MIDTERM - CRIME AND SOCIETY

WEEKS 1-5 MATERIAL

The Objective Legalist Perspective

crime as intentional act that breaks law

Canadian CJS follow this approach 

consensus orientaton of crime

the social reaction approach

deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits but the consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender

social structure impacts definitions of deviance and crime 

e.g many drug laws created for purpose of criminalizing certain population 

moral panics 3 elements

diffusion- issue is a national concern

escalation - exaggeration of problem-demand for stronger CJ response

Innovation - provide more power to criminal justice actors, including police and courts 

moral panic a condition or episode, person or group emerges to become defined as a threat to the societal values and interests 

current social conditions shape moral panics 

The elements of newsworthiness 

NEW VALUES- report the rare and unusual 

organizational structure - take law and order approach to crime

time restricted journalists with access to government officials 

impact of media - affects attitudes about punishment

How crime statistics are used 

• Statistics created category of “habitual offender “ 

• Used to create predictive instruments, including risk assessment tools 

• Intelligence-led policing approaches 

• Use past crime data to look for future problems 

• Identify areas of concern

Crime statistics as social constructs 

• Shaped by social interactions

 • Claim objectivity but not objective 

• Social context impacts our ideas 

• Public process impacts what counts as a crime

 • reporting •

 Dark figure of crime

the basics of crime stats

Victimization Surveys 

• Survey households about victimization 

• Demonstrates many crimes are underreported 

• What have we learned from these surveys? 

• What are the limits of these surveys?

Observational Accounts 

• Interact with person involved 

• Small scale

 • Looking for deeper understanding

 • Strong in validity

 

Self report surveys 

• Anonymous 

• Find crimes outside of scope UCR

• Collect demographic information

critiques of moral panic

may underestimate seriousness of fears and crime

difficult to measure proportionality of media coverage

media can offer conflicting accounts

Classical school of criminology Beccaria

 Offered strong critiques of the criminal justice system 

• Punishments were arbitrary

 • Wide judicial discretion 

• No rule of law

 • Called for rule of law and proportional punishments • Believed humans are rational actors = persuaded by consequences • Punishments should be: • Swift • Certain • Proportional 

Believed Crimes are done by the individual after they have thought about the potential consequences- argued that people commit crimes by rationally weighing pleasure agaisnt pain meaning that the punishment 

Biological positivism

criminals are biologically inferior

racial superiority 

female criminals are seen as deceitful, cunning and spiteful

gendered expectations of women contributed to his analysis 

the four types

born criminals 

insane criminals

ocasional criminals/ Criminaloid

his influence 

data used for his work was prison records- he would also compare criminals to soldiers 

his later work believes that 

envrionment factors DO CONTRIBUTE to crime, but still believe people were born criminals 

crimes of passion

self report surveys

anonymous

find crimes outside of scope UCR

collect demographic information 

Observational accounts 

small scale 

strong in validity

looking for a deeper understanding

eyewitnesses testomonies explaining crime

police officers reports of their daily activities 

researchers notes from participants

Discussion - Psychology of criminal conduct 

benefits - strong accuracy that someone will reoffend

theory says that risk factors increase in anti social behaviour

all programs MUST reduce risk and address criminogenic needs

consequences 

creates a normative goal and excludes others

-some cultures do not reflect all 8 risk factors

assumes everyone has the same needs

objective legal

violation of legal status

focuses on the act of crime

the laws are applied equally

social reaction perspective

social reaction perspective

how society reacts to behaviour

moral persepectives 

labels and social process rather than objective harm are what make act criminal 

biosocial theories

a response to changes in evolutionary psychology,neuroscience,and genetics

combines our ideas about biology and social environment

identify wide range factors to contribute to crime 

neuroscience theories- believes there is a complex interaction between biology and environment 

genetic theories- how do social environmental factors combine with genes

early intervention programs - identify risk patterns or risk factors and intervene before crime can occur 

anomie strain theory

conformity -rejecting the means / working to achieve the goals of wealth

innovation- engage in deviant behaviour or criminal behaviour to achieve goals

ritualism-finding work but not gaining wealth/doing your own thing and passion to find wealth

retratism - withdraw from society- drop out or escape

rebellion- create new goals and means because of frustration

policies - lots of it has to do with oppourtuinites 

must create equal access to jobs

types of programming

job training 

making more resources 

create more opportunity if people want to conform 

criticism -do not address the root causes of crime

fails to explain utilitarianism deviance and crime

Social disorganization theory

they want to know why crime persists in the concentric zones in the chigaco school of thought 

economic factors- living in poverty doesn't mean youll act criminal but is a strong reason

weak conventional values -we value hard work

social bond theory

four bonds

attachment - our emotional connection to one another

commitment- to schoolwork an other prosocial activities 

involvement - in the community and recreation-social programming and involvement 

belief - in social values-believes in the rules of society- we ought to follow the rules and we believe them in them

parent-child attachment programs

school programs

afterschool programs and activites