Criminology Today

Chapters 7 and part of 8

Chpt. 7 Social Structure Theories

Old saying you can take the criminal out of a bad environment, but you cant take the bad environment out of the criminal. Suggestion is negative influences of social environment predispose some people to lives of crime, and that such negative influences may remain active even when peoples circumstances change.

Major Principles of Sociological Theories

Sociological theory a perspective that focuses on the nature of the power relationships that exist between social groups and on the influences that various social phenomena bring to bear on the types of behaviors that tend to characterize groups of people. Social structure the pattern of social organization and the interrelationships among institutions characteristic of a society.

Definitions

Social process the interaction between and among social institutions, individuals and groups Social life the ongoing (typically) structured interaction that occurs between person in a society, including socialization and social behavior in general.

3 Key Sociological Explanations for Crime

Crime is the result of an individuals location within the structure of society Crime is the end product of various social processes, especially inappropriate socialization and social learning Crime is the product of class struggle. The perspective emphasizes the nature of existing power relationships between social groups

Social Structure Theories Defined

Social structure theories they explain crime by reference to the economic and social arrangements (or structure) of society. They see the various formal and informal arrangements between social groups as the root causes of crime and deviance. They highlight those arrangements within society that contribute to low socioeconomic status of identifiable groups as significant causes of crime. Social structure theorists view members of socially and economically disadvantaged groups as being more likely to commit crime, and they see economic and social disenfranchisement as fundamental causes of crime.

Types of Social Structure Theories

Social Disorganization (ecological approach) Strain Theory Culture Conflict Theory

Social Disorganization Theory

A perspective on crime and deviance that sees society as a kind of organism and crime and deviance as a kind of disease or social pathology. Theories of social disorganization are often associated with the perspective of social ecology and with the Chicago School of criminology, which developed during the 1920s and 1930s.

Social Disorganization

A condition said to exist when a group is faced with social change, uneven development of culture, maladaptiveness, disharmony, conflict, and lack of consensus. Social Ecology the attempt to link the structure and organization of any human community to interactions with its localized environment

Social Pathology

Those human actions which run contrary to the ideals of residential stability, property ownership, sobriety, thrift, habituation to work, small business enterprise, sexual discretion, family solidarity, neighborliness, and discipline of will. The tem referred simply to behavior not in keeping with the prevalent norms and values of the social group.

Definitions

Cultural transmission the transmission of delinquency through successive generations of people living in the same area through a process of social communication Ecological theory a type of sociological approach that emphasizes demographics (the characteristics of population groups) and geographics (the mapped location of such groups relative to one another) and that sees the social disorganization that characterizes delinquency areas as a major cause of criminality and victimization.

Chicago School

Chicago School of criminology an ecological approach to explaining crime that examined how social disorganization contributes to social pathology. Chicago School demonstrated the tendency for criminal activity to be associated with urban transition zones, which, because of the turmoil or social disorganization that characterized them, were typified by lower property values, impoverished lifestyles, and a general lack of privacy. The greatest contribution the ecological school made to criminological literature can be found in the claim that society, in the form of the community, wields a major influence on human behavior.

The Criminology of Place

(Also called Environmental Criminology) is an emerging perspective within the contemporary body of criminological theory that builds upon the contributions of routine activities theory and situational crime prevention, as well as the ecological approaches. It emphasizes the importance of geographic location and architectural features as they are associated with the prevalence of victimization.

Broken Windows Thesis

Broken windows thesis physical deterioration and an increase in unrepaired buildings lead to increased concerns for personal safety among area residents. Offenders from other neighborhoods are then increasingly attracted by the areas perceived vulnerability. Physical evidence of disorder, left unchecked, leads to crime by driving residents indoors and sending a message to would-be offenders that a neighborhood is out of control.

Defensible Space

A surrogate term for the range of mechanisms real and symbolic barriers, strongly defined areas of influence, and improved opportunities for surveillance that combine to bring an environment under the control of its residents. Since the routine activities of places may be regulated far more easily than the routine activities of persons, a criminology of place would seem to offer substantial promise for public policy as well as theory.

Strain Theory

Anomie a social condition in which norms are uncertain or lacking Norms wealth, status, happiness Means education, hard work, $ savings Crime and deviance tend to arise as alternative means to success when individuals feel the strain of being pressed to succeed in socially approved ways but find that the tools necessary for such success are not available to them. Strain theory a sociological approach that posits a disjuncture between socially and subculturally sanctioned means and goals as the cause of criminal behavior.

Page 272 Relative Deprivation

Relative deprivation refers to the economic and social gap that exists between rich and poor who live in close proximity to one another. People assess their position in life by way of comparison with things and people they already know. Relative deprivation creates feelings of anger, frustration, hostility, and social injustice on the part of those who experience it. Distributive justice an individuals perception of his or her rightful place in the reward structure of society could even apply to wealthy

General Strain Theory (GST)

GST a perspective that suggests that lawbreaking behavior is a coping mechanism that enables those who engage in it to deal with the socioemotional problems generated by negative social relations. Strains most likely to cause crime include child abuse and neglect; negative secondary-school experiences; abusive peer relations; chronic unemployment; marital problems; parental rejection; erratic, excessive, and or/harsh supervision or discipline; criminal victimization; homelessness, racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination; and a failure to achieve selected goals.

Culture Conflict Theory

a/k/a Cultural Deviance Theory suggests that the root cause of criminality can be found in a clash of values between differently socialized groups over what is acceptable or proper behavior. Conduct norms shared expectations of a social group relative to personal conduct Because crime is a violation of laws established by legislative decree, the criminal event itself, from this point of view, is nothing more than a disagreement over what should be acceptable behavior.

2 types of culture conflict

Primary conflict arises when a fundamental clash of cultures occurs i.e. an immigrant father who kills his daughters lover following an old-world tradition that demands that a familys honor be kept intact. Secondary conflict when smaller cultures within the primary one clash i.e. prostitution and gambling provided plentiful examples of secondary conflict Today drug use and abuse provide more readily understandable examples some parts of America drug dealing is an acceptable for of business

A subculture is a collection of values and preferences, which is communicated to subcultural participants through a process of socialization. Subcultures differ from the larger culture in that they claim the allegiance of smaller groups of people. Ex. wider Am. Culture proclaim that hard work and individuality are valuable, but subculture may espouse the virtues of deer hunting, male bonding, and recreational alcohol consumption. (Did they just slam the South?)

Subcultural Theory

Redneck Deer Stand

Delinquency and Drift

Techniques of neutralization culturally available justifications that can provide criminal offenders with the means to disavow responsibility for their behavior 5 types of justification p. 278

Denying responsibility Denying injury Denying the victim Condemning the condemners Appealing to higher loyalties

Violent Subcultures

Geographic distinctions among violent subcultures in different parts of the U.S. A body of criminological literature exists, for example, that claims that certain forms of criminal violence are more acceptable in the southern U.S. than in northern portions of the country Some writers have also referred to variability in the degree to which interpersonal violence has been accepted in the South over time, whereas others have suggested that violence in the South might be a traditional tool in the service of social order. The notion of a southern violence construct holds that an infernal trinity of Southerner, violence and weaponry may make crimes like homicide and assault more culturally acceptable in the South than in other parts of the country.

TROY KING ASKS SUPREME COURT FOR EXCUTION DATES King also filed a motion for an execution date for a second Wiregrass killer, Phillip Hallford. Hallford, 61, was convicted of shooting a 16-year-old boy to death in the Daleville area. Hallford has been on death row for 21 years for the April 13, 1986, shooting death of Charles Eddie Shannon, his daughters boyfriend.

Differential Opportunity Theory

Illegitimate opportunity structure subcultural pathways to success that the wider society disapproves of Reaction formation the process by which a person openly rejects that which he or she wants or aspires to but cannot obtain or achieve

The Code of the Street

Contemporary street code that stresses a hyperinflated notion of manhood that rests squarely on the idea of respect. At the heart of the code is the issue of respect loosely defined as being treated right or being granted ones props (or proper due) or the deference one deserves.

Gangs

80% of agencies serving a population of 50,000 or more reported gang-related problems only 12% of rural agencies reported such problems Estimates 760,000 gang members and 24,000 gangs were active in U.S. in 2004

Critique of Social Structure Theories p. 290

The fundamental assumption of social structure approaches is that social injustice, racism, and poverty are the root cause of crime. If true, negates social responsibility perspective. Others argue the inverse is true poverty and what appear to be social injustices are produced by crime.

Chapter 8: Theories of Social Process and Social Development

1999 Columbine shootings (15 people died) criminologist continue to debate the influences in the lives of Harris and Klebold that led up to the Columbine shootings 2007 Virginia Tech shooting spree death of 33 people by student suffering from mental problems

The Social Process Perspective

a/k/a interactionist perspectives - A theory that asserts that criminal behavior is learned in interaction with others and that socialization processes that occur as the result of group membership are the primary route through which learning occurs. Groups include family, peers, work groups which one identifies

Types of Social Process Theories

Learning Theory a perspective that places emphasis upon the role of communication and socialization in the acquisition of learned patterns of criminal behavior and the values that support that behavior According to learning theory, criminal behavior is a product of the social environment and not an innate characteristic of particular people Differential association the sociological thesis that criminality, like any other form of behavior, is learned through a process of association with others who communicate criminal values

Differential Identification Theory

An explanation for crime and deviance that holds that people pursue criminal or deviant behavior to the extent that they identify themselves with real or imaginary people from whose perspective their criminal or deviant behavior seems acceptable

Social Control Theory

A perspective that predicts that when social constraints on antisocial behavior are weakened or absent, delinquent behavior emerges. Rather than stressing causative factors in criminal behavior, control theory asks why people actually obey rules instead of breaking them.

Containment Theory

A form of control theory that suggests that a series of both internal and external factors contributes to law-abiding behavior. Containment aspects of the social bond that act to prevent individuals from committing crimes and that keep them from engaging in deviance. Social bond the link, created through socialization, between individuals and the society of which they are a part.

General Theory of Crime

Asserts that the operation of a single mechanism, low self-control, accounts for all crime, at all times; including acts ranging from vandalism to homicide, from rape to white-collar-crime.

Control-Balance Theory

Control ratio the amount of control to which a person is subject versus the amount of control that person exerts over others.

Labeling Theory

Tagging the process whereby an individual is negatively defined by agencies of justice Primary deviance initial deviance often undertaken to deal with transient problems in living Secondary deviance deviant behavior that results from official labeling and from association with others who have been so labeled. Labeling an interactionist perspective that sees continued crime as a consequence of limited opportunities for acceptable behavior that follow from the negative responses of society to those defined as offenders. Moral enterprise the efforts made by an interest group to have its sense of moral or ethical propriety enacted into law.

Reintegrative Shaming

Stigmatic shaming a form of shaming, imposed as a sanction by the criminal justice system, that is thought to destroy the moral bond between the offender and the community Reintegrative shaming a form of shaming, imposed as a sanction by the criminal justice system, that is thought to strengthen the moral bond between the offender and the community.

Dramaturgy

Dramaturgical perspective a theoretical point of view that depicts human behavior as centered around the purposeful management of interpersonal impressions. Impression management the intentional enactment of practiced behavior that is intended to convey to others ones desirable personal characteristics and social qualities Discrediting information information that is inconsistent with the managed impressions being communicated in a given situation Total institution a facility from which individuals can rarely come and go and in which communal life is intense and circumscribed.

Prosocial Bonds

Bonds between the individual and the social group that strengthen the likelihood of conformity. Prosocial bonds are characterized by attachment to conventional social institutions, values, and beliefs.

Next Week

Start at page 317 in Chapter 8 and finish Chapter 8 Chapter 9: Sociological Theories III

Criminology Today
Last part of Chapter 8 and Chapter 9

The Social Development Perspective

Human development The relationship between the maturing individual and his or her changing environment, as well as the social processes that the relationship entails. Social development perspective An integrated view of human development that examines multiple levels of maturation simultaneously, including the psychological, biological, familial, interpersonal, cultural, societal, and econlogical levels.

Concepts in Social Development Theories

Social development theories focus more on individual rates of offending and seek to understand both increases and decreases in rates of offending over the individuals lifetime. Life Course Theories highlight the development of criminal careers, which are seen as the result of various criminogenic influences that affect individuals throughout the course of their lives.

Important Life Course Principles

Historical time and place children born during depression - life shaped by experience Timing in lives life transitions and when they occur - early marriage or child bearing influence course of persons life Linked lives interdependent lives family members has serious illness Human agency choices made and actions taken, moving into city to find work definition the active role that people take in their lives; the fact that people are not merely subject to social and structural constraints but actively make choices and decisions based on the alternatives that they see before them

Virginia Tech Massacre

Seung-Hui Cho [3] (January 18, 1984 April 16, 2007) was a South Korean student at Virginia Tech who committed mass murder of 32 people and wounded 25 others in the shooting rampage which has come to be known as the Virginia Tech massacre.[4][5] Cho committed suicide after law enforcement officers breached the doors of the building where he had killed and injured the majority of his victims. Cho was a South Korean national who had permanent resident status in the United States, where he arrived at a young age with his family. He was diagnosed with a severe form of an anxiety disorder known as selective mutism in middle school, as well as depression.[6] After this diagnosis he began to receive treatment and he continued receiving therapy and special education support until his junior year of high school. During Cho's last two years at Virginia Tech, several instances of his aberrant behavior, as well as plays and other writings he submitted containing references to violence, caused concern among teachers and classmates. In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine convened a panel consisting of various officials and experts to investigate and examine the response and handling of issues related to the shootings. The panel released its final report in August 2007, devoting more than 30 pages to detailing Cho's troubled history. In the report, the panel criticized numerous failuresby school administrators, educators and mental health professionals who came into contact with Cho during his college years, who failed to notice his deteriorating condition and failed to help him. The panel also criticized misinterpretations of privacy laws and gaps in Virginia's mental health system and gun laws. In addition, the panel faulted Virginia Tech administrators in particular for failing to take immediate action after the first shootings.[

Laub and Sampsons Age-Graded Theory

Laub and Sampson found that children who turned to delinquency were frequently those who had trouble at school and at home and who had friends who were already involved in delinquency. They also found that two events in the life course marriage and job stability seemed to be especially important in reducing the frequency of offending in later life. The delinquency is more likely to occur when an individuals bond to society is weak or broken. Social capital the degree of positive relationships with others and with social institutions that individuals build up over the course of their lives. The greater a persons social capital, the less the chance of criminal activity.

Moffitts Dual Taxonomic Theory

Criminologist have long noted that although adult criminality is almost always preceded by antisocial behavior during adolescence, most antisocial children do not become adult criminals. Life course persisters tend to fail in school and become involved in delinquency at an early age. Research findings indicate that positive development pathways are fostered when adolescents are able to develop (1) a sense of industry and competency (2) a feeling of connectedness to others and to society (3) a belief in their ability to control their future, and (4) a stable identity. Adolescents who develop these characteristics appear more likely than others to engage in prosocial behaviors, exhibit positive school performances, and be members of nondeviant peer groups.

Farringtons Delinquent Development Theory

Persistence continuity in crime, or continual involvement in offending Desistance the cessation of criminal activity or the termination of a period of involvement in offending behavior. Farrington found that the studys persistent offenders suffered from hyperactivity, poor concentration, low achievement, an antisocial father, large family size, low family income, a broken family, poor parental supervision, and parental disharmony.

Evolutionary Ecology

Cohort Analysis a social scientific technique that studies over time a population with common characteristics. Cohort analysis usually begins at birth and traces the development of cohort members until they reach a certain age. Evolutionary ecology an approach to understanding crime that draws attention to the ways people develop over the course of their lives.

Interactional Theory

A theoretical approach to exploring crime and delinquency that blends social control and social learning perspectives. The fundamental cause of delinquency according to interactional theory is a weakening of a persons bond to conventional society. Adolescents who are strongly attached to their parents and family and who strive to achieve within the context of approved social arrangements, such as education, rarely turn to serious delinquency. On childhood maltreatment -- it was found that the degree of maltreatment experienced in childhood bore at least some relationship to the extent of delinquent involvement later in life.

Development Pathways

Manifestations of disruptive behaviors in childhood and adolescence are often age dependent, reflecting a developing capability to display different behaviors with age. Interviews with high risk youths show that

Delinquency is related to individual risk factors like impulsivity The more seriously involved in drugs a youth is, the more seriously that juvenile will be involved in delinquency Children who are more attached to and involved with their parents are less involved in delinquency Greater risks exist for violent offending when a child is physically abused or neglected early in life Students who are not highly committed to school have higher rates of delinquency and vice versa Affiliations with street gangs and illegal gun ownership are both predictive of delinquency Living in a bad neighborhood doubles the risk for delinquency Family receipt of public assistance (welfare) is associated with the highest risk of delinquency (followed by low socioeconomic status)

PHDCN

Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) an intensive study of Chicago neighborhoods employing longitudinal evaluations to examine the changing circumstances of peoples lives in an effort to identify personal characteristics that may lead toward or away from antisocial behavior.

Chapter 9: Social Conflict Theories

Consensus model an analytical perspective on social organization that holds that most members of society agree about what is right and what is wrong and that they various elements of society work together in unison toward a common vision of the greater good.

Unabomber

Theodore John Kaczynski [katski] (born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber , is an American mathematician and social critic who carried out a campaign of bombings. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and excelled in academics at a young age. Kaczynski received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and earned a PhD in mathematics from the University of Michigan. He became an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley at age 25 but resigned two years later. In 1971, he moved to a remote cabin in Lincoln, Montana. From 1978 to 1995, Kaczynski sent 16 bombs to targets including universities and airlines, killing three people and injuring 23. Kaczynski sent a letter to The New York Times on April 24, 1995 and promised "to desist from terrorism" if The New York Times or The Washington Post published his manifesto. In his Industrial Society and Its Future (also called the "Unabomber Manifesto"), he argued that his bombings were extreme but necessary to attract attention to the erosion of human freedom necessitated by modern technologies requiring large-scale organization. The Unabomber was the target of one of the most expensive investigations in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) history. Before Kaczynski's identity was known, the FBI used the handle "UNABOM" ("UNiversity and Airline BOMber") to refer to his case, which resulted in the media calling him the Unabomber. Despite the FBI's efforts, he was not caught as a result of this investigation. Instead, his brother recognized Ted's style of writing and beliefs from the manifesto, and tipped off the FBI. To avoid the death penalty, Kaczynski entered into a plea agreement, under which he pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole

Pluralist Perspective

An analytical approach to social organization that holds that a multiplicity of values and beliefs exists in any complex society but that most social actors agree on the usefulness of law as a formal means of dispute resolution.

Conflict Perspective

An analytical perspective on social organization that holds that conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life itself and can never be fully resolved. Proletariat in Marxist theory, the working class. Bourgeoisie In Marxist theory, the class of people who own the means of production. Social class distinctions made between individuals on the basis of important defining social characteristics

Page 354 Radical Criminology

Radical criminology a perspective that holds that the causes of crime are rooted in social conditions that empower the wealthy and the politically well organized but disenfranchise the less fortunate. Marxist criminology a perspective on crime and crime causation based on the writings of Karl Marx.

Structural & Instrumental Marxism

Structural Marxism - A perspective that holds that the structural institutions of society influence the behavior of individuals and groups by virtue of the type of relationships created. Instrumental Marxism a perspective that holds that those in power intentionally create laws and social institutions that serve their own interests and that keep others from becoming powerful.

Critical Criminology

A perspective that holds that crime is the natural product of a capitalist system. Market societies are societies in which the striving after personal economic gain runs rampant and becomes the hallmark of social life. The conditions endemic to market societies lead to high crimes rates because they undercut and overwhelm more traditional principles that have historically sustained individuals, families, and communities. 7 mechanisms operate in a market society to produce crime page 358 Marxist criminology has suffered a considerable loss of prestige among many would-be followers in the wake of the collapse of the former Soviet Union and its client states in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world.

Emerging Conflict Theories

Left-realist criminology an approach to the subject matter of criminology based on ideas inherent in the perspective of left realism. Left realism a conflict perspective that insists on a pragmatic assessment of crime and its associated problems Left realists argue that victims of crime are often the poor and disenfranchised who fall prey to criminals with similar backgrounds. A central tenet of left realism is that radical ideas must be translated into realistic social policies if contemporary criminology is to have any practical relevance. The major goal of left realism is therefore to achieve a fair and orderly society through a practical emphasis on social justice. Hence, left realists are concerned with the reality of crime and the damage it does to the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Feminist Criminology

Feminist Criminology a self-conscious corrective model intended to redirect the thinking of mainstream criminologists to include gender awareness. Patriarchy the tradition of male dominance. Androcentricity a single-sex perspective, as in the case of criminologist who study only the criminality of males.

Definitions

Radical feminism a perspective that holds that any significant change in the social status of women can be accomplished only through substantial changes in social institutions such as the family, law, and medicine. Liberal feminism a perspective that holds that the concerns of women can be incorporated within existing social institutions through conventional means and without the need to drastically restructure society. Socialist feminism a perspective that examines social roles and the gender-based division of labor as a significant source of womens subordination within society.

Power- control Theory

A perspective that holds that the distribution of crime and delinquency within society is to some degree founded upon the consequences that power relationships within the wider society hold for domestic settings and for the everyday relationships among mean, women, and children within the context of family life.

Postmodern Criminology

A brand of criminology that developed following WWII and that builds on the tenets inherent in postmodern social thought. Deconstructionist Theory a postmodern perspective that challenges existing criminological theories in order to debunk them and that works toward replacing traditional ideas with concepts seen as more appropriate to the postmodern era.

Peacemaking Criminology

A perspective that holds that crime control agencies and the citizens they serve should work together to alleviate social problems and human suffering and thus reduce crime. Peace model an approach to crime control that focuses on effective ways for developing a shared consensus on critical issues that could seriously affect the quality of life. Participatory justice a relatively informal type of criminal justice case processing that makes use of local community resources rather than requiring traditional forms of official intervention. Restorative justice a postmodern perspective that stresses remedies and restoration rather than prison, punishment and victim neglect. See Drug Court p. 371

Convict Criminology

A new radical paradigm consisting of writings on the subject matter of criminology by convicted felons and exinmates who have acquired academic credentials, or who are associated with credentialed others.

Next Week

Chapters 10, 11 and 12