Criminology- sep. 9th PDF

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Criminology- sep. 9th notes...

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Sep. 9th, 2019 (ask about article- violence/ meth +chegg) Ch.1 Popular Media Images of Crime, con’t Dehumanization of individuals in conflict with the law and creation of “other” identity (taking away positive identity such as son, daughter in favour of pejorative descriptions: criminal, murderer, gang member - Police are often portrayed as highly …. - Every country has their own focus on criminology differently depending on social climate politics etc o Ex. united kingdom focused on antisocial behaviour o US focussed marginalized, unemployment and offenders re entering society o Canada- focused on drug laws and moral panics involving youth crime Vocational vs critical and analytical - Vocational- how can we change the system - Analytical/ critical- philosophical – are institutions such as prison valid? -

Theory in Current Research - Thomas Methiesen (1997) viewed the mass media as a form of social control. He asserted that: o The media are shaped by organizations and ideology  Media is news is just people saying their opinions and are not politically neutral (ex. oxford is right, CNN- left etc.) o The media emphasizes violent crime, thereby creating a fear of crime and the other o Fear if the other results in a push towards survellience technologies and crime control  Pushing for more police, tougher, forceful etc. o The public is largely passive audience that accepts dominant ideology portrayed in the media - Aron Doyle (2011) critically examined Methesin’s concepts of panoption and synopticon: o The synopticon referes to how media creates a context that encourages the public to watch the other o Amadenox case- accused of murdering roommate- sex orgie  Media took advantage  No evidence to suggest lesbian  Called Foxy Noxie (not her name) o Madiline (abducted child) at a resort  Media suggested her parents/ families did it – was never found o The panopticon refers to the process by which a large number of people are observed by a few outsiders  Reverse of panopticon

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Gangs, social movements  Ex. a defector will get lots of rep (Lindsey davis)

Doyle argued: o Mathieson did not acknowledge form of resistance. o Mathiesen underestimated the role of resistance and counter discourses as exemplified in the interenet)  People are doing fact checking  consume news from multiple outlets and more choice which can lead to – - George Gerbner o heavy media exposure, especially, television gives people wrong impression of real life - media influences law enformcment- ex. moral panic (Marshall- built upon Stanley)) of youth results in searching more backpacks at school for weapons and such Nature of Crime - media and police relationship reciprocal - police portrayed as violent and violence I justified- don’t show mundane aspects of poliecing - police are justified to go outside the law cause we think they look out for our best only but RCMP has shown to have corruption Measuring Crime - it is reasonable to suggest that any statement made about crime should be tested by referring to the facts about crime o ex. measuring theft in an area- not accurate picture of all crime happened that year  ex. doesn’t report all crimes  people arrested without cause - what we measure (and how we measure it) depends on how we define crime and how we see criminalization process - official crime rates in Canada are measured by statistics Canada through the uniform crime reporting survey (ucr): o crime rates and descriptions are tabulated based on the annual collection from official police reports o weakness; many crimes are not reported  only has 21 offence categories so things are clumped together and some things left out  UCR- only most serious offence gets categorized  Ex. Manslaughter considered most serious offence f someone does several crimes in a case o the difference between the actual crime rate and the reported to or by police is called dark figure of crime  crime that does not go to police, unsolved etc. -

Funnel (narrower as you go): arrest->charges-> conviction-> appeal>sentences adjudicated-> prison sentence ( 2+ years- 10 percent of crimes we know about due to appeal, lack of evidence etc.)  UCR only tells us about arrests Three broad strands dealing with issues of measurement o Realist approach  Assumes an objective truth or reality in terms of crime that exists out there  This approach seeks to uncover and measure the “reality” of crim dark figure of crime needs to be uncovered  The role of criminology is to address the problem of omission in measurement and supplement official statistics (those collected by the police, courts, and prisons)  Goal: uncover the real extent of crime through use of surveys, self report surveys, test situations hidden cameras, etc.  Looks at dark figure of crime, UCR and says there is more crime out there that we need to learn about  Come up with ways to uncover how much crime exists o Create alternative measures  Ex. victimization surveys (NCVS +GSS- pro: anonoumous- helps with getting data)  GSS= general social survey o How people feel about criminalization process, policies etc.  NVCS tells us there is more crime then what the UCR tells us since a lot of people don’t report o Personal and household victimization  Good data on auto theft o You get money for filing stolen car  Worst data on sexual assault – often people you know o Often financially dependant o Don’t want to go through traumatic police questioning o Criminal system is slow o Invasive process  o Institutional approach- conflict theory  Sees crime as a social process rather than set of behaviours  Rejects measuring devices we have such as GSS, UCR etc. because those methods of data gathering are inherently bias/ flawed 

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Criminal be67haviour can’t be understood through these metrics

Focuses on the problem of bias inherent in how official institutions process suspects and thus define the individual criminal and criminal behaviour  Lost spousal rape laws in 1983?  Goal: to show how the criminal justices system designates some people and events as criminal and other as not o Ex. criminalizing homelessness  System doesn’t provide enough for people to stay away from crime  However, wealthy people who cause financial collapses don’t get punished  Its all about how you define crime o Critical realist approach- conflict theory  Views crime measurement as having elements of social process and a grounded reality  Measuring crime from this perspective strives to reveal typically underrepresented or ignored crimes (crimes against the vulnerable)  Emphasizes the problemom of victimization  Goal: to demonstrate empirically how certain groups are vulnerable to crime and to criticize agencies of crime control for lack of action in protecting at-risk groups  Some groups matter more to politicians, wealthy doners etc. than others Building Theory - Three broad levels of criminological theory of explanation o 1. Individual- biological perspective – classical theory + positivism  focuses on individual characteristics/choices of the offender/victim.  Ex. IQ, arm length etc. o 2. Situational  focuses on the immediate circumstances or situations in which criminal or deviant activity occurs  ex. catch someone cheating could trigger violent response  situational is much more relational focused (involves a human transaction) o 3. Structural  crime is the result of broad social relationships and the major institutions of society  ex. ethnic divisions, religious tension, employment opportunities etc. - some analytical theories focus on 1 while some include all 3 Case 1.3 How might I explore the issue with an individual level of analysis? 

The men were labelled criminals based on biology- race (middle eastern), being men which is also biological How to evaluate case with situational perspective? - The situational perspective would say that their taking photos seemed to be suspicious behaviour that caught the attention of the police- this is where the person to person interaction in the immediate sircumstance begins What challenge is faced when employing structural analysis? - The othering of people who are middle eastern as terrorist creates issues such as mislabelling them - The labelling as terrorist creates an ethinic division between us and them Political Orientations - brown (1979) describes three representaions of society o geometric circle (society as harmonious)- Durkmine (functionalism)  religious adherence, language, similar levels of wealth/ income (ex. Finland- low levels of immigration, less than 3 percent identify as a minority, except no refuges, etc.)  criminal outside the circle cause they don’t share same values o triangle (conflict, inequality, and injustice in society)  a conflict perspective (Marxist )  clearly half and half nots within society (borjousie and prolaterian)  crime is a product of those inequalities (have nots are always going to want to have) no one wants to be poor o always going to have economic tensions o result of conflict between the classes  laws are not equally written and built in advantages to wealth (ex. high profile attorney to prevent going to jail) o rectangle or square (focus in interconnecting incautions)  focuses on interconnecting institutions  education system, the family, church  Strain theory o religious exclusion  crime occurs when there is a break down of he institution  ex. domestic violence- grow up to believe violence helps problem solving o expelled from school o non-geometric forms (focus on the way individuals construct their realities)  someone with mental illness will influence victimization  feel world is unjust/ not given attention  people perceive their own realities differently Views of Crime - three broad perspectives influence how we view crime: o 1. The conservative perspective supports traditional ways of doing things (status quo) -

dissenters need to conform  ex. don’t change marjuna law but rather make people confirm to the law as it exists  laws should not adapt – if it has worked in the past it will work now  classical/ positivist view up to 1950s o 2. The liberal perspective accepts the limitations of the status quo and encourages limited change to social institutions to address inequality to reduce crime (1960s)  status quo is not bad but will not always work  when society shifts we need to have good legal responses- evolve with norms and attitudes  ex. legalize drugs cause it is prosecuted unequally  ex. rock coke punished more than powder cause rock represented minority inner city more o liberal says this is not acceptable – obama changed from 100;1- 18:1 o 3. Radical perspective rejects legitimacy of the status quo (marx – encourages revolution)  society is divided on the basis of class, gender, race, etc. perpetuated by the powerful who oppress the weak.  Structural change is necessary to address inequalities.  Comes through activism o Ex. suffrage movement,  Not wait around for government  See table 1.1  Legislation focuses only on the crimes of the proletarian o Ex. street crime o Ignore crimes of powerful such as environment degradation, corruption, fraud etc.  Ex.wall street movement- short selling morgages harms many but no punishment 

Conclusion - There is no such thing as value free criminology - The political orientation of any approach has major implications for how crime is understood and defigned. - Dominant polices, views of crime, and political orientations influence societal initiatives to address crime (ex. way that resources are deployed) - Good criminology needs to be self-consciously reflective of the theoretical and political basis of its understandings - Focus on key terms in textbook and discussion questions in text for tests o Look at back for black terms not always defigned End of chapter questions:

What are challenges with defining crime?

 Crime is socially defined.  It is not inherent in an activity: it is defined under particular circumstances and in relation to specific social processes.  There are many diverse conceptions of crime!  Ex. legal, labelling, cross-unviersal etc.  These reflect different scientific/ideological viewpoints. Definitions of crime are not static (they change over time).  Ex. vagabond in 16th century England- homelessness is a crime  Being a which in 17th century before understanding the treatment of mental illness and that people can be unique and completely normal  Women who did not go with the status quo labelled as witches 2. Provide an example of a modern-day crime-based moral panic fuelled by the Canadian media. Discuss both the real and potential impact this moral panic had on public perceptions of this issue. - Meth cricis?...