Crime and Delinquency Midterm

Classical criminology

• individuals are rational and with free will can choose criminal or non criminal behavior.

• crime is attractive when it promises great benefits with little effort

• punishment can deter crime

• punishment should be severe but not cruel, let the punishment fit the crime

Positivist criminology

• believed criminality was inherited and can be identified by criminal attritive

• used scientific methods

Atavistic anomalies

• violent offenders were throwbacks to more primitive times

• inherited criminal traits

• believed people were not fully physically of mentally developed

Lombroso

• earlier positivist whos et out ot understand criminal behavior using a scientific method approach. studied cadavers of criminals who were executed to compare criminals to criminals. father of criminology

Sociological criminology

• Emile Durkheim’s view that crime is normal and impossible to have a crime-free society. without crime society couldn’t decide their morals and values

Chicago School of Thought

• group of Urban sociologists who were the first the study the relation between the environmental conditions and cirme considered first sociology department

critical criminology

• crime is a product of capitalism

• lots of use of Marx’s works

Developmental criminology

-integrated sociology, psychology, and economic elements into complex developmental view of crime causation. emphasis on the integration of multiple fields

Consensus view of crime

everyone agrees crime is horrible and should be eliminted, so punishments are necessary and agreed upon by everyone

Conflict view on crime

diverse groups are in constant and continuing conflict. society (esp. economy and capitalism) creates crime

Interactionist views on crime

Perception of crime is significantly influenced by interpretations of reactions of others to similar events or stimuli

History of criminal law

• common law

• code of Hammurabi

• Mosaic code

• punishments were harsh and gruesome during the middle ages

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

• incident, offender and victim information

• better version of UCR

What is the primary source of crime data

Survey research and self report surveys

National Crime Victimization survey (NCVS)

• Developed to catch the gap in crime reporting because not all crimes are reported to the police

• household survey done every 3.5 years

Pattern of crime Ecology

• most reported crimes occur during the summer months

• regional differences: large urban areas have higher rates of violence

Pattern of Use of firearms

• firearms are invovled in more than 280,00- crimes

• about 70% o f crimes

Pattern of crimes: age

• age inversely related to crime

• peak age for property crime is 16 and for violent crime is 18

• the 20-24 age group makes up 21% of the population but commits 39% of violent crimes and 45% of property crimes

Cost of victimization

• very expensive for individuals and the justice system

• indirect: take a toll on family members and chuldren of victims and offenders

• direct personal cost: damager property, medical costs, lost wages, counseling, disrupt family life, etc.

Ecology of victimization

• violent crimes most likely occur in:

  • open public areas

  • commercial establishment

  • daytime or early evening hours

  • simple assaults highest in the fall

Nature of Victims

• males more likely to be victimized by stranger whereas females more likely to be victimized by an acquaintance or an inmate partner

• most crimes committed by a single offender over 20

• crimes tend to be intraracial

• surprising number of violent crimes committed by relatives or aquaintances

Victim precipitation theory

• passive precipitation: personal or social characteristics of victims that make them attractive targets for criminals, so vicitims may be unknowingly encouraging an attack. ex. hate crimes

• active precipitation: aggression or proactive behavior of the victim that results in victimization. ex. fights

Lifestyle theories

high-risk lifestyles increases odds of victimization

Routine activites theory

• based on location

• when there are suitable targets, absence of capable guardian, and a motivation offender, this leads to victimization

Routine activites and lifestyle theory

• combine lifestyle and routine activites, four basic concepts:

  • proximity to criminals

  • time and exposure to criminals

  • target attractivness

  • guardianship

• victimization increases if you live in a high crime area, carry valuables, engage in risky behavior, and are without friends or family

Crime victims rights

• can ask to keep identity private in a police report

• have the right to be notified of events during the prosecution process

• right to be notified if the offender was released

• attend sentencing hearings

utilitarianism

• purpose of the law is to produce and support the total happiness of the community it serves.

• punishment has four main objectives

  • to prevent all criminal offenses

  • when it cannot prevent a crime, convince the offender to commit a less serious crime

  • to ensure a criminal uses no more force than is necessary

  • to prevent crime as cheaply as possibl

Rational choice theory

• from principles of classical school of thought

• makes more sense to deter people with severe punishment than to waste public funds on trying to improve entrenched social conditions linked to crime, such as poverty

• rational decisions based on a cost benefit analysis before committing a crime. if crime outweighs the punishment, then the individual is likely to commit a crime

Clery act

• college campuses have to report crimes and publish them for the public

offender specific crime

offender evaluates their skills, motives, needs, and fears before deciding to commit the criminal act

offense specific crime

offender reacts selectively to the characteristic of a particular criminal act (ex. evaulation of target, police patrol, escape routes, etc.)

structuring criminality

a number of personal factors and conditions that must be evaluated before choosing criminality:

• peers and guardianship (of offender)

• need for excitement and thrills

• economic need/opportunity

• competence and experience

Structuring crime

• the decision is structured by where it occurs and the characteristics of the target

  • choosing the place and crime

  • choosing targets

  • time

  • type of crime

  • getting awy

situational crime prevention

seeks to reduce immediate and particular crime opporuntites. crimes can be prevented if

• potential targets are carefully guarded

• the means to commit crimes are controlled

• potential offenders are carefully monitored

Defensible space: modify physical environment to reduce opportunity for crime

CRAVED model

items with higher risk of theft

• concealable

• removable

• available

• valuable

• enjoyable

• disposable

Crime prevention strategies

• increase the effort needed to commit crime

• increased the risk of committing crime

• reduce the rewards of crime

• increase guilt/shame

• reduce provocation

• remove excuses

• remove opportuntites

Trait theory

• view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits

• three core assumptions

  • all individuals are biologically unqie and different from all other people

  • differences in our individual makeup account for differences in behavior

  • criminal behavior is assumed to be a result of specific differences in physical constructions and characteristics of individuals that can be identified through observation and other scientific means