Lecture One: Refresher on criminological Theories

Question 1

What are the 4 main concepts of Classical criminology?

Answer 1

1. Beccaria (1764) and Bentham (1789)
2. Focus on the offence
   –> Utilitarian thinking- the greater good
3. Criminals, or potential criminals are all rational actors
4. Punishment should prevent crime and be proportional to the offence
   –> Opposition to excessive/brutal punishment

Question 2

What are the 5 main concepts of Positivist Criminology?

Answer 2

1. Lombroso (1876) and Ferri (1917)
2. Focus on the offender
   –> Offender are pathological
3. Criminal behaviour is determined by various factors
4. Criminals are somehow ‘inferior’
5. Punishment/response should be about retribution or treatment of pathology

Question 3

What is Biological Positivism?

Answer 3

Biological positivism has its roots in earlier positivist work but look further than physiology

• Genetic factors
  → ‘Feeblemindedness’ twin studies, adoption, chromosomal abnormality and inherited predispositions
• Biochemical factors
  → ADHD, testosterone, autonomic nervous system and nutrients

Question 4

What is Psychological positivism?

Answer 4

Psychological theories were for a long time separate from criminology

• Psychoanalysis (Freud, Bowlby)
• Learning (sutherland, skinner, Bandura)
  → differential association, Operant conditioning, social learning
• Cognitive (Yochelson and Samenow, Piaget)
• Biosocial (Eysenck)

Question 5

What is Sociological Positivism?

Answer 5

1. Anomie
2. Strain theory

Question 6

What is Durkheim’s theory of Anomie?

Answer 6

• Durkheim studied social change and social solidarity and talked about a shift from mechanical to organic solidarity
  → this is about social bonds.

Anomie refers to a lack of regulation that can lead to increasing crime rates (or suicide)

• The law exists in organic society to regulate interactions
• Crime is ‘normal’ in society, its functions to bring people together in its commendation

Question 7

What is Merton’s Strain theory?

Answer 7

Results from absence of alignment between socially desirable aspirations and the means to achieve them

1. Conformity
2. innovation
3. Ritualism
4. Retreatism
5. Rebellion

Question 8

What is the Chicago school and subcultures?

Answer 8

• Highly influential centre of sociological research from the 1920s
  –> Focus on rapidly changing social and cultural environment
• Work on subcultures developed from the chicago school approach (US and UK)
  → cohen: ganges, status, hedonism, rejection of dominant values
  → british subcultural theory- sociological criminology, youth delinquency, (non)conformity

Question 9

What is the ‘Zone of transition’ Shaw and McKay?

Answer 9

Shaw and Mckay looked at the geographical distribution of crime- the zonal hypothesis

→ The ‘Zone of transition’ had higher delinquency levels- and higher social disorganisation

→ Cultural transmission of values was also an important factor (See Differential Association)

Question 10

Interactionism and Labelling:

Answer 10

A focus on more on the response to crime/deviance- and this may produce more deviance

–> By labelling someone/group of people as ‘deviant’ we reinforce that identity

Primary and Secondary deviance (Lemert)
–> Primary: commission of the prohibited act
–> Secondary: deviance as a result of a change in ‘master status’

Question 11

Outsider and Deviance (Becker)

Answer 11

–> social groups create deviance by making the rules who infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders

–> Link to ideas of stigma (Hoffman), deviancy amplification (Wilkins) and moral panics (Cohen)

Question 12

Outsiders and deviance (Becker)

Answer 12

–> social groups create deviance by making the rules who infection constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules who infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders

–> Link to ideas of stigma (Goffman), deviancy amplification (Wilkins) and moral panics (Cohen)

Question 13

What are the main concepts of Left Realism?

Answer 13

1. Primary focus on crime as perceived by victims
2. Reworks subcultural, anomie and conflict theories
3. Causes of crime are relative deprivation marginalisation and social injustice
   –> resorting to illegitimate means to achieve goals, lack of opportunity
4. prioritises social justice and prevention
5. Key authors include John Lea and Jock Young

Question 15

What are the main concepts of Right Realism?

Answer 15

1. Primary focus on crime as seen by official stats
2. Reworks genetic and individualistic theories
3. Causes of crime are lack of self-control, individual pathology
   –> innate dispositions towards criminality, welfare state creates an ‘underclass’ crime is a conscious choice
4. Prioritises order via deterrence and retribution
5. Key authors include Murray, Wilson and Herrnstein

Question 16

What is meant by the square of crime? (LR)

Answer 16

• crime rates generated by the social relationships between the 4 points (Agencies, offenders, victim, the public)
• Cannot ignore any of them
• to control crime, intervene at each point

Question 17

What two concepts are from Contemporary Classicism?

Answer 17

1. Rational choice
2. Routine Activities

Question 18

What is rational choice mean? And who created it?

Answer 18

• Cornish and Clarke (1986)
• Offenders are rational, calculating actors
• Cost benefit approach to decision making
• Bounded rationality describes that offenders may make decisions with limited/partial knowledge
• Crime scripts and models of initial and continuing involvement in crime

Question 19

What is meant by Routine Activities? And who created it?

Answer 19

• Cohen and Felson (1979)
• Developed in response to growing urban crime rates
• Three ‘ingredients’ of crime
  1. Motivated offender
  2. Suitable target
  3. Absence of a capable guardian
• Opportunity is the key concept

Question 20

What are the main concepts of feminist criminology?

Answer 20

• Criminology has historically been dominated by male practitioners and focused on male offenders
• Women’s offending and victimisation were both marginalised - when present it was often through sexist and stereotyped ideas
  
• Female criminality was more ‘savage’ and ‘cruel’ (Lombroso) - links to idea of double deviance
• Feminist criminology should not just be an ‘add women and stir’ approach

- How does social control impact all women and some groups more than others? Women are subject to control at home, in public, in work, in social policy.