David O'Mahony – författare

This collection of critical essays considers the criminalisation of squatting from a range of different theoretical, policy and practice perspectives. While the practice of squatting has long been criminalised in some jurisdictions, the last few years have witnessed the emergence of a newly constituted political concern with unlawful occupation of land. With initiatives to address the ‘threat’ of squatting sweeping across Europe, the offence of squatting in a residential building was created in England in 2012. This development, which has attracted a large measure of media attention, has been widely regarded as a controversial policy departure, with many commentators, Parliamentarians, and professional organisations arguing that its support is premised on misunderstandings of the current law and a precarious evidence-base concerning the nature and prevalence of ‘squatting’.

Moral Rhetoric and the Criminalisation of Squatting explores the significance of measures to criminalise squatting for squatters, owners and communities. The book also interrogates wider themes that draw on political philosophy, social policy, criminal justice and the nature of ownership, to consider how the assimilation of squatting to a contemporary punitive turn is shaping the political, social, legal and moral landscapes of property, housing and crime.

This collection of critical essays considers the criminalisation of squatting from a range of different theoretical, policy and practice perspectives. While the practice of squatting has long been criminalised in some jurisdictions, the last few years have witnessed the emergence of a newly constituted political concern with unlawful occupation of land. With initiatives to address the ‘threat’ of squatting sweeping across Europe, the offence of squatting in a residential building was created in England in 2012. This development, which has attracted a large measure of media attention, has been widely regarded as a controversial policy departure, with many commentators, Parliamentarians, and professional organisations arguing that its support is premised on misunderstandings of the current law and a precarious evidence-base concerning the nature and prevalence of ‘squatting’.

Moral Rhetoric and the Criminalisation of Squatting explores the significance of measures to criminalise squatting for squatters, owners and communities. The book also interrogates wider themes that draw on political philosophy, social policy, criminal justice and the nature of ownership, to consider how the assimilation of squatting to a contemporary punitive turn is shaping the political, social, legal and moral landscapes of property, housing and crime.

This title was first published in 2000: This text reports on the findings of the Communities Crime Survey, a communities-based survey carried out within Northern Ireland. The survey asked a number of questions beyond the usual remit of local crime surveys, in order to explore more fully a whole range of issues relating to the experience of living in a society where more obvious manifestations of conflict are beginning to recede and other more mundane but still important issues relating to crime and policing are coming to the fore. The book aims to go behind the headlines of violence and political conflict to examine how people in a range of communities in Northern Ireland experience a whole range of factors relating to crime, policing and the general experience of living within their particular communities. The process of change is far from over in Northern Ireland, and this book indicates how some of the central issues that must be resolved are perceived by a range of ordinary people in various urban and rural communities, in religiously segregated and integrated communities and those with different levels of income and social infrastructure. The experiences and attitudes gathered are important in understanding how the process of change and development in this society might be advanced, and what lessons might be offered to elsewhere. The survey ultimately concludes that Northern Ireland is neither a homogeneous entity nor a society that is simply divided on religious and/or political grounds. Rather it is a society that is divided by religion and politics, but also by a number of other variables, including geography, gender, age, socio-economic class and ethnic origin, all of which in part influence people''s experiences and attitudes towards crime and policing.

This title was first published in 2000: This text reports on the findings of the Communities Crime Survey, a communities-based survey carried out within Northern Ireland. The survey asked a number of questions beyond the usual remit of local crime surveys, in order to explore more fully a whole range of issues relating to the experience of living in a society where more obvious manifestations of conflict are beginning to recede and other more mundane but still important issues relating to crime and policing are coming to the fore. The book aims to go behind the headlines of violence and political conflict to examine how people in a range of communities in Northern Ireland experience a whole range of factors relating to crime, policing and the general experience of living within their particular communities. The process of change is far from over in Northern Ireland, and this book indicates how some of the central issues that must be resolved are perceived by a range of ordinary people in various urban and rural communities, in religiously segregated and integrated communities and those with different levels of income and social infrastructure. The experiences and attitudes gathered are important in understanding how the process of change and development in this society might be advanced, and what lessons might be offered to elsewhere. The survey ultimately concludes that Northern Ireland is neither a homogeneous entity nor a society that is simply divided on religious and/or political grounds. Rather it is a society that is divided by religion and politics, but also by a number of other variables, including geography, gender, age, socio-economic class and ethnic origin, all of which in part influence people''s experiences and attitudes towards crime and policing.