Introduction to the course

1. Introduction to the course Syllabus Introduction to the Subject Student Survey In-class assignment # 1

2. What will we study? • Theories • Empirical Research • Policy Implications • Criminals (determinism or free will) • Motivations • Underlying explanations to existing statistics

3. Determinism vs free will • Pick up a number……

4. What will we study? • Theories • Empirical Research • Policy Implications • Criminals (determinism or free will) • Motivation • Underlying explanations to existing statistics

5. Motivation for Murder • The most perplexing question • The search for the true motive for crimes is elusive • Consider the diversity of possible motivations alleged for the following high-profile violent offenses over the last decade

6. Motivations • April, 1999, Seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High school with four guns and dozen of pipe bombs. They shot 12 classmates and 1 teacher and then killed themselves • The teenage killers were social outcasts and were motivated in part by a desire for attention

7. Motivations • Theodore John Kaczynski, the Unabomber, has been tied to letter bombs that have killed 3 people and injured 23 others over the last two decades • His antitechnology ideology is a possible motive for his action • In May of 1998 Ted Kaczynksi was sentenced to life in prison for being the "Unabomber”

8. Motivation • Eric and Lyle Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder for the brutal shotgun slaying of their parents in Beverly Hills. Their defense was based on the “abuse excuse” • The apparent motives ranged from the brothers’ fear of their father’s abuse to their desire to collect $11 million in insurance

9. Motivation • Susan Smith killed her children by driving her car into a lake with two boys on the back seat • She may have been motivated by her belief that her lover did not like children

10. Motivation • Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband’s penis with an eight-inch long kitchen knife while he was sleeping and later threw the severed member out of her car window. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity • Her motives included her husband’s unsatisfactory sexual performance and her desire to pay him back for a history of spousal abuse

11. Categorization of Motives • The accurate determination of motive in any crime is highly subjective • Social scientists have used several approaches to categorize motives • One strategy is to distinguish b/w instrumental and expressive motivation

12. Instrumental and Expressive Motivations • Violent acts with instrumental motivations are directed at some valued goal (Menendez brothers may have killed their parents for the instrumental goal of protecting themselves or collecting the insurance payment) • Expressive actions are those motivated exclusively by rage, anger, frustration, or more generally, the heat of passion (self-defense, accidental homicides)

13. What will we study? • Theories • Empirical Research • Policy Implications • Criminals (determinism or free will) • Motivation • Underlying explanations to existing statistics

14. Homicide Trends over Time The homicide rate nearly doubled from the mid 1960's to the late 1970's In 1980, it peaked at 10.2 per 100,000 population and subsequently fell off to 8.0 per 100,000 in 1984 It rose again in the late 1980's and early 1990's to another peak in 1991 of 9.8 per 100,000 From 1992 to 2000, the rate declined sharply. Since then, the rate has been stable

15. Changes in homicide rates (explanations) • “Legitimation of violence” hypothesis (Archer, Gartner, 1984) argues that during wartime pro-violent values are reinforced and these values are carried over to postwar periods • Increase in homicide rates after World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War are consistent with this idea

16. Changes in homicide rates (explanations) • Homicide rate has been associated with business cycles (LaFree, 1998, Short, 1997) • Higher homicide rates occur in periods of growing economic prosperity • Economic deprivation for some groups

17. Changes in homicide rates (explanations) • Rising homicide rates in the 1960s and 1970s have been linked to increased gang activity and drug trafficking in central cities • Patterns of violence in large cities strongly influence national trends

18. Changes in homicide rate • High poverty rates • High ethnic diversity • Wider availability of handguns • Greater social acceptance of violence as method of conflict resolution • Violence is deeply woven into the fabric of American culture (street talk, prime-time television programming, “gangsta rap” music lyrics)

19. In-Class assignment #1 • In your own words define crime.