Criminological Theories

Explaining crime rates and not criminality (MACROtheory- most abstract) -before breakdown (cant happen independently)-- independent variables >Poverty- income >Ethnic/ Racial Heterogeneity- census data > High Mobility- Buying or Renting >Broken Homes-Disrupted Families break down of primary relationships (intervening variables)= social disorganization--> increase of delinquency; crime; social problems (dependent variables) (Sampson and Grove)

CONCENTRIC CIRCLES radiating from the central business district-- the farther one moved away from these concentric zones, the fewer social problems were found-- social problems were a pattern (Soc. Disorg.)looks at how a city grows-- social globes aren't equally distributed

doc. rates of TUBERCULOSIS, DELINQUENCY, AND INFANT MORTALITY followed the same pattern. (SOC. DISORGANIZATION) based on a conception of primary relationships similar to those found in a village-- if relationships in the family and friendship groupings are good, neighborhoods are stable and cohesive, and people have a sense of loyalty to the area, then social organization is sound Intact Homes and proper family values are part of a socially organized community. - juveniles in socially disorgan. areas have a greater opportunities for exposure to those espouse delinquent and criminal values Breakdown of social relationships-- can plot where the delinquents live - Forced Curfews, more control-- identifying hot spots; monitoring kids movements - different types of housing to see diff in high rise, town homes, apartments have on community - neighborhood watch

the inability to come together and address the problem - higher rates of higher social problems - language barriers - cultural barriers

(Before Sampson and Grove) Chicago School- behavior is on individual level-- look at who they are hanging around-- DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION "there is a breakdown of crime and delinquency-- but there has to be more to it b/c then everyone would be deviant" - crime and delinquency are related to the approach-- not psychological - we learn criminal behaviors just like we learn other behaviors

antisocial personality ANTISOCIAL PEERS antisocial behavior(past behavior- I can do what I want- putting blame on the victim) antisocial attitudes and beliefs

(SUTHERLAND- MICROtheory--individual least abstract) behavior is influenced by people we hang around, you are the company you keep-=the contents of the patterns presented in association" with others would differ from individual to individual (not true but a courtesy stigma); PEERS(secret deviance- hang w/drug dealers you are a drug dealer) > Frequency (How often) >Duration (how long you have known- length of relationship) > Priority(importance) >Intensity(Big impact) we learn a lot from these relationships; techniques how to do delinquency and the definitions supporting such behavior -Mimicry- Modeling-- Criminal behavior is learned just as any other OPERANT CONDITIONING -reinforcements; behavior that is positively reinforced is more than likely going to illicit behavior repetition - negatively reinforced; wont be repeated - POSITIVIST theory= focus on criminal and behavior -ORIENTED TOWARDS CONFLICT -IS A PROCESS he drew on three diff theories-- ecological and cultural transmission theory,symbolic interventionism, and culture conflict theory<--thought produced social disorganization

when the goals and means don't match people adapt- breakdown of social norms and a condition in which those norms no longer control the activity of societal members. (Merton disjuncture or a split between goals and means as a result of the way SOCIETY is STRUCTURED-deviance refers to bureaucratic behavior as well as criminal) Suicide is Deviant (Durkheim- deregulation occurring in society=disruption(=anomie) of normal SOCIETAL CONDITIONS) - other forms of deviance; in societies where people don't know how to act-- Ex: Wall Street - way of adapting to stress -lawlessness -Normlessness - expectations of behavior -POSITIVIST theory, STRUCTURAL theory, MACROtheory, FUNCTIONALIST theort

sociologist (Anomie)Societal Approach- Suicide is deviant

-- "deviant" Merton (Anomie)- conformity -INNOVATION-(adaptation of interest) find a diff. means-- wanted something(goal)--> don't have the appropriate means(money)--> so they stole it -ritualism- don't know how its going to turn out-- just going through the motions -retreatism- doesn't care about anything- doesn't have a job--wastes time--stop expecting -rebellion: except the goals?? society dictates norms, sometimes norms will change

Failure to achieve positively valued goals (classic strain)people cant reach their goals-- frustration innovation- make their own way - ex: Atlanta cheating scandal(white collar crime) GAP btwn goals and legitimate means+ EXCESSIVE emphasis on Goals of Success= Anomie (norms weaken and lose power to regulate or control behavior-- higher rates of crime and deviants b/c free to use any means to achieve goals)

Atlanta cheating scandal-- actually spend time teaching the students-- questioned b/c they didn't know if the students were capable

Atlanta cheating scandal-- students "scores" excessive because of money that was attached to it

came after Merton-- "Not all strain is the same" Merton-Classic Strain 1. Failure to achieve positively valued goals - gap btwn aspirations and expectations ex. me wanting to dunk--knew it never would happen - gap btwn expectations and actual achievements maybe I thought I would be able to - gap btwn just/fair outcomes and actual outcomes if I expected a 'c' and got a 'c-' 2. removal of positively valued stimuli 3. Presentation of negatively valued stimuli ALL CAN BE EXPERIENCED: directly, indirectly and anticipatory

most likely to produce crime 1. the strain is seen as unjust -putting the expectation that the students could get those grades-- unjust 2. the strain is seen as high in magnitude 3. the strain is caused by or associated with low self-control or social control -social control- administrators inability to produce -low self-control--wanted the bonus 4. the strain creates some pressure/incentive to engage in crime -strain can lead to negative feelings--negative emotions

(Primary Deviance) the way in which people react to and label others-- courtesy stigma (Secondary Deviance) the effect of the label on the person labeled-- self-fulfilling prophecy persona is adopted

Perceived as Deviant + Obedient Behavior= Falsely Accused Not Perceived as Deviant + Obedient Behavior= Conforming Perceived as Deviant + Rule Breaking Behavior= Pure Deviant Not Perceived as Deviant + Rule Breaking= Secret Deviant (ATL teachers, pedophiles) DEVIANCE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Bias Labeling-negative stigma guidelines for crack cocaine(prominent in urban comm.) and powder cocaine(prominent in suburbia)-- cnt be considered laws but only as guidelines.

label a specific deviance to you b/c you look a certain way -how we make sense of everything -ex. DWB or DWH

attempt to manage labeling assists in labeling social control-- one bcomes free for delinquent acts through these-- social control theory - why ppl think the way they do *denial of responsibility "I didn't do it, it wasnt my fault"-- Rape; sexual assault *Denial of Injury "Sure I was drunk driving, but I got home okay" *Denial of Victim " There was no harm" "There was no one individually victimized" "they deserved it"-- justify their actions *Condemnation of the Condemners "These rules suck" "People who made these rules don't know what they are talking about" "Everybody is picking on me" DO THEY APPEAL TO HIGHER AUTHORITY--OR LOYALTIES "I robbed the back, so my kids could go to jail".

Techniques and Neutralization - freed- nobody cares about me and I don't care about nobody MATZA-- we all operate on a continuum Total Restraint Total Freedom (people do bad things as they move along this continuum)

we don't have to define deviance-- its normal its natural people believe in a ordered society--so he looked into conformity --"WHY DO PEOPLE CONFORM"social bonds are high (+) then crime will be lower--if bond weakens crime goes up - ATTACHMENT: most important conventional will force you to conform :no attachment? high risk--separation from family or a loss of family member - INVOVLEMENT: how much time do you have to be deviant-- teenagers w/jobs seem to be more delinquent b/c they work advanced criminals and show more responsibility - COMMITMENT: to conventional society - BELIEF: in rules, in conventional society(chaos w/o rules)-- self-preservations

human behavior is developed and changed by the social and physical environment of the person rather than by genetic structure-- city is a natural human environment, "a microcosm of the human universe"-- product of culture and not biology - official data (crime figure. census reports, housing and welfare records)-- geographic layouts of the city, indicating areas of high crime, truancy and poverty - history of life more intimate aspects of the real world - Chicago theorist were at heart consensus theorists Park and Burgess-- Ecological school

developed from a belief that human behavior is the product of purely social symbols communicated between individuals

another contribution by shaw and mckay, is the explanation of the process by which social disorganization affects juveniles and leads to delinquency

viewed as a major social process, set in motion by the differences in values and cultures among groups of people. Park and Burgess

any perspective that discusses the control of human behavior

attribute crime and delinquency to the usual sociological variables Durkheim- society will always have a certain number of deviants and deviance is really a normal phenomenon-- breakdown of relationships and norms and the controls they create begin to deteriorate which then leads to crime and suicide.

more than just being around deviant people -not about crime/criminality-but learning HOW WE ASSOCIATE WITH BEHAVIORS(overlaps with Sutherland) -Initial(imitation-relates to mimicry/modeling[relates to rational choice]) -Continuity(pleasure-escaped trouble: opt away with it--differential association) -Social Structure(where you fit- opportunity) : social structure->social learning(D.A.& imitation)-> crim. behavior or conforming behavior

has been extended within the "differential association reinforcement" theory of crim. behavior(Burgess and Akers)---which then evolved into social learning theory (Akers)= which integrated D.A. reinforcement perspectives with behavioral learning with hopes of explaining what the learning mechanisms are.

-Akers attempts to use the insight of modern learning theory to sophisticate Sutherland's theory -Akers differentiates btwn the explanation of INITIAL crime acts or involvement and CONTINUED crim. behavior/stability -Akers' argues that imitation plays a role in the initial crim. act Sutherland downplayed the role of imitation in crime -Akers agrees with Sutherland that differential association and definitions are involved in why people offend -AKERS CONTENDS THAT PEOPLE CONTINUE TO OFFEND BECAUSE THEY ARE DEFERENTIALLY REINFORCED(social reinforcement). Reinforcement thus explains why people's offending is repeated, and eventually becomes stable. D.A and definitions matter, but reinforcement is key to behavior continuing -Aker's suggest that a persons's structural location in society will affect his/her social learning and thus criminal involvement. One might argue that his structural theory of crime is more advanced than Sutherland's perspective-- similar to Shaw and McKay - unlike sutherland, Akers also subjected his work to empirical investigation, finding general support for his perspective

Reinforcement then leads to persistence-- stability of criminal behavior,or, desistance--stability of conformity