From Celtic Tiger to Celtic Phoenix: Exploring the Relationship Between Anomie and Crime in Ireland

ABSTRACT

It is widely believed that anomic conditions increase crime rates but empirical tests have produced mixed results. This may be partly due to a failure by researchers to take account of local socio-cultural conditions. This article aims to contribute to knowledge in this area by providing an in-depth qualitative analysis of the relationship between anomie and crime in a single jurisdiction, namely Ireland, which represents an interesting case study because of its comparatively low crime rates, communitarian social structure, moderate levels of punitiveness, and recent experiences of socio-economic upheaval. The implications of this analysis for anomie research are also examined.

KEYWORDS:

• Anomie
• crime
• Celtic Tiger
• Ireland

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Michelle Butler, Aogan Mulcahy and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.

Notes

¹ The ‘Other’ category includes animal welfare, fisheries, abortion and immmigration offences .

² The 2015 GDP figures are widely regarded as an inaccurate measure of national output, leading Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winning economist, to describe the figures as ‘leprechaun economics.’ In fact, the rise was due to the implementation by the EU of new UN rules for measuring output which meant that capital assets relocated to Ireland by multi-nationals were included in GDP for the first time, grossly distorting GDP figures. The CSO subsequently developed a new measure – Modified Gross National Income - which is designed to provide a more realistic figure. It is calculated as Gross National Income excluding the factor income of redomiciled companies, depreciation on research and development-related intellectual property imports and depreciation on aircraft related to aircraft leasing.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Deirdre Healy

Deirdre Healy is an associate professor in Criminology at the UCD Sutherland School of Law and Director of the UCD Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Her teaching and research interests include desistance from crime, rehabilitation, probation supervision, criminological theory, and victimization.