Exam 1I. CriminologyA. What is Criminology1. Sutherland and Cressey’s definition of Criminology as the body of knowledgeregarding crime as a social phenomenona. Crime as a social phenomenon - states that even the most disturbed people are influenced by their environmentb. Processes of making laws - definition recognizes the association between crime and the criminal law and shows how law defines crimec. Of breaking laws and reacting toward the breaking of laws- purpose of criminology is to understand both the onset of crime and the most effective methods for its eliminationd. Development of a body general and verified principles - recognizes criminology is a social science and criminologist must use the scientific method when conducting research.2. Criminology explains the origin, extent and nature of crime in societya. Mainly concerned with identifying the suspected cause of crime3. Criminal justice refers to the study of the agencies of social controla. Concerned with effective methods of crime controlB. Criminology and Deviance1. Criminology is related to the study of deviant behaviors- actions that depart from social norms, values and beliefs.2. Criminologists do not see all crimes as deviant behaviors that depart from the norms of society.a. Ex. Drug use3. Similarly many deviant acts are not criminal a. Ex. Lying4. In sum criminologists are concerned with the concept of deviance and its relationship to criminalityII. History of CriminologyA. Classical Criminology1. Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism- people chose to act when after weighing costs and benefits they believe that their actions will bring them an increase inpleasure and reduction of paina. Criminals make a rationale choice2. Cesare Beccaria applied these principles to criminal behavior in his treatise “On crimes and Punishment.” a. Agreed that people want to achieve pleasure and avoid pain.b. Suggested harsh punishments were inappropriate and excessive.3. Classical criminology follows the rational choice theorem of free willa. People choose lawful or criminal solutions to meet their needs.B. Nineteenth-Century Positivism1. The scientific method took hold in the late nineteenth century2. Auguste Comte applied the methods to the study of societya. Argued that people pass through stages based on how people try to understand the world.b. Comte called the final stage where people embrace rational, scientific view of the world the positive stage.3. Positivism - all true knowledge is acquired through direct observation and not through conjecture or beliefa. Scientific method must be used if research findings are to be considered valid. 4. The scientific method first took part with physiognomist- people who studied facial features and their relation to anti-social behavior and Phrenologists(persons who studied shape of skull to determine a possible link to criminal behavior)a. Lombroso believed that serious offenders were “born criminals” who had inherited a set of primitive physical traits that he referred to as atavistic anomaliesb. These criminogenic traits can be acquired through indirect heredity(from a degenerate family who suffered from ills such as insanity and alcoholism) or direct heredity(being offspring of criminal parents) c. Lombroso work became known as Biological Determinism and later Biosocial theoryC. Emerging Theories1. Quetlelet using early crime statistics in France found many relationships between crime and social phenomenaa. Which still serve as that basis for criminology today2. Durkheim’s vision of positivism says that crime is part of human nature because it has existed during periods of both poverty and prosperitya. Argued from the shift of an agrarian “mechanical” society to a modern “organic” one flowed anomie- norm and role confusionb. Which caused higher crime and suicide rates.3. The Chicago School which were urban sociologists studied social ecology a. They concentrated on urban problems and environmental issues in the citythat led to crime and disobedienceb. Found that as crime rates soared and neighborhoods become Socially disorganized- unable to apply social control4. Social psychology - The study of human interactions and relationshipsa. In this view socialization is key to understanding crimeb. A persons attachment to society is key to understand a person’s likelihood of committing a crime5. Karl Marx and Conflict theory (If ur unfamiliar with this drop the class)D. Contemporary Criminology1. Classical theory has evolved into rational choice and deterrence theories2. Rational Choice theorists argue criminals rational and use available information to decide if crime is a worthwhile undertakinga. Deterrence theory holds that this choice is structured by fear of punishment3. Contemporary structural and social ecological theory holds thata. A persons place in the social structure controls his behavioral choicesb. Due to ecological conditions they face, those at the bottom of social structure cannot achieve success and instead experience anomie, strain and frustration.4. Sociologoical psychology theories still remain influential by stating that persons learn to commit crime by interacting with and modeling behaviorWhy the Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get PrisonChapter 1I. The System CurrentlyA. Designed to Fail1. Politicians play on voters fears calling for higher penalties when crime soars and taking credit when it plummetsa. Franklin Zimring calls this a version of “heads I win tails you lose; in which decreases in crime are evidence that hard line punishments work, whereas increases are evidence they are needed2. Although crime is plummeting no states are projecting an actual decrease in its number of prisonersa. Between 1980 and 2007 the number of persons incarcerated quadrupledb. 2.3 million behind bars today3. Although crime is down the actual rate is higha. US compared to other industrialized nations is highest4. New York’s drop in crime was greatest between 1992-1997 a period which had the second slowest growing prison populationB. Violent Crime and Prison1. 1.2 million nonviolent offenders are currently locked up at a cost of $24 billion annually2. Parole officers now begin revoking paroles at a very high ratea. 1/3 of incarcerations are parole violationsb. 2/3 of revocations were for technical violations not new felonies.3. Why the 90s decline in crime cannot be attributed to rise in Prisons according to Blumsteina. Crime was still rising
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