Pyrrhic Victory? Social Justice Organizations as service providers in neoliberal times

This article draws on data collected from semi-structured face-to-face interviews with directors and managing staff, textual data, and site visits at 12 organizations in the US. Utilizing a purposively derived sample of organizations, the authors looked only at organizations oriented toward crime and punishment as a problem of social injustice and inequality. These organizations are part of the 'turn to community' in crime policy that celebrates and promotes a community-driven approach. Without exception, the community-based organizations included here are advocates for urban minority groups experiencing concentrated disadvantage. Most would be aptly described as 'insurgent' community groups since they envision challenging existing economic and social arrangements as the key to long-term crime reduction. After outlining variations in organizational commitments to service and organizing, the article draws upon interview data to illustrate the latent dangers inherent in offering services through the neoliberal framework and its state partnerships and competitive foundation grants. Adapted from the source document.