Criminology Unit 2 revision

legal sanctions for criminal behaviour

cautions, fines, community service, custodial sentences, penalty notices

Jacob et al

- XYY theory
-5/100 men in prison have the condition and 1/1000 in population have it

Supporting Lombroso theory

-research from a Uni in China suggest facial gestures can give a criminal away

Sheldon's Theory

-3 somatotypes
-examined 4000 photos of men from different angles
-ectomorphic, mesomorphic, endomorphic

substance abuse

-taking any form of substance is highly linked to criminality
-taking steroids increase testosterone and increase violent behaviour
-Horace Williams beat man to death after taking 2000 times the recommended dosage of steroids

strengths of brain abnormalities

-Raine et als studying of PET scans =creates validity
-Phineas Gage =increases validity

Examples of deviance

laughing at a funeral, 2m apart, picking nose in public, underage drinking

e.g. of laws changing over time

Capital punishment
Double jeopardy

XYY Theory

-extra Y chromosome in males leads to crime
-jacob et al
-john wayne gacy (serial killer with extra chromosome)

adoption studies

-adopted children are compared to their biological and adopted parents to see which has more influence
-(biology or environment)

endomorphic

-fat and soft
-sociable and relaxed

Brain diseases case study

-Charles Whitman
- autopsy showed pecan sized tumour in brain
-murdered his mother and wife and other people
-tremendous headaches and bad mental state

how law on prostitution changed over time

-increased right for women
-secularisation (less if a sacred views around casual sex)

how law on capital punishment changed over time

-miscarriage of justice
-outdated
-case study of derek bentley

Strengths of XYY

-john wayne Gacy as a real life case
-overrepresentation of XYY men in prison (15/1000 in prison 1/1000 in society)

Social definition of crime

behavior that violates the norms of society

legal definition of crime

an action that breaks the law

Actus Reus

physical act of committing a crime

Mens Rea

criminal intent

deviant behaviour

Behaviour that goes against the moral values or social norms

informal sanctions for deviance

frowned upon

formal sanctions for deviance

fines, detention, warning

capital punishment

the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime (case study-Derek Bentley hanged for murder of a policeman he didn't kill)

double jeopardy

prevents being tried twice for the same crime due to notion of new evidence (case study-Julie Hogg, murderer admitted to murder but wasn't charged)

prostitution

-illegal now and seen as unreasonable
-then was seen as necessary for male sexuality

vagrancy

-now illegal but not enforced as it's normalised
-then the law was stricter and more enforced

how laws change according to place

-jaywalking legal in UK, illegal in most usa
-cannabis legal in Columbia , illegal in uk
-FMG illegal in UK, legal in middle east

changed in circumstances

-age
-mental health

Genetic Theories

-XYY theory
-Twin studies
-Adoption studies

twin studies

-nature>nurture
-Dizygotic twins(50% DNA)
-monozygotic twins (100% DNA)

case study for twin studies

- johannes lange
-13mz and 17dz
-found 10/13mz twins both served time
-only 2/17dz had both served time

case study for adoption studies

- Hutchings and Mednick
- studied 1400 adopted and found higher amount of boys boys with crim convictions had biological parents with cc too
-suggesting strong link between criminality and genetics

physiological theories

-Lombroso
-Sheldon
-brain abnormalities

Lombroso's theory

-criminals can be identified by physical things
-examined 383 dead and 3839 living bodies
-concluded 40% crim acts. luke be accounted for by atavistic characteristics

Lombroso's signs of criminal behaviour

-big ears
-high cheekbones
-flat nose
-long arms

ectomorphic

-tall and thin
-introverted
-low power rate

Mesomorphic

-muscular
-aggressive
-adventurous and risk takers

Brain injuries

-raine et all used PET scans to study living brains of killers
-criminals more likely to have damage to pre frontal cortex

case study for Brain injuries

-Phineas Gage
-accident, rod damaged his PFC
-personality changed after dramatically

biochemical explanations

-sex hormones
-serotonin levels
-substance abuse

sex hormones in males

-overproduction or underproduction of hormones may lead to emotional disturbances, lead to criminality
-Ellis and Coontz said this can lead to sexual attacks (rape)

sex hormones in females

-premenstrual tension, most natal depression and lactation can lead to criminal women
-crimes such as shoplifting to infanticide on grounds that hormones can affect judgement and mood/self control.

serotonin levels

a chemical that helps maintain mood balance

Serotonin case study

-Scerbo and Raine
-meta analysis on 29 studies into antisocial children and adults
-found two levels of serotonin associated with all
-low serotonin = higher levels of aggression

how the law on double jeopardy changed over time

-Ann ming campaign for change after death of daughter julie hogg

how law on FGM changed over place

-societal, cultural and religious differences

how law on homosexual changes over culture

-religious beliefs
-secular states (non religious)
-theocratic states (religious: Quaran states man can marry woman, woman can marry a man- that's it)

how the law is applied changes over circumstance looking at age

-not knowing the difference between right and wrong
-age of responsibility is 10
-instead receive punishment less severe like curfew

How many chromosomes should a human have

46

Strengths of Lombroso's theory

-further research in China Uni (ID photos) = more representative and reliable

Weaknesses of Lombroso's theory

-lack of evidence, only 40% of criminals had atavistic features = lacks validity
-lacked a control group
-

weaknesses of XYY theory

-only 15/1000 so nothing to hypothesise others
-can't explain non violent crimes/ women = unrepresentative
-syndrome is very rare, ignores other factors

weaknesses of brain abnormalities

- no control group = not representative of of population
- prisoners may have brain abs from other criminality = weakens theory