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March 19, 2005
Rough justice
Wednesday March 16, 2005
The Guardian
http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/comment/0,8146,1438258,00.html
A new documentary shows how in some deprived communities, people look to gangsters for social justice.
The documentary chronicles the exploits of Noonan, or Lattlay Fottfoy as he styles himself (the acronymic surname spells out his credo: "Fuck off those that fuck off you"), among the terraces of Moston. We learn that Noonan (one of 14 children) has spent 22 of his 39 years in jail. He has more than 40 convictions for crimes including armed robbery and fraud. The documentary shows him boasting of criminal activities, getting arrested, going to court, getting off, and boasting about it all over again. This makes for eye-opening television, but it also reveals how in poverty-ridden Moston, where many feel abandoned by "official" authorities such as the police, Noonan and his gang have evolved into a sort of parallel justice system. When someone is burgled, people come to Noonan to "sort it out". If there is a dispute between neighbours that has become violent, he arbitrates. Crimes that would ordinarily be reported to police are instead dealt with by Noonan, self-appointed community guardian and "social worker".
[...] David Wilson, a professor of criminology at the University of Central England, says the government has failed "at a structural and policy level" to get to grips with entrenched poverty and crime, leaving people abandoned, isolated, and hampered by multiple forms of deprivation. One consequence of their perceived abandonment, he says, is that they turn to people like Noonan (and, as the film suggests, repay him with loyalty when he runs into trouble).
The Trials of Mr Lattlay Fottfoy will be shown on Channel Five on March 22.
Posted by Emma at March 19, 2005 09:03 AM
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