01 11 2013 13 09 00 Introduction to Criminology Exam 2 Study Guide Presented below is a listing of topics to be addressed on the upcoming 60 question multiple choice examination The list is not exhaustive This is intended as a rough approximation of the subject matter to be included Direct your attention to revisiting the material covered since the first exam classical theory biology sociology social disorganization control and developmental as well as the material covered in lecture and discussion DESCRIPTION OF THE CRIMINAL Classical rational choice theory deterrence o People will choose to commit crimes if it benefits them Positivist biological theories Chicago School o People are born raised with factors that tend to favor criminal behavior Neo Classical control theories routine activities theory developmental theories o People are predisposed towards crime o Asks why people conform to the law Names Beccaria Classical criminology Deterrence swiftness severity certainty deterrence Against the death penalty o Brutalization effect increase of homicides in places that have the death penalty Legislatures elected by citizens must define crimes specific punishment for each offense judges should not interpret the law True measure of crime is namely the harm done to society Mens rea actus reus A given act should be given equal punishment Torture should not be used Society must have a say o Responsibility of determining facts of a case should be in hands of more than one person jury of peers Decision making processes of justice should be public knowledge If people know the punishments they will act accordingly Italian criminologist military physician Lombroso Biological criminology The born criminal Measured numerous physical attributes o Phrenology study of the skull Writings o On Criminal Man 4 types of criminals Born generational criminals Insane idiots imbeciles etc Occasional rarely act on their traits Passion act on emotion o The deregulation of appetites normlessness o Tends to occur most often during times of change in societal Durkheim Sociological criminology Mechanical organic solidarity Anomie values Writings o The Division of Labor in Society o The Rules of the Sociological Method o Suicide Phineas Gage Brain injury frontal lobe o Frontal lobe largely governs high level problem solving Was more aggressive could not make rational decisions was functions relaxed rational before Showed that the biology of the brain does affect criminogenic If IQ matters differences should show up not only between groups factors Travis Hirschi but also within groups delinquency Lower IQ leads to lower school performance which leads to Emphasizes bonds formed with family school peers 4 elements of the bond o Attachment Emotional affective bond Psychological presence o Commitment Rational component consequences those with nothing to lose can deviate o Involvement Idle hands weakest element o Belief Hirschi Gottfredson In the moral worth of society s laws o Only determinant in crime is a lack of self control o Locus of control moved from external relationships to an internal mechanism o Self control is established in childhood through parental socialization 3 stage process Supervision parent must be present Recognition deviance must be acknowledged Punishment cannot be too harsh with power o Remains stable from age 8 until death enduring trait Thomas Hobbes social contract The life of man solitary poor nasty brutish short All individuals are in a constant state of warfare with all other individuals Social contract authority o Primitive state of fear of constant warfare was motivation for entering into a contract with others in creating a common o Fear was needed to make citizens conform to given rules or laws in society Kornhauser Neighborhoods crime Social disorganization produces delinquent subcultures which sustain delinquent values that are passed on Delinquency results from a community s inability to regulate behavior 3 attributes of disorganized communities o Poverty o Racial ethnic heterogeneity o High residential mobility Shaw McKay Social disorganization theory o Constant change Invasion dominance succession o Widespread poverty Dilapidated housing low SES homogeneity of each group Other social ills social control control Breakdown of families community informal Lack of stable societal institutions formal social Constant change widespread poverty social disorganization increased delinquency Robert Sampson Collective efficacy o The willingness of community residents to Exercise formal control Trust help one another The willingness of residents to intervene in stopping delinquent criminal behavior demonstrates community cohesion Concepts Terms Atavism Biological throwback a reappearance of an earlier characteristic Mechanic and organic solidarity Mechanic uniformity more primitive o Crime is normal laws reflect societal beliefs o Law enforces uniformity of the members o Oriented toward repressing any deviation from the norms Organic diversity division of labor more advanced o Crime is still normal laws change to reflect societal beliefs o Law regulates interactions of various parts of society o Provides restitution in cases of wrongful transactions Positivism Criminal as determined Analyzed reality through medicine secular rational scientific thinking experimentation Interest in biological explanations Functionalism The idea that crime is normal and serves a purpose No society has ever existed crime free Purpose o Crime is to be regulated controlled not eliminated o Crime deviance are continually refined Defining deviance up more restrictive law Defining deviance down more permissive law o Constant balance achieved between deviants conformists Result from purpose o Produces social solidarity Normality is defined through a contrast with criminality deviance o Practical benefit is in managing workload o Benefits society through allowing for innovation adaptation MLK Gandhi American revolutionaries o Otherwise individuals would be pathologically over controlled General and specific deterrence Specific o Preventing the criminal from reoffending o Focuses on defendant regardless of any possible offending by others o Perceptual deterrence falls under specific You want offenders to perceive that they will be punished if the know that they will what the punishments are they will be less likely to commit crime General o Deterrence of others regardless of whether the individual criminal is
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