Week 1: Intro to Crim Flashcards
What isn’t Criminology
-Not forensic science or criminalistics
-Not criminal justice studies
-Not criminal law
-Not a discipline
What is Criminology
A rendez-vous subject
–People from other disciplines join this field
An interdisciplinary field
–A mix of different fields (Psychology, sociology, polisci)
Criminologies not criminology
–multiple different types
Edwin Sutherland: definition of Crim
“Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon. It includes within its scope the process of making laws, breaking laws, and of reacting towards the breaking of laws”
Edwin Sutherland: three types of criminological focus
-The making of laws: the study of crime
-The breaking of laws: the study of those who commit crime
-Societies’ reaction to the breaking of laws: the study of the criminal justice system and how different groups respond to law-breaking
David Garland definition of Crim
Criminology’s claims to be an empirically grounded, scientific undertaking sets it apart from moral and legal discourses while its focus upon crime differentiates it from other social scientific genres (deviance, control, etc)
Modern criminology is the product of two initially separate streams of work
–The Governmental Project
–The Lombrosian Project
What is Crime (legal def)
infraction of the criminal law
What is crime (harm-based definition)
the level of harm caused by the conduct
What is ‘Mala In Se’
something that is universally condemned as crime
Crime mostly focuses on what level of crime
Blue Collar/Street Crime
–very little focus on white collar crime
Labelling Theory, Crime is…
Crime is a label applied to certain acts under certain circumstances
What is Criminalisation?
The process by which certain acts become defined as crimes
Crime def based on labeling theory
the outcome or product of interaction and negotiation between social groups
Three points about labeling theory and crime
1) The power to label certain acts as crimes is restricted and contested
2) The labeling perspective views crime as relative to time,
place, and audience
3) The labeling perspective also views morality (the notion of right and wrong) as socially construed and subject to conflict
Origins of Criminology
Applied medico-legal science
Psychiatry
19th century social reform movements
Second half of 20th Century Sociological Approach to Crime
What is the Governmental Project
Empirical studies of the administration of justice; the working of prisons, police, and the measurement of crime
What is the Lombrosian Project?
Studies which sought to examine the characteristic of criminals and non-criminals with a view to be or to distinguish the groups, thereby developing an understanding of the causes of crime
Who was the first to use the term ‘Criminology’
Paul Topinard, a Frenchman studying the body types of criminals
Who is credited with the invention of the term ‘Criminology’
The invention of the term is generally credited to an Italian academic lawyer, Rafelle Garofalo
Lacey’s Distinction between Criminology and Criminal Justice
Criminology: concerns itself with social and individuals antecedents of crime and with the nature of the crime as a social phenomenon
Criminal Justice: deals with the specific institutional aspects of the social construction of crime such as policing, prosecution, punishment, etc
What is Labeling Therory
Most associated with Howard Becker
Places primary emphasis on the definitional power of the application of labels
Social Constructionism (Criminology)
the idea that crime like any other social phenomena is the outcome or product of interaction and negotiation between people living in complex social groups
Historical Variation: Britain as the Permissive Age
General loosening of moral codes in this period
A series of liberalizing acts were passed
Historical Variation: The American Prohibition
The National Prohibition Act was passed in 1919 and lasted until 1933
Was an amendment to the Constitution
Historical Variation: Globalization
The power to determine what is or isn’t a crime resides in the nation-state
Borders between nation-states are increasing becoming porous
The countries and peoples of the world are becoming increasingly interdependent
Historical Variation: Emergence of the International Human Rights Law and the International Criminal Court
There is no international consensus as to what constitutes ‘crimes’ in the international arena.
States don’t have to agree with what the ICC says/become signatories
