The Problem Of Crime

Question 1

Crime as a social problem

Answer 1

• Crime evokes a negative affect (fear, disapproval, anger)
• People influence how a social problem is constructed (politicians, celebrities, professional groups) and they use mass media (TV, social media) to broadcast their message, amplify their claims and reach bigger audiences /gather supporters
  Pros: raise public awareness
  Cons: susceptible to misinformation, scripted testimonies, stricter rules or zero tolerance policies

Question 2

Crime and the culture of fear

Answer 2

• Crime changes the way people live their lives and the architecture of cities
• social segregation and exclusion will increase
• personal security as a valuable asset: gated communities, fortified houses, widespread gun ownership, no public spaces, only certain social classes or cultures
• marginalized communities out of police control
• criminalization is the alleged solution to social problems (fear of crime affects politics and governing)
• fear of crime is based on the spectators and their lived experiences; powerless/vulnerable groups in society experience the greatest fear of crime and the trauma from its effects

Question 3

Crime in the mass media

Answer 3

• Society sees mass media as accurate information that represents a factual depiction of the world
• in old to make profit and increase engagement, violent crimes are used as a spectacle to generate an emotional response that people find entertaining
• media overepresents violent crimes which gives the impression that they are out of control
• selective about offenders and victims that are represented (perpetuate stereotypes/myths)
• underepresentation of crimes done by those who have power (politicians, the rich)
• disinformation broadcasted by mass media can be countered by public criminology (scholarly research used to influence social policies and political decisions)

Question 4

Crime

Answer 4

• Is a recent phenomena in history (before 18th century most conflicts were resolved privately)
• the concept of crime varies from culture to culture (different ideas of what is inappropriate, harmful or offensive)
  -crime is a violation of criminal law

Question 5

What legally categorizes crime?

Answer 5

• The behaviour must be prohibited by the criminal law (criminal law protects the public from the wrongdoings of others)
• civil law: deals with offences between individuals (private wrongs)
• criminal law: deals with offences against the state or society (public wrongs)
• crime must be a voluntary act
• in order for a person to be responsible for a crime they must have mens rea (intent) and actus rea (the action)

Categories within criminal law:
Mala in se: inherently wrong and universally considered evil
Mala prohibita: acts that are prohibited by the state (may not be wrong)
Indictable offences/felonies: serious crimes that are punishable by imprisonment
Summary offences/misdemeanor: behaviours punishable by fine, short-term imprisonment, or alternative punishment (community service)

Question 6

Law and the state

Answer 6

• Law is a social phenomenon that is contingent to the time and social forces (law is created by members of a society under certain historical conditions)
• law suppresses deviant behaviour, establishes what is socially acceptable, and deters certain behaviour while encouraging others (social control)
• penal social control: operates by establishing guilt and enforcing punishment

Question 7

Criminalization

Answer 7

• A social and political process in which a criminal law is applied to a certain social behaviour (what counts as a crime)
  1. Enactment of legislation
  2. Surveillance and police control
  3. Punishment

Question 8

Crime as a sociological problem

Answer 8

1. Crime as a violation of conduct norms
   -social morality (conduct norms are not always criminalized eg. skipping the line)
   - social values of the group create norms that govern the appropriate behaviour
   - not necessarily embodied in law
2. Crime as a social harm
   - any illegalitythat causes harm should be considered a crime
   - permissible acts (does not violate the law)that result in social harm should be considered social equivalents of crime
3. Crime as a violation of rights/human rights
   - crime is behaviour that inhibits another person’s rights (acts that cause social harm to the collective)
   - violation of laws that don’t impede human rights are not crimes
   Problems to this approach: the concept of rights/human rights can vary (hard to determine what would constitute as a crime)
4. Crime as deviance
   - behaviour that departs from the social norm
   - deviance is contingent to time and society and the interpretation of deviance varies depending on one’s social identity
   - can violate norms of different nature (political, religious, etiquette etc.)
   - not all deviant acts are crime and vice versa
5. Crime as a violation of global conduct norms
   - rules of behaviour for governments and people in the international sphere (norms are agreed on by the international community and allow for prosecution)