Changing Narratives of Youth Crime

"This book is unique. Dollinger draws on as different data as political debates, professional voices and the perspective of young offenders to show how crime can be narrated in many different ways. Studying this from 1970 and to date the main insight is still that narration is limited to some major "coalitions" and dominating stories, thus revealing both the creative potential and limitations of public storytelling. "Changing Narratives of Youth Crime" is an unusual and successful combination of theoretical insights and solid empirical analysis. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring the potential of narrative studies in criminology, or who are interested in contemporary and historical representations of crime in Europe."

Sveinung Sandberg, Professor of Criminology, University of Oslo, Norway

"Dollinger’s book Changing Narratives of Youth Crime: From Social Causes to Threats to the Social adds to a growing body of narrative criminology. Dollinger analyses individual, professional, and political narratives of youth crime in Germany over a period of more than 40 years to explore understanding of youth crime is narrated. It draws on parliamentary debates, academic articles on youth crime in Social Work and Police studies, and interviews with young people who offend and observations of their trials. The book adds to our understanding of how youth crime is discussed in a number of domains and what this might mean for youth justice police and the treatment of young people who offend. Additionally, it offers a real test of the value of narrative analyses and their role policy development. This is a fascinating account of changing and diverse narratives of youth crime which should have great appeal to anyone with an interested in narrative and cultural theory, criminal justice and penal policy, and youth crime."

Martina Feilzer, Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Ba