Criminology Exam 2

Discreditable group

have hidden their stigma, but are constantly afraid of being exposed, both groups are engaged in a constant struggle of impression management but it is normative behavior

choice and opportunity theories

have their roots in classical criminology and are based upon the works of cesare beccaria and jeremy bentham

neutralization

holds that criminals know on some level that crime is wrong and employ a number of techniques to mitigate the guilt they feel when they commit criminal acts

Deterrence theory

in order to deter crime, classical theorists believed that punishment must be severe but proportional to the crime, posses celerity, and above all posses certainty, the two types of deterrence are specific and general

Matza's drift

in response to the idea that crime during adolescence necessarily leads to crime in adulthood, Matza developed the idea of drift drift was the process of drifting between the constraint of conventional norms and the freedom from them, essentially contending that engagement in delinquency is normative during adolescence adolesnce creates a subculture where delinquency is a product of the pressures associated with the passage to adulthood

Race

Anderson's code of the streets -contends that the inclination for violence springs from circumstances of life among the ghetto poor Hawkins contends that economic inequality and the historical context in which the inequality came about largely accounts for the inordinately high rates of African American homicide, emphasized the extreme role the slavery and the slave trade had in shaping behavior

key observations from Wright and Decker's work

1. motivation to commit a stickup emerged during a period of intense self-indulgence and from a growing sense of frustration and anger because they felt as though they were trapped in a cycle of events 2. delaying gratification has no positive impact on reputation 3. even with money, offenders dislike long term planning and enjoy a more reckless lifestyle

Agnews theory focused on five life domains

1. self- self-control and high irritability increase the likelihood of crime 2. family-poor parenting, negative bonding, family conflict, child abuse, criminal parents or siblings have strong effects on your likelihood of crime 3. school- negative bonding, poor teaching, poor academic performance and low educational goals have strong effects on the likelihood of crime 4. peer- peer delinquency, unstructured socializing, and peer conflict increase the likelihood of crime 5. work-unemployment, poor work performance, poor work conditions, and criminal coworkers increase the likelihood of crime

Wolfgang and Ferracuti proposed 4 conditions for a subculture of violence to emerge

1. subculture must be prominent among young individuals, specifically late adolescence and early adulthood 2. non violence is the counter norm 3. attitudes favorable to violence are learned from existing members of the subculture 4. the use of violence in the subculture is not considered deviant and it is not related to feelings of guilt or remorse

What labeling theory assumes

1. we are all born equal and no one is more or less prone to be criminal 2. the only thing that distinguishes criminals/crimes is labels 3. assumes that labeling can occur and likely occurs even if no criminal act takes place

Maleness and crime

Messerschimdt contends that men are constantly placed in situations in which they must establish their maleness

What were the main findings discussed in the reading from Pager?

Currently there are over 2 million individuals incarcerated and 95% of all inmates will be released back into society eventually, we will have a growing population of individuals with a criminal record. Pager's study investigated the consequences of incarceration for the employment outcomes of black and white men, she wanted to determine the extent to which race effects employability and see if the effects of the criminal record differed by race. Pager found that whites with a criminal record had a twice as much greater chance of being considered than blacks without a criminal record. White men without a criminal record had a 34% chance and white men with a criminal record had a 17% chance. Black men without a criminal record had a 14% chance and black men with a criminal record had a 5% chance.

general theory of crime and deliqeuncy (life course theory 1)

Developed by agnew tried to develop a comprehensive and complete theory that blends the best parts of the most highly validated theories of crime causation this theory boils down to a focus on motivations and constraints

Explain Lemerts two types of deviance

Edwin Lemert was one of the influential theorist in the development of labeling theory. He distinguished between two types of deviance known as primary and secondary. Primary deviance is the criminal action that results in initial contact with the criminal justice system. Secondary deviance results from the societal reaction to primary deviance.

Power control theory

Hagan claimed that patriarchy tends to reproduce typical gender roles and relations in families, boys born into patriarchal families are granted greater freedom and encouraged to take risks, which results in greater participation in crime while girls are subject to more control from their mothers and more closely monitored which results in lower crime participation females recently begun to increase their participation in crime, changes in policing led to rise

What were the contributions of Bonger and Quinney?

Marxist criminology focuses on class struggle and the need for a fair system of governance, socialism and communism were influenced by Marx's work because these systems would reduce crime and conflict in theory. Willem Bonger was a Marx criminologist and he believed that the exploitation and alienation of capitalism were root causes of crime. Individuals had differences with the concern of their own welfare and the welfare of others, conflict was theorized to be a result of these differences. Richard Quinney was also a Marx criminologist and he contended that crime is inevitable under capitalist conditions and that the problem of crime can only be solved by the development of a socialized society.

proving masculinity

Messerschimdt contends that crime is a means of expressing masculinity and flows from poor experiences in school and the experience of poverty, racism, and blocked opportunity

In regards to risk factors, what to the terms clustering and additive effect mean?

Risk factors increase the likelihood of engaging in crime, they tend to cluster, if an individual has one of the risk factors then its likely that they will also have others Risk factors also have additive effects, people with more risk factors have a greater likelihood of crime

social class- covariate 1

Shaw and McKay's theory of social disorganization, they used Burgess's concentric zone model of city development to explain why crime tended to occur in the same areas regardless of the population who resided there

Moffitt's dual pathway model

Terrie Moffitt postulates that while many juveniles engage in antisocial behavior, their delinquency hides two qualitatively different groups of offenders, those whose delinquency is temporary and situational and those whole delinquency is consistent over time and situation

Which type of deviance can labeling theory explain?

The labeling theory explores the process by which labels area applied and the effects of labels once they have been successfully applied, it focuses on the effect that the system and society can have in shaping crime and criminal careers. Secondary deviance falls into the consequences of labeling and is the type of deviance that labeling theory tries to explain since it results from societal reaction to primary deviance.

First marx criminologist

Willem Bonger believed that the exploitation and alienation of capitalism were root causes of crime, conflict was theorized to be a result of differences between individuals with altruism and egoism

routine activites theory

developed by Cohen and Felson, crime results from the interaction of 3 factors - availability of suitable targets -absence of capable guardians -presence of motivated offenders crime only occurs when all 3 components overlap

Deviance Amplification

according to labeling theorist the application of labels and degradation ceremonies necessarily lead to deviance amplification, or an increase in an individual's level of deviance

constraints

against crime include external controls, stakes in conformity, and internal control

Merton

also dabbled into labeling theory, has been credited with developing the idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy, says that individuals will react to any label and try to live up to that label, be it good or bad, characteristics are applied to a person and it doesn't matter if they are accurate or deserved, then the person begins to take on those characteristics that significant others have attributed to them

short term focus

an offender's short term focus is most evident in their earning and buring of money, the pressing need for cash has been identified as a primary motivation for robbery, comes from Wright and Decker

Altruistic people

are concerned with welfare of others

Egoistic people

are only concerned with their own welfare

life span development

assumes that development is a lifelong process, assumes that we can and do make fundamental changes in our life past adolescence and that our development does not stop when we reach adulthood

A constructionist perspective

believes that crime is created by society, concerned with who makes the rules, how the rules are applied and how enforcement of rules affects individuals, we cannot assume that all criminals share the same characteristics but they share the same label criminal is someone who has been successfully labeled as such while non criminal is someone who applies the label or someone who has yet to be caught

Marriage- Sampson and Laub

both happy married and non happy married people commit less crime than unmarried people

Discredited group

cannot hide their stigma or have revealed a character blemish

modern marx criminology

have a tendency to excuse or justify criminals and criminal behavior see appropriate and acceptable behavior arising from the economic relationships that characterize our counter believe class struggle is the only reason, not family, education, etc. Quinney

Max Weber

conflict theory is most associated with him, contended that laws are not the product of consensus, but that those in power shape the context and enforcement of the law, laws are created to favor the upper class and control the lower class, conflict theorist contend that crime is a political concept and not a social concept

seductions

considered pulls, or variables or factors that draw an individual into committing crime

structural conflict theories

contend that criminal law and the criminal justice system are a means of defending and preserving the capitalist system

instrumental conflict theories

contend that criminal law and the criminal justice system are capitalist instruments for controlling the lower class

Masculinization hypothesis

contends that as society increases gender equality, females begin to shed the traditional societal roles for more masculine roles. Females evolve into the role of the breadwinner and motivation to provide can lead females into crime

Emancipation hypothesis

contends that increases in gender equality leads to more women in the workforce and presents these women with more opportunities to commit crime, especially occupational crimes.

Staying alive hypothesis

contends that women are less involved in crime because they are more risk averse than men and are biologically driven to be more invested in parenting and being around for their children than men

Economic marginalization hypothesis

contends the gender gap in pay creates a need for women to commit crime because they are at an economic disadvantage

Subculture of violence

criminologists Wolfgang and Ferracuti contended that the culture of poverty led to the creation of a subculture of violence they recognized the role of violence in delinquent subcultures but also recognized that no subculture can be completely removed from the larger mainstream society and that subculture of violence does not require that violence should be expressed in all situations it does require the willingness to use violence in more situations than larger society would

Marxist criminology

critical theories began with marxist criminology, for marx the focus was on class struggle and the conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats

hedonic or hedonistic calculus

deciding not to commit a crime results from the potential risks outweighing the potential reward, in terms of criminal behavior the primary potential risks are chance of getting caught, fear of punishment, and risk of losing respect/status

Stigma

defined as undesirable differentness stigma of being labeled a criminal may increase criminal behavior beyond what would have occurred without the label - people may internalize the label put on them by the criminal justice system -the label itself may block opportunities for success, including education and employment

situational crime prevention

designed to adjust the criminal calculator and make engaging in the criminal action more risky than rewarding

Goldstein's Tripartite

developed a tripartite to explain the link between drugs and violent crime, he offered 3 explains for why drugs lead to violence 1. pharmacological explanation- suggests that violence is a product of the pharmacological properties of the drug itself 2. economic compulsive explanation- suggests that violence is done in an effort to obtain money to buy drugs 3. systemic violence explanation- suggests that violence is committed to gain and keep control of drug markets

Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential Theory (2)

developed by David Farrington developed ICAP to address a need that he perceived in the theoretical research literature, to find a theory capable of answer key questions that developmental theory should be able to answer there were 13 questions Farringtons theory is all about the potential for antisocial behavior, antisocial potential becomes antisocial behavior when certain cognitive processes are employed that take into account both criminal opportunities and potential victims

culture of poverty

developed by Oscar Lewis thought that poverty was systematic and so harsh that it led to a subculture of attitudes and mores being transmitted across generations that are born into the subculture and will never be exposed to the mainstream cultural values and norms, which perpetuates poverty

Age graded social control theory (4)

developed by Robert Sampson and John Laub contends that discrete factors influence people at different stages of development, which makes criminal propensity or likelihood to commit crime unstable both contend that social bonds are not stable over time, people can acquire more stronger bonds as they age, transition to adulthood brings many turning points

Dual Pathway Developmental Theory (3)

developed by Terrie Moffitt, contends that delinquency is normal, and there exist two types of delinquents delinquents whose delinquency is temporary and situational and those who delinquency is consistent over time and situation

Erving Goffman

developed one of the most widely used and influential theories on related to labeling and social reaction, contended that social life is drama that takes place on stage, focused on stigma

patriarchy perspective

dominant perspective

pulls

enriching oneself in the short term proving manhood demanding respect

Labeling theory or social reaction theory

explores the process by which labels are applied and the effects of labels once they have been successfully applied 2 people most associated -Frank Tannenbaum: identifying someone as a criminal creates a self-fulfilling prophecy for that person, in which the person labeled starts to believe they're a criminal -Edwin Lemert: distinguish between primary and secondary deviance, primary is criminal action that results in initial contact with the criminal justice system, secondary results from societal reaction to primary deviance

Critical theories

focus on how power creates conflict, how those in power use the laws to maintain their power

Critical theory assumptions

focus on power inequality, and creation of crime and law, focused on who makes the law than who breaks the law assume that a normative level of conflict arises from the creation of laws, laws do not represent a complete consensus among the public and they necessarily create tension between individuals who believe in the law and those who don't, tend to be macro-level theories meaning that they are focused on the bigger picture rather than focused on individual differences or individual causes of crime

Life course theories

focus on what happens over the course of the lifetime that may facilitate persistence in and desistance from crime theory recognizes risk factors at various stages and in various domains of life life span development agency time and place timing linked lives

Degradation ceremonies

following a negative label, an individual will undergo a degradation ceremony this ceremony is a formal or informal ritual in which a person's identity is publicly redefined and the person becomes an outcast

Marxist criminology summed up

greatest strength is that it focused attention on the role of power in the construction of laws, lacks empirical research, romanticism of criminals and the inability to recognize differences between marx capitalism and capitalism today

motivations

include reinforcements for criminal activity, exposure to successful criminal models, learning beliefs favorable to crime, and the experience of strain

Restorative justice

involves individuals recognizing the harm they have caused to society and then working with the victim and the community to develop some way to atone for their criminal behavior

specific deterrence

involves scaring existing offenders straight with the threat of punishment specific deterrence has been theorized to be ineffective

general deterrence

is the notion that punishment will deter crime among the population as a whole, most of the research has focused on the death penalty criminological research concludes that the death penalty has no causal effect on crime, researchers have really turned the focus from severity of punishment to the certainty of punishment one of the largest hurdles is the fact that people do a poor job of estimating the likelihood of punishment

Differential Enforcement

labeling theorist are also concerned with the idea of differential enforcement, where the law is applied differentially so that it benefits those who hold economic or social power and penalizes the powerless

Conflict theory

marxist theorist believed that capitalism is the only source of conflict, conflict theorists contend that there exist a multitude of sources of conflict that lead to crime

liberation perspective

masculinization hypothesis emancipation hypothesis economic marginalization hypothesis staying alive hypothesis

Disproportionately greater involvement in crime

minorities do receive harsher sentences than other groups, especially if they're unemployed

mental illness

more than half of jail and prison inmates have mental health problems offenders with mental illness are most likely to offend against people they know rather than strangers

Lemert

most influential theorist in the development of labeling theory, his contribution is most evident in his distinguishing between primary and secondary deviance

Consequences of labeling

negative labels may permanently harm the individual by blocking opportunity, forcing movement into a deviant subculture, developing a deviant identity, and potentially leading to a deviant career

Age

one of the best and most consistent predictors of criminal behavior, crime is most likely to occur during the late teens and early twenties, criminal activity during adolescence has the potential to lead to adult crime

hot spots policing

one of the methods for increasing the certainty of punishment is to increase the likelihood of detection through the use of increased police presence, 10% increase in officers corresponds to a 3% decrease in crime best method is to increase police presence without hiring more officers is to use hot spot policing it involves strategically placing police in the geographic places where the most crime occurs, one of the major concerns is displacement of crime

3 types of stigma

physical blemishes- physical features that make someone stand out as different and may illicit negative reactions from other people character blemishes- refer to faults in personality or behavior, that while not as visible as physical blemishes can be just as detrimental tribal stigma- stigma that someone receives due to being a part of a certain race, country or even religion

Summing up labeling theory

plus side is that labeling theory identifies the harmful and unintended consequences of formal social control as well as being useful in corrections on the minus side labeling theory can be hard to test, and cannot explain primary deviance

Feminist criminology

primarily concerned with the explanation or explanations of female crime

rational choice theory

rational choice theorist do not assume that offenders are perfectly rational all the time, modern rational choice theorist assume that offenders are still acting rational when they choose to commit crime, however they assume that rationality is bound or limited, offenders react selectively toward the characteristics of particular crimes

Primary deviance

refers to the criminal action that results in initial contact with the criminal justice system

covariates

represent pushes to crime, or variables or factors that make an individuals more likely to engage in criminal activity not considered causes but they do contribute to some of the causes of crime

Secondary deviance

results from the societal reaction to the primary deviance, stigma of the criminal record may increase the likelihood of criminal behavior beyond what would have occurred without the label, secondary falls into the consequences of labeling and is the type of deviance that the labeling theory seeks to explain

The rise of critical theories

rise in popularity of critical theories was most obvious and visible during the turbulent 1960's and 70's, rise was due to perceived failure of rehabilitation programs and the war on poverty, radical social movements like civil rights (read section again)

Importance of risk factor changes over time

risk factors can increase or decrease their effect on an individual depending upon the time in the life course when they experience them

risk factors that life course and development theories recognize

risk factors increase the likelihood of engaging in crime, tend to cluster meaning that when an individual has one of the risk factors it is likely that they will also possess others developmental theories also contend that risk factors have additive effects, meaning that people with more risk factors have a greater likelihood of crime

Agency

states that individuals construct their own life course through the choices and actions they take within the opportunities and constraints of history and social circusmtance contends that individuals are not passively acted upon by social influence and structural constraints, individuals have the power to alter their life course

timing

states that the developmental antecedents and consequences of life transitions, events, and behavioral patterns vary according to their timing in a person's life, the same events or experiments may affect individuals in different ways depending on when they occur in the life course

time and place

states that the life course of individuals is embedded and shaped by the historical times and places they experience over their lifetime, individuals are a product of their history and location

Guns

states with higher rates of firearm ownership have significantly higher rates of homicide, greater number of guns leads to a greater number of homicides

linked lives

suggests that lives are lived interdependently and socio-historical influences are expressed through this network of shared relationships this principle is especially relevant to the issue of delinquent peers

peacemaking criminology

takes a rather radical stance with the idea that punitveness begets violence, meaning that the more we as a society punish offenders, the more violence and crime we create the only way to alleviate crime then is to remove suffering and prevent causes of crime John Braithwaite pushed for the use of restorative justice techniques as a method to reduce further offending by individuals that tend to result form incarceration, nearly 2/3 of all incarcerated offenders reoffend within the first 3 years of being released

Importance of testosterone

testosterone levels have been associated with more violent crimes, more complex than just a direct relationship research by Dabbs and Morris found that the effect of testosterone varied by social class, for individuals lower in social class high testosterone was associated with crime, for individuals higher in social class testosterone was not associated with crime

assumptions of choice and opportunity theories

these theories assume that people are rational and have free will, but also assumes that they are holisitic crime comes from rational decision making and is the product of careful thought and planning, within a rational decision, an individual evaluates risks of engaging in a behavior

adolescent limited offenders

those who age out of crime and tend to only engage in minor forms of delinquency thought to engage in crime due to imitation of life course persistent offenders

life course persistent offenders

those who fail to age out of crime and their delinquency persists, thought to be a product of disruptions in normal neutral development, deficits in verbal functions, and deficits in executive functions including inattentiveness and impulsivity

methods

variety of methods associated with situational crime prevention 1. target hardening- increasing the effort required to complete the criminal action 2. method of reducing provocation- attempting to prevent siutations from escalating into criminal behavior 3. increase the chance of getting caught 4. increase penalties- increasing penalties for criminal behavior should in theory reduce the attractiveness of crime as an action 5. guilt and shame- we dislike guilt and shame and go out of our way to not experience it

broken windows theory

was proposed by Wilson and Kelling and contends that crime is caused by disreputable people and the disorder they create, not necessarily the disreputable people engaging in crime themselves but allowing these individuals to create disorder you are sending a message to potential offenders that this neighborhood does not care and won't intervene

positive vs. negative labels and what labeling theory contends

we are all labeled and labels largely define who we are as people, they can be good, bad, or indifferent

Deviance is a perfect storm

whether something or someone is a criminal depends on many variables, things like timing, who, and consequences, crime and deviance is a perfect storm

the likelihood of anyone committing a crime in a certain situation depends upon

whether the crime will occur and the characteristics of the target, offenders are believed to evaluate their skills, motives, needs, and fears before deciding to commit crime

Labeling process

with the negative label comes diminished self esteem and the feeling of stigma, then leads to isolation and withdrawal from social life which leads to lack of confident or skills, and finally restriction of activities and social roles

Gender

within crime males make up a significantly larger proportion of offenders than females