Chapter 8: Social Conflict, Critical Criminology, and Restorative Justice

State-organized crime

Acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials, either elected or appointed, in pursuit of their jobs as government representatives. - Illegal domestic surveillance. - Human rights violations. - State-corporate crime. - State violence.

Power

The ability of persons and groups to determine and control the behavior of others and to shape public opinion to meet their personal needs. Unequal distribution of power causes conflict.

The Challenge of Restorative Justice

The difficult task of balancing the needs of offenders with those of their victims. Benefits may only work in the short term.

Shame

The feeling we get when we don't meet the standards we have set for ourselves or that significant others have set for us. Power tool of informal social control.

Lumpen proletariat

The fringe members at the bottom of society who produce nothing and live, parasitically, off the work of others.

Gender and the Justice System

The justice system treats men and women and girls and boys differently.

Capitalist bourgeoise

The owners of the means of production.

Globalization

The process of creating transnational markets, politics, and legal systems in an effort to form and sustain a global economy. Benefits third world nations-creates surplus value for owners at the cost of workers in developed countries. Critical theorists view the concept of surplus value on a global scale.

Productive relations

The relationships that exist among the people producing goods and services.

The historical development of critical criminology

The roots of critical criminology can be traced to the social philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883). Marx identified the economic structures in society that control all human relations.

Supranational criminology

The study of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the penal system in which such crimes are prosecuted and tried.

Race and justice

A critical focus on contemporary social institutions showing how they operate as instruments of class and racial oppression. Race-based achievement differences in education. Racial and economic bias in the prosecution and punishment of offenders. Social institutions are designed to favor the rich and powerful.

Synthesis

A merger of two opposing ideas.

Reintegrative shaming

A method of correction that encourages offenders to confront their misdeeds, experience shame because of the harm they caused, and then be reincluded in society. Disapproval is extended to the offenders' evil deeds, while at the same time they are cast as respected people who can be reaccepted by society. - Shame. - Stigmatization.

Sentencing circle

A peacemaking technique in which offenders, victims, and other community members are brought together in an effort to formulate a sanction that addresses the needs of all.

Georg Hegel (1770-1831)

A philosopher who argued that for every idea, or thesis, there exists an opposing argument, or antithesis. Since neither position can ever be truly accepted, the result is a merger of the two ideas, a synthesis.

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

A social philosopher who identified the economic structures in society that control all human relations. Proposed the notion that unequal distribution of power and wealth produce crime. Crime develops as a result of social conflict.

Patriarchy

A society in which men dominate public, social, economic, and political affairs.

Proletariat

A term used by Marx to refer to the working class members of society who produce goods and services but who do not own the means of production. people who do the actual work.

• The offender is asked to recognize that they caused injury to personal and social relations along with a determination and acceptance of responsibility (ideally accompanied by a statement of remorse). Only then can the offender be restored as a productive member of the community. • Restoration involves turning the justice system into a "healing" process rather than being a distributor of retribution and revenge. • Reconciliation is a big part of the restorative approach. Most people involved in offender-victim relationships actually know one another or were related in someway before the criminal incident took place. Instead of treating one of the involved parties as a victim deserving of sympathy and the other as a criminal deserving of punishment, it is more productive to address the issues that produced conflict between these people. • The effectiveness of justice ultimately depends on the stake a person has in the community (or a particular social group). If a person does not value their membership in the group, the person will be unlikely to accept responsibility, show remorse, or repair the injuries caused by their actions. In contrast, people who have a stake in the community and its principal institutions, such as work, home, and school, find that their involvement enhances their personal and familial well-being. • The offender must make a commitment to both material (monetary) restitution and symbolic reparation (an apology). A determination must also be made of community support and assistance for both victim and offender.

Although process of restoration differ in structure and style, they generally include these elements.

Peacemaking criminology

An approach that considers punitive crime control strategies to be counterproductive and favors the use of humanistic conflict resolution to prevent and control crime. The main purpose of criminology is to promote a peaceful, just society. Peacemaking draws its inspiration from religious and philosophical teachings. Peacemakers view the efforts of the state to punish and control as crime encouraging rather than crime discouraging. Advocate policies such as mediation and conflict resolution, rather than prison. Major Premise: Peace and humanism can reduce crime; conflict resolution strategies can work. Strengths: Offers a new approach to crime control through mediation. Research Focus: Punishment; non-violence; mediational.

Left realism

An approach that views crime as a function of relative deprivation under capitalism and that favors pragmatic, community-based crime prevention and control. Relative deprivation equals discontent; discontent plus lack of political solution equals crime. Major Premise. Crime is the function of relative deprivation; criminals prey on the poor. Strengths: Represents a compromise between conflict and traditional criminology. Research Focus: Deterrence; protection.

Critical feminist theory: gendered criminology

An area of scholarship whose focus is on the effects of gender inequality and the unequal power of men and women in a capitalist society. - Queer criminology. - Gender differences in society. Major Premise: The capitalist system creates patriarchy, which oppresses women. Strengths: Explains gender bias, violence against women, and repression. Research Focus: Gender inequality; oppression; patriarchy.

Antithesis

An opposing argument.

George Vold

Argued that laws are created by politically oriented groups, who seek the government's assistance to help them defend their rights and protect their interests. If a group can marshal enough support, a law will be created to hamper and curb the interests of some opposition group. Every stage of the process—from passing the law to persecuting the case to developing relationships between inmate and guard, parole agent and parolee—is marked by conflict. Criminal acts are a consequence of direct contact between forces struggling to control society. Source: Willem Bonger. 'Criminality and Economic Conditions,' abridged ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969, first published 1916); Ralf Dahrendorf, Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society' (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1959); George Vold, 'Theoretical Criminology' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958).

Ralf Dahrendorf

Argued that modern society is organized into what he called imperatively coordinated associations. These associations comprise two groups: those who possess authority and use it for social domination and those who lack authority and are dominated. Society is a plurality of competing interest groups. He proposed a unified conflict theory of human behavior, which can be summarized as follows: • Every society is at every point subject to processes of change; social change is everywhere. • Every society displays at every point dissent and conflict; social conflict is everywhere. • Every element in a society renders a contribution to its disintegration and change. • Every society is based on the coercion of some of its members by others. Source: Willem Bonger. 'Criminality and Economic Conditions,' abridged ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969, first published 1916); Ralf Dahrendorf, Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society' (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1959); George Vold, 'Theoretical Criminology' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958).

Willem Bonger

Believed that society is divided into have and have-not groups, not on the basis of people's innate ability, but because of the system of production that is in force. In every society that is divided into a ruling class and an inferior class, penal law serves the will of the ruling class. Even though criminal laws may appear to protect members of both classes, hardly any act is punished that does not injure the interests of the dominant ruling class. Crimes, then, are considered to be antisocial acts because they are harmful to those who have the power at their command to control society. Under capitalism, the legal system discriminates against the poor by defending the actions of the wealthy. Because the proletariat are deprived of the materials that are monopolized by the bourgeoise, they are more likely to violate the law. Source: Willem Bonger. 'Criminality and Economic Conditions,' abridged ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969, first published 1916); Ralf Dahrendorf, Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society' (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1959); George Vold, 'Theoretical Criminology' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958).

Community

Communities that isolate people and have few mechanisms for interpersonal interaction encourage and sustain crime. Those that implement forms of community dialogue to identify problems and plan tactics for their elimination, guided by restorative justice practices and principles, may create a climate in which violent crime is less likely to occur. Source: Diane Schaefer, "A Disembodied Community Collaborates in a Homicide: Can Empathy Transform a Failing Justice System?" 'Contemporary Justice Review' 6 (2003): 133-143.

Contemporary Critical Criminology

Comparing crime rates of members of powerless groups with those of member of the elite classes. Economic marginalization turns people to violent crime for survival. Examining the criminal justice system's operations. Crime is a political concept designed to protect the power and position of the upper classes at the expense of the poor.

• The role government plays in creating a crime-producing environment. • The relationship between personal or group power and the shaping of criminal law. • The prevalence of bias in justice system operations. • The relationship between a capitalist, free-enterprise economy and crime rates.

Contemporary critical criminologists are concerned with what issues?

Left realism and crime

Crime is a function of economic inequality, community deprivation, and a lack of supportive institutions.

1973 - Critical theory published in The New Criminology

Criminologists began to view the justice system as a mechanism to control the lower class and maintain the status quo.

Failing social institutions

Critical thinkers often focus on contemporary social institutions to show how they operate as instruments of class and racial oppression. For example: high schools as dropout factories.

Law, Order, and Power (Chambliss & Seidman)

Described how the control of the political and economic systems affect how criminal justice is administered.

Marginalization

Displacement of workers, pushing them outside the economic and social mainstream. As more people are placed outside the economic mainstream, a larger population is forced to live in areas conducive to crime—this produces a weakened bond to society.

Preemptive deterrence

Efforts to prevent crime through community organization and youth involvement.

Contemporary critical criminologists

Explain crime within economic and social contexts.

Exploitation and Criminality

Exploitation triggers the onset of female delinquency and deviant behavior.

Egalitarian families

Families in which spouses share similar positions of power at home and in the workplace.

Queer criminology

Focuses on LGBTQ concerns regarding crime and the criminal justice system.

Dialectic method

For every idea, or thesis, there exists an opposing argument, or antithesis. Because neither position can ever be truly accepted, the result is a merger of the two ideas, a synthesis. Marx adapted this analytic method for his study of class struggle.

1. People are recruited into terrorist organizations because of relative deprivation. 2. Terrorist organizations are subcultures that provide peer support. 3. Victims/targets are selected based on opportunity/routine activities. 4. "Get tough" policies that create a police state may backfire. Source: Jennifer Gibbs, "Looking at Terrorism Through Left Realist Lenses," Crime, Law, and Social Change' 54 (2010); 171-185.

Gibbs finds what 4 key elements of left realism that should, if valid, underpin terrorist involvement?

• Growing global dominance and the reach of the free market capitalism system, which disproportionately benefits wealthy and powerful organizations and individuals. • Increasing vulnerability of indigenous people with a traditional way of life to the forces of globalized capitalism. • Growing influence and impact of international financial institutions (such as the World Bank) and the related relative decline of power of local or state based institutions. • Non-democratic operation of international financial institutions. Source: David Friedrichs and Jessica Friedrichs, "The World Bank and Crimes of Globalization: A Case Study," 'Social Justice' 29 (2002): 13-36.

Globalization has replaced imperialism and colonization as a new form of economic domination and oppression and now presents, according to critical thinkers, a threat to the world economy. Give examples.

1. Younger defendants are not as sophisticated as more mature and experienced defendants and are unable to be as helpful to their attorneys in preparing a defense. 2. Younger defendants are less likely to be employed. Older defendants often clock into work at a particular time, providing corroborating evidence that they could have not been at the crime scene—"look here, I was at work"—hence, fewer false convictions. Sources: Jon Gould and John Firman, "Wrongful Convictions: The Latest Scientific Research and Implications for Law Enforcement," presentation at a National Institute of Justice Seminar, March 25, 2013, http://www.nij.gov/multimedia/presenter/presenter-gould-firman/pages/presenter-gould-firman-transcript.aspx (accessed May 2016). Greg Stratton, "Wrongfully Convicting the Innocent: A State Crime?" 'Critical Criminology' 23 (2015): 21-37. Sandra D. Westervelt and Kimberly J. Cook, "Framing Innocents: The Wrongly Convicted as Victims of State Harm," 'Crime Law and Social Change' 53 (2010): 259-275.

Gould and Firman found that the accused's age matters the most: younger defendants are the ones most likely to be falsely convicted. What are the 2 reasons as to why this occurs?

Dropout factories

High schools in which the completion rate is consistently 40 percent or less.

Role exit behaviors

In order to escape from a stifling life in male-dominated families, girls may try to break away by running away and or even attempting suicide. Desperate measures (e.g., running away).

• As a form of final warning to young offenders. • As a tool for school officials. • As a method for handling complaints to police. • As a diversion from prosecution. • As a pre-sentencing, post-conviction add-on to the sentencing process. • As a supplement to a community service (probation). • As a preparation for release from long-term imprisonment. Source: Lawrence W Sherman and Heather Strang, 'Restorative Justice: The Evidence' (London Smith Institute, 2007).

In sum, restoration can be or has been used at what stages of justice?

Thesis

In the philosophy of Hegel, an original idea or thought.

Communist Manifesto

In this document, Marx focused his attention on the economic conditions perpetuated by the capitalist system. He stated that its development had turned workers into a dehumanized mass who lived an existence that was at the mercy of their capitalist employers. - Oppressive labor conditions. - Dehumanized workers. - Human relations controlled by economic structures.

1. Technological advances. 2. Cultural shift.

International crime expert Louise Shelley argues that what 2 elements of globalization encourage criminality?

Social Reality of Crime (Quinney)

Law represents the interests of those who hold power in society.

Left Realism and Incarceration

Left realists decry the use of mass incarceration.

Patriarchy and crime

Link criminal behavior patterns to the gender conflict created by the economic and social struggles common in post-industrial societies.

The process of restoration

Redefines crime in terms of a conflict among the offender, the victim, and the affected constituencies (families, schools, etc.). The resolution takes place within the context in which the conflict originally occurred. Restoration programs: - Must be embraced by the community, schools, police, and courts. - Sentencing circles. Reconciliation.

Critique of Critical Criminology

Mainstream criminologists argue that critical theory simply rehashes the old tradition of helping the underdog. Opposition to critical theory holds that most theft is for luxury, not survival. Some charge that critical criminologists unfairly neglect the efforts of the capitalist system to regulate itself. Refuse to address the problems that exist in socialist countries. Argue that critical criminologists blame capitalism without adequate explanation or regard for other social and environmental factors.

Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)

Marx's friend and economic patron.

1. Willem Bonger. 2. Ralf Dahrendorf. 3. George Vold.

Marx's views on the relationship between the concept of crime and social conflict were first applied to criminology by what 3 distinguished scholars?

Marxist/conflict theory

Origin: About 1848. Founders: Karl Marx, Willem Bonger, Ralf Dahrendorf, George Vold. Most Important Works: Friedrich Engels, 'The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844 (1845). Marx and Engels, 'The Communist Manifesto' (1848); Bonger, 'Criminality and Economic Conditions (1916); George Rusche and Otto Kircheimer, 'Punishment and Social Structure' (1939); Dahrendorf, 'Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society' (1959); Vold, 'Theoretical Criminology' (1958). Core Ideas: Crime is a function of class struggle. The capitalist system's emphasis on competition and wealth produces an economic and social environment in which crime is inevitable. Modern Outgrowths: Critical theory, conflict theory, radical theory, radial feminist theory, left realism, peacemaking, power-control theory, postmodern theory, reintegrative shaming, restorative justice.

Critical criminologists

Researchers who view crime as a function of the capitalist mode of production and not the social conflict that might occur in any society regardless of its economic system.

Police

Restorative justice has also been implemented by police when crime is first encountered. The new community policing models are an attempt to bring restorative concepts into law enforcement. Restorative justice relies on the fact that criminal justice policymakers need to listen and respond to the needs of those who are to be affected by their actions, and community policing relies on policies established with input and exchanges between officers and citizens. Source: Paul Jesilow and Deborah Parsons, "Community Policing as Peacemaking," 'Policing and Society' 10 (2000): 163-183.

• Is it a political movement or a treatment process? Restorative justice is viewed as an extremely liberal alternative, and its advocates often warn of the uneven exercise of state power. Some view it as a social movement rather than a method of rehabilitation. Can it survive in a culture that is becoming increasingly conservative and focused on security rather than personal freedom? • Restorative justice programs must be wary of the cultural and social differences that can be found throughout our heterogeneous society. What may be considered "restorative" in one subculture may be considered insulting and damaging in another. There is still no single definition of what constitutes restorative justice. Consequently, many diverse programs that call themselves restorative-oriented pursue objectives that seem remote from the restorative ideal. • Restorative justice programs face a difficult task of balancing the needs of offenders with those of their victims. If programs focus solely on victims' needs, they may risk ignoring the offenders' needs and increase the likelihood of reoffending. Declan Roache, a lecture in law at the London School of Economics, makes the argument that the seductive promise of restorative justice may blind admirers to the benefits of traditional methods and prevent them from understanding or appreciating some of the pitfalls of restoration. There is danger, he warns, in a process that is essentially informal, without lawyers, and with little or no oversight on the outcome. The restoration process gives participants unchecked power without the benefit of procedural safeguards. • Benefits may only work in the short term while ignoring long-term treatment needs. Sharon Levrant and her colleagues suggest that restorative justice programs that feature short-term interactions with victims fail to help offenders learn prosocial ways of behaving. Restorative justice advocates may falsely assume that relatively brief interludes of public shaming will change deeply rooted criminal predispositions.

Restorative justice holds great promise, but what are the concerns?

• Community. • Schools. • Police. • Courts.

Restorative justice is now being embraced on many levels within our society and the justice system. Give examples.

Courts

Restorative programs in the courts typically involve diverting the formal court process. These programs encourage meeting and reconciling the conflict between offenders and victims via victim advocate advocacy, mediation programs, and sentencing circles, in which crime victims and their families are brought together with offenders and their families in an effort to formulate a sanction that addresses the needs of each party. Victims are given a chance to voice their stories, and offenders can help compensate them financially or provide some service (for example, fixing damaged property). The goal is to enable offenders to appreciate the damage they have caused, to make amends, and to be re-integrated back into society. Source: Gordon Bazemore and Curt Taylor Griffiths, "Conferences, Circles, Boards, and Mediations: The 'New Wave' of Community Justice Decision Making" 'Federal Probation' 61 (1997): 25-37.

Being Victimized

Sexual and other victimization of girls is a function of male socialization because so many young males learn to be aggressive and to exploit women.

Schools

Some schools have embraced restorative justice practices to deal with students who are involved in drug and alcohol abuse without having to resort to more punitive measures such as expulsion. Schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and elsewhere are now trying to involve students in "relational rehabilitation" programs that strive to improve individuals' relationships with key figures in the community who may have been harmed by their actions. Source: David R. Karp and Beau Breslin, "Restorative Justice in Social Communities," 'Youth and Society' 33 (2001): 249-272.

Productive forces

Technology, energy sources, and material resources.

Surplus value

The Marxist view that the laboring classes produce wealth that far exceeds their wages and goes to the capitalist class as profits. The key crime-producing element of modern corporate capitalism is the effort to increase surplus value. Economic growth does not benefit all elements of the population. As _____ _____ increases, more people are displaced from productive relationships.

Critical criminology

The view that capitalism produces haves and have-nots, each engaging in a particular branch of criminality. The mode of production shapes social life. Because economic competitiveness is the essence of capitalism, conflict increases and eventually destabilizes social institutions and the individuals within them. The view of crime as a function of social conflict and economic rivalry between the have and the have-nots.

Instrumental theory

The view that criminal law and the criminal justice system are capitalist instruments for controlling the lower class. Views criminal law and the criminal justice system as instruments for controlling the poor, have-not members of society.

Structural theory

The view that criminal law and the criminal justice system are means of defending and preserving the capitalist system. Law is used to maintain the long-term interests of the capitalist system. Law is used to control members of any class who pose a threat to its existence. Law is designed to keep the capitalist system working efficiently.

Power-control theory

The view that gender differences in crime are a function of economic power (class position, one-versus two-earner families) and parental control (paternalistic versus egalitarian families). Crime and delinquency rates are a function of two factors: class position (power) and family functions (control). Mixed empirical support. Major Premise: Girls are controlled more closely than boys in traditional male dominated households. There is gender equity in contemporary egalitarian homes. Strengths: Explains gender differences in the crime rate as a function of class and gender conflict. Research Focus: Power and control; gender differences; domesticity.

Demystify

To unmask the true purpose of law, justice, or other social institutions.

Paternalistic families

Traditional family model in which fathers assume the role of breadwinners, while mothers tend to have menial jobs or remain at home to supervise domestic matters.

Restorative justice

Using humanistic, nonpunitive strategies to right wrongs and restore social harmony. Address victims' harm and needs, hold offenders accountable, and involve victims, offenders, and communities; at the core of the process is respect.

A Marxist Vision on Crime

Viewed crime as the product of law enforcement policies akin to a labeling process theory. Identified a connection between criminality and the inequities found in the capitalist system. Became prominent during the 1960s: 1968 - National Deviancy Conference: - Critical of the positivist view of crime. - Called attention to the ways in which social control might actually cause deviance rather than just respond to antisocial behavior.

• Victims are powerless. • Victimizers generally fail to recognize and understand the nature, extent, and harmfulness of institutional policies. • Victimizers have a sense of entitlement. • Illegal state policies and practices are manifestations of the attempt to achieve organizational, bureaucratic, or institutional goals. Sources: Jon Gould and John Firman, "Wrongful Convictions: The Latest Scientific Research and Implications for Law Enforcement," presentation at a National Institute of Justice Seminar, March 25, 2013, http://www.nij.gov/multimedia/presenter/presenter-gould-firman/pages/presenter-gould-firman-transcript.aspx (accessed May 2016). Greg Stratton, "Wrongfully Convicting the Innocent: A State Crime?" 'Critical Criminology' 23 (2015): 21-37. Sandra D. Westervelt and Kimberly J. Cook, "Framing Innocents: The Wrongly Convicted as Victims of State Harm," 'Crime Law and Social Change' 53 (2010): 259-275.

Westervelt and Cook find that many aspects of false convictions coincide with the concept of state crime. Give examples.