Criminology Chapter 6 Notes PDF

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Chapter 6: Theories of Crime -

The major theoretical perspectives of crime and deviance are based on biological, psychological, and sociological explanations Contemporary Social Theory: Involves a combination of sociological, psychological, and in some instances, biological thinking Classical School Theory: Neither sociological, psychological nor biological but premised on 18th-century notions of free will, hedonism, and utilitarianism.

The Significance of Social Context -

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Positivist School: A school of thought attributed criminal behaviour to biological or psychological factors, often referred to as the “Italian School” The notion of Criminality is an inherited (genetic) propensity was a reflection of what was going on in the mid to late 1800s, intellectual linked to Charles Darwin theory of evolution Chicago School: The first school of sociology in the USA; contributed to social disorganization theory, cultural transmission theory, differential association theory, subcultural theory, the sociology of deviance, and symbolic interactionism Criminality as a product of the social environment was shaped by the rapid urbanization that took place around the globe in the late 1800s

Criminological Theory and Public Policy -

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Classical School of Criminology: A body of work that emerged in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries that argued people have the capacity to think rationally; contemporary deterrence theory is rooted in this school of thought The Classical School recommendations regarding the need for due process, the use of imprisonment as a form of punishment, and limitations on the severity of punishment Cesar Lombroso endorsed the “medical model” - the notion that criminals were sick and in need of treatment (Positive School) Social disorganization theory, put forward by the Chicago School Theorists resulted in redesigning socially disorganized slums through the creation of community organizations, clean neighbourhoods, and reviving community pride Rational Choice Theory: A modern version of Classical School thinking originating in economics; it assumes that humans are rational and have free will and that offenders make conscious choices to commit a crime based on a cost-benefit analysis The theory has contributed to crime prevention programs of surveillance

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Chicago Theorist Edwin Sutherland stated that criminal behaviour was learned, not inherited. He argued that criminality was learnt in the same manner as normative behaviour (tying your shoes) Social Learning Theory: Often delivered in the form of cognitive behavioural programs targeting anti-social associations and anti-social values - has been proven to deliver results superior to other programs, notably in reducing offender recidivism. Differential Association Theory: Sutherland’s theory that criminal behaviour is learned through the process of social interaction and that the process includes the learning of criminal skills, motivations, attitudes, and rationalizations

The Classical School of Criminology -

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School of three members (Cesare Beccaria, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jeremy Bentham) Began during the 18th-century Enlightenment Challenged the way criminals were dealt with, criticized the absence of due process, and argued against the death penalty and the use of torture to extract a confession Prior to the emergence of The Classical School, it was generally believed that criminals were possessed by evil spirits or demons This view of crime is referred to as “demonology” or “spiritualism” Demonology was a theological (religious) theory Individuals who behaved in a socially disapproved manner had succumbed to temptation, becoming evil as a result The prescribed remedies for criminality and insanity were also of religious nature involving confession (under interrogation and torture), repentance, and execution These were usually carried out by religious authorities or kings and queens It was assumed that individuals accused by the aristocracy or the religious authorities were already guilty

Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham -

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Hedonism: The view that humans will naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain. Pleasure is the primary good; the pursuit of pleasure Utilitarianism: Suggests that the actions of governments and individuals should be measured in terms of their utility - how much pleasure they bring and how many people benefit from those actions Beccaria argued that individuals should have the right to know their accusers and the right to a fair trial

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Free Will: A will whose choices are not conditioned or determined by factors external to itself; also the doctrine that free will exists Bentham is most well known for his argument that humans are rational, free-willed actors and that their behaviour is governed by a hedonistic (pleasure-pain) calculus. Argued that individuals would make a rational choice on whether or not to commit a crime based on the anticipated amount of pleasure they would derive from their crime and the anticipated amount of pain they might suffer if they were caught and punished Deterrence: A principle of sentencing or punishment intended to discourage citizens from offending or reoffending

The Legacy of the Classical School -

Mens rea is linked to the Classical School notions of free will, rational choice, and individual culpability

The Positivist School -

Positivism: The application of the scientific method to the study of society, including the study of crime and criminals Called the Italian school because it was established by Cesare Lombroso, Raffaele Garofalo, and Enrico Ferri who attempted to apply a scientific approach to the study of crime and deviance

The Social Context of the Positivist School -

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Positive School Thinking (physiognomy, phrenology, and psychiatry Physiognomy: Proposed that facial features could reveal an individual’s inner characteristics, such as cowardice, deceitfulness, or propensity to engage in violence and crime Phrenology: Held that abnormalities or anomalies in the shape of the skull were indicative of a person’s morality and intelligence Psychiatry: View of habitual (incorrigible) criminals as insane, genetically unfit, or intellectually inferior Members of the Positivist School claimed that behaviour was predetermined by genes and an individual’s evolutionary circumstances

Cesare Lombroso and the Atavistic Man -

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Cesare Lombroso (The father of Criminology) Lombroso stated that criminals were atavistic (degenerate, evolutionary throwbacks) Atavism: A term associated with Cesare Lombroso and the Positivist School of thought; the notions that criminals are less evolved than “normal” humans He argued that criminals exhibited distinguishing features much like those apes or Neanderthals - retreating foreheads, large ears, large jaws, and long arms which demonstrated their primitive evolutionary condition He wrote about insane criminals such as kleptomaniacs (compulsive thieves), nymphomaniacs (sex addicts), and pederasts (older males who engaged in sexual relations with teenage males) Gugliemo Ferrero described female offenders as “physically deformed” with “degenerative traits” - evolutionary throwbacks, similar to their male counterparts Lombroso is primarily known for his characterization of criminals as being like cavemen, cavewomen, or apes

Enrico Ferri and Raffaele Garofalo -

Ferri insisted that criminal behaviour was determined by a combination of biological, political, economic, and social factors Garofalo argued that criminal thinking was inherited or “organic” and not the result of environmental factors or logical thinking

Free Will Versus Determinism -

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The Early Positivist school argued that the behaviour of individuals was primarily predetermined by their inherited genetic makeup, which in turn affected the inner working of their minds Criminals were born, not made Criminality was a disease that could best be studied, understood and “treated” by medical doctors and scientific experts Determinism: The doctrine that one’s will is not the sole cause of choices; but that those choices are conditioned or determined by factors external to one’s will Evolutionary biologists are more likely to accept the existence of an interplay between genes and the environment

Criticisms of the Positivist School -

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Criticized for their simplistic assumptions about the “born criminal”, the existence of identifiable criminal body types and intelligence could be ascertained by examining a person’s skull or facial features They were also criticized for discounting the relationship between crime and social factors like poverty, lack of education, and lack of employment opportunities Positivist school would describe uneducated, illiterate people as “feeble-minded” Positivist school was criticized by their support of eugenics ( the misguided notion that bad gees that led to diseases like feeble-mindedness, homosexuality, and criminality could and should be eliminated from the human gene pool through selective breeding)

Legacy of Early Positivist School -

Somatotyping: A research technique that links behavioural characteristics to body types, such as mesomorphy Earnest Hooton somatotype Concluded that prisoners had lower intelligence, mixed eye colours, and sloping foreheads Ectomorph: Skinny and frail. Prone to nervous disorders and anxiety. Endomorph: Rotund (overweight), sociable and loved to eat Mesomorph: Muscular, triangular torso and was competitive, aggressive, and prone to violence The “dangerous offender” designation is intended to incapacitate “untreatable” criminals indefinitely “Long-term offender” designation is intended to extend and increase the level of control over chronic offenders who have not responded adequately to repeated attempts at treatment

Psychology, Psychobiology, Criminology, and Positivism -

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Theories of criminal behaviour proposed by psychiatrists and psychologists were similar to Positivist School Thinking Both approaches viewed criminality through a medical lens - a disease or abnormality that can be cured if diagnosed and treated properly by scientific experts Freud’s psychodynamic theory stated that human psychology was shaped by biological processes (instincts), family dynamics, and childhood experiences

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Unravelling Juvenile Delinquency written by husband and wife team Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck is a prime example of psychobiology, biopsychology Glueck’s observed that delinquent boys were more mesomorphic than non-delinquent boys Farrington calls for a discipline that embraces an array of explanations, including biological factors (poverty, family conflict, delinquent and learning) and psychological factors (individual differences in impulsivity, attentiveness, and learning) LCP Offenders: Heritable factors, such as cognitive deficits and prenatal and neonatal trauma (pregnancy drinking) AL Offending: Type of peer pressure, peer approval, or peer rejection routinely experienced by teens may push someone to commit a crime. Social learning.

The Schism Between Sociology and Biology -

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Durkheim concluded that a certain amount of crime must be normal He argued that a limited amount of crime actually served a social function by reinforcing social values and demonstrating what might happen to those who refused to play by society’s rules William Sheldon (supported by eugenics) claimed that violent criminals could be identified through their mesomorphic body type. Bernard Glueck was convinced that most criminals were psychopaths and should be committed to psychiatric institutions for life Edwin Sutherland argued that criminal behaviour was learned through interactions with the social environment and observed that crime existed in the supposedly “normal” middle and upper classes, as well as among members of the lower classes

The Rebirth of the Positivist School -

Samuel Yochelson and Stanton Samenow argued that criminals were born with abnormal thought patterns that affected their ability to make normal decisions Sarnoff Mednick and Karl Christiansen suggested that serious criminal offending was linked to biological processes. James Wilson and Richard Herrnstein asserted that constitutional factors such as mesomorphs were indeed related to criminality. Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray argued that a relationship existed between criminality and low intelligence

Theoretical Integration in Criminology -

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According to Cullen, the USA exhibits a higher rate of serious crime because it is a less supportive society than comparable industrialized nations. He describes two main types of support (instrumental and expressive) Instrumental Support: Being able to rely on others for help with paying tuition fees, or for help in finding a job Expressive Support: Receiving love and affection, feeling included, and being able to share sentiments with, and express frustrations to, significant others According to Colvin, coercion is a primary cause of crime. The sense of being “coerced” can also arise from the social and economic pressures of poverty, unemployment, and the competitive nature of capitalist theory Colvin and Cullen argue that coercion and social support are distinct and inversely related variables - coercion promotes crime, whereas social support can prevent crime

Conflict Versus Consensus: Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim -

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Conflict Theories: Theories, originating primarily with Marx, that focus on the unequal distribution of power in society - for example due to class, race, or gender. Marx stated that crime was a byproduct of the social inequality and class struggle of the capitalist mode of production Consensus thinking: Durkheim Conflict tradition: Marx Conflict Theory: Society and its laws and legal system are rooted in social, political, and economic conflict. Examples of conflict theory include cultural criminology, labelling theory, critical constructionism, critical criminology and feminist criminology Consensus Theory: Argues that society and its laws are rooted in the shared values and beliefs of its members. Those who do not share the values and beliefs of society, and who behave in a socially unacceptable manner, are regarded as deviant or criminal (abnormal) Examples of consensus theory include psychological, biological, anomie-strain, social control, and rational choice theories...