CRIM 1150 Test 1

What is a Theory

generalizations descirbng how things go together (researchable and testable)

Federal

(only people that can make criminal law - its the same across the country)

and they are Indictable 

Provincial

Summary offences (less serious) and dealt without a jury

Hybrid

Crime that can be treated as either summary OR indictable

Crime

Any infraction of a law

Offence

refers to a specific infraction with two types (hybrid)

Bylaws

these arent crimes because they’re municipal and not federal 

Deviance

a wide range of behaviours that violate social norms but arent prohibited by law (not a crime) 

Concensus model

the majority of society decides our laws 

Conflict model

different social groups have different ideas of what is right and wrong (the law is a reflection of the values of the ruling class) 

Inter-individual differences

variations that exist between different individuals 

Intra-individual differences

variations that exist within the same person

Qualitative data

Data on why or how

Quantitative data

data on numbers/how many…

WEIRD research

Built around western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies)

Deductive reasoning/research

starts with a theory and is tested to analyze the findings (fits with quantitative research) 

Inductive reasoning/research:

gathers information/data first and uses it to find themes, conclusions and to develop a theory (fits with qualitative research) 

Primary data

(going out and givng a survey myself) 

Secondary data

(using data already collected by someone else i.e. government)

Official data has 3 primary sources

Police, Courts and Corrections 

The classical school

grew out against barbaric system of laws 

The major principles of the classical school 1

Humanism - a doctrine, attitude, or a way of life centered on human interests or values ; especially a philosophy that usually rejects sipernaturalism and stresses an individuals dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason 

The major principles of the classical school 2

Utalitarianism: the greatest good for the greatest number of people 

The major principles of the classical school 3

Soical contract: idea that there is an exchange of certain personal freedoms for protections and organization that permit us to live in the form of a society 

The major principles of the classical school 4

Hedonism: maximize pleasure minimize pain 

The major principles of the classical school 5

Free will: power/capacity to choose between alternatives without punishment 

Controlling crime

the punishment must outweigh the pleasure 

Cesare beccaria

one of the founders of classical school and outlined an enlightened crimnal justice system to serve the people and not the monarchy 

Becaria principles: 

• Laws should be used to maintain the social contract 

• Only legislators should create laws 

• Judges should impose punishment only in accordance with the law 

• Judges should not interpret the laws, they apply what is written 

• Punishment should be based on the pleasure/pain principle

• Punishment should be based on the act, not the actor 

• Punishment should be determined by the crime 

• Punishment should be prompt and effective 

• All people should be treated equally 

• Capital punishment should be abolished (death penalty) - act of violence by the state, and if the state can commit violence, then it violates the social construct 

• The use of torture to gain confessions should be abolished 

• It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them

Jeremy Bentham 

proposed the felicific calculus (the slightly tipped scale to prevent crime)

Positivism

• Idea about free will (social determinism) the belief that human behaviour is the result not of free will, but by factors beyond the individuals control that cause the behaviour 

• The use of scientific techniques and methods to study crime and criminology 

Comte

applied modern methods of physical sciences to the social sciences

Darwin

challenged the doctrine of creation with his theory of evolution

Physiognomy

the study of facial features and their relation to human behaviour 

Phrenology

science that believed the shape of the brain and the skull could reveal an individuals personality and psychological development 

Lombroso

• Thought criminals were less evolved thats why they commit crimes

• Atavistic stigmata (characteristics to tell who’s a criminal or not) 

Somatotype theory

the type of body type u have impacts ur personality and if you commit crime i.e. Ectomorph, mesomorph (the one that “commits crimes”) and endomorph

Key principles of biological theories 

1. The basic determinants of human behaviour, including criminal tendencies are constitutionally or genetically based

2. The statistic differences in crime could be explained on the basis of biological differences 

3. The basic determinants of human behaviour including criminality may be passed on from generation to generation 

4. The interplay between heredity, biology and the social environment gives us the most realistic consideration of crime causation.

If criminality is inherited, what do we do with criminals?

• Stopping them from having kids (eugenics) 

• Incapacitating them 

Problems with early biological explanation 

• Wasnt aware of how complex interaction of both our biology and our environment 

• Viewed biology as static; didnt understand that biology is dynamic and is shaped and changed by our experiences * bear example 

Biocriminology

the study of the physical aspects that are connected to the psychological disorders 

Neurophysiological factors 

Brain tumors, brain waves, cerebral structure, fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders 

Psychophysiology 

Arousal within an individual relatses to the autonomic nervous system, In the ANS, theres sympathetic (heightened) and parasympathetic (calm)

Theoretical explanations

fearlessness hypothesis, they arent deterred from engaging in criminal behaviour 

• Sensation seeking hypothesis, seeking homeostasis re: their arousal and leading them to seek stimulationt through risky criminal activities 

Amygdala

- emotions, memories, understanding emotions 

• Abnormalities in this brain area are linked to heightened aggression and emotional dysregulation 

Diathesis

 predisposition (doesnt mean its going to show up in the same way) 

XYY

supermale (more violent predisposition)

MAO-A

gene everyone has that programs u to produce an enzyme (some produce more than others, most are in the middle) and it is connected to breakdown of neurotransmitters in brain. The low variant of this gene is linked with aggressive behaviour and VIOLENT crime

LOW Maoa (predisposition) + childhood violence (stressor)

makes them much more likely to commit violent crime 

NEUROtransmitters

the way they communicate 

Two key neurotransmitters are serotonin and dopamine 

Serotonin - behaviour inhibition being able to stop yourself from doing things