Antisocial behaviour and how to handle it

The flare-up of unprecedented violence in November 2005 was not a unique event given the more muted, ordinary and continuous violence which undermines daily life in the housing estates. Antisocial behaviour on a local scale (towns, areas, streets etc) violates the local social order by damaging the outwards appearance, the normal conventions, the decency and the trust necessary for social life. Such behaviour transforms open spaces into areas which are controlled by individuals or groups, and generates feelings of insecurity. How should one treat, prevent and contain this sort of behaviour when one knows the damage that it does to those who suffer the effects, and that those responsible generally manage to avoid the police and justice ? A recent study carried out by researchers at the École polytechnique’s CRG (Centre de recherche en gestion) in two housing estates in the département of Essonne (Grigny and les Tarterêts) outlines different social control systems which have been implemented, and questions their effects.