Criminology FINAL | terms, concepts, theory, theorists, ideas

the construction of crime

• crime is a social construction- it is not inherent. it is defined by:

  • time

  • place

  • social values

social constructivism

crime is historically shifting ad entirely context-dependent

deviance

a violation of social norms - not always illegal or punishable

crime

deviant behavior formally sanctioned by law (illegal and punishable)

the code of hammurabi

earliest written legal code - eye for an eye

the religious dogma period

• blasphemy

• witchcraft

• heresy

all of thee were criminalized under religious authority

the enlightenment shift

a shift in thinking and philosophy towards:

• ration

• secularism

• scientific understanding

interdisciplinary criminology

1. criminology is interdisciplinary in nature

   1. sociology

   2. psychology

   3. law

   4. history

   5. polisci

   6. anthro

criminology

the study of crime, deviance, and the criminal justice system

• studies why societies define certain acts as crimes

• structural/systemic causes of crime

• policy, law, and social change

• patterns, causes, and consequences of crime

cesare lombroso

introduced positivist criminology

• crime explained through biology (“born criminals”)

• flawed, but marked beginning of empirical criminology

the consensus model of law creation

laws reflect shared values/norms of the people

conflict model of law creation

• laws reflect the interests of powerful groups

• class conflict is central to this model

• petty and street crimes are heavily policed while white collar crime is ignored

group conflict model of law creation

laws emerge from competing interest groups

criminalization process in small scale societies

• restorative justice

• focused on restoring harmony within society

criminalization in large scale societies

• codified laws

• institutionalized punishments

• developed alongside the centralization of authority in societies

why do definitions of crime matter?

• influence on research: what gets counted as crime

• influence on policy: “tough on crime” narratives

• dark figure of crime: gap between actual and recorded crime

• measurement issues: UCR system, Crime Severity Index

• public perception vs reality: crime rates declining but perception of increase

police as a primary data source

most data on crime is police-reported incidents

Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR)

• national, standardized crime data

• records incidents reported to the police

• measures the volume of crime (#of incidents per 100k people)

  • problem: high frequency minor crimes dominate trends

crime severity index (CSI)

• weights crimes by seriousness

• homicide counts more than petty crimes

• better captures societal harm done

the dark figure of crime

much crime that happens is never reported to the police

• highlights the limitations of using official data

perception vs reality paradox

• public believes crime is rising

• media and political narratives amplify fear

• overall crime rate has been declining since 90s

• paradox: fear increases while crime decreases

alternative data sources for crime statistics

• self report surveys

• victimization surveys

• crowdsourced platforms

• Canadian Centre for justice and community safety statistics

crime data and institutional cultue

• data i sshaped by organizational priorities

• performance metrics encourage stats manipulation

race-blind data practices in canada

• canada avoided collecting race based data (seen as “racist”)

• resulted in systemic racism in policing being denied for decades

the anti-racism act

ontario law passed a law mandating race-based data collection

methodological debates in criminology

• definitions: what counts as “force,” “Stop?”

• benchmarking: compare to population % vs % of suspects encountered

• these choices can inflate or deflate findings

benefits of crime data

allows for:

• comparable measures across time

• resource allocation

• policy planning

limitations of crime data

• excludes the “dark figure”

• subject to institutional manipulation

• historically erased race/equity issues

pre-classical era

• crime treated as a moral/religious failing

• arbitrary, harsh, and inconsistent punishments (torture, public executions)

• aimed to terrify, not prevent crime

cesare beccaria

• theorist who believed in free will and rationality

• punishment should be certain and swift, not severe

• certainty/speed influence behavior more than harshness

• opposed torture, secret trials, and the death penalty

• punishment should be public, transparent, and preventative

  • why we have sentencing guidelines and open trials

jeremy bentham

• hedonistic calculus

• utilitarianism

• believed crime occurs if benefits outweigh costs

• punishment should tip balance to make offending unattractive

the hedonistic calculus

people act to maximize pleasure and minimize pain

utilitarianism

punishment for a crime is only justified if it benefits society

classical era

• free choice, rational actors

• focus on deterrence

positivist era

• determinism

• “born criminals”

• socioeconomic factors matter when considering crime

• shift from deterrence to treatment and reform

determinism

crime can be explained by biology, psychology, , and environment

welfare era

• focused on rehab, social programs, and prevention

• emphasis on social, environmental, and psychological factors

• probation, parole, and therapy became central

neoclassical era

• classical ideas with refinements

• acknowledged mitigating circumstances

• emphasis on certainty, proportionality, and accountability

• origin of tough on crime

denunciation

symbolic condemnation

deterrance

both general (society) and specific (individual)

incapacitation

restrict liberty to protect the public

rehabilitation

reduce reoffending through programs

reparation and resortation

compensate victims, repair harm

proportionality

punishment fits the seriousness of the crime

rational choice theory

crime = rational decision; offenders weigh costs and benefits

involvement decision

long term criminal choice

event decision

short term, situational, and immediate criminal choice

routine activities theory

crime occurs when:

1. motivated offender

2. suitable target

3. absence of capable guardian

situational crime prevention

• focuses on opportunity structures, not offender traits

• increase effort, risk, reduce rewards and provocations, and remove excuses

durkheim

• anomie

• crime and deviance rise whgen rapid social change disrupts moral regulation

• solidarity

anomie

state of normlessness; shared rules lose binding force

normlessness

regulatory framework becomes unclear/unstable

mechanical solidarity

• traditional societies

• cohesion through shared beliefs and similarities

• deviance rare because everyone is alike

organic solidarity

• modern societies

• cohesion through interdependence

• specialization weakens collective conscience

• individuals lack clear guidance

the functional role of crime

• clarifies and reinforces moral boundaries

• society reacts to crime

• reaffirms acceptable behavior

• strengthens collective norms

merton’s strain theory

• structural barriers to success create pressure to innovate

• access to legitimate means is unequally distributed

• deviance is a rational adaptation to inequality

strain

disjunction between aspirations and opportunities

conformity

accept goals and means

innocation

accept goals reject means

ritualism

reject goals accept means

retreatism

reject both goals and means

rebellion

replace both goals and means

social bond theory

• social bonds act as restraints on deviance

  • attachment

  • commitment

  • involvement

  • belief

• stronger bonds = stronger conformity

neutralization theory

• even bonded individuals through social bond theory may offend temporarily

• rationalizing actions through neutralizations

bounded rationality

• people make decisions with limited information

• under stress, peer influence, and time constraits

general theory of crime

• crime occurs because of low self control

human ecology

applied bio concepts to social groups:

• invasion

• dominance

• succession

cities evolve through these processes

gang formation

• gangs emerge where community institutions are weakest

• provide alternate systems of belonging and order

concentric zone model

city grows outward from a central busienss district

CBD

central business district - economic core

zone of transiotion

factories, poor housing, high mobility—highest crime

working class zone

more stable, modest homes

residential zone

middle class, home ownership

commuter zone

suburbs, upper middle class

social disorganization theory

crime is caused by breakdown of social control in communities

collective efficacy

shared belief in community’s ability to maintian order and achieve goals thorugh mutual trust and informal social control

crime as a learned behavior

• peopl;e elkarn crime through socialization

• involves attitued, definitions, techniques, and justifications

differential association theory

• crime results form differential exposure to definitions favorable or unfavorable to law violation

  • focuson communication and interaction with intimate personal groups

definitions

beliefs, attitudes, and valuies about accceptable and unacceptable behavior

social learnign theory

explains acquisition, maintenance, an d change in criminal and conforming behavior

origins of policing

• developed alongside colonial expansion and commerce

• served private business owners and colonial order

peelian principles of policing

9 principles of policing created to prioritize prevention, consent, impartiality, minimal force, and public legitimacy in policing practices

broken windows

• visible disorder leads to more crime

• petty and minor offences are more proactively policed instead of ones higher in severity

consensus theory

society shares collective agreement about criminal behaviors

critical criminology

• group of perspectives challenging the individual focus of mainstream

• emphasizes power, inequality, and social conflict

goals of critical criminology

1. analyze the criminogenic process

2. transform the criminal justice system

3. provide alternatives to mainstream criminology

marxist conflict theory in criminology

provides structural foundation for understandign crime

links criminalization to class conflict and maintenance of order

strain theory

crime arises when you cant access goals legitimately

labelling theory

crime is socially constructed. labels create deviance

critical race theoryu

1. racism is ordinary

2. racism is systemic

3. race is socially constructed

4. intersectionality

5. counterstorytellign

6. interest convergence

the racialization of crime

specific crimes become associated with racialized groups

criminalization of race

racial identity itself is treated as suspicious, dangerous, aor criminal

social control

• processes that regulate behavior and encourage conformity to norms

• operates constantlyh in naildy lfe

• everyone participates in reproducing and enforcing norms

formal social control

codified, institutional, and enforced by law/state

informal social control

everyday, unwritten interpersonal expectations

durkheim

• founder of sociology

• studied social cohesion during industrialization

• observed rising suicide, crime, poverty, drug use

foucault

• governmentality

• power and knowledge

governmentality

• ways of governing beyond the state by shaping thought and action

• control is not just repressive, its productive, shaping behaviors and identities

power and knowlwedge

• institutions define what counts as no9rmal

• power and knowledge are interconnected

• institutions legitimize social control by shaping knowledge

medical social control

pathologizing deviance through diagnoses and treatment