Crime and individuality

Radio 4 had an interesting program today about Britain's transition from a low crime society to having the highest crime rates in Europe. It covered the period from the end of World War II to the early 60s, and spoke of juvenile delinquency, Teddy Boys, and the rise of the celebrity villain. What struck me about this last was how socially accepted the well-dressed career criminal of the early 60s was, when only a generation before the same figure would have been reviled.

Ideas that were being discussed included the demise of deference and the rise of the "individualist". The seminal TV show Dixon of Dock Green also came up a lot - policeman Dixon representing community in the shape of the fatherly bobby on the beat, versus the selfish individualism of the hooligan and criminal elements. It seems this is a dilemma for our times - how do we juggle individualism and community?

Dixon's message was that these criminal and delinquent outsiders sought to undermine society. Crime is equated with being individual. The trouble is, as their camel coats and snappy dressing showed, the villains had exactly the same aspirations as other members of society. Today's bling culture is essentially exactly the same phenomenon. By the 60s crime had become simply a career option; by now, lifestyle choice is probably the expression we'd be more likely to use.

I reckon it would be smart to notice how similar the villains are to the rest of us. We all want to shop and be individuals, and criminals are just consumers by another means. This means is seen to be individual, successful and exciting, in all the ways we were ever taught to aspire to. Is it any wonder that criminals become heroes?