Crim quiz 1

definition of crime;

behavior considered so harmful it is unlawful

Becker’s definition of deviance;

deviance not quality of act the person commits, its a consequence of application of rules to an”offender”

Hulsman on the ontological reality of crime;

crime is socially constructed label for actions based on social contexts

conflict & consensus perspectives on the origins of criminal law and the function of punishment;

conflict- laws represent views of the powerful, serve reproduce power and maintain social hierarchy/punishment bad to protect interests of powerful

consensus- laws are formalized norms, they emerge from ppl and serve society/punishment good for order

what is sociology and the sociological perspective;

study of social life, social change, and social causes and consequences of human behavior

social structure (horizontal/vertical, stratification);

horizontal: social/physical characteristics of communities and networks

vertical: how society ranks groups of ppl by characteristics

levels of analysis (micro, meso, macro)

micro- everyday interactions

meso- communities, social networks

macro- family religion, education

democracy theory;

policy decisions should consider public opinion

the punitive turn;

shift in justice because of demands by public opinion

penal populism;

criminals and prisoners are thought to have been favored at the expense of crime victims in particular and the law-abiding public in general.

crime waves;

overreporting crimes, the more violent, the more views

Stuart Hall’s representation theory;

how media shapes perceptions through representation

racial-ethnic disparities in representation (victims, offenders/suspects) and their effects (social cognition research);

overrep of black/latino offenders and white victims, constructs reality

territorial stigmatization (see Toronto study);

certain areas are associated with neg stereotypes and bad reps

superpredators

young impulsive criminal that is so unremorseful he can kill and rape without a care, John Dilulio

dark figure of crime;

the significant volume of criminal offenses that are never reported to, recorded by, or detected by law enforcement, remaining absent from official crime statistics

US Government statistics (UCR, NIBRS, NCVS) and their general limitations;

UCR- uniform crime reports (murder, rape, robbery, etc)

NIBRS- agencies submit monthly incident records to FBI (hierarchy rule of only higher crime counts)

NCVS- national crime victimization survey (people aren’t always honest)

police data manipulation;

increase in minor arrests for minor crimes instead of major, unfounded rapes

true/false positives/negatives;

crime occurs, crime reported

theories of the decision to report (situational, attitudes/perceptions, social-psychological);

shapes understanding of distribution of crime, limits, support victims, hampers policies for public safety

Black’s theory of the mobilization of law;

law is unavailable to citizens variation of application of law (stratification: social rank) (morphology: report strangers higher than intimates) (culture: more value) (organization: corps report) (social control: other places fix)

purpose of the NCVS and what kind of data it collects and from whom;

detailed crime reports from victims sharing experiences from survey

The age-crime curve and critiques of it;

criminal behavior rapidly increases in early adolescence, peaks in the late teens to early twenties, and steadily declines thereafter

the crime surge – when did it happen, when did it peak, the role of firearms, the role of crack markets, the role of macroeconomic change and its impact on inner-city neighborhoods, the social impact (who saw largest increases in offending and victimization);

start- 1960s

peak- 1990s

firearm related killings

introducing crack to neighborhoods to make things worse

offending- black/Hispanic males

victims- white people

victim-offender relationships;

ranging from intimate partners and family to acquaintances and strangers

theories of what caused the decline;

incarceration; policing; economic growth; demographic change; immigration; abortion; reduced lead exposure; youth culture; urban development; drug markets

situational theories of victimization (routine activities theory; lifestyle theory);

routine- crime more at the spatial-temporal convergence/motivated offender, target, lack of guardianship

lifestyle- lifestyles of victims enhance contact with offenders increase crime

victim-offender overlap;

victims likely to become offenders (vice versa)

second victimization;

neg experiences victims have after crime at hands of society and institutions

third victimization

additional harm, trauma, and exposure experienced by victims and their families through digital platforms and public scrutiny following the initial crime