City of Suspects

Crime in Mexico City, 1900–1931

Nonfiction, History, Americas, Mexico, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Crimes & Criminals, Criminology
Cover of the book City of Suspects by Pablo Piccato, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Pablo Piccato ISBN: 9780822380719
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: September 26, 2001
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Pablo Piccato
ISBN: 9780822380719
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: September 26, 2001
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In City of Suspects Pablo Piccato explores the multiple dimensions of crime in early-twentieth-century Mexico City. Basing his research on previously untapped judicial sources, prisoners’ letters, criminological studies, quantitative data, newspapers, and political archives, Piccato examines the paradoxes of repressive policies toward crime, the impact of social rebellion on patterns of common crime, and the role of urban communities in dealing with transgression on the margins of the judical system.
By investigating postrevolutionary examples of corruption and organized crime, Piccato shines light on the historical foundations of a social problem that remains the main concern of Mexico City today. Emphasizing the social construction of crime and the way it was interpreted within the moral economy of the urban poor, he describes the capital city during the early twentieth century as a contested territory in which a growing population of urban poor had to negotiate the use of public spaces with more powerful citizens and the police. Probing official discourse on deviance, Piccato reveals how the nineteenth-century rise of positivist criminology—which asserted that criminals could be readily distinguished from the normal population based on psychological and physical traits—was used to lend scientific legitimacy to class stratifications and to criminalize working-class culture. Furthermore, he argues, the authorities’ emphasis on punishment, isolation, and stigmatization effectively created cadres of professional criminals, reshaping crime into a more dangerous problem for all inhabitants of the capital.
This unique investigation into crime in Mexico City will interest Latin Americanists, sociologists, and historians of twentieth-century Mexican history.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In City of Suspects Pablo Piccato explores the multiple dimensions of crime in early-twentieth-century Mexico City. Basing his research on previously untapped judicial sources, prisoners’ letters, criminological studies, quantitative data, newspapers, and political archives, Piccato examines the paradoxes of repressive policies toward crime, the impact of social rebellion on patterns of common crime, and the role of urban communities in dealing with transgression on the margins of the judical system.
By investigating postrevolutionary examples of corruption and organized crime, Piccato shines light on the historical foundations of a social problem that remains the main concern of Mexico City today. Emphasizing the social construction of crime and the way it was interpreted within the moral economy of the urban poor, he describes the capital city during the early twentieth century as a contested territory in which a growing population of urban poor had to negotiate the use of public spaces with more powerful citizens and the police. Probing official discourse on deviance, Piccato reveals how the nineteenth-century rise of positivist criminology—which asserted that criminals could be readily distinguished from the normal population based on psychological and physical traits—was used to lend scientific legitimacy to class stratifications and to criminalize working-class culture. Furthermore, he argues, the authorities’ emphasis on punishment, isolation, and stigmatization effectively created cadres of professional criminals, reshaping crime into a more dangerous problem for all inhabitants of the capital.
This unique investigation into crime in Mexico City will interest Latin Americanists, sociologists, and historians of twentieth-century Mexican history.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Ghost Protocol by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book The Latin American Cultural Studies Reader by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Althusser, The Infinite Farewell by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Sexual States by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book In the Name of El Pueblo by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Classical Hollywood Narrative by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book New Materialisms by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Visual Pedagogy by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Commentary and Ideology by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Louise Thompson Patterson by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Blacks and Blackness in Central America by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Stages of Capital by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Writing Without Words by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Reckoning with Pinochet by Pablo Piccato
Cover of the book Complicities by Pablo Piccato
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy