Construct · 1 fields · 1 citations

net widening: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · reforms that catch more people Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
netwidening1 CONSTRUCTNet wideningCOHEN · 1985

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Criminology

Softer measures enlarge the system's reach

Net-widening is the unintended tendency of a reform meant to reduce formal social control (a diversion program, a community sanction, an alternative to custody) to instead draw in people who would otherwise have been left alone, expanding the reach of the system rather than shrinking it. Stanley Cohen's 1985 Visions of social control described how new, softer measures tend to supplement rather than replace the old ones, thinning the mesh and widening the net at once. The construct is a warning that alternatives to punishment can enlarge the total population under control.[1]

Unit
The expansion in the number of people brought under formal control by a reform
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Shown by comparing who is processed before and after a reform to see whether new cases are drawn in rather than diverted

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Nearby constructs

diversion2 fields · 2 citationsjingle · one word, two constructscommunity5 fields · 7 citationsjingle · one word, five constructs

References

  1. Cohen, S. (1985). Visions of social control: Crime, punishment and classification. Polity Press. ISBN 9780745600215

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