Criminology

 Criminology Study Guide

Quiz

Instructions: Answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences each.

• According to classical criminology, what is the primary motivation behind criminal behavior, and how should the justice system respond?

• How do the media contribute to the social construction of crime, according to the readings?

• What are the core principles of positivism in criminology, and how do they differ from classical criminology's perspective on criminal behavior?

• Explain the concept of "penal populism" and its potential consequences for the criminal justice system.

• Why is the history of crime important for understanding contemporary systems of justice?

• What are the key limitations of official crime statistics as a measure of the true extent of crime in society?

• Describe the concept of "deviancy amplification spiral" and how the media plays a role in it.

• Explain Beccaria’s and Bentham’s views on capital punishment and punishment in general.

• Describe three key elements of moral panics.

• Why did prisons become more common in the 18th and 19th centuries?

Quiz Answer Key

• Classical criminology posits that criminals are rational actors who weigh the costs and benefits of their actions. Therefore, the justice system should focus on deterring crime through swift, certain, and proportionate punishments that outweigh the potential gains.

• The media shapes the social construction of crime by selectively reporting on certain types of offenses, exaggerating the risk of victimization, and focusing on individual pathology rather than systemic issues. This can lead to distorted perceptions of crime and contribute to moral panics.

• Positivism in criminology asserts that criminal behavior is determined by biological, psychological, or social factors, rather than free will. This contrasts with classical criminology's emphasis on rationality and suggests that treatment or intervention, tailored to individual circumstances, is more appropriate than strict punishment.

• Penal populism refers to the political strategy of appealing to public opinion with tough-on-crime policies, often resulting in harsher penalties and increased incarceration. Consequences can include overcrowded prisons, reduced rehabilitation efforts, and a focus on political gain over evidence-based practices.

• The history of crime is important because it reveals how definitions of crime, law enforcement practices, and forms of punishment have evolved over time, and provides context for understanding contemporary systems and the social and cultural factors that shape them.

• Official crime statistics are limited because they are affected by reporting rates, police practices, changes in legislation, and the definition of offenses. This means they offer an incomplete picture of the actual extent of crime, as many offenses go unreported or unrecorded.

• The deviancy amplification spiral occurs when societal reactions to a particular behavior reinforce, rather than undermine, the deviant activity. The media exaggerates the extent and harmfulness of the behavior, which leads to increased social control and further deviance.

• Both Beccaria and Bentham generally rejected the death penalty, though Bentham thought it could be used in cases of murder. They believed punishments should be proportionate to the crime committed and focused on deterrence, achieved through certainty and swiftness rather than excessive severity.

• Moral panics include a perception of a threat to societal values, a stereotypical representation of the threat by the media, and a rapid build-up of public concern often followed by a response from authorities or opinion-makers.

• Prisons became more common in the 18th and 19th centuries due to several factors, including a shift towards moral reform and rehabilitation, the need for productive labor in an industrial society, and the decreasing confidence in corporal and capital punishment.

Essay Questions

• Critically analyze the key differences between classical and positivist criminology. How have these perspectives influenced the development of crime control policies and practices?

• Discuss the ways in which the media can shape public perceptions of crime. What are the potential consequences of media-driven moral panics for criminal justice and social policy?

• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of using official crime statistics, victimization surveys, and self-report studies to measure crime. What are the challenges in obtaining an accurate picture of crime trends?

• Assess the role of punishment throughout history. In what ways has the understanding and purpose of punishment changed over time, and what factors have contributed to these shifts?

• Critically examine the role of biological and genetic factors in explaining criminal behavior. What are the ethical implications of biological positivism, and how should such theories be approached in criminology?

Glossary of Key Terms

• Atavistic Characteristics: Physical or mental features characteristic of earlier stages of human evolution, as proposed by Lombroso in his theory of the "born criminal."

• Attrition: The reduction in the number of cases as they progress through the criminal justice system, from initial report to conviction.

• Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): The part of the nervous system responsible for regulating involuntary functions, like heart rate and sweating.

• Celerity: The swiftness with which punishment is inflicted after a crime is committed, a key element of deterrence in classical criminology.

• Central Nervous System (CNS): The complex of nerve tissues that controls the activities of the body. In vertebrates it comprises the brain and spinal cord.

• Certainty: The likelihood that a crime will be detected and punished, considered more important than severity in deterring crime according to classical criminology.

• Classical Criminology: A school of thought emphasizing free will, rationality, and the importance of proportionate punishment in deterring crime.

• Criminogenic: Causing or likely to cause criminal behavior.

• Deviancy Amplification Spiral: A process by which media attention and societal reaction to deviance exacerbate the problem, leading to further deviance.

• Deterrence: The use of punishment to discourage individuals from committing crimes, either through specific deterrence (preventing re-offending) or general deterrence (discouraging others).

• Eugenics: A set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving the genetic quality of a human population.

• Folk Devils: Individuals or groups who are labeled as threats to social order and values during a moral panic.

• Managerialism: The application of business management principles to public sector organizations, including criminal justice agencies, often emphasizing efficiency, performance metrics, and accountability.

• Moral Panic: A widespread fear, often irrational, that a particular group or behavior is a threat to society's values and interests.

• Penal Populism: The use of popular sentiment and public opinion to drive criminal justice policies, often resulting in harsher penalties and increased incarceration.

• Physiognomy: The assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face.

• Positivism: A school of thought emphasizing the use of scientific methods to study crime and identify the factors that cause criminal behavior, such as biological, psychological, or social influences.

• Pleasure-Pain Principle: The idea that human behavior is motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, central to Bentham's utilitarian philosophy.

• Rehabilitation: The process of helping offenders to change their behavior and reintegrate into society, often through education, therapy, or job training.

• Retribution: Punishment inflicted on someone as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act.

• Severity: The intensity or harshness of a punishment, believed to be less important than certainty in deterring crime according to classical criminology.

• Social Constructionism: The theory that our understanding of reality, including concepts like crime, is shaped by social norms, cultural values, and power dynamics.

• Utilitarianism: A moral philosophy emphasizing the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, often used to justify punishment as a means of promoting social welfare.

• Victimization Surveys: Surveys that ask individuals about their experiences as victims of crime, providing insights into the extent and nature of crime beyond official statistics.

Briefing Document: Criminology - Key Theories, Media Representation, and Measurement

I. Classical Criminology (Beccaria and Bentham)

• Main Theme: Emergence of rational and predictable systems of justice during the Enlightenment, emphasizing individual rights and deterrence.

• Key Ideas:

• Rational Choice: Crime as a result of a cost-benefit analysis by a rational actor exercising free will. "Main thought = the criminal is someone exercising free will and rationality. Humans are rational actors. They conduct a cost– benefit analysis to act."

• Limited Government & Individual Rights: Laws should restrict individuals as little as possible, guaranteeing the rights of the accused. "The law should restrict the individual as little as possible. The law should guarantee the rights of the accused at all stages of the criminal justice process."

• Proportionality: Punishment should be proportionate to the crime and only serve to deter. "Penalties should be proportionate to the crime committed, and no more than what is necessary to deter both the offender and others from committing crimes."

• Certainty and Swiftness: Punishment should be inflicted swiftly and with certainty. "Punishment must be inflicted swiftly and with certainty. Goal = to create a close association in people ’ s minds between a crime and its inevitable penalty."

• Utilitarianism (Bentham): Social action should maximize happiness and minimize pain for the greatest number. "At the heart of Bentham ’ s utilitarian philosophy (= social action should be guided by the objective of ensuring the greatest happiness for the greatest number) was the idea that offences must, if they are to be considered worthy of punishment, produce ‘ evil ’ = unhappiness or pain."

• Deterrence: Certainty, celerity (swiftness), and severity are key components of effective deterrence. "certainty = how likely punishment is to occur. celerity = how swiftly punishment is inflicted. severity = how much pain is inflicted."

• Rejection of Death Penalty: Both generally rejected the death penalty (though Bentham allowed for it in cases of murder).

• Limitations:

• Ignores factors impairing rational decision-making (e.g., mental illness, age).

• Does not address social inequalities that may contribute to crime. "Individuals are rational actors ≠ impaired ability to make decisions (mental illness, impairments, minors). Doesn‘t take into consideration social inequalities. Efficiency vs equal justice."

II. Crime and Media

• Main Theme: Examination of how crime is represented in the media, the potential impact of media representations, and the role of media in social control.

• Key Ideas:

• Media Effects: The media can influence attitudes and conduct, although these effects are difficult to empirically establish. "Do mass media have some impact on attitudes and/or conduct? Such effects are difficult to establish empirically."

• Distortion of Reality: Media representations of crime often differ from reality, exaggerating risks, offender characteristics, and police success. "Offenders featuring in news reports in national news media are older and of higher status than is generally the case in the criminal justice system. Police success in ‘clearing up’ crimes is exaggerated in news reporting."

• Criminogenic Effects: Media may contribute to crime through labeling, deviancy amplification, moral panics, stimulation of desires, imitation, transmission of knowledge, arousal via imagery, desensitization, and undermining the credibility of criminal justice agencies. "Are the media criminogenic? How might the mass media cause crime? • ‘Labelling’ – helping to define certain acts as harmful, deviant and, eventually, criminal (e.g. certain forms of drug use). • ‘Deviancy amplification’ – through exaggeration of the extent, or the harmfulness, of particular activities. • Creation of ‘moral panics’."

• Moral Panics: Media can contribute to moral panics by defining a condition, episode, person, or group as a threat to societal values. "A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. Stereotypical representation by the mass media."

• Deviancy Amplification Spiral: Societal reaction reinforces deviant activities, creating a snowballing effect. "Deviancy amplification spiral: a snowballing effect in which a negative social reaction to certain forms of behaviour reinforces, rather than undermines, the ‘deviant’ activities concerned."

• Police-Media Relationship: Mutual dependence for information, with police using media for promotional strategies. "The relationship between the police and the media. A mutual dependence for information. Promotional strategies."

• Limitations:

• Difficulty in establishing direct causal links between media consumption and behavior. "Despite the existence of a number of famous experiments, there are few persuasive studies that are able to identify any very direct form of relationship between media consumption and behaviour that both the mass society and behaviourism approaches indicate."

• Artificiality of experimental situations used to study media effects.

III. Positivism and Criminology

• Main Theme: Examination of the role of biological, psychological, and social factors in determining criminal behavior.

• Key Ideas:

• Determinism: Human behavior is determined by factors beyond individual free will, such as biology and physiology. "Human behaviour is determined by factors such as biology and physiology."

• Scientific Method: Application of scientific methods to study crime. "The basis of scientific knowledge is ‘ fact ) testing of the for verification or falsification."

• Biological Positivism: Focus on physical attributes and appearance as indicators of criminality (largely discredited). "Criminality was associated with abnormality or defectiveness. Main assumption: it is those that are somehow biologically inferior who are most likely to become involved in deviant activities."

• Lombroso's Atavism: Criminals as a separate species exhibiting mental and physical characteristics setting them apart (discredited). "Lombroso: the criminal was almost a separate species exhibiting a variety of mental and physical characteristics setting them apart."

• Genetic Factors: Exploration of possible links between genetics and offending through twin studies. "MZ twins demonstrate greater similarity in their behaviour than DZ twins. hereditary element in offending."

• Biochemical Factors: Influence of the central nervous system, neurotransmitters, hormones, and nutrition on behavior. "Neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine = chemicals that enable electrical impulses within the brain to be transmitted and which form the basis for the processing of information) may have some link with anti-social behaviour."

• Interaction: Importance of interaction between biological and social factors. "Biological factors almost certainly have some role in the determination of criminal conduct. Such effects are heavily mediated by, or only occur in interaction with, broader social or environmental factors."

• Limitations:

• Risk of determinism leading to neglect of individual responsibility. "Determinism (especially biological) – The assumption that there are things beyond the individual that impel or constrain people in ways that lead to crime (biological, psychological, social) ≠ human decision-making, rationality and choice. emphasis on treatment and to avoid consideration of individual responsibility."

• Potential for misuse of biological explanations (e.g., eugenics). "Eugenics (eugenic criminology – lobotomies, shock therapy) Could lead to policies such as: permanent segregation; sterilisation; restrictive marriage policies; restrictive immigration policies."

IV. Politics of Crime Control

• Main Theme: The influence of political agendas on crime control strategies.

• Key Ideas:

• Managerialism: Adoption of business-like practices in criminal justice agencies, focusing on efficiency and performance indicators. "→ managerialism in the police, courts system, probation service. performance indicators - efficiency. → criminal justice agencies became more businesslike."

• Centralization: Gradual accretion of power to the central government. "Centralisation = gradual accretion of power to the centre."

• Penal Populism: Focus on public opinion and political gain in shaping crime control policies, leading to harsher penalties. "Penal populism (focus on public opinion and political gain). Harsher penalties."

• Consequences:

• Overcrowded prisons. "Results: Overcrowded prisons."

• Reduced emphasis on rehabilitation. "Less rehabilitation."

V. Understanding Criminology: Crime, History, Punishment, and Measurement

• Main Theme: Defining criminology, exploring the social construction of crime, examining the history of punishment, and understanding methods of crime measurement.

• Key Ideas:

• Interdisciplinary Nature of Criminology: Criminology draws from various disciplines including law, sociology, psychology, and history. "It is an interdisciplinary subject."

• Social Construction of Crime: Crime is a social construct shaped by cultural norms, values, and power dynamics. "Crime = is conduct (or omission) which when it results in certain consequences may lead to prosecution and punishment in a criminal court. Social constructionism = crime is shaped by social norms, cultural values and power dynamics."

• Historical Context: Understanding the history of crime and punishment is crucial to understanding contemporary systems. "Important in order to understand contemporary systems. Understand the process of historical change."

• Evolution of Punishment: Shift from retribution and public spectacles to imprisonment and moral reform. "Attitudes in 16th and 17th centuries: Retribution criminals were made to suffer pain, humiliation and even death for their crimes. In 18th century crime: was increasingly discussed and perceived separately from ‘sin’ was seen as something that should be dealt with via legislation, and should be subject to punishment by the state."

• Methods of Crime Measurement: Official statistics, victimization surveys, and self-report studies. "Official statistics • Police statistics • Court statistics • Prison statistics Victimization surveys, Self-report studies = ask people directly whether they have ever been involved in criminal activity."

• Limitations of Official Statistics: Affected by reporting rates, police practices, and changes in legislation. "Affected by what is brought to the attention of the police, and how they respond to such reports. Affected by changes in police practices toward particular offences (‘upgrading’ or ‘downgrading’ of particular offences)."

• Attrition: Significant attrition occurs at various stages in the criminal justice system, leading to fewer convictions. "Attrition refers to the number of offences that are ‘lost’ at various stages in the criminal justice system, resulting in few convictions."