CCJS 105 Cumulative Study Guide- The dark figure of crime: unreported and undiscovered crime that questions reliability of crime statistics- UCR: law enforcement reports crime, (# of crime/population x 100,000) to standardizeo 8 Index crimes listed (homicide, rape, robbery, aggregated assault, burglary, theft, MV theft, arson)o Advantages : trend data, consistent definition of crime, national figureo Limitations: political manipulation, hierarchy rule, ecological fallacy, measure police activity more than crime, differences still remain in definitions- NCVS: household survey of whose involved in crimeo Advantages: eliminates reporting bias, memory decay, telescoping fixed w/ boundingo Limitations: cannot compare pre and post statistics, household survey so excludes those in jail, victimless crimes not reported e.g. hierarchy rule: if someone commits multiple crimes in one session only the most serious is noted Series victimization: underestimates crime etc.o Reports 5x more violent crimes and 4x more property crime than UCR- NCVS reports 2x more crimes but dark figure still remains- Quantitative data: is numbers - Qualitative data: is stories- The 3 part definition of criminology: o Making the lawo Breaking of lawo Reaction to breaking of law.- Crime patterns: o Age: highest between ages 18-22o Gender: male driven phenomenon more men commit crimeso Geographic: south has a higher crime rate than northo Neighborhoods: urban areas have higher crimes than rural, o Race: higher arrest rates for AAo Class: enduring connection between poverty and crime - Conflict theory: law disproportionately represents interests of the most powerful people- Consensus theory: law reflects the most people overall interests- Mala in se: evil in itself- Mala prohibita: against law- Actus reus: guilty act - Mens rea: guilty mind- Victim-offender overlap: positively correlated often time offenders have also been victims- The science of criminologyo 3 criteria required establishing causal relationship: correlation, temporal ordering and spuriousness must be eliminated - The role of ideology and politics: ideology is a set of beliefs and values we all develop unconsciously about how the world works. Conservative ideology- punitive and repressive, Liberal ideology- forgiving and rehabilitative. We shape policy through voting, which is informed by ideology- Independent: causes of- Dependent variables: outcomes (what we are trying to explain) - Cross-sectional: snapshot of data collected only at one time- Longitudinal data: data collected at more than one point in time- Macro: groups- gangs, neighborhoods, states, nations- Micro: individuals- Relative rates of crimes and crime numbers produced by UCR and NCVS- Self-report data: ask people to report if they have ever been involved in a crime. Strength: gets closer to dark figure Weakness: memory decay, telescoping, honestyImportant figures: Emile Durkheim- Major figure in social criminology- Anomie/strain theoryo Says crime happens when social control are ineffectiveo People commit because society is not controlling their behavioro Anomie is ‘normlessness’ taking place amid social or economic upheaval- Control theory- Two thing in societyo Social appetiteo Social controls/norms- Sociological insight- the sum is greater than the tally of the partso Group dynamics are essential to understanding behavior, individual characteristics are only part of the story- Crime can help unify people and bring them together for common good (9/11)- Criticismso Durkheim’s research is based off a suicide, how can he generalize?o Crime is based on societal inequality not changeCesare Beccaria - Major figure in classical criminology- Wrote Essays on Crimes and Punishments (1764)- Was a revolutionary document and informed the US constitution- First “scientific” approach to criminology- Ideas are the foundation to nearly ALL modern criminal justice- Said measure of crime is the damage it does to society, said laws need to be clearer- Focused on individuals choice to commit the crime- 3 key element to punishmento Swiftness of punishmento Certainty of punishmento Severity of punishment- should equal or outweigh benefits of the crimeCesare Lombroso- Major figure in Biological influences on crime- Idea of the ‘born criminal’- Believed in atavism- Measured numerous physical attributes that he believed were the reasons these people commit crime- Wrote “The Criminal Man” and focused on biological and evolutionary factors that lead to crime- Four types of criminalso Born criminalo Insane Criminalo Occasional criminal- commit because opportunityo Criminals of passion – commit because anger or love- Contemporary biological criminality is evolutionary psychology and says crime is adaptive– r/K selection r (quantity) K (quality)- Also now looking at the physical makeup/ Gene based theories and biosocial criminology looking at social triggers that ‘activate’ genesTravis Hirschi - Believes in social control theory and emphasizes bonds with family, school and peerso Elements of the bond Attachment- emotional/ affective bond- sensitivity to opinions of others. Begins with parents and throughout life include school and peers Commitment- rational component, consequences, those with nothing to losedeviate- people are rational and think before they commit a crime if they have commitments to others they will not want to lose this respect- a common sense that abiding the law maintains status Involvement- ‘idle hands’ if they have no things to do with time they will commit- more involved in conventional activities the less time someone hasto commit deviant acts Belief – people are -socialized to common set of beliefs and the stronger their beliefs in conventional order less likely they are to offend- Crime is based on lack of self control- Self control is establish in childhood and parents install it in 3 stageso Supervisiono Recognitiono Punishment- When there is low self controlo Impulsivityo Unstable relationshipso Self-centeredo Pursue immediate pleasureso Minimal tolerance for frustrationShaw & McKay (zone II) - Zone II in neighborhoods is a transitional zone from residential industrial due to invasion of factories- High crime occurs here because 3 main factorso Physical dilapidationo Povertyo Heterogeneity (high cultural mix)- Transient population where people were constantly moving in and out – leads to low socialbonds and connection
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