Lecture 1 Flashcards
what are the different types of crime
- violent
- white collar
- property
- organized
what key thing should be noted about violent types of crime
the degree of violence
what are some circumstances of crime
- one incident or repeated
- over time or at one time
- one victim/ multiple
- etc
what key things demonstrate the diverse nature of crime
- different types
- circumstances of crime
- perpetrator of crime
- victim of crime
- other variables (media, politics etc)
true/false all crime has always been recognized as crimes
- false
- murder has always been known to be bad
- smoking weed was illegal, now is legal
- guns used to be more chill, now less legal
what are the four definitional perspectives in present day criminology
- legalistic
- political
- sociological
- psychological
what is the legalistic perspective of criminology
- without the law to determine the behaviour to be criminal there would be no crime
- basically crime is just an invention of the law
true/falase the social, moral and individual significance of fundamentally immoral forms of behaviour is not easily recognized
true
what is the political perspective of criminology
- defines crime in terms of power structure
- crime is the result of criteria built into the law by powerful groups, used to label selected undesirable behaviour as illegal
- law serves the interests of the politically powerful
what is the sociological perspective of criminology
- Crime is an antisocial act that is necessary to repress in order to preserve the existing system of society
- crime is first an offence against human relationships and then a violation of the law
what is the psychological perspective of criminology
crime is problem behaviour. showing social maladjustment
what factors to local news/ media emphasize
- violent crime
- how many people were affected
- always emphasize the mental illness
- if a person was in power
Do you think various news sources report on crime in different ways
different sources appeal to different audiences
what is deviant behaviour
human activity that violates social norms
true/false all forms of deviance are criminal
- false
- some are not
true/false all forms of crime are deviant
- false
- think speeding 65 along water even tho its a 50
- nobody gives a shit but it is illegal
true/false illegal and deviant are the same
false
whata re the points of view on what should be defined as criminal
- consensus perspective
- pluralistic perspective
- conflict perspective
what is the consensus perspective
- perspective on social organization
- laws should be made when members of society generally agree that such laws are necessary
- “does everyone agree to not kill anyone? cool, we’ll make it a law”
what are the key elements of the consensus perspective
- core values exist within society
- laws reflect the collective will of the people
- laws serve all people equally
- those who violate the law represent a unique subgroup of the population
when will problems arise in the consensus perspective
when people can’t agree
what is the pluralist perspective
- knows multiple values and beliefs exist in any complex society
- laws are means of dispute resolution
what are the key elements of the pluralist perspective
- Many diverse social groups exist within society
- Each social group has its own characteristic set of values, beliefs, and interests
- Formalized laws are viewed as useful in the settlement of disputes
- The legal system is value-neutral and concerned with the best interests of society
what does value neutral mean
free of petty disputes or above the level of general contentiousness that may characterize relationships between groups
what is the conflict perspective
- conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life and can never be fully resolved
what are the key elements of the conflict persepctive
- Society is comprised of diverse social groups
- Each group has different definitions of right and wrong
- Conflict between groups is unavoidable
- Group conflict centers on the exercise of political power
- Law is a tool of power
what is the relevance of the 1960s and 1970s for criminology
- increase in alcohol consumption, increase in divorce rates, increase in use of mind-altering drugs
- Dramatic increase in crime rates
- Contributed to greater interest in discipline of
criminology
who’s definition of criminology is this “the scientific study of crime”
Boyd
who’s definition of criminology is this “the systematic study of crime & reaction of society to criminality”
gabor
who’s definition of criminology is this “the scientific study of human behaviour, crime causation, crime prevention, and the punishment and rehab of offenders”
winterdyk
who’s definition of criminology is this “an interdisciplinary profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, including their forms, causes, legal aspects, prevention, control”
Schmalleger & Volk
what fundamental things do most criminologists agree that criminology is
- The study of what motivates people to commit
crimes - Identifying effective crime prevention strategies
- Considering the response of society to different
crimes
what subfields are included in crim
- sociology
- psychology
- biology
- law
- geography
- economics
what do criminologists do
- Study crime and its prevention
- Criminals and their treatment
- Societies responses to crime
what do criminalists do
- Focus on the collection of evidence from crime scenes
- Identify, document, collect, test, analyse & preserve evidence
- Interpret findings and testify in court
what effects have the popularity of CSI had
- forensic counter-measures
- makes people want to go into forensics
- think technology is further advanced
- think everything is quicker
- jurers think that if FE isn’t there then nothing can be true
what do criminologists study regarding societies responses to crime
- Criminalization process How certain behaviours become criminalized over time, while others become decriminalized
- The stigmatization process how offenders are treated or “labelled”
- Net widening/shrinking the potential of new laws and methods to increase/decrease “community” supervision and impact social control
give an example of cell phones affecting crim
- the Guyanese MP fleed to toronto
- thought he would be killed for voting against his government
- but there was a big social presence online
- he didn’t get hurt cause everyone was watching
whata re the questions of criminology
- What happened?
- How often does something like this happen?
- Why would someone do this and others not?
- Who are likely victims?
- What is society’s reaction?
- What has/can be done to prevent it?
- what gets the most press and why?
what are the four basic questions of cirminology
- Why do crime rates vary?
- Why do individuals differ as to criminality?
- Why is there variation in reactions to crime?
- What are the possible means of controlling
criminality?
how do we answer criminological questions
- theory development
- measure crime (quantitative and qualitative)
- construct integrated theory based on a number of perspectives
whata re the three explanations used to answer the criminological questions
- sociological
- biological
- psychological
how do we use the sociological approach to answer the criminological questions
- Focus on the social order and on how social forces work to define crime and create the conditions in which crime can either diminish or flourish
- Examine how social conditions can influence our laws and our crime rates.
true/false the sociological approach argues that criminal conduct is more likely to be driven by social conditions than by individual “aberrations”
true
how do we use the psychological approach to answer the criminological questions
- Focus on individual criminal behaviour
- Trying to predict the risk of reoffending
- Trying to evaluate the effectiveness of
treatment and rehabilitation - Put the individual front and centre
- they focus on the individual’s psyche and
behaviour
how do we use the biological approach to answer the criminological questions
- people used to think that criminality was a biological trait
- theres not acc any evidence to support a crime gene
- now we’re looking more at the interplay between biology and the environment
- basically arguing that people have personality traits or characteristics that predispose them to committing crime
what is the social prolem perspective
- Crime is the manifestation of underlying social problems
- poverty, discrimination, family violence etc
what is the social responsibility perspective
- Individuals are fundamentally responsible for their own behaviour
- They choose crime over other more law-abiding courses of action
