What is theory Why do we study it Theory refers to efforts to explain or understand crime causation Attempts to explain how or why things happen Demonological theory Early history 18th century inconsistent punishment Supernatural explanations of criminality that dominated thinking Criminal behavior attributed to demons God indicates who is guilty Trial by ordeal was instituted in which the accused was exposed to dangerous tests and based off of survival were they proven innocent Challenges philosophical arguments that sought worldly rational secular explanations for human fate Classical theory 18th century effective law is sure swift and certain Refers to an approach that emphasizes free will and rationality on the part of the criminal actor They are responsible for themselves Hedonistic acting on free will Beccaria Western legal principles Laws should be swift certain but only severe enough to deter modern Believes punishment should be prompt public necessary and proportion All should be treated equally before the law Bentham Laws should provide the greatest happiness shared by the greatest num Purpose of punishment would be deterrence rather than vengeance Utilitarianism Neoclassical Theory 1970s 80s mandatory sentence and deterrence policy Admitted environmental psychological and other mitigating circumstances as modify ing conditions to classic doctrine Individuals freely choose crime based on their estimate of their likelihood of being ate ber caught Less theory and more action Deterrence Theory assumes rationality on the part of the actor Specific serves to discourage a particular individual from repeating a crime General targets others Three strikes laws and mandatory sentencing policies Let punishments fit the crime Rational choice theory particular crimes Behavior bounded by rationality Proposes that offenders weigh the opportunities costs and benefits of Criminal justice system must make crime less rewarding by increasing the certainty and severity of punishment Ecological theory fight crime by changing social and physical environment Referred to as the statistical geographic or cartographic school Ecology is that branch of biology that deals with the interrelationships between organisms and their environment Challenged the classical theory s free will doctrine because of consistency deals with the interrelationship between human organisms and physical envi ronment Critique ahead of their time shortcomings of analysis critical transition Economic Theory fight crime by changing social and physical environment Reduction of inequality and poverty will reduce crime Capitalism and inequality cause crime Karl Marx Inspirational figure behind most economic criminological theories and Insisted that the economic substructure determines the nature of all other institutions and social relationships in society Workers are exploited by the upper class SEE CHART ON PAGE 110 Positivism Measurement objectivity and causality emphasize a consensus worldview and focus on the criminal actor a determinis tic model a strong faith in the scientific expert and a belief in rehabilitation of the sick offenders 1 Application of the scientific method 2 Discovery and diagnosis of sickness 3 Treatment Crime is due to forces beyond the individual s control Biological theories Lombroso father of criminology most influential figure in biological positivism Atavism criminals were throwbacks to an earlier and more primitive period Born criminals Criminals and non criminals can be differentiated by biological traits Social Darwinism claimed that there is a survival of the fittest and success and failures are all a part of society his model minimized the importance of social conditions and blamed criminality on the individual rather than society Criminals are biologically inferior genetic and environmental factors Genetics and Crime genetics does not really play a definitive role they contribute to traits linked with criminality but not directly Heredity and crime twin and adoption studies Nonexistent significance of hereditary factors in crime Adoption studies are flawed because there have not been consistent re sults Psychological theories Applied branch of psychological theory that employs techniques such as free mental association and dream therapy to diagnose and treat mental problems Freud Freudian Theory Instinctual and unconscious bases of human behavior Id instinctive or animalistic self Ego mediator between id and superego Superego function and gain acceptance in society In conflict with Id Psychometry measures psychological and mental differences btwn criminals noncrims Skinner Behavioral modification rewards and punishments Positive and Negative reinforcement and Positive and Negative punish ment Behavioral modification theory encourage positive behavior through the application of pleasure and pain Idea that unacceptable behavior can be engineered as acceptable behav ior Bandura Social learning theory modeling looks at the thought processes of the person and external sanctions By observing others individuals learn how to engage in aggression Intelligence and Crime IQ remains a critical variable in explaining traditional crime and delin quency but little research can be reliable the IQ delinquency relationship examines school failure which attributes to higher crime levels SEE CHART ON PAGE 140 Sociological theories Anomie Strain Anomie Lessens social control Creates deviance Differential social opportunity Lower class reaction to middles class values Modes of adaption conformist retreatist rebel innovator ritualist Durkheim Anomie Theory human misconduct Merton Strain Theory dominance of groups and social organizations as explanatory factors of lack of clear cut norms with which to guide normlessness wanted to compare the differential rates between conformity and de viance Strain theory occurs when theres a gap between societal goals and available means different modes of adaptation Worth based off success Critique too focused on monetary goals Cohen Lower Class Reaction Theory Delinquency is a lower class reaction to the middle class dominated value system Lower class rejects values because they seek self esteem Critique too focused on lower class and underplay utilitarian Cloward and Ohlin Differential opportunity theory forms of adaptions depend on the availability of illegitimate opportunities which are dependent on locally available criminal traditions discrepancies between lower and
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