Intro - Crimes, Criminals & Criminology Flashcards
What is criminology?
Interdisciplinary science (integration of knowledge from a variety of disciplines)
Studies criminal behaviour, crime causation, crime prevention & the punishment and/or rehabilitation of offenders
What is a criminologist?
Behavioural scientist who specializes in the identification, classification and description of criminal behaviour
What are some disciplinary perspectives seen in criminology?
Biology
Economics
Geography/enviro
Political science
Psychology
Sociology
What is the biological perspective on crime?
Certain human traits are “hard-wired” or that certain crimes are a function of chemical, genetic, and/or neurological aberrations
What is the economic perspective on crime?
Over years have demonstrated links b/w unemployment, economic recesssion, capitalism and crime
What is the geological and environment perspective on crime?
Environmental factors like barometric pressure, phases of the moon, physical appearance/layout of a business, residence, social area or community
Findings can often be used to proactively prevent crime
What is broken windows theory?
Give an example
Crime occurs wherever/whenever social controls are not strong = opportunity
Signs of social disorganization become more visible = poor communities degenerate into crime
Theory is best at explaining = destructuve property crime (vandalism)
Ex) community standards bylaw Calgary
- citizens are responsible for keeping their property at or minimum standard
What is political science view on crime?
Political decisions regarding criminal justice have a direct impact on the community at large
You might ask what the politicians who pass crime
legislation…
= what are they trying to accomplish?
= whose interests are they acting in?
What is psychology’s perspective on crime?
Is the study of mind & behaviour
Might look at differences in personality and mental characteristics b/w criminals and others
Focus how individual criminal behaviour is acquired, evoked, and maintained
What is sociology’s view on crime?
Dominant criminological perspective in North America
Is the study of human interaction
Studies the effects of that interaction^ on human behaviour and the forces (values, norms, mores, laws etc…) that underlie regularities in human behaviour
Crime is seen as a social phenomenon
Who was Tracey Latimer? (1980-1993)
She was a vulnerable 12 year old girl who suffered from cerebral palsy
She was killed by her father Robert Latimer in an act of discrimatory violence claimed it was a “loving act of mercy”
This is a landmark Canadian case dealing w/ mandatory minimum sentences for murder
He ran his gas pipe into his car, she painlessly died from carbon monoxide poisoning
Mercy or murder?
What is the difference between criminology versus criminal justice studies?
Criminology:
- concerned w/ ethology, nature and extent of crime in society & societal response
Criminal justice studies:
- analyzes the activities of police, correctional facilities & court system
Why study crime?
To better understand crime & criminal behaviour
To understand society’s response to it
Crime affects us all, directly or indirectly
To reduce crime = we must first understand it
What is a crime?
Socially constructed concept
Defining certain behaviours as requiring formal control & social intervention
A crime is an act that violates criminal law & is
punishable through law
In Canada, crimes are legally defined through the
Criminal Code
What is deviance?
Study of it is more broad
Focused on behaviours which depart from societal norms
Focuses on many behaviours which may not always be subject to formal sanctions
“____” all deviant acts “___” criminal
“___” all acts deemed criminal “___” deviant
Not; are
Not; are
Most of us, most of the time, conform to the “_____” of society
What are these?
Norms
They are established standards of behaviour maintained by a society
What are informal norms/rules?
They govern much of our everyday conduct
Laws are formal “_____/_____”
Norms/rules
What was Schwendinger’s definition of crime?
Broader definition
Based on human rights rather than legal status
If an act violated someone’s rights to the necessities of life = it should be considered a crime
Gov polices that create harm (ex. Poverty/homelessness) = should be considered a crime
Imperialism, sexism, racism, and homophobia are also
very harmful = should be considered crimes
Ex) think pyramid of needs (Abraham Maslow)
What was Hagans (1985) perspective on crime?
Continuum of crime and deviance
Reflects how most criminologists think of crime
Falls somewhere between legalistic and human rights
Crime encompasses acts that break criminal law & a range
of behaviours = should be treated as crimes
These acts ^ are both actually & potentially liable to
criminal law
What is the difference between crime versus an offence?
Crime:
- refers to any infraction of the law
Offence:
- refers to a specific infraction
What are the two type of offences in Canada?
Give some examples
-
Summary offence:
- less serious offence,
- ex. theft under $5000
- ex. taking a motor vehicle without consent -
Indictable offence:
- serious offence
- ex. assault
- ex. theft over $5000
- ex. robbery (with or without a firearm)
- ex. murder
What are the two types of crime?
Give some examples
-
Conventional crime:
- illegal activity committed by individuals or small groups
- involving some degree of direct/indirect contact
- ex. robbery, vehicle theft, break-and-enter -
Non-conventional crime:
- crime usually defined as illegal activity by international law
^^^NOTE: due to its unconventional nature and because such crime cannot be readily explained to the personality of the offender
= may be more difficult for the criminal justice system to pursue
- ex. environmental crime
