Chapter One Crime and Criminology

www.cengage.com/cj/siegel

Larry J. Siegel

Dennis Souther • Stanly Community College, Albemarle, NC

Chapter OneCrime and Criminology

Intro to Criminology

In groups of 2-3, discuss the following questions AND submit your answers upon completion:

1. How do you define crime?

2. How is criminal behavior different from deviant behavior?

3. What are some of the causes of crime?

4. How does American society deal with crime (e.g., defining it, addressing it, preventing it)?

5. How do you think other countries deal differently with crime and criminals?

6. What factors influence how different societies address criminal issues?

7. What are some ethical issues related to criminal justice?

• How would you define criminology?

• The Field of CriminologyAn academic discipline that uses the scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.

Interdisciplinary science involving two or more academic fields (e.g., sociology, psychology, political science, biology, forensic science, chemistry, etc...).

• Criminal JusticeSystem made up of the agencies of social control

‣police departments

‣the courts

‣correctional institutions (that handle criminal offenders)

Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise

Criminal Statistics/Crime Measurement

‣Analysis

‣Measurement

‣Identification

‣Testing



Sociology of Law/Law and Society/Socio-Legal Studies

‣Investigate history of legal thought

‣Assess effects of proposed legal change


Critical Thinking

–Considering the findings of Zgoba and Bachar (see handout), would you advocate abandoning sex offender registration laws because they are ineffective? Or might there be other reasons to keep them active?

–What other laws do you think should be the topic of careful scientific inquiry to see whether they actually work as advertised?



Developing Theories of Crime Causation

‣Psychological

- personality, development, social learning, cognition

‣Biological

- biochemical, genetic, neurological

‣ Sociological

- neighborhood, poverty, socialization, group interaction


• What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise–Penology: Punishment, Sanctions, and Corrections

• Penology: the correction and sentencing of known criminal offenders.–Rehabilitation–Social control


• What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise–Victimology

• Victim surveys• Victimization risk• Victim culpability• Services for crime victims


The Criminological Enterprise: Summary

• A Brief History of Criminology and Criminological Thought

• Classical

• Positivist

• Sociological

• Conflict

• Developmental

• Contemporary


• A Brief History of Criminology –Classical Criminology

• Utilitarianism• Free will to choose legal or illegal behavior • Crime is attractive • Crime may be controlled through the fear of punishment

• Punishment works best when perceived to be:–Severe–Certain –Swift


• A Brief History of Criminology –Positivist Criminology

• Scientific method• Logic• Empirical verification• Value-free


• Sociological Criminology–Quetelet and Durkheim

–Relationship between social factors and crime

–Crime is a social phenomenon that can be reduced by improving social and economic conditions

–The Chicago School


• Conflict Theory–Karl Marx

• Burgeoisie • Proletariat

–Critical Criminology


• Developmental Criminology–Gluecks’

• Complex View–Integration of sociological, psychological, and economic elements

• Delinquency


• Contemporary Criminology–Rational Choice Theory (classical)–Trait Theory (interaction of biology and environment)–Social Structure Theory (from the Chicago School)–Social Process Theory (socialization) –Critical Theory –Developmental Theory


• Deviant or Criminal?–Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors,

ranging from the most socially harmful, such as rape and murder, to the relatively inoffensive, such as joining a religious cult or cross-dressing.

–A deviant act becomes a crime when it is deemed socially harmful or dangerous; it is then specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law.

• Crime or Deviant Behavior or Neither? –graffiti, armed robbery, cheating on tests, embezzlement,

telling secrets, gay marriage, abortion, witchcraft

–other examples?

How Criminologists Define Crime

• The Concept of Crime– Consensus View of Crime

• majority of people in society agree on what is a crime

• e.g., _______________

– Conflict View of Crime

• diverse groups do not agree and laws represent interests of rich and powerful

• e.g., _______________

– Interactionist View of Crime

• diverse groups do not agree and laws represent interests of those who hold social power (“moral crusaders”

• e.g., _______________


• A Definition of Crime

–“Crime” is...

• a violation of societal rules of behavior

• as interpreted and expressed by the criminal law,

• which reflects public opinion, traditional values, and the viewpoint of people currently holding social and political power.

• Individuals who violate these rules are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status.


• Crime and the Criminal Law–Criminal Law

• The written code that defines crimes and their punishments

• Reflects the values, beliefs, and opinions of society’s mainstream

–Code of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC)

• emphasis on “an eye for an eye”

–Mosaic Code of the Israelites (1200 BC)

• 613 laws of the Old Testament including the 10 Commandments

• basis for American legal system


• Crime and the Criminal Law–English Common Law

• judges began publishing decisions in 1154

• these decisions were basis for future decision-making

• Precedent: a rule derived from previous judicial decisions; basis for common law (commonly applied)

• Mala in se (“evil in itself”)

– crimes initially defined by judge-made common law

– e.g., murder, rape, burglary, arson

• Mala prohibitum (“wrong because prohibited”)

– Statutory crimes, those enacted by legislative bodies to reflect existing social conditions

– e.g., divorce, debt, religious practices, gender restrictions, etc...


Contemporary Criminal LawSOCIAL GOALS

• Enforcing social control

• Discouraging revenge

• Expressing public opinion and morality

• Deterring criminal behavior

• Punishing wrongdoing

• Creating equity

• Maintaining social order

Contemporary Criminal Law

• Felony– serious offenses

– e.g., murder, rape, burglary

– punishable by long prison sentences, even death

• Misdemeanor– minor or petty crimes

– e.g., unarmed assault & battery, petty theft, disturbing the peace

– punishable by fines and/or county jail time

–Criminal law in any given society reflect exisiting social and economic condition

• murder of actress Rebecca Shaeffer in 1989 led to 25 states enacting stalking laws

• widespread passage of sexual predator laws in the U.S. after the murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994

• Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) rule that anti-sodomy laws were unconstitutional leading to the a series of gay rights’ initiatives across the country

–Future Direction of Criminal Law

• political corruption

• corporate crimes

• recreational drug use

• changes in technology

• increasing globalization

The Evolution of Criminal Law

1.What to Study• often depends on who is providing support for your study

• government may provide money only for topics they are interested in

• funding source raises questions of OBJECTIVITY of research

• e.g., studying effectiveness of defensive use of handguns funded by gun manufacturer

2.Whom to Study• often researchers focus attention on the poor and racial/ethnic minorities rather than

middle-class white-collar crime, organized crime, or government crime

• e.g., can lead to controversial “findings” such as those found in THE BELL CURVE (criminals have lower IQs than average citizens; since average IQ score is lower among some minority groups, their crime rates are higher)

– How to Study

• confidentiality issues

• negative impact of findings for those participants in the study

• “do no harm”

Ethical Issues in Criminology

SCARED STRAIGHT! Twenty Years LaterDebriefing Questions (20 pts.)

1.Did you expect so many of the teens to be changed by their experience at Rahway? Why or why not?

2.Were you surprised by what happened to any of the convicts or teenagers? If so, explain why?

3.Which teen or convict was the most memorable for you? What did you learn by watching the person’s experiences?

4.Do you believe it’s ethical to use tactics like the Lifers used with juvenile offenders in an attempt to deter them from future criminal activity? Why or why not?

Ethical Issues in Criminology

For Discussion and Review1. Beccaria argued that the threat of punishment controls crime. Discuss other forms of social control that exist. Aside from the threat of legal punishment, what else controls an individual’s behavior?

2. What research method would you employ if you wanted to study drug and alcohol abuse at South Warren High School. Explain how you would conduct this research and the obstacles you would expect to encounter.

3. In order to better understand the workings and motivations of a criminal gang, would it be ethical for a criminologist to hang out with gang members and watch as they commit crime? Should the criminologist report observed criminal gang behavior to the police? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS.

4. Discuss with each other whether you or someone you know have ever been a crime victim. What problems did you experience as a result of your victimization? Did your own behavior contribute to the crime in some way? If so, were you blamed for your victimization? Consider the difference between victim precipitation and victim blaming in your discussion.

5. Discuss with your group which acts, now legal, you would make criminal and which currently criminal acts you would legalize. Discuss any commonalities among the group’s responses and identify some of the socialization processes and values they represent.

Documents

Chapter One Crime and Criminology