The Contexts of Criminal Intervention in the Area of Poverty: From the War on Poverty Policy to the War on the Poor Policy

Abstract

Realization of social justice is one of the obligations of states. The government promises to citizenships to realize it. Reduction of inequality, income inequality and creation of equal opportunities and facilities are afforded to the government support the poor, prevent from social isolation and criminal behaviors. Nowadays, we are seeing that many of the politicians neither proceed in eradication of poverty and elimination of illegal discrimination nor recognition of fundamental human rights. They assume underclass and the poor as threatening of political and social order. Politicization of crime and social ills, dominance of conservative thoughts on political system and hegemony of neoliberal thoughts on economic system, new right criminology and new penology are reasons that create contexts of criminal intervention in the area of poverty and justify the punitive decision-making to the poor. Consequently, in present era the War on Poverty Policy has transformed to the War on the Poor Policy.

Keywords

• criminal intervention
• poverty
• war on poverty policy
• politicization of crime
• new right criminology