Criminology Theory and Practise Notes Topics 1 10

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Criminology - Theory and Practise Notes (Topics 1-10)
Criminology: Theory and Practice (Swinburne University of Technology)
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Topic 1 - Crime and Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, cause and control of
criminal behavior
An interdisciplinary field consisting of;

 Sociology
 Political science
 Psychology
 Philosophy
The Criminological Enterprise

Criminal statistics/crime measurement involves calculating the amounts and
trends of criminal activity (who commits it? Where and when does it occur?
Which crimes are the most serious?)
Criminologists interested in computing criminal statistics focus on creating valid

and reliable measures of criminal behavior (police records, surveys)
 A valid measure actually measures what it purports to measure; a
measure that is factual
 A reliable measure produces consistent results from one measurement
to another
Sociology of law/law and society/sociolegal studies is concerned with the

role that social forces play in shaping criminal law and the role of criminal law in
shaping society
 Interaction between society and laws
 Assess effects of proposed legal change
Criminologist interested in sociolegal studies might investigate the history of

legal thought in an effort to understand how criminal acts (theft, rape, murder)
evolved into their present form
Theory construction is the development of theories of crime causation

 Criminologist may view crimes as;
o Psychological (personality, development, social learning,
cognition)
o Biological (biochemical, genetic, neurological)
o Sociological (neighborhood, poverty, socialization, group
interaction)
Understanding and describing criminal behavior

Researching specific criminal types and patterns
 Violent crime, theft crime, public order crime, organized crime
Marvin Wolfgang discovered that in many instances victims causes or

precipitated the violent confrontation that led to their death, spawning the term
victim precipitated homicide

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 Refers to those killings in which the victim is a direct, positive precipitator

of the incident
Edwin Sutherland’s analysis of business-related offenses also helped coin a new

phrase, white-collar crimes, to describe economic crime activities of the
affluent
 Illegal acts that capitalize on a person’s status in the marketplace
 May include theft, embezzlement, fraud, market manipulation, restraint of
trade and false advertising
Penology in involves efforts to control crime through the correction of criminal

offenders. Some criminologists advocate a therapeutic approach to crime
prevention that relies on the application of rehabilitation services that is aimed
at preventing future criminal behavior. They direct their efforts at identifying
effective treatment strategies for individuals convicted of law violations
Others argues that crime can be prevented only through the application of formal
social control, through such measures as mandatory sentences for serious
crimes and even the use of capital punishment as a deterrent to murder
 Mandatory sentences are a statutory requirement that a certain penalty
shall be carried out in all cases of conviction for a specified offense or
series of offenses
 Capital punishment is the execution of criminal offenders; the death
penalty
Victimology is the study of the victim’s role in criminal events

 Victims play a crucial role in the criminal process
 The victims behavior is often a key determinant of crime
Criminal statistics  Gathering valid crime data

 Devising new research methods
 Measuring crime patterns and
trends
Sociology of law/law and  Determining the origin of law

society/sociologic studies  Measuring the forces that can
change laws and society
Theory construction  Predicting individual behavior
 Understanding the cause of crime
rates and trends
Criminal behavior systems  Determining the nature and cause
of specific crime patterns
 Studying violence, theft, organized
crime, white-collar crime and
public order
Penology: punishment, sanctions  Studying the correction and control
and corrections of criminal behavior
 Using the scientific method to

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assess the effectiveness of criminal

sanctions designed to control crime
through the application of criminal
punishments
Victimology  Studying the nature and cause of
victimization
 Aiding crime victims
 Understanding the nature and
extent of victimization
 Developing theories of
victimization risk
Classical Criminology
Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) was one of the first scholars to develop a
systematic understanding of why people commit crimes. Believed that
 Choosing their behavior, people act in their own self interests; they want
to achieve pleasure and void paint
 People will commit crime when the potential pleasure and reward they
believe they can achieve from illegal acts outweigh the threat of future
punishment
 To deter crime, punishment must be sufficient – no more, no less – to
counterbalance the lure of criminal gain
The writing of Beccaria and his followers form the core of what today is referred
to as classic criminology. It involved several basic elements:
 People have free will to choose criminal or lawful solutions to meet their
needs or settle their problems
 Crime is attractive when it promises great benefits with little effort
 Crime may be controlled by the fear of punishment
 Punishment that is (or is perceived to be) severe, certain and swift will
deter criminal behavior
This classical perspective was influenced by judicial philosophy - “Let the

punishment fit the crime”
Positivist Criminology
Auguste Comte (1798-1857), considered the founder of sociology, argues that
societies pass through stages that can be grouped on the basis of how people try
to understand the world in which they live
Positivism is the branch of social science that uses the scientific method of the
natural sciences and suggests that human behavior is a product of social,
biological, psychological or economic forces that can be empirically measured.
Positivism has a number of elements:

 Use of the scientific method to conduct research. The scientific method is
objective, universal and culture-free
o The scientific method is the use of verifiable principles and
procedures for the systematic acquisition of knowledge. Typically

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involves formulating a problem, creating hypotheses and collecting

data, through observation and experiment, to verify the hypothesis
 Predicting and explaining social phenomena in a logical manner. This
means identifying necessary and sufficient condition under which a
phenomenon may or may not occur. Both human behaviour and natural
phenomenon operate according to laws that can be measured and
observed
 Empirical verification. All beliefs or statements must be proved through
empirical investigation guided by the scientific method. Such concepts as
“God” and “the soul” cannot be measured empirically and therefore are
not the subject of scientific inquiry; they remain a matter of faith
 Science must be value-free and should not be influences by the
observer/scientist’s biases or political point of view
Early criminological positivism

 Physiognomy is the assessment of a person’s character or personality
from his or her appearance, especially the face
 Phrenology is the assessment of a persona’s character or personality
from the measurements and shape of their skull
Sociological Criminology
Sociological criminology explores the relationship between social factors and
crime
According Emile Durkheim’s (1858 – 1917) vision of social positivism, crime is

normal because it is virtually impossible to imagine a society where it is absent
 Crime is inevitable because people are so different from ne another and
use such a wide variety of methods and types of behaviour to meet their
needs
Durkheim wrote about the consequences of the shift from a small, rural society,
to the more modern “organic” society with a large urban population. From the
resulting structural changes flowed anomie
 Anomie is a lack of norms or clear social standards
 Because of rapidly shifting moral values, the individual has few guides to
what is socially acceptable
 People who suffer anomie may become confused and rebellious
Chicago school (early 1900s) is a group of urban sociologists who studied the
relationship between environmental conditions and crime
 Reaction to inadequate environment
 Crime reduced by improving social and economic conditions
Conflict Theory

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The view that human behaviour is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that
those who maintain social power will use it to further their own ends
 Karl Marx (1800s) - oppression of the working class by the owners of
production
 Critical criminology (1960s) is the view that crime is a product of the
capitalist system
Developmental Criminology
Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck integrated biological, social, and psychological
elements. It suggested that the initiation and continuity of a criminal career was
a developmental process influences by both internal and external situations,
conditions, and circumstances
Contemporary Criminology
Classical theory has evolved into modern rational choice theory
 The view that crime is a function of decision-making process in which the
would-be offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act
Positivism has evolved into contemporary biosocial and psychological trait

theory views
 The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or
psychological traits
Chicago School sociological vision has transformed into a social structure

theory
 The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of
crime
Social process theorists focus their attention of socialization

 The view that criminality is a function of people’s interactions with
various organizations, institutions, and processes in society
Critical criminologists believe that crime is related to the inherently unfair

economic structure and examines how those who hold political and economic
power shape the law to uphold their self-interests
Difference between crime and deviance

Criminologist devote themselves to measuring, understanding and controlling
crime and deviance
 Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors that differ from the
norm, ranging from the most socially harmful to the relatively inoffensive
o Not always illegal or a crime
 Crime is an act, deemed socially harmful or dangerous, that is specifically
defined, prohibited and punished under the criminal law
o Not always unusual or deviant
Criminologists are often concerned with the concept of deviance and its
relationship to criminality
Definitions of Crime

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Consensus view is the belief that the majority of citizens in a society share
common values and agree on what behaviors should be defined as criminal.
Where the criminal law – the written code that defined crimes and their
punishments – reflects the values, beliefs and opinions of society’s mainstream
 The law defines crime
 Agreement exists on outlawed behaviour
 Laws apply to all citizens equally
Conflict view is the belief that criminal behaviour is defined by those in power
In such a way as to protect and advance their own self-interest
 The law is a tool of the ruling class
 Crime is a politically defined concept
 “Real crimes” such as racism, sexism, and classism are not outlawed
 The law is used to control the underclass
Interactionist view is the belief that those with social power are able to impost
their values on society as a whole, and these values then define criminal
behaviour
 Most entrepreneurs define crime
 Acts become crimes because society defines them that way
 Criminal labels are life-transforming events
Considering these differences, we can take elements from each school of thought
to formulate an integrated definition of crime;
 “Crime” is a violation of societal rules of behaviour 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
Purposes of the Law

The criminal law serves several important purposes
 It represents public opinion and moral values
 It enforces social controls
 It deters criminal behaviour and wrong doing
 It punishes transgressors
 It creates equity
 It abrogates the need for private retribution
Ethical Issues in Criminology

Ethical issues arise when information-gathering methods pear biased or
exclusionary. These issues may cause serious consequences because research
findings can significantly affect individuals and groups. Criminologists must be
concerned about
 The topics they study
 The selection of research subjects
 The methods used in conducting research
Topic 2 – The Nature and Extent of Crime

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A hypothesis is an explicit, testable prediction about the condition under which

an event will occur
 A specific prediction about how one variable relates to another
o Must be specific
o Must be able to test it
A theory is an organized set of principles used to explain observed phenomena

 Must be falsifiable
Principle of falsification – a scientific theory must lead to testable hypotheses

that can be disproved if they are wrong
Conceptual variables are typically thought of in abstract, general terms

 We cannot test the abstract
Operational definition is a specific procedure for manipulating or measuring a

conceptual variable
 A definition of concepts in a theory that allows them to be observed and
measured
 Operationalizing variables is key for replication
Types of Measures for Crime

Self-reports
Example Pros Cons

 “Why did you break  Simple to use  Effect of
into the house?  Minimal resources wording/context
 National Crime and  Relied on
Safety Survey memory/introspectio
n
 Social
desirability/honesty
Physiological measures
Example Pros Cons

 Functional Magnetic  Does not rely on  Accuracy of
Resonance Imaging insight inferences?
(fMRI)  Not subject to social  Additional resources
 Penile desirability
Plethysmograph  Reduced interview
effects
fMRI shows blood flow in certain areas of the brain
PPG shows change in arousal levels
Observations

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Example Pros Cons

 Overt – watch  Natural settings  Social desirability
children play  Does not rely on  May be dangerous
 Covert – surveillance insight
or undercover
Overt – person is away they are being watched
Covert – person not aware they are being watched
Archival data is data that has already been collected from other sources - can’t
be used in experimental research
Example Pros Cons

 Uniform Crime  No new data  Accuracy of data
Report collection collection?
 Government  Access to large  Correlation, not
documents databases causation
Qualitative data
 Deals with descriptions
 Data can be observed but not measured
 Gender, SES
Quantitative data
 Deals with numbers
 Data which can be measured
 Height, weight
Reliability is the extent to which a measure consistently produces the same

result over and over again regardless of who, time etc.
Validity refers to the degree to which something measures what it intends to

measure
 Reliability ≠ validity
 A measure is not valid or invalid in and of itself
Descriptive studies Correlation research

 Describe events, people, patterns  Measures the association between
etc. variables
 No manipulation  Used when a variable cannot be
 Not interested in relationships manipulated
 Allows prediction
 Measured by correlation coefficient
 Correlation does not imply
causation
Correlation is the degree to which two or more variables are associated with
one another

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Experimental research examines cause and effect of relationships
Independent variable is the variable manipulated to see if it has an effect on

some outcome
 How do we manipulate it?
Dependant variable is the outcome effected by the independent variable

 How do we measure it?
Independent variable effects the dependent variable
Experimental control Random assignment

 Manipulate only the IV Ensure no systematic differences
 Keep all other variables constant between conditions
across groups
Validity of an experimental study

 Internal validity – validity of your results (is TV influences aggression?)
 External validity – generalizability (would TV influece agression outside
of your study?)
Quasi-experiment is usefull if random assigment is NOT possible. Looks for

differences based on age, gender etc. – all other variables are the same (e.g. what
effects age (IV) has on violence (DV)
The population refers to the group of people you are interested in studying
A sample is a sub-set or portion of the larger population selected to represent

the whole
 A representative sample is large enough sample to give an unbiased
indictation of what the population is like
Sampling techniques
Random sampling is a sample of the population in which everyone has equal
chance of being chosen for the study
Snowball sampling is useful when potential participants are not likely to be on

any list, such as telephone directory or registry. One might think of snowball
sampling as referal sampling:
 A researcher identifies a potential participant through a know source like
a probation officer or rehabilitation worker – the participant then refers
the researcher to other offenders that he or she may know
Cluster sampling is when geographic area divided into sections and participants
randomly selected from sections
Systematic sampling is not entirely random and systematically selects
participants from random starting point (need to avoid patterns)

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Convenience sampling is not random and picks participants from readily

available or nearby sources
Self-selected samples is not random and participants are self selected
Stratified sampling is a probability sampling technique wherein the researcher

divides the entire population into different subgroups or strata
A bias is a distortion that systematically misrepresents the true nature of what is

being studied or the result of the study
 When survey repsondants may not tell the truth such as when asked
about drug use
Ethical principles
 Protection from harm
 Privacy
 Informed concent
 Debreifing
 Respect rights, dignity and worth
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) has adopted an official code of

ethics in conducting scientific research that underlies the values, ideals, and
professional responsibility of criminologists in pursuit of their academic
endeavours
The Dark Figure of Crime

Crime as it is legally defined allows us to measure it; however, for crime to be
measured, it must be detected or reported - not all crimes detected are recorded,
and not all victims report the crimes perpetrated against them. Thus, there is a
dark figure of crime - the amount of crime that is undetected, not reported and
not recorded.
Administrative data is data drawn from the administrative records of the police
 ABS reports the national figures on crimes reported or detected by police
each year for the period 1st Janunary through 31st December
 Crime statistics
 Correctional services
 Courts data
Crime statistics relate to a range of offences captured under the Australian

Standard Offence Classification (now known as ANZSOC). There are 16 ASOC
offense divisions listed in order to reflect the seriousness of the offense
Observational studies

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In addition to data gathered from relevant organisations and personnel, another

source comes from direct observation (usually unobtrusive) of the phenomenon
under study
Victimisation surveys provide information about known offenses that are not
reported
 Less useful in providing information about some forms of crime, such as
fraud, where victims may be unaware of the victimisation, as well as other
'victimless' crimes like illicit drug use and prostitution.
Quantitative surveys provide statistics from incarcerated offenders and the

public on how much crime they have committed/been victims of
Organisational data includes statistics from insurance agencies, security

providers and regulatory agencies
The national youth survey gathers quantitative self-report data on various

forms of delinquency and drug use (e.g. minor and serious property offences;
acts of violence; and marijuana, heroin and cocaine use), as well as several
theoretical measures to learn why young people offend or not. The survey data
included measures of negative parental, peer and teaching labelling (i.e.
unofficial and official labelling), social control and social learning
The rand tri-state inmate survey gathered information from incarcerated

offenders. The aim was to gather information on offender characteristics and
explore the quality of offender self-reports, the effects of offender rehabilitation
programs and the effectiveness of selective incapacitation policies
The Liverpool desistance study

Between 1996 and 1998 Maruna and his colleagues identified two groups of
offenders. One group they called 'persisters'. These offenders were actively
committing crimes and confessed they had no intention of quitting. The other
group they called the 'desisters', a group of ex-offenders committed to 'making
good' or 'going straight' and staying out of trouble. The aim of the study was to
learn why some offenders are able to desist from crime but not others
Topic 3 – Social Structure Theory
Social structure theory is the view that disadvantaged economic class position
is a primary cause of crime. These theories view the cause of crime through the
lens of poverty, income inequality, hopelessness and despair: social and
economic forces operating in deteriorated lower-class areas push many of their
residents into criminal behaviour patterns – it seems logical that if crime rates
are higher in lower-class urban centres than in middle-class suburbs, social
forces must influence or control behaviour
The social structure perspective encompasses three independent yet overlapping

branches:

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 Social disorganization theory – crime flourishes in a disorganized area

in which institutions of social control, such as the family, commercial
establishments, and schools, have broken down and can no longer
perform their expected or stated functions
 Strain theory – crime occurs when members of the lower class
experience anger and frustration over their inability to achieve success
 Cultural deviance theory – combines elements of both strain and social
disorganization – in disorganized neighbourhoods, the presence of strain
locks people into an independent subculture with uniq`ue values and
beliefs. Criminal behaviour is an expression of conformity to lower-class
subcultural values and traditions that often are at odds with conventional
society
Social disorganization theory was popularized by Shaw and McKay who linked
life in transitional slum areas to the inclination to commit crime. They explained
crime and delinquency within the context of the changing urban environment
and ecological development of the city. They saw that Chicago had developed into
distinct neighbourhoods (natural areas), some affluent and others wracked by
extreme poverty – transitional neighbourhood
 An area undergoing a shift in population and structure, usually from
middle-class residential to lower-class mixed-use
 These areas suffered:
o High rates of population turnover
o High unemployment
o Low income levels
o High dropout rates
o High number of single parent households
o Deteriorating housing
o Young people more likely to join gangs
The Social Ecology School

 Community disorder – crime rates are associated with community
deterioration: disorder, poverty, alienation, dissociation and fear of crime.
Increased levels of crime and violence in the community are associated
with indicators of social disorganization such as residential instability,
family disruption, and changing ethnic composition
 Community fear – in neighbourhoods where people help each other,
residents are less likely to fear crime or to be afraid of becoming a crime
victim. Things such as unruly youths, trash and litter, graffiti, abandoned
storefronts, burned-out buildings, littered lots, strangers, drunks,
prostitutes etc. may contribute to fear and as fear increases, quality of life
deteriorates
 Siege mentality – in neighbourhoods that experience high levels of crime
and civil disorder people become suspicious and mistrusting. Minority
groups may experience greater levels of fear than whites, perhaps because
they may have fewer resources to address ongoing social problems – they
develop a sense of powerlessness - which increases mistrust developing a
“siege mentality”, in which the outside world (police, other minorities etc.)
is considered the enemy bent on destroying the neighbourhood

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 Community change – neighbourhoods with a high rate of change in

residents, wealth, density and purpose also experience the greatest
change in crime rates and in contrast stable neighbourhoods, even those
with a high rate of poverty, experience relatively low crime rates and have
the strength to restrict substance abuse and criminal activity
 Poverty concentration – when working and middle-class families flee
inner-city areas where poverty is pervasive we see a poverty
concentration effect in which the most disadvantaged population is
consolidated in the most disorganized urban neighbourhood – as the
middle and working classes move out to the suburbs, they take with them
their financial and institutional resources and support leaving limited
employment opportunities
Collective efficacy is social control exerted by cohesive communities and based

on mutual trust, including intervention in the supervision of children and
maintenance of public order
Theory Major Premise Strengths Research Focus

Shaw and Crime is a product Identifies why Poverty;
McKay’s of transitional crime rates are disorganization
concentric zones neighbourhoods highest in slum
theory that manifest areas. Points out
social the factors that
disorganization produce crime.
and value conflict Suggests
programs to help
reduce crime
Social ecology The conflicts and Accounts for Social control;
theory problems of urban urban crime rates fear; collective
social life and and trends efficacy;
communities unemployment
(including fear,
unemployment,
deterioration and
siege mentality)
influence crime
rates
Strain Theory
Inhabitants of a disorganized inner-city area feel isolated, frustrated, ostracized
from the economic mainstream, hopeless and eventually angry. Strain theorists
view crime as direct results of frustration and anger among the lower
socioeconomic classes
Theory of Anomie – Merton found that two elements of culture interact to

produce potentially anomic conditions
 Culturally defined goals
 Socially approved means for obtaining them

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These legitimate means to acquire wealth are stratified across class and status
line. Those with little formal education and few economic resources soon find
that they are denied the ability to legally acquire wealth and may develop
criminal or delinquent solutions to the problem of attaining goals
 Points out how competition for success creates conflict and crime
 Suggests that social conditions, and not personality can account for crime
 Explains high lower-class crime rates
 Focused on frustration, anomie and effects of failure to achieve goals
Social adaptions – Merton argues that each person has his or her own concept
of society’s goals and his or her own degree of access to the means to attain
them. Some people have inadequate means of attaining success, others, who have
means, reject societal goals. This results in a variety of social adaptations:
Conformity Individuals embrace conventional

social goals and also have the means to
attain them. They remain law abiding
Innovation Individuals accept the goals of society
but are unable or unwilling to attain
them through legitimate means
Ritualism Individuals gain pleasure from
practising traditional ceremonies,
regardless of whether they have real
purpose or goal
Retreatism Individuals reject both the goals and
means of society. They attempt to
escape their lack of success by
withdrawing either mentally or
physically through taking drugs or
becoming drifters
Rebellion Individuals substitute an alternative
set of goals and means for conventional
ones. Make an effort to create
alternative opportunities and lifestyles
within the existing system
Institutional anomie theory is the view that anomie pervades US culture

because the drive for material wealth dominates and undermines social and
community values
 Explains why crime rates are so high in American culture
 Focused on frustration and effects of materialism
Relative deprivation theory is envy, mistrust and aggression resulting from

perceptions of economic and social inequality – crime results from the wealthy
and poor living close to one another
 Explains high crime rates in deteriorating inner-city areas located near
more affluent neighbourhoods

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General strain theory (GST) is the view that multiple sources of strain interact
with an individual’s emotional traits and responses to produce criminality
 Identifies the complexities of strain in modern society
 Expands on anomie theory
 Shows the influence of social events on behaviour over the life course
 Explains middle-class crimes
 Focused on strain, inequality, negative affective states and influence of
negative and positive stimuli
Sources of strain Negative affective Antisocial behaviour

states
 Failure to achieve  Anger  Drug abuse
goals  Frustration  Delinquency
 Disjunction of  Disappointment  Violence
expectations and  Depression  Dropping out
achievements  Fear
 Removal of positive
stimuli
 Presentation of
negative stimuli
Cultural Deviance Theories

Miller’s focal concern theory – citizens who obey the street rules of lower-class
life (focal concerns) find themselves in conflict with the dominant culture
 Identifies the core values of lower class culture and shows their
association to crime
 Focused on cultural normal and focal concerns
Cohen’s theory of delinquent subculture – status frustration of lower-class

boys, created by their failure to achieve middle-class success, causes them to join
gangs
 Shows how the conditions of lower-class life produce crime
 Explains violence and destructive acts
 Identifies conflict of lower class with middle class
 Focused on gangs, culture conflicts, middle-class measuring rods and
reaction formation
 Status frustration is a form of culture conflict experienced by lower-class
youths because social conditions prevent them from achieving success as
defined by the larger society
Cloward and Ohlin’s theory of opportunity – blockage and conventional

opportunities causes lower-class youths to join criminal, conflict or retreatist
gangs
 Shows that even illegal opportunities are structures in society
 Indicates why people becomes involved in a particular type of criminal
activity
 Presents a way of preventing crime
 Focuses on gangs, cultural norms, culture conflict and effect of blocked
opportunity

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 Middle-class measuring rods are the standards by which authority

figures, such as teachers and employers, evaluate lower-class youngsters
and often prejudge them negatively
 Reaction formation – irrational hostility evidenced by young
delinquents, who adopt norms directly opposed to middle-class goals and
standard that seem impossible to achieve
 Differential opportunity is the view that lower-class youths, whose
legitimate opportunities are limited, join gangs and pursue criminal
careers as alternative means to achieve universal success goals
Topic 4 – Social Process Theory
Social process theory is the view that criminality is a function of people’s

interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society
Socialization is the process of human development and enculturation.

Socialization reflects the key social processes and institutions: the family, school,
peer group and community. As we develop and are socialized over the life course,
our relationships can be either positive and supportive or dysfunctional and
destructive
Influences
Family relations are considered a major determinant of behaviour. Parenting
factors, such as the ability to communicate and to provide proper discipline, may
play a critical role in determining whether people misbehave as children and
even later as adults
 Parental efficacy refers to the ability of parents to be supportive and
effectively control their children in a non-coercive way leading them to be
more likely to refrain from delinquency
 Children who grow up in homes where parents use overly strict discipline
become prone to antisocial behaviour
 Abused kids also suffer more from other social problems, such as
depression, suicide attempts and self-injurious behaviours which can
continue across their lifespan
Education experience
The education process and adolescent school achievement have been linked to
criminality – children who do poorly in school, lack educational motivation and
feel alienated are the most likely to engage in criminal acts
 Children who fail in school offend more frequently than those who
succeed
 Education problems may lead students to leave school and drop out due
to things such as
o Poor grades
o Lack of interest
o Bullied
o Racial problems
Peer relations

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Criminologists have recognised that peer group relations have a powerful effect
on human conduct and can dramatically influence decision making and
behaviour choices – kids who have lots of friends and a variety of peer group
networks tend to be less delinquent than their less popular mates although both
may have problems
 Joining a gang or deviant group may help members increase their social
standing and popularity
 Delinquent peers sustain individual offending patterns
 Delinquent friends may help kids neutralize the fear of punishment
Religion and belief

Logic would dictate that people who hold high moral values and beliefs, who
have learned to distinguish right from wrong and who regularly attend religious
serviced should also avoid crime and other antisocial behaviour – religion binds
people together and forces them to confront the consequences of their behaviour
and committing crimes would violate the principles of all organized religions
Social Process Approach
Social learning theory -

criminal behaviour is
learned through human
interaction
Social reaction theory

(labeling theory) - people Social control theory -
given negative labels by human behaviour is
authority figures aceept controlled through close
those labels as a personal associations with
identity, setting up a self- institutions and individuals
fufilling prophecy
Social Learning Theories

Social learning theorists believe that crime is a product of learning the norms,
values and behaviours associated with criminal activity – social learning can
involve the actual techniques of crime (how to hot-wire a car), as well as the
psychological aspects of criminality (how to deal with the guilt or shame)
Differential association theory is the view that people commit crime when
their social learning leads them to perceive more definitions favouring crime
than favouring conventional behaviour
Principles of differential association

 Criminal behaviour is learned – criminality is learned in the same
manner as any other learned behaviour, such as writing, painting or
reading

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 Criminal behaviour is learned as a by-product of interacting with

others – people actively learn as they are socialized and interact with
other individuals who serve as teachers and guides to crime
 Learned criminal behaviour occurs within intimate personal groups
– people’s contacts with their most intimate social companions (family,
friends and peers) have the greatest influence on their development of
deviant behaviour and antisocial attitudes
 Learning criminal behaviour involves assimilating the techniques of
committing crime, including motives, drives, rationalizations and
attitudes – novice criminals learn from their associates the proper way to
pick a lock, shoplift and obtain and use narcotics. They must learn the
proper terminology for their acts and acquire approved reactions to law
violations. Criminals must learn how to react properly to their illegal acts,
such as when to defend them and when to show remorse
 The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from
perceptions of various aspects of the legal code as favourable or
unfavourable – because the reaction to social rules and laws is not
uniform across society, people have to constantly meets others who hold
different views on the utility of obeying the legal code. Culture conflict is
a result of exposure to opposing norms, attitudes, and definitions of right
and wrong, moral and immoral
 A person becomes a criminal when he or she perceives more
favourable than unfavourable consequences to violating the law –
individuals become law violators when they are in contact with persons,
groups or events that produce an excess of definitions favourable towards
criminality and are isolated from counteracting forces
 Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority
and intensity – whether a person learns to obey the law or to disregard it
is influences by the quality of that person’s social interactions. Those of
lasting duration have greater influence than those that are brief. Contacts
made early in life probably have more influence than those developed
later
 The process of learning criminal behaviour by association with
criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms
that are involved in any other learning process – leaning criminal
behaviour is similar to learning nearly all other patterns and is not a
matter of mere imitation
 Although criminal behaviour expresses general needs and values, it
is not excused by those general needs and values, because non
criminal behaviour expresses the same needs and values – the
motives for criminal behaviour cannot logically be the same as those for
conventional behaviour
In sum, differential association theory holds that people learn criminal attitudes
and behaviour during their adolescence from close, trusted friends or relatives –
criminal behaviour is leaned in a process that is similar to learning any other
human behaviour

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Neutralization theory is the view that law violators lean to neutralize

conventional values and attitudes, enabling them to drift back and forth between
criminal and conventional behaviour
 Drift refers to the movement in and out of delinquency, shifting between
conventional and deviant values
Neutralization techniques
People develop a distinct set of justifications for their law-violating behaviour.
Several observations form the basis of their theoretical model:
 Criminals sometimes voice guilt over their illegal acts
 Offenders frequently respect and admire honest, law-abiding persons
 Criminals define whom they can victimize
 Criminals are not immune to the demands of conformity
Criminals must first neutralize accepted social values before they are free to
commit crimes; they do so by learning a set of techniques that allow them to
counteract the moral dilemmas posed by illegal behaviour
 Denial of responsibility
 Denial of injury
 Denial of the victim
 Condemnation of the condemners
 Appeal to higher loyalties
Social Control Theory

Social control theorists maintain that all people have the potential to violate the
law and that modern society presents many opportunities for illegal activities –
criminal activities such as drug abuse and theft are often exciting pastimes that
hold the promise of immediate reward and gratification
They argue that people obey the law because internal and external forces control
behaviours and passions. Some individuals have self-control – a strong moral
sense that renders a person incapable of hurting others or violating social norms
– other people have been socialized to have a commitment to conformity – a
strong personal investment in conventional institutions, individuals, and
processes that prevent people from engaging in behaviour that might jeopardize
their reputations and achievements (the stronger the commitment the less likely
they are to commit crime)
Hirschi’s social control theory links the onset of criminality to weakening of

the ties that bind people to society. Without these social bonds – the ties that
bind people to society, including relationships, friends, family, neighbours,
teachers and employers – a person is free to commit criminal acts

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Social Reaction Theory (Labelling)

Explains criminal careers in terms of stigma-producing encounters. Social
reaction theory has a number of key points
 Behaviours that are considered criminal are highly subjective – crimes are
only evil because people label them as such
 Crime is defined by those in power – people who create rules are moral
entrepreneurs (a person who creates moral rules that reflect the values of
those in power rather than any object, universal standard of right and
wrong)
 Not only acts are labelled, but also people – labelling of criminals reducing
their self-image and stigmatizes (applying a negative label with enduring
effects on a person’s self-image and social interactions)
Consequences of labelling
Although labelling may be a function of rumour, innuendo or unfounded
suspicion its adverse impact can be immense. If a devalued status in discussed by
a significant other – a teacher, police officer, parent or valued peer – the negative
label may permanently harm the target
 The degree to which a person is perceived as a social deviant may affect
his or her treatment at home, at work, at school and in other social
situations
 Children may also find that their parents view them as a bad influence on
younger brothers and sisters
 School officials may limit them to classes reserved for people with
behavioural problems
 Adults may find it difficult to become employed
The labelling process

1. Initial criminal act – commit the crime
2. Detection by the justice system – found guilty of a criminal act
3. Decision to label – some are labelled ‘”official” criminals
4. Creation of new identity – offenders shunned by conventional society
5. Acceptance of labels – offenders view themselves as outsiders/deviants

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6. Deviance amplification – stigmatized offenders now locked into criminal

careers
Primary deviance involves a norm violation or crime that as little or no long-

term influence on the violator
Secondary deviance involved a norm violation of crime that comes to the

attention of significant others or social control agents, who apply a negative label
that has long-term consequences for the violator’s self-identity and social
interactions
Theory Major Premise Strengths Research Focus

Social Learning Theories
Differential People learn to  Explains onset of Measuring definitions
association theory commit crime from criminality toward crime;
exposure to antisocial  Explains the influence of deviant
definitions presence of crime peers and parents
in all elements of
social structure
 Explains why
some people in
high-crime areas
refrain from
criminality
 Can apply to
adults and
juveniles
Neutralization theory Youths learn ways of  Explains why Whether people who
neutralizing moral many delinquents use neutralizations
restraints and do not become commit more crimes;
periodically drift in adult criminals beliefs, values and
and out of criminal  Explains why crime
behaviour patterns youthful law
violators can
participate in
conventional
behaviour
Social Control Theory
Hirschi’s control A person’s bond to  Explains the The association
theory society prevents him onset of crime among commitment,
or her from violating  Can apply to both attachment,
social rules. If the middle and involvement, belief,
bond weakens, the lower-class crime and crime
person is free to  Explains its
commit crime theoretical
constructs
adequately so
they can be
measured
 Has been
empirically tested

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Social Reaction Theory

Labelling theory People enter into law-  Explains society’s Measuring the
violating careers role in creating association between
when they are deviance self-concept and
labelled and organize  Explains why crime; differential
their personalities some juvenile application of labels;
around the labels offenders do not the effect of stigma
become adult
criminals
 Develops
concepts of
criminal careers
Prevention of Crime
Social process theories have greatly influences social policy. They have been
applied in treatment orientations as well as community action policies. Some
programs teach kids conventional attitudes and behaviours. Others are designed
to improve the social bond. Those based on social reaction theory attempt to
shield people from criminal labels by diverting them from the system in order to
avoid stigma
 Diversion programs are programs of rehabilitation that remove
offenders from the normal channels of the criminal justice process, thus
enabling them to avoid the stigma of a criminal label
 Restitution is permitting an offender to repay the victim or do useful
work in the community rather than facing the stigma of a formal trial and
a court-ordered sentence
Topic 5 – Social Conflict and Critical Criminology
Critical criminology is based on the view that crime is a function of the conflict
that exists in society. Critical theorists suggest that crime in any society is caused
by economic and class conflict – laws are created by those in power to protect
their own rights and to serve their own interests – criminal law is designed to
protect the wealthy and powerful and to control the poor
The poor commit crimes because of their frustration, anger and need. The
wealthy engage is illegal acts because they are used to competition and because
they must do so to maintain their position in society. Therefore, Crime would
disappear if equality rather than discrimination were the norm
Critical criminologists view themselves as social critics who dig beneath the
surface of society to uncover its inequities. They consider acts of racism, sexism,
imperialism, and unsafe working conditions as tolls of foreign policy to be the
“true crimes”
For history – read page 199*

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Instrumental vs. Structural Theory

Instrumental theorists view criminal law and the criminal justice system solely
as instruments for controlling the poor – they view the state as the tool of
capitalists
Structural theorists believe that law is not the exclusive domain of the rich;
rather, it is used to maintain the long-term interests of the capitalist system and
to control members of any class who threaten its existence
Cause of Crime
Critical thinkers believe that the key crime-producing element of modern
corporate capitalism is the effort to create surplus value – the excess profits that
are produced by the labouring classes and accrued by business owners – as the
rate of surplus value increases, more people are displaced from productive
relationships and the size of the marginal population swells. Displaced workers
are forced into service jobs at minimum wage and more people are thrust outside
the economic mainstream, a condition referred to as marginalisation, and
forced to live in areas conducive to crime
Globalization
Globalization refers to the process of creating transitional markets and political
and legal systems – began when large companies decided to establish themselves
in foreign markets by adapting their products or services to the local culture.
Globalisation disproportionately benefits wealthy and powerful organisations
and individuals and impoverishes indigenous people. As the influence and impact
of international finical institutions increase, there is a related relative decline in
power of local or state-based institution, resulting in the recent unrest in world
financial systems. With money and power to spare, global criminal enterprise
groups can recruit new members, bribe government officials and even fund
private armies
State (Organized) Crime

State crimes involve a violation of citizen trust. They are acts defined by law as
criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as government
representatives
State Crime
Illegal domestic surveillance  Occurs when government agents
listen in on telephone
conversations or intercept emails
without proper approval in order to
stifle dissent and monitor political
opponents
Human rights violations  Some governments, such as Iran,
routinely deny their citizens basic
civil rights, holding them without
trial and using “disappearances”
and summary executions to ride
themselves of political dissidents

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 During the Bush presidency, the CIA

used a practise known as
extraordinary rendition in which
suspected terrorists were sent to
secret prisons abroad, without trial
or indictment
State-corporate crime  Committed by individuals who
abuse their state authority or who
fail to exercise it when working
with people and organizations in
the private sector
 For example, a state environmental
agency may fail to enforce laws,
resulting in the pollution in public
waterways
State violence  Sometimes nations engage in
violence to maintain their power
over dissident groups
 Army or police officers form death
squads – armed vigilante groups
that kill suspected political
opponents or other undesirables
 For example, committing
assassinations and kidnappings in
order to intimidate the population
and deter political activity against
the government
Left Realism
Left realism is an approach that is left leaning but realistic in its appraisal of
crime and its cases. Crime is seen as class conflict in an advanced industrial
society. Left realists view the cause of serious violent crime as a function of
economic inequality, community deprivation and lack of supportive institutions
that characterize today’s postmodern society
Left realists believe that community-based efforts hold the greatest promise of
crime control – they believe it is possible for community organisation efforts to
eliminate or reduce crime before police involvement becomes necessary, a
process they call preemptive deterrence – efforts to precent crime through
community organization and youth involvement
Jennifer Gibbs applied the basic concepts of left realism to explain the motivation
for terrorist activity – she finds four key elements of left realism that should, if
valid, underpin terrorist involvement
 People are recruited into terrorist organizations because of relative
deprivation
 Terrorist organizations are subcultures that provide peer support
 Victims/targets are selected based on opportunities/routine activities
 Get-tough policies that create a police state may backfire

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Critical Feminist Theory

Critical feminism views gender inequality as stemming from the unequal power
of men and women in a capitalist society, which leads to the exploitation of
women by fathers, boyfriends and husbands. Under this system, women are
considered a commodity worth possessing, like land or money
Patriarchy
Patriarchal refers to a system of society or government controlled by men
Critical feminists link criminal behaviour patterns to the gender conflict created
by the economic and social struggles common in post-industrial societies.
Capitalists control the labour of workings, and men control women both
economically and biologically. This “double marginality” explains why females in
a capitalist society commit fewer crimes than males. Because they are isolated in
the family, they have fewer opportunities to engage in elite deviance (white-collar
and economic crimes). Although powerful females as well as males will commit
white-collar crimes, the female crime rate is restricted because of the patriarchal
nature of the capitalist system. Women also are denied access to male-dominated
street crimes. Because capitalism renders lower-class women powerless, they
are forced to commit less serious, nonviolent, self-destructive crimes, such as
abusing drugs. Powerlessness also increased the likelihood hat women will
because targets of violent acts. When lower-class males are shut out of the
economic opportunity structure, they try to build their self-image through acts of
machismo; such acts may involve violent abuse of women
In nations where the status of women is generally high, sexual violence rates are
significantly lower than in nations where women do not enjoy similar
educational and occupational opportunities – women’s victimization rates
decline as they are empowered socially, economically and legally
Masculinity
According to the concept of hegemonic masculinity – the belief in the existence
of a culturally normative ideal of male behaviour – each culture creates as ideal
vision of male behaviour. In US culture, there is a hierarchy of masculine
behaviour that glorifies competiveness and reflects a tendency for males to seek
to dominate other males, to be homophobic and to subordinate females
Exploitation
According to the feminist view, exploitation triggers the onset of female
delinquent and deviant behaviour. When female victims run away and abuse
substances they may be reacting to abuse they have suffered at home or at
school. Boys who get in trouble are labelled “overzealous” kids who went to far
but in contrast, girls will be labelled as a threat to acceptable images of femineity;
their behaviour is considered even more unusual and dangerous than male
delinquency
Power-Control Theory

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Power-control theory is criminological theory that maintains that the structure

of gender relations within the family explains gender differences in the crime
rate. Hagan’s view is that crime and delinquency rates are a function of two
factors; class position (power) and family functions (control). The link between
these two variables is that, within the family parents reproduce the power
relationships they hold in the workplace; a position of dominance at work is
equated with control in the household. As a result, parents’ work experiences
and class position influence the criminality of children
 Paternalistic families – families in which fathers assume the traditional
role of breadwinners, while mothers tend to have menial jobs or remain at
home to supervise domestic matters
 Egalitarian families – families in which the husband and wife share
similar positions of power at home and in the workplace
Peacemaker Criminology
According to the peacemaking movement, the main purpose of criminology is to
promote a peaceful, just society. Rather than standing on empirical analysis of
data, peacemaking draws its inspiration from religious and philosophical
teachings ranging from Quakerism to Zen
For example, rather than seeing socioeconomic status as a “variable” that is

correlated with crime, as do mainstream criminologists, peacemakers view
poverty as a source of suffering – almost a crime in and of itself. Poverty
enervates people and becomes a master status that subjects them to lives filled
with suffering
A key avenue for preventing crime is, in the short run, diminishing the suffering
poverty causes and, in the long run, embracing social policies that reduce the
prevalence of economic suffering in contemporary society
Concepts summarised in table on page 218*
Restorative Justice
Restorative justice refers to a view of justice that focuses on the needs of victims,
the community and offenders, and focuses on non-punishing strategies to heal
the wounds caused by crime
Reintegrative shaming refers to the concept that people can be reformed if they
understand the harm they have caused and are brought back into the social
mainstream
The Process of Restoration

The restoration process begins by redefining crime in terms of a conflict among
the offender, the victim and affected constituencies (families, schools,
workplaces). Therefore, it is vitally important that the resolution take place
within the context in which the conflict originally occurred rather than being
transferred to a specialized institution that has no social connection to the

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community or group from which the conflict originated, In other words, most
conflicts are better settled in the community than in a court
Restoration programs
In some Native American communities, people accused of breaking the law meet
with community members, victims (if any), village elders and agents of the
justice system in a sentencing circle – a method of dispensing justice involving
discussion between offenders, victims and members of the community. Each
member of the circle expresses his or her feelings about the act that was
committed and raises questions or concerns. The accused can express regret
about his or her actions and a desire to change the harmful behaviour and people
may suggest ways the offender can make things up to the community and those
harmed
Family group conferences

Made up of the person who has committed the offense, members of his or her
family and whomever the family invites, the victims or their representatives, a
support person for the victim, a representation of the police and the mediator or
manger of the process. The main goal of a conference is to formulate a plan about
how best to deal with the offending. There are three principal components to this
process:
 Ascertaining whether or not the young person admits the offense
(conferences will not process if the person does not admit to it)
 Sharing information among all the parties about the nature of the offense,
the effects of the offense on the victims and the reasons for the offending
and so on
 Deciding the outcome or recommendation
Reconciliation
Restoration has also been used as a national policy to heal internal rifts. Rather
than seeking vengeance for a crime, a government agency may investigate the
atrocities with the mandate of granting amnesty to those individuals who
confessed their roles in the act and could prove that their actions served some
political motive rather than being based of personal factors such as greed or
jealousy
In sum, restoration can be or has been used at the following stages of justice:
 As a form of final warning to young offenders
 As a tool for school officials
 As a method of handling complaints to police
 As a diversion from prosecution
 As a presentencing, post conviction add-on to the sentencing process
 As a supplement to a community sentence (probation)
 As a preparation for release from long-term imprisonment
Topic 6 – Choice Theory

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Rational choice theory is the view that crime is a function of a decision-making

process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of
an illegal act
Classical criminology theory views criminal behaviour as a matter of personal

choice, made after the individual considers its costs and benefits, and that the
criminal behaviour reflects the needs of the offender
Roots in classical criminology

Rational choice theory has its roots in the classical school of criminology
developed by the eighteenth-century Italian social thinking Cesare Beccaria. In
the 1960s, Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker applied his view on
rational behaviour and human capital to criminal activity. James Q. Wilson
observed that people who are likely to commit crime are unafraid of breaking the
law because they value the excitement and thrills of crime, have a low stake in
conformity and are willing to take greater chances than the average person
Concepts of rational choice theory

According to contemporary rational choice theory, law-violating behaviour is the
product of careful thought and planning. Offenders choose crime after
considering both personal factors (money, revenge, thrills and entertainment)
and situational factors (target availability, security measures and police
presence). Before deciding to commit a crime, the reasoning criminal evaluates
the risk of apprehension, the seriousness of expected punishment, the potential
value or benefit of the criminal enterprise, his or her ability to succeed and the
need for criminal gain
Rational choice theorists view crime as both offense-specific and offender-

specific. Crime is said to be offense-specific because offenders react selectively
to characteristics of an individual act. For example, a potential offender making
the decision to commit a burglary might consider
 Their evaluation of the target yield
 The probability of security devices
 Police patrol effectiveness
 Availability of getaway car
 Ease of selling stolen merchandise
 Escape routes
Crime is also said to be offender-specific because criminals are not simply

robots who engage in unthinking and unplanned acts of antisocial behaviour.
Before deciding to commit crime, individuals must decide whether they have the
personal needs, skills and prerequisites to commit a successful criminal act.
These assessments might include an evaluation of
 Whether they possess the necessary skills to commit the crime
 Their immediate need for money and other valuables
 Whether legitimate financial alternatives to crime exist
 Whether they have available resources to commit the crime
 Their fear of expected apprehension and punishment
 Their physical ability, including health, strength, and dexterity

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Structuring criminality
Because crime is offender-specific, a number of personal factors and conditions
must be evaluated before someone decided to choose criminality
 Economic need/opportunity – deciding whether they need the money
 Evaluating personal traits and experience – learning the limitations of
their powers; when to take a chance and when to be cautious
 Criminal expertise – people consider the skills they bring to the table
before deciding to commit a crime
Structuring crime
According to the rational choice approach, the decision to commit crime,
regardless of its substance, is structured by (a) where it occurs and (b) the
characteristics of the target
 Choosing the place of crime – decide where they will commit their crime
 Choosing targets – decide on the victim or target of their crime
 Creating scripts – create a behaviour script that guide their interactions
with victims
Situational crime prevention

Situational crime prevention refers to a method of crime prevention that seeks to
eliminate or reduce particular crimes in specific settings. According to the
concept of situation crime prevention, in order to reduce criminal activity, public
officials interested in controlling crime must be aware of the characteristics of
sits and situations that are conducive to crime, the things that impel people
towards these sites and situations, what equips such people to take advantage of
the criminal opportunities offered by these sites and situations, and what
constitutes the immediate triggers for actually criminal actions. Criminal acts will
be avoided if
 Potential targets are carefully guarded
 The means to commit crime are controlled
 Potential offenders are carefully monitored
One way of preventing crime is to reduce the opportunities people have to

commit particular crimes. This approach is also known as defensible space,
which refers to the principle that crime, can be prevented or displaced by
modifying the physical environment to reduce the opportunity that individuals
have to commit crime
Crime prevention strategies

Situational crime prevention involved developing tactics to reduce or eliminate a
specific crime problem (such as shoplifting in a mall or street-level drug dealing).
These efforts may be divided into six strategies
 Increase the effort needed to commit crime – tactics to increase effort
include target hardening techniques such as putting unbreakable glass on
storefronts, locking gates, fencing yards and installing brighter lights
 Increase the risk of committing crime – Marcus Felson argues that the
risk of crime may be increased by improving the effectiveness of crime

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discouragers: people who serve as guardians of property or people and

who can help control would-be criminals. Discouragers can be grouped
into three categories
o Guardians who monitor potential targets (police and security
guards)
o Handlers who monitor potential offenders (parole officers and
parents
o Managers who monitor places (homeowners and garage
attendants)
If the discourages do their jobs correctly, the potential criminal will be
convinced that the risk of crime outweighs any potential gains
 Reduce rewards of crime – target reduction strategies are designed to
reduce the value of crime to the potential criminal. They include making
car radios removable so they van be kept in the home at night, marking
property so that it is more difficult to sell when stolen and tracking
systems
 Induce guilt and increase shame – crime may be reduced if we can
communicate to people the wrongfulness of their behaviour and how
harmful it is to society
 Reduce provocation – it might be possible to reduce provocation by
creating programs that reduce conflicts. Alcohol is a significant factor in
various kinds of crimes, including rape and assaults. One way to reduce
this sort of crime is to raise the price of beer, wine and hard liquor to
reduce consumption
 Remove excuses – crime may be reduced by making it difficult for people
to excuse their criminal behaviour by saying things like “I didn’t know that
was illegal” or “I had no choice”. For example, cities have set up roadside
displays that electronically flash a car’s speed as it passes, eliminating the
driver’s excuse that she did not know how fast she was going when
stopped by police
Evaluating situational crime prevention

Situational crime prevention efforts bring with them certain hidden costs and
benefits that can either undermine their success or increase their effectiveness
Hidden Benefits
 When efforts to prevent one crime unintentionally prevent another, it is
known as diffusion. Video cameras set up in a mall to reduce shoplifting
can also reduce property damage, because would-be vandals fear they are
being caught on camera
 Discouragement occurs when crime control efforts targeting a particular
locale help reduce crime in surrounding areas and populations
Hidden costs
 Displacement occurs when crime control efforts in one location simply
move, or redirect, offenders to less heavily guarded alternative targets.
Beefed-up police patrols may appear to reduce crime but in reality merely
shift it to a more vulnerable neighbourhood

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 Extinction occurs when crime reduction programs produce a short-term

positive effect, but benefits dissipate as criminals adjust to new
conditions; for example, burglars learn to dismantle alarms or avoid
patrols
 Replacement occurs when criminals try new offense to replace those
neutralized by crime prevention efforts. Foiled by burglar and car alarms,
motivated offenders may turn to armed robbery, a riskier and more
violent crime
General deterrence
According to rational choice view, because human beings are self-interested,
rational and reasoning they will violate the law if they d bit fear the
consequences. Therefore, increasing the real or perceived threat of criminal
punishment can control crime; this is the concept of general deterrence, which
refers to a crime control policy that depends on the fear of potential law violator
that the pains associated with crime outweigh its benefits
Punishment and deterrence

 Certainty of punishment – a number of research efforts do show a direct
relationship between crime rates and the certainty of punishment. People
who believe threat they will get caught if they commit crime are the ones
most likely to be deterred from committing criminal acts
 Severity of punishment – people who believe that they will be punished
severely for a crime will forgo committing criminal acts
 Swiftness of punishment – the more rapidly punishment is applied and
the more closely it is linked to the crime, the more likely it is to serve as a
deterrent
Evaluating general deterrence

Despite efforts to punish criminals and make them fear crime, there is little
evidence that the fear of apprehension and punishment alone can reduce crime
rates. This can be explained by
 Rationality – criminals may be desperate people who choose crime
because they believe there is no reasonable alternative. Some may also
suffer fro personality disorders that impair their judgement and render
them incapable of making truly rational decisions
 System effectiveness – the threat of punishment involved not only its
severity but also its certainty and speed but only about half of all crimes
are reported to police, and police make arrests in only about 20 percent of
reported crimes. Even when offenders are detected, police officers may
choose to warn rather than arrest
 Criminal discount punishments – would-be criminals are not well
informed about the actual risks of sanctions. They may know somebody
who made a big score and that shapes their perceptions and according to
their thinking, crime may actually pay
 “Detterability” of crime – not every crime can be discourages nor is
every criminal detterable. Some people may be suffering from personality
disorders and mental infirmity, which make them immune to the
deterrent power of the law. Others live in economically depressed

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neighbourhoods, where the threat of formal sanctions is irrelevant

because people in these areas have little to lose if arrested
Specific deterrence
Specific deterrence holds that criminal sanctions should be so powerful that
known criminals will never repeat their criminal acts. According to this view, the
drunk driver whose sentence is a substantial fine and a week in the county jail
should be convinced that the price to be paid for drinking and driving is too great
to consider future violations. In principle, punishment words when a connection
can be established between the planned action and memories of its consequence;
if these recollections are adequately intense, the action is unlikely to occur again.
The theory supposes that people can “learn from their mistakes” and that those
who are caught and punished will perceive greater risk than those who have
escaped detection
Incapacitation
It stands to reason hat if more criminals are sent to prison, the crime rate should
go down. Because most people ago out of the crime the duration of a criminal
career is limited. Placing offenders behind bars during the prime crime years
should reduce their lifetime opportunity to commit crime. The shorter the span
of opportunity, the fewer offenses they can commit during their lives; hence,
crime is reduces. Incapacitation effect refers to the idea that keeping offenders
in confinement will eliminate the risk of their committing further offenses
Theory Major premise Strengths Research focus

Rational choice Law-violating Explains why Offense patterns –
behaviour occurs high-risk youths where, when and
after offenders do not constantly how crime takes
weigh information engage in place
on their personal delinquency.
needs and the Related theory to
situational factors delinquency
involved in the control policy. It is
difficulty and risk not limited by
of committing a class or other
crime social variables
General People will Shows the Perception of
deterrence commit crime and relationship punishment, effect
delinquency if between crime of legal sanctions,
they perceive that and punishment. probability of
the benefits Suggests a real punishment and
outweigh the solution to crime crime rates
risks. Crime is a
function of the
severity, certainty
and speed of
punishment
Specific If punishment is Provides a Recidivism, repeat
deterrence severe enough, strategy to reduce offending,

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criminals will not crime punishment type

repeat their illegal and crime
acts
Incapacitation Keeping known Recognizes the Prison population
criminals out of role that and crime rates,
circulation will opportunity plays sentence length
reduce crime rates in criminal and crime
behaviour.
Provides a
solution to
chronic offending
Topic 7 – Trait Theory
Trait theorists suggest that criminality is an outgrowth of abnormal human

traits
Development of trait theory

The view that criminals have physical or mental traits that make them different
originated with the Italian physician and criminologist Cesare Lombroso. In the
early 1970s, spurred by the publication of Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, by
Edmund O. Wilson, biological explanations of crime once again emerged.
Sociobiology (the view that human behaviour is motivated by inborn biological
urges to survive and preserve the species) differs from earlier theories of
behaviour in that it stresses the following principles
 Behaviour traits may be inherited
 Inherited behavioural traits have been formed by natural selection
 Behavioural traits evolve and are shaped by the environment
 Biological and genetic conditions affect how social behaviours are learned
and perceived
 Behaviour is determined by the need to ensure survival of offspring and
replenishment of the gene pool
 Biology, environment, and learning are mutually interdependent factors
Trait theorists today recognize that crime-producing interactions involve both

personal traits (such as defective intelligence, impulsive personality, and
abnormal brain chemistry) and environmental factors (such as family life,
educational attainment, socioeconomic status and neighbourhood conditions).
However there are actually two views on how this interaction unfolds
 The vulnerability model supposes direct link between traits and crime –
some people are vulnerable to crime from birth
 The differential susceptibility model refers to the view that some
people possess physical or mental traits that make them more susceptible
to environmental influences
Biological trait theories

One branch of contemporary trait theory focuses on the biological conditions
that control human behaviour. Some important sub areas within biological
criminology include

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Biochemical conditions and crime

Some trait theorists believe that biochemical conditions, including both those
that are genetically predetermined and those that are acquired through diet and
environment, influence antisocial behaviour
 Diet – an improper diet can cause chemical and mineral imbalance and
can lead to cognitive and learning deficits and problems, and these factors
in turn are associated with antisocial behaviours
 Hypoglycaemia – when blood glucose (sugar) falls below levels
necessary for normal and efficient brain functioning. Symptoms include
irritability, anxiety, depression, crying spells, headaches and confusion
 Hormonal influence – abnormal levels of male sex hormones (such as
testosterone) can produce aggressive behaviour
 Premenstrual syndrome – the onset of the menstrual cycle triggers
excessive amounts of the female sex hormone, which stimulate antisocial,
aggressive behaviour
 Lead exposure – exposure to lead has been linked to emotional and
behaviour disorders
 Environmental contaminants – research has linked prenatal exposure to
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) to lower IQs and attention problems,
both considered risk factors for serious behavioural and learning
problems
Neurophysiological conditions and crime

Some researchers focus their attention on neurophysiology, or the study of the
brain activity. Using brain-scanning techniques (such as MRI or PET) they assess
areas of the brain that are directly linked to antisocial behaviour
Studies have shown that both violent criminals and substance abusers have
impairment in the prefrontal lobe, thalamus, medial temporal lobe, and
superior parietal and left angular gyrus areas of the brain. Such damage may
be associated with a reduction in executive functioning (EF) a condition that
refers to impairment of the cognitive processes that facilitate the planning and
regulation of goal-oriented behaviour (such as abstract reasoning and problem
solving). Impairments in EF have been implicated in a range of development
disorders (such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder, autism and Tourette
syndrome)
There is a suspected link between brain dysfunction and conduct disorder (CD),
which is considered a precursor of long-term chronic offending. Children
with CD lie, steal, bully other children, get into fights frequently and break school’
and parents; rules; many are callous and lack empathy and/or guilt
 Brain structure – Guido Frank finds that aggressive teen behaviour may
be linked to the amygdala, an area of the brain that process information
regarding threats and fear and to a lessening of activity in the frontal lobe,
a brain region linked to decision-making and impulse control
 Attention deficit hyperactive disorder – symptoms include a
developmentally inappropriate lack of attention, along with impulsivity

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and hyperactivity. The condition has been associated with poor school
performance, retention for another year in the same grade, placement in
classes for those with special needs, bullying, stubbornness and lack of
response to discipline
 Brain chemistry – chemical compounds called neurotransmitters
influence or activate brain functions. Those studied in relation to
aggression and other antisocial behaviours include dopamine,
norepinephrine, serotonin, MAO and GABA. Evidence exists that abnormal
levels of these chemicals are associated with aggression
 Arousal theory – the view that people seek to maintain a preferred level
of arousal but vary in how they process sensory input. A need for high
levels of environmental stimulation may lead to aggressive, violent
behaviour patterns
Genetics and crime

The genes-crime association may be either direct or indirect. According to the
direct view
1. Antisocial behaviour is inherited
2. The genetic makeup of parents is passed on to children
3. Genetic abnormality is directly linked to a variety of antisocial behaviours
For example, Ronald Simons and his associated found that adolescent genetic
makeup is directly linked to an aggressive response to provocation. It is also
possible that the association is indirect – genes are related to some personality
or physical trait linked to antisocial behaviour. There has been a number of
studied conducted in order to test the effects of inheritance on crime
 Parental deviance – if criminal tendencies are inherited, children of
criminal parents should be more likely to become law violators than the
offspring of conventional parents. A number of studies have found that
growing up in a family with criminal or otherwise troubled parents has a
powerful influence on criminal behaviour
 Adoption studies – several studies indicate that some relationship exists
between biological parents’ behaviour and the behaviour of their children,
even when they have been adopted at birth and had no contact
 Twin behaviour – research has confirmed a significant correspondence
of twin behaviour in activities ranging from frequency of sexual activity to
crime. Studies conducted on twin behaviour have detected a significant
relationship between the criminal activities of MZ twins and a lower
association between the criminal activities of DZ twins; these genetic
effects can be seen in children as young as 3 years old. MZ twins are
closer then DZ twins in such crime-relevant measures as level of
aggression and verbal skill. In sum, research seems to show that antisocial
behaviour is roughly 50 percent heritable, and some studies indicate that
the influence of genes on deviant behaviours may be as high as 85 percent
Evolutionary views of crime

Evolutionists believe that the long process of human evolution has advanced the
human traits that produce violence and aggression. The competition for scarce
resources has influenced and shaped the human species and over the course of
human existence, people whose personal characteristics enabled them to

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accumulate more than others were the most likely to breed successfully, have
more offspring and dominate the species
Biochemical  The major premise of the theory is

that crime, especially violence is a
function of diet, vitamin intake,
hormonal imbalance, or food
allergies
 The strength of the theory are that
it explains irrational violence and
shows how the environment
interacts with personal traits to
influence behaviour
 The research focuses of the theory
are diet, hormones, enzymes,
environmental contaminants and
lead intake
Neurological  The major premise of the theory is
that criminals and delinquents
often suffer brain impairment.
ADHD and minimal brain
dysfunction are related to antisocial
behaviour
 The strengths of the theory are that
it explains irrational violent and
shows how the environment
interacts with personal traits to
influence behaviour
are CD, ADHD, learning disabilities,
brain injuries and brain chemistry
Genetic  The major premise of the theory is
that criminal traits and
predispositions are inherited. The
criminality of parents can predict
the delinquency of children
 The strengths of the theory include
the fact that it explains why only a
small percentage of youths in high-
crime areas become chronic
offenders
are twin behaviour, sibling
behaviour and parent-child
similarities
Evolutionary  The major premise of the theory is
that as the human race evolved,
traits and characteristics became
ingrained. Some of these traits

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make people aggressive and

predisposed to commit crime
 The strengths of the theory include
its explanation of high violent rates
and aggregate gender differences in
the crime rate
are gender differences and
understanding human aggression
Psychology trait view

Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic psychology was originated by Viennese
psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and has remained a prominent segment of
psychological theory ever since
According to psychodynamic theory, the human personality has a three-part

structure:
 The id is the primitive part of people’s mental makeup, is present at birth,
and represents unconscious biological drives for food, sex and other life-
sustaining necessities. The id seeks instant gratification without concern
for the rights of others
 The ego is the part of the personality that compensates for the demands
of the id by helping the individual keep his or her actions within the
boundaries of social convention
 The superego develops as a result of incorporating within the personality
the moral stands and values of parents, community and significant others.
It is the moral aspect of people’s personalities; it judges their own
behaviour
The psychodynamic model of the criminal offender depicts an aggressive,

frustrated person dominated by events that occurred early in childhood. Because
they has unhappy experiences in childhood or had families that could not
provide proper love and care, criminals suffer from weak or damaged egos that
make them unable to cope with conventional society
Attachment theory is Bowlby’s theory that being able to form an emotional

bond to another person is an important aspect of mental heath throughout the
life span – failure to develop proper attachments may cause people to fall pretty
to a number of psychological disorders
The behavioural perspective (Social learning theory)

Behaviour theory maintains that human actions are developed through learning
experiences. The major premise of behaviour theory is that people alter their
behaviour in accordance with the response it elicits from others. In other words,
behaviour is supported by rewards and extinguished by negative reactions, or
punishments
The branch of behaviour theory most relevant to criminology is social learning

theory – people are not born with the ability to act violently, rather, they learn to

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be aggressive through their life experiences. These experiences include

personally observing others acting aggressively to achieve some goal or watching
people being rewarded for violent acts on television or in movies
Social learning and violence

Social learning theorists view violence as something learned through a process
called behaviour modelling – the process of learning behaviour by observing
others
 Family interactions – studies of family life show that aggressive children
have parents who use aggressive tactics when dealing with others
 Environmental experiences – people who reside in areas where
violence occurs daily are more likely to act violently than those who dwell
in low-crime areas whose norms stress conventional behaviour
 Mass media – violence is often portrayed as acceptable, especially for
heroes who never have to face legal consequences for their actions
Social learning theorists suggest that the following factors may contribute to
violent or aggressive behaviour:
 An event that heightens arousal – for example, a person may frustrate
or provoke another through physical assault or verbal abuse
 Aggressive skills – learning aggressive responses picked up from
observing others, either personally or through the media
 Expected outcomes – the belief that aggression will somehow be
rewarded
 Consistency of behaviour with values – the belief, gained from
observing others, that aggression is justified and appropriate, given the
circumstances of the current situation
Cognitive theory
Cognitive theorists focus on the mental processes by which people perceive and
represent the world around them and solve problems
 Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener
Information processing theory focuses on how people process, store, encode,

retrieve and manipulate information to make decisions and solve problems
Cognitive theorists explain antisocial behaviour in terms of mental perception

and how people use information to understand their environment. When people
make decisions, they engage in a sequence of cognitive through processes. First,
they encode information so that it can be interpreted, next they search for a
proper response and decide on the most appropriate action, and finally, they act
of their decision
One reasons for this faulty reasoning is that people may be relying on mental
scripts leaned in childhood that tell them how to interpret events, what to expect
and how they should react and what the outcome of the interaction should be
Psychodynamic  The development of the

unconscious personality early in

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childhood influences behaviour for

the rest of a person’s life. Criminals
have weak egos and damaged
personalities
 Explains the onset of crime and
why crime and drug abuse cut
across class lines
 Research focuses on mental illness
and crime
Behavioural  People commit crime when they
model their behaviour after others
they see being rewarded for the
same acts. Behaviour is reinforced
by rewards and extinguished by
punishment
 Explains the role of significant
others in the crime process. Shows
how media can influence crime and
violence
 Research focuses on media and
violent; effects of child abuse
Cognitive  Individual reasoning processes
influence behaviour. Reasoning is
influenced by the way people
perceive their environment
 Shows why criminal behaviour
patterns change over time as
people mature and develop their
reasoning powers. May explain the
aging-out process
 Research focuses on perception;
environmental influences
Personality and crime

Personality can be defined as the reasonably stable patterns of behaviour,
including thoughts and emotions that distinguish one person from another. One’s
personality reflects a characteristic way of adapting to life’s demands and
problems. Several research efforts have attempted to identify criminal
personality traits. Surveys show that traits such as impulsivity, hostility,
narcissism, hedonism and aggression are highly correlated with criminal and
antisocial behaviours. Personality defects have been linked not only to aggressive
antisocial behaviours such as assault and rape, but also to white-collar and
business crimes
Hans Eysenck’s PEN model contains three elements: psychoticism,

extraversion and neuroticism. He associated two personality traits
extroversion and introversion, with antisocial behaviour – people who fall at the
far ends o either trait, either extremely extroverted or extremely introverted, are
at risk for antisocial behaviours

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Psychopathic personality
Some people lack affect, cannot empathize with others, and are shortsighted and
hedonistic. These traits make them prone to problems ranging from
psychopathology to drug abuse, sexual promiscuity and violence. As a group,
people whom share these traits are believed to have a character defect referred
to as sociopathic, psychopathic, or antisocial personality
Intelligence and crime

Early criminologists maintained that many delinquents and criminals have below
average intelligence and that low IQ causes criminality. However, there was
disagreement over the development of the intellectual ability. Some believed that
law violators have inherently substandard intelligence and thus were naturally
inclined to commit crimes – nature theory argues that intelligence is largely
determined genetically, tat ancestry determined IQ and that low intelligence, as
demonstrated by low IQ, is linked to criminal behaviour
In contrast, nurture theory holds the view that intelligence is not inherited but
is largely a product of environment. Low IQ scores do not cause crime but may
result from the same environmental factors
Mental disorders and crime

Criminologists have connected antisocial behaviour to mental instability and
turmoil. Offenders may suffer from a wide variety of mood and/or behaviour
disorders rendering them histrionic, depressed, antisocial or narcissistic
Some have been diagnosed with some form of mood disorder – a condition in
which the prevailing emotional mood is distorted or inappropriate to the
circumstances. Children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) experience
an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behaviour toward
author figures that seriously interferes with day-to-day functioning. Symptoms
may include frequent loss of temper, constant arguing with adults, defying adults
or refusing adult requests or rules, deliberately annoying others, blaming others
for mistakes or misbehaviour, being angry and resentful, being spiteful or
vindictive, swearing or using obscene language, or having a low opinion of
oneself
Crime and mental illness

The most serious forms of mental illness are psychotic disorders such as
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which affect the mind and alter a person’s
ability to understand reality, think clearly, respond emotionally, communicate
effectively, and behave appropriately
Contemporary trait theorist maintain that some people carry the potential to
be violent or antisocial, and antisocial behaviour occurs when these pre-existing
tendencies are triggered by environmental conditions
Social policy and trait theory

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Primary prevention programs seek to treat personal problems before they

manifest themselves as crime. To this end, thousands of family therapy
organizations, substance abuse clinics and mental health associations operate
through the US. These services are based on the premise that if a person’s
problem can be treated before they become overwhelming, some future crimes
will be prevented
Secondary prevent programs provide treatments such as psychological

counselling to youth and adults after they have violated the law
Topic 8 – Developmental Theories
The developmental theory of criminality looks at the onset, continuity and

termination of a criminal career. The foundation of developmental theory can be
traced to the pioneering work of Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck, who identified a
number of personal and social factors related to persistent offending
Three views of criminal career development

There are three independent yet interrelated developmental views:
 The life course theory suggests that criminal behaviour is a dynamic
process, influences by individual characteristics as well as social
experiences and that the factors that cause antisocial behaviours change
dramatically over a person’s life span
 The propensity theory suggests that human development is controlled
by a master latent trait that remains stable and unchanging throughout a
person’s lifetime. As people travel through their life course, this
propensity is always there, directing the behaviour. Because this hidden
trait is enduring, the ebb and flow of criminal behaviour is shaped less by
personal change and more by the impact of external forces such as
opportunity
 Trajectory theory suggests there are multiple independent paths to a
criminal career and that there are different types and classes of offenders
Life course theory

Even as toddlers people begin relationships and behaviours that will determine
their adult life course – some individuals are incapable of maturing in reasonable
and timely fashion because of family, environmental and personal problems. The
propensity to commit crime is neither stable nor constant, it is a developmental
process. Disruptions in life’s major transitions can be destructive and ultimately
can promote criminality
One element of life course theory is that criminality may be best understood as
one of many social problems faced by people. This is referred to as problem
behaviour syndrome (PBS), which typically involved family dysfunction, sexual
and physical abuse, substance abuse, smoking, precocious sexuality and early
pregnancy, educational underachievement, suicide attempts, sensation seeking
and unemployment

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According to Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory, the course of a criminal

career can be affected the events that occur across the life span
 Social capital – positive relations with individuals and institutions that
are life sustaining. In the same manner that building financial capital
improves the chances for personal success, building social capital
supports conventional behaviour and inhibits deviant behaviour
o Cumulative disadvantages – the tendency of prior social
problems to produce future ones that accumulate and undermine
success
 Turning points – life events that enable adult offenders to desist from
crime. Two critical turning points are marriage and career
Propensity Theory
Suspected latent traits include defective intelligence, damaged or impulsive
personality, genetic abnormalities, the physical-chemical functioning of the brain
and environmental influences n brain function such as drugs, chemicals and
injuries.
General theory of crime argues that the propensity to commit antisocial acts is
tied directly to a person’s level of self-control – refers to a person’s ability to
exercise restraint and control over his or her feelings, emotions, reactions and
behaviours. Those with limited self-control tend to be impulsive – they are
insensitive to other people’s feelings, physical (rather than mental), risk taskers,
shortsighted and nonverbal
By integrating the concepts of socialization and criminality, Gottfredson and

Hirschi help explain why some people who lack self-control can escape
criminality and conversely, why some people who have self-control might live
conventional lives
Trajectory theory
Suggests there are a number of pathways to a criminal career:
 The authority conflict pathway begins at an early age with stubborn
behaviour. This leads to defiance (doing things one’s own way,
disobedience) and then to author avoidance (staying out late, truancy,
running away)
 The covert pathway begins with minor, underhanded behaviour (lying,
shoplifting) that leads to property damage (setting nuisance fires,
damaging property). This behaviour eventually escalated to more serious
forms of criminality, ranging from joyriding, pocket picking, larceny and
fencing to passing bad checked, using stolen credit cards, stealing cars,
dealing rugs and breaking and entering
 The overt pathway escalated to aggressive acts beginning with
aggression (annoying others, bullying), leading to physical (and hang)
fighting, and then to violent (attacking someone, forced theft)
According to Terrie Moffitt, most young offenders follow one of two paths:
 Adolescent-limited offenders – kids who get into minor scrapes as
youth but whose misbehaviour ends when they enter adulthood

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 Life course persistent offenders – delinquents who begin their

offending career at a very early age and continue to offend well into
adulthood
Abstainers are adolescents who do not engage in any deviant behaviour, a path
that places them outside the norm for their age group
Public policy implications

The aim of policies based on the premises of developmental theory aim to set
people o the right developmental track. These typically feature multisystemic
treatment efforts designed to provide at-risk youths with personal, social,
educational and family services. Many of the most successful programs are aimed
at strengthening children’s social-emotional competence and positive coping
skills and supressing the development of antisocial, aggressive behaviour
Topic 9 – Violent Crime
Two types of violence:

 Expressive violence – acts that vent rage, anger or frustration
 Instrumental violence – acts designed to improve the financial or social
position of the criminal
Causes of violence
Personal traits
Research has shown that a significant number of people involved in violent
episodes may be suffering from mental abnormalities. Young people convicted of
murder have been shown to suffer from signs of neurological impairment such as
abnormal electroencephalograms, multiple psychomotor impairments, and
severe seizures; low intelligence as measures on standard IQ tests; psychotic
close relatives; psychotic symptoms such as paranoia, illogical thinking,
hallucinations; mental impairments and intellectual dysfunction; and animal
cruelty
Ineffective families
Abused kids suffer from long-term mental, cognitive and social dysfunctions.
They are more likely to physically abuse a sibling and later to engage in spouse
abuse and other forms of criminal violence. In what is called cycle of violence,
kids who have been abused are also more likely to engage in persisted violent
offending
Human instinct
Some anthropologists trace the roots of violence back to our prehistory, when
out ancestors lived in social groups and fought for dominance
Freud believed that human aggression and violence are produced by instinctual
drives. Freud maintained that humans possess two opposing instinctual drives
that interact to control behaviour:
 Eros – the life instinct, which drives people toward self-fulfilment and
enjoyment

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 Thanatos – the death instinct, which impels toward self-destruction
Exposure to violence
Kids who are constantly exposed to violence at home, at school or in the
environment may adopt violent methods themselves
Substance abuse
Substance abusers have higher rates of violence than nonusers- neighbourhoods
with high levels of drug and alcohol usage have higher than average violence
rates
Substance abuse influences violence in three ways:

 A psychopharmacological relationship may be the direct consequence
of ingesting mood-altering substances. Binge drinking for example, has
been associated with violent crime rates
 Economic compulsive behaviour – violence committed by drug users to
support their habit
 Systemic link – a link between drugs and violence that occurs when drug
dealers turn violent in their competition with rival gangs
Firearm availability
Although firearm availability alone does not cause violence – it may be a
facilitating factor – a petty argument can escalate into a fatal encounter if one
party has a handgun
Cultural values
In urban areas, neighbourhoods that experience violence seem to cluster
together. Subculture of violence refers to a segment of society which violence
has become legitimized by the custom and norms of that group.
National values
Two possible explanations for this:
 High violence nations embrace value structures that support violence
which others that have a strong communitarian spirit and an emphasis on
forgiveness and restorative justice have low violence rates
 Nations with high violence rates also have negative structural factors such
as high level of poverty, income inequality, illiteracy and alcohol
consumption level and it is the presence of these components, rather than
a regional culture of violence that procures high crime rates
Rape
The common-law definition of rape is “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly
and against or will”
Incidence of rape
Population density influences the rape rate. Rape is a warm-weather crime –
most incidents occur during July and August, with the lowest rates occurring
during December, January and February. Many victims fail to report rape because
they are embarrassed, think it a personal matter, believe nothing can be done or

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blame themselves and some victims of sexual assault may even question whether
they have really been raped – thus rape maybe significantly underreported
Types of rape
 Date rape – a rape that involves people who are in some form of courting
relationship
 Martial rape – Many spousal rapes are accompanied by brutal, sadistic
beatings and have little to do with normal sexual interests
o Marital exemption – traditionally, a legally married husband
could not be charged with raping his wife
 Statutory rape – sexual relations between an underage minor female and
an adult male where the young female is incapable of giving formal
consent
Causes of rape
 Evolutionary – suggests that rape may be instinctual, developed over the
ages as a means of perpetuating the species
 Male socialization – rape is a function of socialization – some men have
been socialized to be aggressive with women and believe that the use of
violence or force is legitimate if their sexual advanced are rebuffed
(“women like to play hard to get and expect to be forced to have sex”)
 Psychological abnormality – rapists may suffer from some type of
personality disorder or mental illness. Research shows that a significant
percentage of incarcerated rapists exhibit psychotic tendencies and many
others have hostile, sadistic feelings toward women
o There is evidence linking rape proclivity with narcissistic
personality disorder – a pattern of traits and behaviours
indicating infatuation and fixation with one’s self to the exclusion
of all others, along with the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one’s
own gratification, dominance and ambition
Topic 10 – Economic Crimes
Blue-collar crimes
Traditional common-law theft crimes such as larceny, burglary and arson
Occasional criminals are offenders who do not define themselves by a criminal

role or view themselves as committed career criminals. Professional criminal
are offenders who make a significant portion of their income from crime
Situational inducement refers to a short-term influence on a person’s

behaviour, such as financial problems or peer pressure, which increases risk
taking
Larceny refers to taking for one’s own use the property of another, by means
other than force or threats on the victim or forcibly breaking into a person’s
home or workplace; theft. Grand larceny is the theft of money or property as a
felony

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A snitch is an amateur shoplifter who does not self-identify as a thief but who
systematically steals merchandise for personal use. A booster is a professional
shoplifter who steals with the intention of reselling stolen merchandise
Merchant privilege laws refer to legislation that protects retailers and their
employees from lawsuits if they arrest and detain a suspected shoplifter on
reasonable grounds
Naive check forgers are amateurs who cash bad checks because of some
financial crisis but have little identification with a criminal subculture.
Systematic forgers are professionals who make a living by passing bad checks
Fence is a buyer and seller of stolen merchandise
White-collar crimes
Economic crimes that involve business enterprise such as embezzlement, price
fixing and bribery
Donald Cressey found that the door to solving personal financial problems
through criminal means is opened by the rationalizations people develop for
white-collar crime
Chiselling refers to using illegal means to cheat an organization, its consumers,

or both on a regular basis
 Pharmacists have been known to alter prescriptions or substitute low-
cost generic drugs for more expensive name brands
Exploitation refers to forcing victims to pay for services or contracts to which

they have a clear right
Insider trading illegal buying of stock in a company on the basis of information

provided by someone who has a fiduciary interest in the company
Influence peddling refers to using one’s institutional position to grant favours

and sell information to which one’s co-conspirators are not entitled
Payola refers to the practice of record companies bribing radio stations to play
songs without making listeners aware of the payment
Embezzlement refers to a type of larceny in which someone who is trusted with

property fraudulently converts it to his or her own use or for the use of others
Sherman Antitrust Act is a federal law that subjects to criminal or civil

sanctions any person “who shall make any contract or engage in any combination
or conspiracy” in restraint of interstate commerce
Financier Bernard Madoff pled guilty to an 11-count criminal complaint,

charging with violations to defraud thousands of investors

lOMoARcPSD|2596939
Interest in corporate crime first emerged in the early 1900s, when a group of
writers known as muckrakers targeted the monopolistic business practices of
John D. Rockefeller and other corporate business leaders
Green-collar crimes
Violations of laws designed to protect the environment. There are three
independent views of green-collar crimes

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Criminology - Theory and Practise Notes (Topics 1-10)

Criminology: Theory and Practice (Swinburne University of Technology)

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Topic 1 - Crime and Criminology

An interdisciplinary field consisting of;

The Criminological Enterprise

Criminologists interested in computing criminal statistics focus on creating valid

Sociology of law/law and society/sociolegal studies is concerned with the

Criminologist interested in sociolegal studies might investigate the history of

Theory construction is the development of theories of crime causation

Understanding and describing criminal behavior

Marvin Wolfgang discovered that in many instances victims causes or

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 Refers to those killings in which the victim is a direct, positive precipitator

Edwin Sutherland’s analysis of business-related offenses also helped coin a new

Penology in involves efforts to control crime through the correction of criminal

Victimology is the study of the victim’s role in criminal events

Criminal statistics  Gathering valid crime data

Sociology of law/law and  Determining the origin of law

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assess the effectiveness of criminal

This classical perspective was influenced by judicial philosophy - “Let the

Positivism has a number of elements:

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involves formulating a problem, creating hypotheses and collecting

Early criminological positivism

According Emile Durkheim’s (1858 – 1917) vision of social positivism, crime is

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Positivism has evolved into contemporary biosocial and psychological trait

Chicago School sociological vision has transformed into a social structure

Social process theorists focus their attention of socialization

Critical criminologists believe that crime is related to the inherently unfair

Difference between crime and deviance

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Purposes of the Law

Ethical Issues in Criminology

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A hypothesis is an explicit, testable prediction about the condition under which

A theory is an organized set of principles used to explain observed phenomena

Principle of falsification – a scientific theory must lead to testable hypotheses

Conceptual variables are typically thought of in abstract, general terms

Operational definition is a specific procedure for manipulating or measuring a

Types of Measures for Crime

Example Pros Cons

Example Pros Cons

fMRI shows blood flow in certain areas of the brain

PPG shows change in arousal levels

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Example Pros Cons

Overt – person is away they are being watched

Covert – person not aware they are being watched

Example Pros Cons

Reliability is the extent to which a measure consistently produces the same

Validity refers to the degree to which something measures what it intends to

Descriptive studies Correlation research

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Experimental research examines cause and effect of relationships

Independent variable is the variable manipulated to see if it has an effect on

Dependant variable is the outcome effected by the independent variable

Independent variable effects the dependent variable

Experimental control Random assignment

Validity of an experimental study

Quasi-experiment is usefull if random assigment is NOT possible. Looks for