week 6 life span crime Flashcards
life span curve
peak of criminality around age 20, decreases thereafter
male mostly
theft most likely, then assault then fraud
three pathways to disruptive behaviour and delinquency
- Overt pathway - violence against people
- covert pathway - property related offences
- authority conflict pathway - duty avoidance
testosterone levels
biological explanation for male preponderance of crime
however this hormone could also be put to good use within the legal framework so in itself should not be a valid explanation
delinquency risk factors - individual
early onset : Being male ADHD/Conduct Disorder Medical physical problems Aggression Low IQ Substance abuse Exposure to TV violence Antisocial attitudes, beliefs Dishonesty
Late onset: Restlessness Difficulty concentrating Risk taking Aggression Being male Physical violence Antisocial attitudes, beliefs Crimes against persons Low IQ Substance abuse
Protective factors: Intolerant attitude toward deviance High IQ Being female Positive social orientation Perceived sanction for transgressions
delinquency risk factors - family
early onset : Low socioeconomic status Antisocial parents Poor parent-child relationship Harsh, lax, or inconsistent parenting Broken home Separation from parents Abusive parents Neglect
Late onset Poor parent-child relationship Low socioeconomic status Harsh, lax, or inconsistent parenting Poor monitoring, supervision Antisocial parents Broken home Abusive parents Family conflict
Protective factors : Warm, supportive relationship with parents and other adults
Parent’s positive evaluation of child’s peers
Parental monitoring
repeat crime
average 9.4 repeat offences
no decline in repeat crimes
3% of people accountable for 30% of convictions
these individuals convicted for over 40 offences
repeat types
4 repeat types could be identified
low to moderate desisters showed the typical age curve with early peak
high level persisters showed the highest number of convictions and a late peak at around age 40
natural desistance
personal
- re development of self
- capacity building
social rehabilitation
- re-development of social identity
- informal de-labeling
judicial
- formal de-labeling
- re qualification
moral
provision of 3-way redress/reperation
- the restoration of good character, community, government
General Strain Theory
Agnew
Material success is the aim of western societies. Hence, failure to achieve causes frustration especially in lower class citizens and leads to crime
Monetry problems and dissatisfaction were shown to occur in all strata of society
Women’s anger turns into depression, guilt, fear, anxiety and shame but rarely crime
Genetic influences on crime
violent behaviour is more genetically determined than non-violent crimes. equal influences of genes and environment
meta-analyses showed that genetic influence on criminal behaviour decreases with age
creativity and crime
dissatisfaction with the status quo and excitement about change is common in creativity and crime
rule breaking is seen as innovative as people would otherwise become identical copies of each other
both creative and criminal individuals would be creating myths of themselves as social outcasts
marriage leads to decrease or delay in both creativity and crime
age graded theory
sampson and laub (1990) states that job, marriage etc all represent transitions in social roles that may generate turning points in an individuals criminal trajectory
such transitions increases social bonds
marriage leads to changes in association patterns - less exposed to delinquent peers
life span transitions are seen as partly random events, dynamic theories explain greater variation in patterns of desistance
life span trajectories
Dynamic theories disagree with typological theories in that individual offenders can be meaningfully grouped based on their patter of offending
the aggregated age-crim curve thus does not disguise different types of offenders showing distinct offending trajectories
the life-span trajectories provide trend-lines that show underlying individual variety surrounding the general tendency towards desistance
desistance
constant process rather than a single event
