Current public policy has patently failed to keep on top of the new trends in both consumption and destruction which make urban centers dangerous and crime-ridden areas. Presenting an original approach, Violent Night uses powerful insider accounts to uncover the underlying causes of both sanctioned, professional male violence and criminal acts. Interviews with the police, private security personnel, gangsters and the victims of violence reveal the complex emotions that surround both the perpetration and resolution of crime. The authors show that a new approach is needed to...

Fights, fraud and drugs racketeering regularly hit the headlines, but they are just news stories for most of us. For others, they constitute a way of life. This book uncovers a world where male identity is expressed each day through physical strength and power. Focusing on professional criminals and violent men, the author shows how workshop camaraderie, hard physical work and criminal reputations allow for changing masculinities. It is all too easy to stereotype criminals, when, in fact, their world is complex and creative. Criminal men adapt and modify their forms of gender expression to...