in Britain, and then offers an analysis of the relationship between such anxieties and local partnership or coalition movements involved in the business of re-positioning cities and urban regions in the post-Fordist world. The paper concludes with an argument in favour of a cautious and reflective criminological involvement in such movements.