CriminologyDefinitionCrimeUnderstanding Human BehaviorWhy People Obey the LawSociologySurvey ResultsSurvey resultsTheories of Crime CausationClassical CriminologySlide 11Slide 12Routine Activities TheoryBiological TheoriesPsychological TheoriesCognitive theoriesIntegrated TheoriesConditioning TheorySocial Structure TheoriesTheory of AnomieSocial Process TheoriesSocial Learning TheoriesTheory of Differential AssociationSocial Control TheoryWhite-Collar CrimeSlide 26Public Perceptions of White-Collar Crime (National Survey of Crime Severity)Public Perceptions of White-Collar CrimeProfiles of White-Collar OffendersFraud PerpetratorSlide 31Why people commit Fraud?What are the 4 types of pressure?Types of Financial PressuresWhat are the three parts of perceived opportunity?What factors increase opportunity to commit fraud?Comment on the Control EnvironmentWhat are the 3 components of every fraud?What does a good account system do?What does a good accounting system do for transaction?What are the 5 primary control procedures?RationalizationDiscussionCriminologyPresented byC. Delano Gray2Definition•Criminology is a sub-field of sociology dealing with matters related to crime and criminal behavior. It includes fields such as crime statistics, criminal psychology, forensic science, law enforcement, and detective methods.•Naturally, criminology must take into account that the definition of crime varies according to the cultural mores and, especially, laws of a given area. This is an area where caution is warranted; if one is comparing, e.g., violent crimes between nations, one must be careful that the actions counted in that category are similar for each nation; otherwise the comparison is meaningless.3CrimeA crime in a broad sense is an act that violates a political or moral law. In the narrow sense, a crime is a violation of the criminal law. For example, most traffic violations or breach of contracts are not crimes in a legal sense.4Understanding Human Behavior•According to Behaviorist–Stimulus–Response5Why People Obey the Law•Instrumental Perspective–Fear punishment•Normative Perspective–Whether people obey the law depending on what one considers just and moral.6Sociology•Sociologists have found that deterrence does not fully explain why people obey the law. Citizens choose to obey the law when the chances of being caught violating it are virtually zero. Yet citizens break the law when it is risky to do so.7Survey Results•The Chicago study focused on six laws with which people deal on a daily basis. Illegal parking, 51%; speeding, 62%; shoplifting, 3%; disturbing the peace, 27%; littering, 25%; DUI, 19%.•How likely they thought it was that they would be arrested: DUI, 83%; parking violation and shoplifting, 78%; speeding, 72%; disturbing the peace, 35%, littering, 31%.8Survey results•Whether each offense was wrong: almost every one of the participants felt that any violations of the six laws were wrong. 99% think shoplifting immoral and speeding is the least immoral.9Theories of Crime Causation•Classical Criminology•Routine Activities Theory•Biological Theory•Psychological Theories•Social Process Theories10Classical Criminology•Based on the philosophical principle of utilitarianism, has its roots in the belief that human beings are rational and calculating creatures and therefore do things in order to avoid pain and produce pleasure.11Classical Criminology•People have free will which they can use to elect to engage in either criminal or noncriminal behavior.•Criminal behavior will be more attractive if the gains are estimated to be greater than the losses•The more certain, severe, and swift the reaction to crime, the more likely it is that the penalties will control the behavior.12Classical CriminologyDifficulties inherent in the theory•Many people do not stop and add up the gains and losses of lawbreaking before they engage in it. •The impact of penalties can be very different for different people•It is very difficult to know whether the penalty will in face result from the behavior: most offenders optimistically assume that they will not be caught.13Routine Activities Theory•A variation of classical theory, holds that both the motivation to commit crime and the supply of offenders is constant. •The availability of suitable targets, such as companies and individuals•The absence of capable guardians, such as auditors and security personnel•The presence of motivated offenders, such as unhappy or financially-challenged employees.14Biological Theories•Criminal behavior is not the result of choice, but rather is caused by the physical traits of those who commit crime, proposed by Cesare Lombroso.•There are “born” criminals. •Biological theorists now take a much less deterministic position. Given certain environmental circumstances, is apt to produce illegal acts.15Psychological Theories•Criminal behavior is the product of mental processes.•Freud’s idea focus on early childhood development and on unconscious motivations. Freud identified a three part structure to human personality: the id(the drive for food, sex, and other life-sustaining things), the superego (the conscience which develops when learned values become incorporated into a person’s behavior), and the ego(the product of the interaction between what a person wants and what his conscience will allow him to do to achieve what he wants).16Cognitive theories•Cognitive theories stress inadequate moral and intellectual development as lying at the root of criminal acts. There are also personality theories, which believe that traits such as extroversion are responsible for a significant amount of crime.17Integrated Theories•Draw from choice theory, biological theory, and psychological theory. •While criminal activity is a choice, this choice is heavily influenced by biological and psychological factors. Other social factors, such as family life, schools, and gang membership, were also explored.18Conditioning Theory•It argues that the failure of a person to incorporate satisfactorily the dictates of society represents the major explanation for subsequent criminal behavior. •Frustration is the the precursor of aggression. The theory suggests that the expression of aggression, such as a fraud perpetrator “getting back” at his employer, will alleviate the frustration and allow the organism to return to a more satisfactory state.19Social Structure