Module 1- Crime In America

1.2 Organization of American Society

Powerpoint: The American Dream and a Society Organized for Crime

Key Terms:

Micro-criminology – how traits and characteristics shape criminal actors.

Macro-criminology – how culture and social structure shapes wider crime rates.

Crime markets- the loose structures that emerge to foster criminal exchanges involving desirable commodities.

Messner & Rosenfeld Crime and the American Dream book first published in 1994

-America is a society organized for crime.

-America thrives on innovative spirit, accumulation of wealth, competition & efficiency.

-Our free-for-all approach to success means that villains & heroes often have much in common

Macro-sociologist Emile Durkheim says crime is normal.

3 Sociological principles of Crime

1.All societies are different and will have different ‘normal’ levels of crime.

2.Crime rates can never be driven to zero.

3.Crime rates can be too low for the good of society.

Messner & Rosenfeld say crime is NOT:

-A sick outcome of pathologies or evil committed by immoral or greedy people (common conservative frame)

-A product of ineffective justice system (common media frame)

-A product of poor social conditions (common liberal frame)

But crime IS:

-Crime in modern US society is akin to the toxic waste that is left over when you produce cheap, clean nuclear energy

-Crime should be expected given our wide open capitalist economy and system of democracy-based government

4 Key Components of the American Dream

Materialism = fetish over money (the dominant theme)

Achievement = “be all you can be”

Individualism = personal freedoms and responsibility

Universalism = everyone must participate

-Stable systems of rules make order in society.

-Core institutions have core roles

-Economy = resource generation and adaptation

-Polity = collective goals and resource mobilization

-Family, religion, education = values and norms

1.3 Modern American Crime Trends

Powerpoint: Crime in the United States

Uniform Crime Report (UCR) best for murder, victimless crime and crimes against organizations.

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) best for all other offenses .

1.4 Crime in the US vs. Crime Abroad

Crime trend = Sustained and meaningful

Crime wave = decontextualized or insignificant

Module 2 - America’s Crime Issues

2.2 The Death Penalty in America

Legal History of the US Death Penalty

Gregg v GA (1976)

Held that the death penalty was not a cruel and unusual punishment & did not violate the 8th/14th amendments. Model used in all death penalty states.

Cover v GA (1997)

8th amendment forbids the death penalty for the crime of rape.

Atkins v. Virginia (2002)

8th Amendment forbids the death penalty for mentally challenged offender w 70 IQ as the minimum IQ threshold.

Roper v. Simmons (2005)

8th Amendment forbids the death penalty against persons who committed their crimes while under the age of 18.

Retentionists Reasonings:

Revenge

Just Deserts

Total Incapacitation

General Deterrence

Abolitionists Reasoning:

Errors

Ineffective

Unfair

Cost

Inhumane

2.3 Murder in America

Beeghley’s 5 Interrelated Factors Underlying US Lethality

1. Availability of guns

2. Illicit drug markets

Street drug markets are competitive, costly and dangerous

3. Racial discrimination

Racial & ethnic discrimination leads to restricted life chances and neighborhood disorganization

4. Exposure to violence

Americans are exposed to violence in multiple arenas of life. Chronic exposure to violence has psychological and normative effects on people and communities.

5. Economic inequality

2.4 Firearm Policy in America

Policy Positions

Gun Control Advocates: Call for less guns on the street, especially bad guns.

Gun Owner Advocates: Call for restricted access to dangerous people.

Based on the reading, “Key facts about Americans and guns”, the main reason gun owners give for owning a firearm is for protection.

2.5 Crypto-Markets & Globalization of Crime

Key terms: Cybercrime – criminal act committed with the aid of the internet

Gray market – “legitimate” goods/services sold outside the channels of rightful owner/creator

Black market – organized criminal exchange

Crypto-market – organized online criminal exchange…usually drugs, porn, hard goods

Hacker market – organized online market for the exchange of cybercrime tools or data DarkNet/Web – 2002 - anonymous, encrypted internet accessible only through TOR & Grams

Payment & Pricing

Anonymous cryptocurrency is preferred over traceable credit card or wire transfer or electronic payments

2011: Ross Ulbrict launches Silk Road site on dark web as Dead Pirate Roberts

In 2016, Kruithof et al estimated that there were 50+ online drug marketplaces. Marketplaces size & turnover up post Silk Road bust.

2.6 Drug Policy in America

Eras of US Drug Policy

Commercialism Era (pre-1900)

-Unlimited free market capitalism

Early Reform Era (1900-1965)

Moral reformers (church & women)

-Discrimination basis (control the dangerous class)

-Family focus

Baby Boom Rebellion Era (1965-1980)

-Liberalism & experimentation of all sorts

-Rehabilitation and mental health reforms

-Decriminalization & legalization movements

-Nixon declares war on drugs

Punitive Era (1980-2000)

-

New Millennium Era (2000-2015)

-

Trump Era (2016 – present)

-Trump effect/Return to street market intervention

Cryptomarket expansion

Module 3: America’s Criminal Justice System

3.2 Criminal Justice Ideology

2013 crime data.

-By the end of the Great Crime Drop, violent victimization was down by 55% and property crime was down by 60%

-Drug crime was the exception and was on the rise.

We abandoned the rehabilitation & social justice focus of the 1960s and replaced it with retribution in the 1980s and incapacitation ideals in the 1990s.

21st century justice reforms aim to reverse the trend with focus on intelligence-led policing, accountability courts, alternative sanctions, and reentry

Resulted in a A More Punitive Court System

-Mandatory minimums

-Sentencing guidelines produced longer average sentences

-Harsh sentences for public order offenses, especially drugs

There are high recidivism rates after leaving prison.

47% of released felons are reconvicted and 41% reincarcerated within 3 years

Almost ¾ of all felony defendants have prior arrest record

Steady prison growth despite steady crime rate decreases

Less spending & focus on social welfare

3.3 The US Criminal Justice System

Components of the CJ System:

1.Law Enforcement

2.Courts

3.Corrections

4.Juvenile System

5.Private Sector

Police represent the front line of the criminal justice system.

Police have most frequent contact w/ citizens and criminals.

Police shape public perception of the criminal justice system.

Models of Early Police Organization

US Sheriff Model

-Stresses personal power

-Decentralized under local government

England’s Bobbies

-Stresses institutional power/authority

-Centralized under national government

Police and the 1960’s - Noone was happy

1.Civil Rights Movement

Police are the ‘man’ to the black community & sellouts to bigots who want to maintain the status quo.

2.Anti war sentiments

Police are the ‘establishment’ to white middle class.

3.Urban rioting

Police invariably serve as the spark.

4.Rise in crime rates

Police can’t deliver on promises to middle and upper class.

3 Functions of the US Courts

1.Settle disputes between legal entities.

2.Invoke sanctions against law violators.

3.Decide whether acts of legislature & executive branch within the US Constitutional.

Courts cannot enforce the law. Enforcement is an executive branch function.

Structure of US Courts

4 General levels exist in federal and most state systems.

1.Trial court of limited/special jurisdiction

2.Trial courts of general jurisdiction

3.Intermediate Appellate Court

4.Court of last resort

US Prison System

Local, state and federal systems

Jail = misdemeanors of less than one year and pretrial detainees

Prison = convicted felony of one year or more

3.4 Crime & Politics

The 1960’s saw a heated debate surrounding the causes, nature & consequences of poverty

-liberals attributed poverty to blocked opportunities (bad system=limited access)

-conservatives attribute poverty to individual failure & welfare system (bad people & permissive state = parasitism)

3.5 Crime and the Media

Crime stories date back to the first printing press of the 1600s.

Early 1800s saw birth of daily newspapers. Followed by crime/justice weeklies.

Early 190s saw birth of crime reporters.

Proliferation of print coverage in the late 20th century.

21st century social media news feeds narrow the breadth.

Reagan declared war on drugs in 1982.

-Volume of media coverage soon increased.

-Peaked in 1986 w/ cocaine deaths of len bias & don rogers.

-By 1989 2/3rds of Americans name drugs as our #1 social problem.

1986 Newsweek Article Impact

-Crack is cheap, plentiful & intensely addictive

-Has captured the ghetto and is inching its way into the suburbs.

-Courts are too lenient w/ drug offenders.

Frenzy Peaks in Summer of 1986

-All the major news weeklies put multiple crack stories on the cover.

-Thousands of major newspaper articles on crack.

-Painted as an epidemic. Focused on poor, non white users & dealers.

Reality of the Situation

-drug use was declining except for cocaine use.

-Media blitz fed by federal drug agencies.

3.6 Crime and Public Opinion

Beckett & Sasson’s Critical Observations

Public sentiment on Crime

-Fear of crime has remained largely stable & in tune with reality.

Public seems to follow the media & politicians more so than the reverse.

-Media has over-hyped the public’s fear & concern for crime.

-When fear & concern levels spike, it happens in response to media/political prodding.

3 Dimensions of Public Opinion

1.Fear of Crime

Individual perception of victimization

2.Concern for crime as a social problem.

Crime as a priority

3.Punitive ideology.

Support for law & order agenda

Fear of Crime (Summary)

-Fear is not uncommon among Americans

-Fear is generally stable

-Fear is situational and fluid at the individual level.

-Support for punishment & deterrence agenda vs. prevention & rehab

Module 4 Current and Future Context of Crime & Justice

4.3 Policing reform

Innovations to Policing

-Broken Windows Policing

-Predictive Policing

Defund vs Abolish vs Reimagining Police

Marshall Project's New Policing

1.Police Accountability

2.Learning from Mistakes

3.Management by Collaboration

4.Democratic Regulation

5.The New Police

Broken Windows Policing: “ held that the aggressive enforcement of minor infractions would instill a sense of order in crime-ravaged communities and discourage more serious offenses.”

Predictive Policing: “uses data to plot points on a map to identify “hot spots” for criminal activity, so that departments can assign officers accordingly. “

Defunding the Police: “Defunding calls for a substantial reduction of police department budgets, using those funds instead for social services and anti-poverty measures. “

Abolishing the Police: Abolitionists believe that reforms cannot fix policing because it is an inherently racist tool of social control. Abolitionists envision a society in which the police are unnecessary because basic human needs are provided.

Based on the reading “Nine Lessons About Criminal Justice Reform”, there are 4 mentioned effective measures that can reduce incarceration: less reliance on money bail, raising the age at which juveniles are thrown into the adult system, elect prosecutors who don’t regard maximum prison sentences as the main measure of job performance .. what is the fourth? Provide better & earlier indigent defense.

Previous Quiz Questions:

Referring to the Shaw et al. article on global crime trends, which of the following is one of the main hazards to consider when making cross-national crime comparisons? Different countries have shown different levels in crime reporting

Referring to the graphic evidence presented in the Tseloni et al. article on the recent decline in international crime rates, which of the following crime types experienced the steepest decline worldwide from 1988 to 2004? Burglary

Referring to the Shaw et al. article on global crime trends, what is the primary data source upon which the authors base their discussion? The United Nations Survey of Crime Trends (UNSCT)

Referring to Blumstein and Rosenfeld's article on the factors contributing to U.S. crime trends, which of the following is listed among the demographic factors that serve as a good leading indicator of crime?The age composition of the population

Referring to Blumstein and Rosenfeld's article on the factors contributing to U.S. crime trends, which of the following is a promising good leading indicator of the relationship between the economy and crime? Consumer sentiment levels

Referring to the Shaw et al. article on global crime trends, which type of crime is believed to enjoy the most reliable official data and thus is most often used by researchers when making cross-national comparisons of crime? Homicide

Referring to the Tseloni et al. article on the recent decline in international crime rates, what country to the authors cite as being the trend setter or the first to show a major fall in its crime rate?United States

Referring to Blumstein and Rosenfeld's article on the factors contributing to U.S. crime trends, which of the following factors was identified as relevant to understanding local or city level variation in crime trends? Firearm availability

According to the Sacco article on on media and crime, what category of crime is afforded the most attention by media sources?Violent crime

According to Sacco's Chapter 6 on "Being Afraid," what term does Mark Warr use to conceptualize the fear that one person feels on behalf of another person? Altruistic fear

According to the Sacco article on the media and crime, what is meant by the statement that the media tends to utilize a personification theme when covering crime stories? The tendency to focus only on the individual actors and not cultural context

According to Sacco's article on the mass media and crime,journalistic mores or norms have changed in the last quarter century. What is one factor that they cite in this regard?News outlets show little restraint and are willing to report on taboo topics and about peoples' private lives.

According to the Reinarman and Levine retrospective on the crack epidemic of the 1980s,crack cocaine represented a "marketing innovation" over powder cocaine. Which of the following was NOT one of the factors they pointed to in order to support this claim? Crack added caffeine and amphetamines to a powder cocaine base to yield a super form of stimulant

Which of the following is consistent with Beckett and Sasson's observations in Chapter 6 about American's fear of crime?The percent of Americans who are afraid to walk alone near their homes at night has remained remarkably stable lately

According the Beckett's chapter on contemporary American politics, what is the translated meaning of Max Weber's concept of "vielseitigkeit" that is used to explain the complexity that is inherent to social problems such as crime in America? Many-sidedness of reality

According to Nicole Porter's article on the top 20 state criminal justice reforms of 2020, which of the following is an example of a "second chance" reform effort?Expanded opportunities for felons to apply to have their past criminal record expunged (cleaned) from public records

According to the Mears article on the irrationality of criminal justice policy, what tool does the author forward as a framework for critiquing current justice policy?Evaluation hierarchy

At the peak of the popular punitiveness era in the late 1990s, most Americans preferred that our tax dollars be spent on which type of anti-crime strategies?Crime prevention programs

According to the Mears article on the irrationality of criminal justice policy, which of the following should be the last step and thus sits at the top of the criminal justice policy evaluation hierarchy? Cost-efficiency evaluation.

According to Beckett and Sasson (Ch. 6), which of the following is NOT a noticeable demographic trend in the fear of crime data in this country?Minority men and women report lower levels of fear than their white counterparts

According to the Malega and Cohen report on state court organization, under the Georgia court structure, Superior Court is categorized in which jurisdiction level?General jurisdiction court

According to the Spillane and Wolcott chapter on the politics of America's law and order approach to justice, the "great migration" played a central role in rising public fear of crime. What does this term refer to?African Americans migrating out of the rural south and into northern and western cities

According to Chapter 6 of Sacco's book entitled "Being Afraid," questions that focus on the cognitive dimension of fear are designed to tap which of the following concepts?Respondents' beliefs regarding crime and victimization.

Referring to Beeghley's chapter on the American dream and homicide, what is the core question underlying the author's critical comments about Messner & Rosenfeld's analysis?What specific structural factors distinguish US homicide rates from those observed in other developed Western nations?

Referring to the Ablon et al. report on markets for cybercrime tools and stolen data,what definition d the authors provide for the term "hacker market"?The collection of (skilled and unskilled) suppliers, vendors, potential buyers, and intermediaries for goods and services surrounding digitally based crimes

Referring to the Buxtom and Bingham policy brief on the rise and challenges of dark net drug markets, what was the effect of the FBI's arrest of Dread Pirate Roberts (Ross Ulbrict) and takedown of the Silk Road dark web drug market?It broke up an online monopoly and led to the spread of many more dark web drug markets

Referring to Beeghley's chapter on the American dream and homicide, the author makes the argument that Messner & Rosenfeld error in not more fully applying Merton's modes of adaptation to explain homicide outcomes in America. Which mode of adaptation does Beeghley say was completely ignored in their analysis of anomie, modernity, and homicide? ritualism

Referring to the Alvarez and Bachman chapter on American murder patterns, which of the following types of victim-offender relationship exhibits the highest homicide rate? friend/acquaintance