Auguste ComteTheological explains metaphysical approaches to scientific explanationsTheological: explanations used supernatural or otherworldly bases for understanding realityMetaphysical: philosophy sought worldly events to provide understanding through a new spirit of inquiry- rationality and logical argumentScientific: combined rational spirit of investigation with the scientific method, emphasizing empiricism or experimentationEmphasized measurement, observation, proof, replication, and verificationDeviance: going against social norm. relative to the time, place, and person(s)Folkways: the least serious norms and refer to usages, traditions, customs, or niceties that are preferred, but are not subject to serious sanctions: manners, etiquette, and dress styles.Mores: refers to more serious customs that involve moral judgments as well as sanctions (rewards or punishments). Lying, cheating, stealing, killing.Consensus vs. Conflict vs. Interactionist Model of Law:Consensus model:The origin of criminal law envisions it as arising from agreement among the members of a society as to what constitutes wrongdoing. Reflecting social values that are commonly held within the society.Conflict Model:Sees the criminal law as originating in the conflict of interests of different groups. The definition of crime is assumed to reflect the wishes of the most powerful interest groups, who gain the assistance of the sate in opposing rival groups. The criminal law is used primarily to control the behavior of the delinquent, the dangerous classes.Interactionist:Takes its name from the symbolic interactionist school of criminology. This school of thought views humans as responding to abstract meanings and symbols as well as concrete meanings.4 characteristics of criminal law:1. it is assumed by political authority2. must be specific3. the law is uniformly applied4. the law contains penal sanctions enforced by punishmentsCriminal Law:The act is prohibited by law and contains legally prescribed punishmentsA criminal act, actus reus (the act itself, or the physical element), must have taken placeThe act is performed intentionally. Mens rea (guilty mind) is important in establishing guilt.The voluntary misconduct must be causally related to the harmSocial harm of a conscious, voluntary nature is required.Crime-induced production:Costs in resources to fight crime.Police, locks, safes, camerasOpportunity Costs:The lost time by potential victims and perpetrators who could have spent their time doing something more productiveMala in Se vs. Mala Prohibita:Mala in Se- bad acts in themselves. Forbidden behaviors for which there is wide-scale consensus on the mores for prohibition. Ex: rape, murder, assaultMala Prohibita- bad because they have been prohibited. Such acts are not viewed as bad in themselves but are violations because the law defines them as such. Ex: traffic violations, gambling. These acts are commonly violated.Under criminalization: the fact that the criminal law fails to prohibit acts that many feel are mala in se.Over criminalization: involves the overextension of criminal law to cover acts that are inappropriately or not responsibly enforced by such measures.Strengths and weaknesses with experimentsEx. Experiment: expensive, so the groups are very small. CostlyRandom assignmentPaper: march 3rd the proposal is dueChose a crime articlePart 1 crimes:Index crimesMore seriousOccur frequentlyGreater likelihood of being reported to the policeMurderForcible rapeRobberyAggravated assaultBurglaryLarceny-theftMotor vehicle theftArsonPart 2 crimes:Non-index offenses and are not used in the calculation of crime rateSimple assaultForgery and counterfeitingFraudEmbezzlementReceiving stolen propertyVandalismViolent Crime index:MurderForcible rapeRobberyAggravated assaultProperty Crime index:BurglaryLarceny-theftMotor vehicle theft*Arson listed by not calculatedgender is the best predictor of crimeas social class rises, criminality decreasesSouth: highest for murder, rape, and burglaryWest: highest for assault, vehicle theft, and larcenyNortheast: highest for robberyMinority group status does not result in higher crime ratesFamily linked to crime:had to do with the quality of the family interaction rather than its structure as suchMajor external conflicts (wars) appear to decrease internal conflicts (crime), with the exception of female crime, juvenile delinquency, and certain white collar crimesNIBRSredesigned UCRthe Bureau of Justice Statistics and the FBI formed a joint task force and contracted with a private research firm to revise the UCRAbc news primetime milgramThe Stanford prison study (Zimbardo, 1971)Comprehension and Application questions:Application questions- most usedYou get a scenario and have to pull out course concepts involved in that scenarioComprehensionQuestions you can identify a term based on definition50 multiple choice5 response optionsJEPORDY:Bad only because it is prohibited:mala prohibitaThree key principles of science:controlempiricismobjectivityUnintended consequences:latent functionTwo categories of index offenses:Violent crimesProperty crimesThe four property index crimes:larcenyburglaryarsonautomobile theftDefining an abstract concept so it can be measured:OperationalizationThe definition of conformity:Adherence to social normsThe definition of crime:Violation of criminal lawDifference between reliability and validity:Reliability - consistencyValidity – accuracyOfficial crime measure designed to replace the UCR:NIBRSResearch method Black (1970) used:Fieldwork/observationTaps into the dark figure of crime:NCVSHas the Hierarchy Rule:UCRThe four violent index crimes:Homicide, rape, robbery, and assaultMeasures ALL ages:UCRAdherence to social norms:ConformityAn example of deviance, not crime:Staring, speeding, stand backward, speeding 5 miles over the speed limit in college park because it’s a law but you can be punished under criminal law for itAccording to Black (1970) a report is more likely when:More serious, victim, preference, strangers, polite to the policeOccurs when respondents report crimes that occurred prior to the time period of study:TelescopingDoes NOT measure murder:NCVS (it’s victimization)3 crime measurements:official datavictimization dataself-report dataDistinguishes science from other ways of knowing: (Walter Wallace)The scientific methodThe agency that publishes the UCR:FBIDifference between formal and informal:Formal – crimeInformal – norm
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