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Causes of Crime. Why does a person commit a crime? What causes crime and deviance? Are people basically good? Why are some people violent and aggressive? Are people motivated only by self-interest? Criminologists search for answers to those types of questions. Criminology.
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Causes of Crime • Why does a person commit a crime? • What causes crime and deviance? • Are people basically good? • Why are some people violent and aggressive? • Are people motivated only by self-interest? • Criminologists search for answers to those types of questions.
Criminology • Criminology seeks to find the cause of crime and deviant behavior. • Crime • violation of the criminal law for which there is no legal justification. • Deviance • violation of social norms that specify • appropriate or proper behavior under a particular set of circumstances (often includes crime).
Criminological Theory • Through the years, many theories have been advanced to explain crime and deviance. • Theories posit relationships between events and things • Once created, theories must be tested to determine validity.
Theory Testing • Theory testing involves developing hypotheses based on the theory’s predictions. • If the predictions are validated by observation, the theory gains greater acceptability • Hypotheses are tested using research methods—standardized, systematic procedures.
Goal of Research and Theory Building • To provide models that allow for a better understanding of criminal behavior and that enhance the development of strategies which allow us to address the problem of crime.
FIGURE 3–1 Steps in criminological theory building and social policy creation. CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY
Categories of Theory • Explanations of criminal behavior fall into eight general categories. • Classical • Biological • Psychobiological • Psychological • Sociological • Social Process • Conflict • Emergent • Interdisciplinary theories, or integrated theories, could possibly be a ninth category.
Characteristics of Classical and Neoclassical Theories • Basic Assumptions • Crime is caused by the individual exercise of “free will.” • Pain and pleasure are the two central determinants of human behavior. • Punishment is sometimes required to deter law violators. • Crime prevention is possible through swift and certain punishment, which offsets any gains to be had through criminal behavior.
Cesare Beccaria: Crime and Punishment • In 1784, Beccaria published Essays on Crimes and Punishment. Beccaria: • Was considered controversial at the time. • Is referred to as the founder of the Classical School of criminology • Felt punishments should be more humanitarian. • Called for the end of physical punishment and the death penalty. • Believed that punishment should fit the crime and not be excessive.
Jeremy Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus • Concept developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) • The exercise of free would cause an individual to avoid committing a crime as long as the punishment outweighed the benefits • Bentham called this philosophy utilitarianism. • Agreed with Beccaria that punishment had to be “swift and certain – as well as just – to be effective
The Neoclassical Perspective • Neoclassical criminology is rooted in the classical school. • Places greater emphasis on rationality and cognition than classical criminologists • Examples: • Rational choice theory • Routine activities theory
The Neoclassical Perspective • Rational choice theory holds that criminality is the result of conscious choice. • Individuals commit crime when the benefits outweigh the costs. • Routine activities theory holds that lifestyles contribute to the volume and type of crime found in society. • Crime is likely to occur when a motivated offender and a suitable target come together in absence of a capable guardian.
Social Policy and Classical Theories • Classical theories form the basis of many criminal justice programs. • High crime rates call for punishment to get even and to prevent future crime.
Characteristics of Biological Theories • Basic Assumptions • Human behavior is constitutionally or genetically determined. • Basic determinants of human behavior may be passed from generation to generation. • Some behavior is the result of propensities inherited from more primitive developmentalstages in the evolutionary process.
Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828): Phrenology • Phrenology, study of the shape of the head and its relationship to human behavior, focused on the head and brain in what Gall called “cranioscopy.” • The brain is the organ of the mind. • The brain consists of localized faculties or functions.
Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828): Phrenology • The shape of the skull reveals underlying development (or lack of development) of areas within the brain. • A personality can be revealed by a study of the skull.
Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909): Atavism • Lombroso—the founder of the Positivist School of criminology—borrowed the term “atavism” from the work of Charles Darwin. • “Atavism” implies that people are born criminals and are characterized by features thought to be common in earlier stages of human evolution. • Examples of stigmata: long arms, large lips, crooked nose, large amount of body hair, eyes of different colors, ears lack defined lobes, etc…
Evidence of Atavism? • In 1913, Charles Goring and Karl Pearson: • compared 3,000 English convicts to army officers • found NO significant differences between the two groups using Lombroso’s criteria • In 1939, Ernest Hooten: • compared 13,000 male prisoners in 10 states to 3,000 National Guard members, firemen, etc. • found some support for Lombroso’s ideas, though his methods may have been flawed
Criminal Families • In 1877, Richard Dugdale studied the Juke family. • Over 75 years, the heirs of Ada Juke included 1,200 persons, mostly social degenerates. • Goddard (1912) studied two lines of the Kallikak family. • One line descended from a feebleminded bar maid. • Over half of these descendants were feebleminded. • The second line descended from a “virtuous Quaker girl.” • 1/3 of these descendants were feebleminded.
William Sheldon (1893 – 1977): Somatypes • Sheldon developed the idea of somatotyping— classifying people according to body build. • Mesomorph—predominance of muscle, bone, and connective tissue – most prone to violence • Ectomorph—thinness, fragility, and delicacy of body • Endomorph—soft roundness throughout short tapering limbs, small bones, soft velvety skin
Social Policy and Biological Theories • Policies based on biological theories are usually considered “extreme.” • Example: • Eugenics movement of the 1920s.
Characteristics of Psychobiological Theories • Focus is on the relationship of the following to criminal behavior: • DNA • environmental contaminants • nutrition • hormones • physical trauma • body chemistry in human cognition andbehavior
Chromosome Theory • The links between chromosomes and crime were first explored in the 1960s. • 1965—Patricia Jacobs discovered “supermales,” men with an extra “Y” chromosome (XYY). She found that “supermales” were more common in prisons than in the general public.
Chromosome Theory • Other studies found that XYY males were more aggressive than other males and had a number of specific physical and psychological traits. • Later studies disputed many of these findings.
Biochemical Factors and Imbalances • Biocriminology attempts to link violent or disruptive behavior to eating habits, vitamin deficiencies, genetics, and other conditions which impact body tissues. • For example, some studies have linked crime to: • Hypoglycemia • Allergic reactions to foods • High levels of caffeine and sugar • Testosterone levels
Heredity and Other Physical Factors • Adoption and twin studies have shown: • Children adopted at birth have shown a tendency toward criminality of biological parents. • Identical twins separated at birth indicate that they exhibit a greater similarity in terms of criminality than do fraternal twins. • Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) argue that inherited traits combine with environmental factors to produce crime.
Social Policy and Biological Theories • Policies look to modify body chemistry to change behavior. • Example: Medication
Characteristics of Psychological Theories • The individual is the main unit of analysis. • Personality is the major motivational element. • Crimes result from inappropriately conditioned behavior. • Abnormal mental processes may have a number of causes. • Diseased mind • Inappropriate learning • Improper conditioning
Behavioral Conditioning • Behavioral conditioningis a psychological principle which holds that the frequency of any behavior can be increased or decreased through reward, punishment, and/or association with other stimuli. • This was popularized through the work of Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) whose work with dogs won him a Nobel Prize.
Freudian Psychoanalysis • Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) identified three elements of the personality: • Id • Ego • Superego • Psychoanalysis sees personality as a complex composite of interacting mental elements.
Freudian Psychoanalysis • Crime can result from: • A weak superego • Sublimation/dislike of one’s mother • The death wish
Psychopathology and Crime • Psychopathology studies pathological mental conditions (mental illness). • Psychopath—Defining characteristic is the inability to imagine how other think and feel • It is possible for the psychopath to inflict pain without appreciation for the victim’s suffering. • Psychopathic people are likely to become criminal at some point.
Causes of Psychopathy • Causes are unclear • Somatogenic causes malfunctioning central nervous system brain abnormalities • Psychogenic causes • Rooted in early interpersonal experiences
The Psychotic Offender • Psychosis is another form of mental disorder. • Psychotics are people who are said to be out of touch with reality. • Some psychotics are classified as • schizophrenic—people with disordered or disjointed thinking in which they make abnormal logical connections between things. • Psychosis can lead to crime.
Psychological Profiling • An attempt to derive a composite picture of an offender’s social and psychological characteristics • Taken from the crime committed and the manner in which it was committed • New area includes hostage negotiation
Social Policy and Psychological Theories • Policies are primarily individualistic and oriented toward individualized treatment and therapy plans designed to reduce a person’s dangerousness.
Characteristics of Sociological Theories • Social groups, social institutions, the arrangement of society, and social roles are all appropriate for study. • Group dynamics, group organization, and subgroup relationships form the causal basis of criminality. • The structure of society and the relative degree of social organization or social disorganization are important factors contributing to criminal behavior.
Characteristics of Sociological Theories • Particular sociological theories may give greater or lesser weight to: • The clash of norms and values among variously socialized groups • Socialization and the process of association between individuals • The existence of subcultures and varying types of opportunities
Social Ecology Theory • In the 1920s, Park and Burgess mapped Chicago based on the city’s social characteristics. • They developed the Concentric Zone Theory. • Concentric zones are likened to a bull’s eye with the center of the city being the target.
Social Ecology Theory • Shaw and McKay related this theory to crime. • Crime increased as one moved towards center of the city, with the highest crime rates in the “zone of transition,” where there was a lot of poverty, illiteracy, lack of schooling, unemployment, and illegitimacy (social disorganization). • Social disorganization leads to crime.
Anomie Theory • Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) introduced the term anomie (normlessness) in the late 1800s. • Robert K. Merton (1910–2003) defined anomie as a disjuncture between societal goals and legitimate means. • He developed a typology of adaptations.
Anomie Theory • Conformist—accepts goals and means (law abiding) • Innovator—accepts goals, rejects means (property/white-collar offenses) • Retreatest—rejects both goals and means (addiction/victimless crimes) • Ritualist—rejects goals, accepts means (repetitive/mundane lifestyle) • Rebel—rejects goals and means and substitutes his own goals and means (political crime)
Subcultural Theory • Cohen (b. 1918)—reaction formation,lower class youth’s rejection of middle class values, leads to the development of gangs and reinforces the subculture. • Miller—Lower class priority concerns of trouble, toughness, excitement, smartness, fate, and autonomy lead to crime.
Subcultural Theory • Cloward and Ohlin proposed that an illegitimate opportunity structure allows delinquent youths to achieve success outside of legitimate ways. • Wolfgang and Ferracuti coined the term “subculture of violence” after examining homicide rates in Philadelphia in the 1950s. • Here, violence is a traditional, and often accepted, method of dispute resolution.
Social Policy and Sociological Theories • Social programs are instituted to change cultural conditions and societal arrangements that lead people into crime.
Characteristics of Social Process Theories • They highlight the role of social learning • They are often the most attractive to policymakers • They are consistent with popular cultural and religious values
Differential Association • Edwin Sutherland (1883-1950), in his third edition ofPrinciples of Criminology (1939), viewed crime as a product of socialization. • Crime is learned. It is learned by the same principles that guide learning of law abiding behavior of conformists.
Social Process Theories • Social Learning Theory: • … a perspective that says people learn how to behave from others whom they have the opportunity to observe.
