Intro to cj ch 2 ppt

CJ2015James A. Fagin

Copyright © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.All Rights Reserved

Introduction to Criminal Justice,McKenzie Wood

Fagin, CJ2015

Chapter 2: Crime – The Search for Understanding



2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

Outline the development of criminological theory.

Summarize major theoretical perspectives on criminalbehavior.

Summarize modern theories of criminology.

Summarize factors that make it difficult for criminologists

to definitively explain crime.

CHAPTER OUTCOMES



2.1 Outline the development of criminological theory.

Learning ObjectiveAfter this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes



The Development of Criminology2.1• Criminology

The body of knowledge regarding crime as asocial phenomenon; the study of offenders and offending

• Theory A statement regarding the relationship between two or more variables•Theories can be based on observations (deduction) or inferences (induction).



Four Major Schools of Criminological Theory2.1

Classical Biological Psychological Sociological

Individuals have free will to

choose whether to

commit crimes.

Crime is caused by a biological

orbiochemical

influence over which the

offender has no control.

Criminal behavior is a

result of emotions, drives, and

mentaldefects.

Crime is caused by

socioeconomic conditions and

social interactions and

values.



2.2Summarize major theoretical perspectives on criminalbehavior.



Copyright © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.All Rights Reserved7

Classical & Neoclassical Theory2.2• People freely choose to engage in crime

• Focus is on the crime – not the criminal

• Represented primarily in the works of Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham

• An approach to crime causation and criminal responsibility that grew out of the Enlightenment, and emphasized free will & reasonable punishments



Classical & Neoclassical Theory2.2• Individuals have free will; individuals choose to

engage in crime after considering various courses of action

• Punishments of offenders need to be certain, swift, and severe enough to deter crime

• Theorists of the Classical School were concerned with why individuals committed crime, rather than whether or not the crime was committed



Pain–pleasure principle - a philosophical axiom that people are rational and seek to do that which brings them pleasure and to avoid that which causes them pain.

Cesare Beccaria's "Pain-Pleasure Principle"2.2



Neoclassical School of Criminology2.2

• The major difference between Beccaria's classical theory of criminology and Bentham's neoclassical theory is that Bentham believed that Beccaria's unwavering accountability of all offenders was too harsh.

• Bentham believed in mitigating circumstances.

• Bentham's theory regarding the balancing of pain and pleasure as a means to discourage criminal behavior is known as the felicitic calculus—the pain versus pleasure principle. Bentham's philosophy, called utilitarianism, states that a rational system of jurisprudence provides for the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Jeremy Bentham – Founder of the Neoclassical School



Biological Theories2.2

Scientific Method

The assumption that repeated testing ofa hypothesis should

result in similar results

Positive School

Modern theories of crime, primarily based

on sociology and psychology, that people commit crimes because

of uncontrollable internal or external factors that can be

observed and measured



Cesar Lombroso – "The Father of Modern Criminology"2.2

• Lombroso was an Italian doctor who collected data to support his Darwinist-based theory that criminal behavior is a characteristic of humans who have failed to develop normally from their primitive origins.

• Lombroso concluded that criminals were cases of atavism—the failure of humans to fully develop into modern men and women. According to Lombroso, there were two distinct species of humans: criminal and criminal man.

• The study of the physical traits of criminals was called atavistic stigmata.



Modern Biological Theories2.2• Biocriminology

Research into the roles played by genetic andneurophysiological variables in criminal behavior

• XYY Chromosome Theory The idea that violent behavior in males can inpart be attributed to the presence of an extra Y chromosome in male offenders



Psychological Theory – Psychoanalytic Theory2.2

Psychoanalytic Theory – introduced by Sigmund Freud. States that behavior is not a matter of free will, but is controlled by subconscious desires, which includes the idea that criminal behavior is a result of unresolved internal conflict and guilt.



Sociological Theories2.2• Social Determination

The idea that social forces and social groups are the cause of criminal behavior

• Anomie is a feeling of "normlessness" andlack of belonging that people feel when they become socially isolated

• Social Disorganization TheoryResearch that criminal behavior is dependenton disruptive social forces, not on individual characteristics



A theory developed by Park and Burgess that socialenvironments based on status disadvantages such as poverty; illiteracy; and lack of schooling, unemployment, and illegitimacy are powerful forces that influencehuman interactions.

Concentric Zone Theory 2.2



Interactional Theories2.2• Differential Association

The concept by Edwin Sutherland that criminal and delinquent behaviors are learned entirely through group interactions, with peers reinforcing and rewarding those behaviors. It is considered a learning theory.

• Cultural Deviance Theory The idea that, for the most part, the values of subcultural groups within the society are more influential upon individual behavior and interactions than are laws and norms of the larger social group.



Interactional Theories2.2• Social Control Theory

A theory that focuses on the social and cultural values that exert control over and reinforce the behavior of individuals

• Neutralization TheoryThe concept that most people commit some type of criminal act in their lives and that many people are prevented from doing so again because of a sense of guilt – criminals neutralize feelings of guilt through rationalization, denial, or an appeal to higher loyalties



Interactional Theories2.2

• Strain TheoryThe assumption that individuals resort to crimeout of frustration from being unable to attain economic comfort or success through "acceptable" means



2.3 Summarize modern theories of criminology.




Modern Theories of Criminology 2.3

LabelingTheory

ConflictTheories

FeministCriminology

RadicalCriminology

Explains deviant

behavior,especially juvenile

delinquency,by examining

society's reactions to

behaviors that are labeled as

deviant.

The most politically and

socially powerful

individuals and organizationsuse the legal

system to exploit less

powerful individuals and to retain their

power and privileges.

Female criminal behavior is

caused by the political,

economic, and social inequalitybetween men and women.

Advocates conflict theoriesand class and

power inequality as the causes of

crime.



2.4Summarize factors that make it difficult for criminologists to definitively explain crime.




Challenges to Explaining Crime2.4

Causal Variables

Variables that directly influence the outcome

of relationships

CorrelationThe state of two variables being

associated with each other in that when one

increases, the other increases or

decreases in a predictable pattern

vs.



Contemporary theories of crime causation are complex because they recognize the interaction of

many variables. The cause of criminality can be divided into four different schools of thought:

classical, biological, psychological, and sociological.

The neoclassical school of thought was popular throughout the eighteenth century. The twentieth

century ushered in scientific thought and the positivist approach. In today's contemporary criminal

justice system, social control theories support rehabilitation efforts through prison industry and

educational programs.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

2.1

2.2



Modern approaches to explaining crime are labeling theory, conflict theories, feminist criminology, and

radical criminology.

No one theory can explain all crime causation. Rather, various theories have been developed based on the

scientific knowledge and social values of a particular era. Today, sociological explanations are most popular

in application by scholars within the criminal justice system.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

2.3

2.4

Law

Intro to cj ch 2 ppt