Life Course Theories and Violent Crime 11 28 2011 Recap Developmental vs Life Course Theories Population Heterogeneity vs State Dependence Age Graded Theory of Informal Social Control Sampson and Laub 1993 Need to focus on entire life course not just adolescence Glueck s data on 500 juvenile delinquents o Mixed method study of men into their 70s Age Graded Theory Key Concepts o Trajectory o Transitions o Turning points Why age graded life course Three Hypotheses o Different social bonds matter depending on your stage in the o Weak Informal Social Control explains delinquency in childhood and adolescence o Stability in offending is due to cumulative disadvantage o Marriage to a good woman ceases crime Empirical Support Supported using the Glueck data Support for the role of social bonds in childhood Support for the role of good marriage and good job on desistance Criticisms Self selection into adult social bonds What is marriage effect Desistance or displacement of ASB Is propensity or opportunity changing Policy Implications What are some policy implications o Prevention o Incapacitation o Policies to improve adult social bonds Marriage employment Violent Crimes What is criminal violence Not everyone agrees on definition Common theme use or threat of force on a victim by an offender Areas of interest Frequency methods used distribution Violent Crimes Murder and Homicide Robbery Forcible Rape Assault and Battery The Many Degrees of Murder First Degree o Premeditation and Deliberation Felony Murder Second Degree Manslaughter o Disregard for victim s life o Voluntary o Involuntary or negligent Multicide Multiple murders committed by one person Serial Killers o Person who kills 3 or more victims in 3 or more separate events Classifying Serial Killers o Organized White Middle Aged Man DEXTER vs Disorganized Women Not intelligent Quiet Jeff Dommer o Thrill killers enjoy seeing people suffer o Mission killers Dexter o Expedience killers protection profit o Killing of 4 or more victims in a single event by one or a few Mass Murders persons Spree Killers o Killing of multiple victims over a short span of time Robbery Taking of property from a victim by force The Armed Robber o Most are opportunistic rather than professional o Evidence for rational choice Acquaintance Robbery o Robber knows victim Forcible Rape Carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will Not always considered a crime against women Misperceptions of rape Non reporting is a common problem Classifications of Rape Types of Rapists o Anger Power Sadistic Types of Rape Political Violence and Terrorism Four Types o Terrorist Achievement of political goals o Guerilla o Insurgent o Revolutionary Overthrow or replace existing government Control territory and political power Gain independence or oust existing government Contemporary Forms of Terrorism Oklahoma City Bombing Hamas Hezbollah Osama Bin Laden E L F Columbia Guerilla Group Causes of Violent Crime crime What are some factors that may cause or contribute to violent o Personal traits o Ineffective families o Evolutionary factors o Exposure to violence o Substance use o Firearm availability o Cultural and or natural values Theory and Violent Crime What theories could we use to explain violent crime o Biological and Psychological trait theories Serial Killers Policies to address violent crime We know violent crime is o Often intimate and a result of situational factors o Concentrated among a small group of chronic offenders What are some ideas for policy o Stricter gun control Property Crime Rates have been declining since 1973 o Higher security o Better technology o Credit cards cancelled easily Contemporary Thieves Occasional o Short if any criminal history o Take advantage of situational inducements o Easily deterred Professional o Long criminal histories o Specialists who plan their crimes o Less easily deterred Larceny Taking the property of another for one s own use o Trespass in taking Most prevalent crime in the US Types of larceny o Petty o Grand Larceny takes many forms Larceny in the US UCR o 6 2 million reported o 21 clearance rate NCVS o 11 2 million estimated o 32 reported to police Estimated 6 1 billion taken Shoplifting Taking good from retail stores Many are not motivated by need Shoplifters can be divided into o Snitchers o Boosters Preventing Shoplifting Situational Crime Prevention o Target removal strategies o Target hardening strategies Motor Vehicle Theft Estimated loss of 4 5 billion last year o 737 000 in 2010 Common motivations for occasional offenders o Joyriding o Short and long term transportation o Profit o Commission of another crime Motivations for professional offenders o Money Preventing MVT o Situational crime prevention Lo Jack CCTV Bad Checks Cashing bad checks to obtain money Check forgers can be classified as o Na ve o Systematic Fraud Misrepresentation of a fact that causes a deceived victim to give money to the offender Fraud vs Larceny o No trespass in the taking Many different forms o Con games insurance fraud etc Burglary Unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft Wide range of offenders o Juvenile random o Opportunistic pros Rates have declined since early 1980s Types of Burglars o Professional box men o Known burglars o Young burglars o Juvenile burglars o Junkies About 2 3 of residential occur during daytime Commercial burglary occurs mostly at night Decker and Wright 1996 105 active burglars o 2 3 had committed burglary for 10 years o 7 had committed burglary for 50 years o Many said they followed script o Many dispose of it quickly Arson Willful malicious burning of a home building or vehicle Difficult to measure Many motives for commission Juveniles are most likely to be involved Theory and Property Crime What theories best explain property crime o Strain theory o Social learning theory Policies to Address Property Crime What sorts of policies strategies would be the most effective o For property crime overall o For occasional offenders ADT security systems o For professional offenders Increase penalties Should we be more concerned with the many occasional offenders or the few professional offenders Enterprise Crime 11 28 2011 White Collar Crime Illegal activities of people whose acknowledged purpose is profit through legitimate occupation Two types o Occupational Crime o Corporate Crime White Collar Crime Origins White Collar Crime unheard of in the 1930s Crime was thought to be a lower class
View Full Document
Unlocking...