Chapter 4 Flashcards
What were the three key periods in the development of sociological positivism?
Mid 19th century to early 20th century sociology became an academic discipline, 1920’s to WWII sociology became a profession, then postwar sociology.
What happened in the first period? What beliefs were established about society and crime?
Scientific techniques for studying natural science were applied to sociology. Believed in a consensus of norms and harmony, believed that society formed behaviour so crime was believed to be caused by issues in society.
Who is the father of sociological positivism?
Emile Durkheim
What changes marked the 2nd period of development for sociological positivism?
Rise of expert/technological solutions to sociological problems which created professionalism, wide scale migration bc of war and class struggles
How did immigration impact crime rates?
Increases in crime, mostly perpetrated by locals. The change in society caused new crime, victimization of the immigrants.
What events marked the 3rd period?
Economic growth, introduction of suberbia, nuclear family, higher living standard.
So why did crime rates persist even in a more consistent era?
The distribution of opportunities and economic success were not even across all people (big divide between suburbs and city), mostly good for white people. Non-white people had very limited opportunities, weren’t allowed to buy houses, discrimination etc..
How does sociological positivism define crime?
As a social problem and violation of social norms caused by some form of social strain.
What does sociological positivism present as a response to crime?
Rehabilitation and resocialization (of conventional goals) of offenders, welfare supports to assure everyone’s basic needs are met.
What is the nature of offender according to s.p.?
Offenders are usually disadvantaged in some way and have limited options in their circumstances to achieve goals, might have to turn to crimee.
How is criminal behaviour learned?
In social situations
What is s.p. focused on analyzing?
effect of structural opportunities and cultural processes on crime, and nature of social learning
How does s.p. suggest to prevent crime?
Expand opportunities for disadvantaged people so they can achieve goals without criminality, foster healthy peer group activity, institutional reform
How does prison work in Norway?
The prison system is meant to mimic real life as much as possible, only punishment is removal of freedom, idea is to create good neighbours.
What are the results of Norway’s prison system?
Since it’s implementation in the 90’s, their recidivism is at 20% (wayyy higher in US and CA).
How is North Dakota being influenced by Norway’s system?
North Dakota has started making their prisons more homier, offer more freedom, more opportunities for positive socialization.
According to Durkheim, what is the relationship between society and crime?
Crime is an essential part of society, society shapes crime (cause), as social bonds fray crime rises, institutions become irrelevant bc no one believes the same thing.
How did Durkheim attempt to demonstrate the relationship between social structure and norms?
He studied rates of suicide.
What did Durkheim find about suicide?
Suicide is more common in protestant vs. catholic societies, not only explained by bio or psych factors, social too.
What is mechanical solidarity? How are criminals dealt with?
Preindustrial societies, individuals share skills and abilities, conform and have same culture. Criminals distanced, norms reaffirmed.
What is organic solidarity?
Industrial societies where people have different niche skills, people are linked through interdependence and law. Criminals are wanted to rehabilitate and reintegrate.
What is egoism?
The desires of one’s “pre-social” self, pure selfishness.
What is anomie?
Lack of social regulation and self control about desires.
What did The Chicago School examine?
The ecological effect on crime, how slums have similar destructive environmental traits and how that affects crime levels.
What is the Social Disorganization theory? Who?
Shaw and Mckay 1942 & 1972. Inclination to commit crime can be caused by the conditions of transitional slum areas.
What is the transitional slum area in Winnipeg?
Exchange district, north end, south portage, until st. B to the east, spence.
How do frequent changes in inhabitants affect crime rates and ecological conditions?
People don’t stay for long so they don’t care about maintaining their houses or areas, change of cultural and moral standards, all of these things lead to higher crime rates bc there is no consensus or community.
Why do so many young Indigenous youth join gangs?
Withstanding legacy of residential schools and colonization leaves Indigenous people suffering economically and socially. A lot of Indigenous youth grow up around gang activity, drug use, alcoholism, violence, so it is the only way of life they know, or have access to.
What are some motivations to join a gang?
Belonging and identity (especially big for Indigenous youth who may have fractured identities due to colonization), money, protection (esp in prison).
What is gentrification?
In essence it is about making undesirable areas more desirable.
What are some issues with gentrification?
Push lower income people away to another area, makes money for property developers, doesn’t address the actual issues just puts them somewhere else.
What is renoviction?
Renovating an apartment to make the rent higher, forcing tenants to leave.
Who introduced deviance typology?
Robert K Merton
What did Merton want to study?
Whether or not the reasons behind crime can be identified during times of high socioeconomic achievement.
What are cultural goals?
Things in a society established as important and valuable and rewarding, people are socialized to want them.
What are institutional means?
The accepted pathway to achieving the goals.
What is mal-integration?
When someone doesn’t have cohesiveness between the goals and the means (wants goals but doesn’t want or can’t achieve through traditional means).
What constitutes a conformist? Example?
Someone who agrees with the cultural goals and will strive to achieve them through accepted means. Ex. Salesman working to sell a lot of cars so he can move up the corporate ladder.
What constitutes an innovator? Example?
Someone who agrees with the cultural goals but doesn’t strive to achieve it through the normal means. Ex. Criminal, Mark Zuckerberg
What constitutes a ritualist? Example?
Someone who doesn’t care about the goals, but likes to participate in the means. Ex. Someone who loves to workout, doesn’t care to lose weight
What constitutes a retreatist? Example?
Someone who doesn’t care about the goals or the means. Ex. Mennonites
What constitutes a rebel? Example?
Does not see value in old goals or means to achieve them. Instead creates new goals and new means to achieve them. Ex. Cults, Hippies
What do Sutherland and Cressy and the Differential association theory want to explain?
Youth subcultures and the specific social situations were criminal behaviours are learned.
What are the different characteristics that make girls and boys participate in delinquent activities?
Boys: frequency of interactions with delinquent peers, amount of delinquent peers, parental involvement, subcultures spread faster.
Girls: level of attachment to delinquent peer.
What is women’s involvement in gangs?
Usually joined through male partner, usually not a full member, desist easier.
What is differential association?
Some individuals will associate with carriers of criminal norms, and some will not, big factor in influencing criminal behaviour
What does Albert Cohen (1955) say about why subcultures emerge?
They emerge as an alternate cultural system when there is class conflict and some people have blocked opportunities.
What does the subculture focus on according to Cohen?
Alternative goals related to their own experiences.
What do Cloward and Ohlin argue about crime?
It is collective in nature. It arises when legitimate opportunities are blocked for some people so they develop illegitimate way to achieve the cultural goals together.
What are some example of modern application of social ecology?
Target hardening, analysis of community-level social disorganization, neighbourhood effect.
What is strain theory?
Theory that assumes society works like an organism, if one part doesn’t work properly, the rest will be strained.
What is life-course criminology?
Crime can be understood as an evolving process of interactions between and individual and their environment overtime.
What are the main questions in life course criminology?
When do people start offending, when (if ever) do people stop offending, are there any environmental triggers for offending?
What is a trajectory?
Path of development over someone’s lifespan representing patterns of behaviour
What is a transition?
Life event that changes something.
What did Lussier and Mathesius discover about sex offending?
Childhood sex offenders almost always stop before adulthood (when they learn it’s wrong), adult sex offenders almost always start in early adulthood and usually never stop unless interrupted.
What is resilience in sociology?
When children who were sexually abused never go on to offend.
What is the routine activities theory?
Theory that structural changes in everyday routines increase the chance of crime.
What are the structural changes that affect the likelihood of crime?
Presence of motivated offenders, presence of suitable targets, absence of capable guardians.
What is the principle of homogamy?
Potential for criminal behaviour increases with exposure to criminal behaviour (Sampson and Lauritsen, 1990, 1994)
When does Cohen say that youth understand in school?
School is the point as which working class youth understand their constraints in society.
Why do youth commit crimes according to Cohen?
Searching for status and respect
What is environmental criminological theory?
Create buildings and neighbourhoods that deter criminal behaviours.
What are some example of spaces meant to deter crime or “defensible spaces”?
Surveillance, real and symbolic barriers, lighting, play areas, benches.
What are the key risk factors of youthful offending?
prenatal/perinatal factors, hyperactivity/impulsivity, intelligence, parenting, parental criminality, large family size, poverty, peer + community + situational influences.
What is developmental criminology?
Focus on dividing offender pop. into levels of criminal career.
what are some critiques of s.p.?
focus on working-class crime, everyone has same values, values are not shaped by powerful ppl, accepts status quo, denies pluralism, oversimplify link between opportunity and crime, accepts gender roles.
What orientation is s.p?
Square
- Believe crime is caused by a failure of institutions
- Institutions ex: schools, healthcare, family, employment, housing, etc
Conservative
- Support status quo
What are the 5 zones of social disorganization theory?
- Central business district
- Transitional Zone
- Working Class Zone
- Residential Zone
- Commuter Zone
What is Hotspot policing?
flooding police into one community with the goal of stopping crime
What is social ecology?
Examines spatial features of offenses (e.g actions of individuals and groups within certain times of the day or week, learning their patterns)
To predict and prevent behaviors
Ex: expensive beer at jets game to dissuade over-consumption (social control)
What is an analysis of community-level social disorganization?
Focus is on structural and cultural aspects of certain types of neighborhoods such as inner-city ghettos
Ex: winnipeg abandoned buildings will be used for people experiencing homelessness and drug addiction
What is the neighbourhood effect?
The impacts of social status and crime rate are seen to affect choices regarding criminal behaviour (e.g. culture of violence)
Neighbourhood gangs prioritize different things (violence against rivals, recruiting new members, drug trafficking)
Depends on priorities of subculture
Level of violence corresponds to level of desperation
Social disorganization can impact levels of fear in a community
Neighbourhood fear: the more they perceive a neighbourhood to be dangerous, the more they will fear it
How is s.p different from b. / p. positivism?
b. / p. positivism: assumes crime is born into person, individual’s fault
s. positivism: learned trait, societies fault
