Chapter One Crime and Criminology

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Chapter OneCrime and Criminology
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Crime and Criminology

• The Field of Criminology
• An academic discipline that uses the scientific
  method to study the nature, extent, cause, and
  control of criminal behavior.
• Interdisciplinary science involving two or more
  academic fields.
• Criminal Justice
• System made up of the agencies of social control,
  such as police departments, the courts, and
  correctional institutions, that handle criminal
  offenders.

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Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do The Criminological
  Enterprise
• Criminal Statistics/Crime Measurement
• Analysis
• Measurement
• Identification
• Testing

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Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do The Criminological
  Enterprise
• Sociology of Law/Law and Society/Socio-Legal
  Studies
• Investigate history of legal though
• Assess effects of proposed legal change

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Crime and Criminology

• Critical thinking pg.6
• Considering the findings of Zgoba and Bachar,
  would you advocate abandoning sex offender
  registration laws because they are ineffective?
  Or might there be other reasons to keep them
  active?
• What other laws do you think should be the topic
  of careful scientific inquiry to see whether they
  actually work as advertised?

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Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do The Criminological
  Enterprise
• Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Psychological
• Personality, development, social learning,
  cognition

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Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do The Criminological
  Enterprise
• Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Biological
• Biochemical, genetic, neurological

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Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do The Criminological
  Enterprise
• Developing Theories of Crime Causation
• Sociological
• Neighborhood, poverty, socialization, group
  interaction

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Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do The Criminological
  Enterprise
• Penology Punishment, Sanctions, and Corrections
• Penology the correction and sentencing of known
  criminal offenders.
• Rehabilitation
• Social control

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Crime and Criminology

• What Criminologists Do The Criminological
  Enterprise
• Victimology
• Victim surveys
• Victimization risk
• Victim culpability
• Services for crime victims

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Crime and Criminology

• A Brief History of Criminology
• Classical Criminology
• Utilitarianism
• Free will to choose legal or illegal behavior
• Crime is attractive
• Crime may be controlled through the fear of
  punishment
• Punishment works best when perceived to be
• Severe
• Certain
• Swift

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Crime and Criminology

• A Brief History of Criminology
• Positivist Criminology
• Scientific method
• Logic
• Empirical verification
• Value-free

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Crime and Criminology

• Sociological Criminology
• Quetelet and Durkheim
• Relationship between social factors and crime
• Crime is a social phenomenon that can be reduced
  by improving social and economic conditions
• The Chicago School

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Crime and Criminology

• Conflict Theory
• Karl Marx
• Burgeoisie
• Proletariat
• Critical Criminology

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Crime and Criminology

• Developmental Criminology
• Gluecks
• Complex View
• Integration of sociological, psychological, and
  economic elements
• Delinquency

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Crime and Criminology

• Contemporary Criminology
• Rational Choice Theory
• Trait Theory
• Social Structure Theory
• Social Process Theory
• Critical Theory
• Developmental Theory

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Crime and Criminology

• Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define
  Crime
• Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors,
  ranging from the most socially harmful, such as
  rape and murder, to the relatively inoffensive,
  such as joining a religious cult or
  cross-dressing.
• A deviant act becomes a crime when it is deemed
  socially harmful or dangerous it is then
  specifically defined, prohibited, and punished
  under the criminal law.

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Crime and Criminology

• The Concept of Crime
• Consensus View of Crime
• Conflict View of Crime
• Interactionist View of Crime

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Crime and Criminology

• A Definition of Crime
• Crime is a violation of societal rules of
  behavior as interpreted and expressed by the
  criminal law, which reflects public opinion,
  traditional values, and the viewpoint of people
  currently holding social and political power.
  Individuals who violate these rules are subject
  to sanctions by state authority, social stigma,
  and loss of status.

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Crime and Criminology

• Crime and the Criminal Law
• Code of Hammurabi
• Mosaic Code
• Common Law
• Precedent
• Mala in se
• Mala prohibitum
• Statutory crimes

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Crime and Criminology

• Contemporary Criminal Law
• Social goals
• Enforcing social control
• Discouraging revenge
• Expressing public opinion and morality
• Deterring criminal behavior
• Punishing wrongdoing
• Creating equity
• Maintaining social order

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Crime and Criminology

• Crime and the Criminal Law
• Criminal Law
• The written code that defines crimes and their
  punishments
• Reflects the values, beliefs, and opinions of
  societys mainstream

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Crime and Criminology

• The Evolution of Criminal Law
• Social and Economic Conditions
• Stalking
• Gay marriage
• Future Direction of Criminal Law

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Crime and Criminology

• Contemporary Criminal Law
• Felony
• Misdemeanor

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Crime and Criminology

• Ethical Issues in Criminology
• What to Study
• Whom to Study
• How to Study