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Causes of Crime

Unit 1: Chapter 2. Causes of Crime. Bell Work. How is it possible to have a consensus about what should or should not be illegal in country with several hundred million adults from all races, religions, and walks of life?

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Causes of Crime

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  1. Unit 1: Chapter 2 Causes of Crime

  2. Bell Work • How is it possible to have a consensus about what should or should not be illegal in country with several hundred million adults from all races, religions, and walks of life? • Although DNA profiling has been a boon for law enforcement, why are some observers concerned about its widespread use?

  3. Exploring the Causes of Crime Criminology and Correlation vs. Causation • Criminology: • “The scientific study of crime and the causes of criminal behavior” • Correlation: • Correlation between two variables means that they tend to vary together • Ice Cream Sales and Crime in the Summer? • Causation: • Causation means that one variable is responsible for the change in the other

  4. Exploring the Causes of Crime • Crime and Free Will: Choice Theories of Crime • Classical Criminology • People have free will to choose their behavior • Crime as a choice, is more attractive to some than abiding by the law • People may refrain from crime if the punishment or pain for it may be greater than the gain from it • Threat of punishment is the primary deterrent to crime

  5. Exploring the Causes of Crime Positivism • “A school of social science that sees criminal and delinquent behavior as the result of biological, psychological, and social forces.” • Because wrongdoers are driven to deviancy by external factors, they should not be punished but treated to lessen the influence of those factors.

  6. Exploring the Causes of Crime • Biological and Psychological Theories of Crime • Biological Theories • Biochemical Conditions and Crime • Genetics and Crime • Behavioral Genes • Twin Studies • Brain Activity and Crime • Psychological Theories • Psychoanalytic Theory – id, ego, superego • Psychopaths

  7. Psychological Theories • Psychological Theories • Psychoanalytic Theory • Id- controls sexual urges • Ego- controls behavior that leads to the fulfillment of id • Superego- directly related to the conscience and determines which actions are right and wrong, with person’s environment • Psychopath/Sociopath, Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

  8. Psychopath/Sociopath, Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) • Repeat unlawful behavior • Deceitfulness, persistent lying for profit or pleasure • Impulsiveness or failure to plan for future • Reckless disregard for safety • Irresponsibility, unemployment or indebtedness • Lack remorse • Aggressiveness in form of repeated fights or assaults

  9. Substance Abuse Disorders • Drug Abuse- the use of any drug- licit or illicit- that causes either psychological or physiological harm to the abuser or to third parties • Dopamine • Medical Model of Addiction- addicts are not criminals, ill individuals, rehabilitate • Criminal Model of Addiction- endanger society and should be treated the same as other criminals

  10. Exploring the Causes of Crime • Sociological Theories of Crime • Social and Physical Environmental Factors • The Chicago School- human behavior reflects their environment • Social Disorganization Theory- crime is largely a product of unfavorable conditions in certain communities • Strain Theory- crime is a result of frustration felt by individuals who cannot reach their financial and personal goals through legitimate means • Cultural Deviance Theory- people adapt o the values of the subculture to which they belong

  11. Figure 2.1 The Stages of Disorganization Theory

  12. Exploring the Causes of Crime • Family, Friends, and the Media: Social Processes of Crime • Social Process Theories • “A school of criminology that considers criminal behavior to be the predictable result of a person’s interaction with his or her environment.” • Learning Theory • Criminal behavior is learned • Control Theory • Social bonds promote conformity to social norms • Labeling Theory • Society creates crime by labeling certain behavior and individuals as deviant

  13. Exploring the Causes of Crime • Social Conflict Theories • Criminal behavior is the result of class conflict • Certain behavior is labeled illegal because the ruling class has an economic or social interest in restricting such behavior in order to protect the status quo. • Marxism vs. Capitalism • The Social Reality of Crime

  14. Exploring the Causes of Crime • Life Course Theories • “The study of crime based on the belief that behavioral patterns developed in childhood can predict delinquent and criminal behavior later in life” • Self-Control Theory • Continuity Theory of Crime • The Possibility of Change • Moffitt believed there were two groups of youthful offenders: Those that age out of crime (their life of crime pertains to childhood), and those that continue to commit crime as adults

  15. Exploring the Causes of Crime • Emerging Theories in Criminology • Biosocial Theory • Combines aspects of biological and sociological theories • Racial Threat Theory • Focuses on the relationship between modern racism and the amount of control the criminal justice system exerts on African Americans • Differential Coercion Theory • Focuses on the types of force that compel a person to commit crime • Convict Criminology • Involves the unique input of ex-inmates who offer experiential views of corrections

  16. Victimology and Victims of Crime • Victimology • “A school of criminology that studies why certain people are the victims of crime and the optimal role for victims in the criminal justice system” • The growing emphasis on the victim has had a profound impact on criminal justice administrators

  17. Victimology and Victims of Crime • Repeat Victimization- certain people and places are more likely to be subject to criminal activity and that past victimization is a strong indicator of future victimization • Domestic Violence- willful neglect or physical violence within familial or intimate relationships

  18. Victimology and Victims of Crime • Factors of Victimization • Aspects of an individual’s life, including gender, lifestyle, and environment affect the possibility of being a crime victim • Examples of the factors associated with victimization are: • Alcohol • At greatest risk are frequent and heavy drinkers • Gender • More consistent clues as to actual threat of violence toward women

  19. Criminology from Theory to Practice • Chronic Offenders- career criminals • Earlier research suggested that a small group of juvenile offenders was responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime

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