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What is Criminology?

Criminology Today

An Integrated Introduction

CHAPTER

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Introduction

Crime-related entertainment is extremely popular today.

Inexplicability of crime fascinates people.

This text examines causative factors in effect when a crime is committed.

It encourages an appreciation of the challenges of crafting effective crime-control policy.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What is Crime?

Four definitional perspectives

Legalistic

Used in this book

Political

Sociological

Psychological

Perspective determines assumptions about how crime should be studied.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Legalistic Perspective

Crime

Human conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction that has the power to make such laws

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Legalistic Perspective

Key shortcoming

Yields moral high ground to powerful individuals who can influence lawmaking

Allows them to escape the label of "criminal"

Laws are social products.

Crime is socially relative, created by legislative activity.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Political Perspective

Crime

The result of criteria that have been built into the law by powerful groups and are then used to label selected undesirable forms of behavior as illegal

Laws serve the interests of the politically powerful.

Crimes are behaviors those in power perceive as threats to their interests.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Sociological (Sociolegal) Perspective

Crime

An antisocial act of such a nature that its repression is necessary or is supposed to be necessary to the preservation of the existing system of society

Crime is an offense against human relationships first, a violation of law second.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Psychological (Maladaptive) Perspective

Crime

A form of social maladjustment

Problem behavior, especially human activity that contravenes the criminal law and results in difficulties in living within a framework of generally acceptable social arrangements

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Psychological (Maladaptive) Perspective

Any maladaptive behavior would be considered crime.

Could include any harmful or potentially harmful behaviors

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Crime and Deviance

Deviant behavior

Human activity that violates social norms

Deviance and crime overlap but are not identical.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Figure 1–2 The Overlap between Deviance and Crime Source: Schmalleger, Frank, Criminology. Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey ISBN0132966751.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Should Be Criminal?

"What is crime?" not the same as "What should be criminal?"

Lack of agreement in society about appropriate legal status of many behaviors (drug use, gambling, etc.)

Two contrasting perspectives

Consensus perspective

Pluralist perspective

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Should Be Criminal?

Consensus

Laws enacted to criminalize behaviors when members of society agree

Applies to homogeneous societies

Consensus hard to achieve in diverse multicultural societies

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Should Be Criminal?

Pluralist

Behaviors criminalized through a political process, after debate over appropriate course of action

Involves legislation, appellate court action

Most applicable to diverse societies

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Is Criminology?

Many definitions available

Text definition

An interdisciplinary profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, including their forms, causes, legal aspects, and control

Includes consideration of possible solutions to crime problem

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Criminology's Basic Questions

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?

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Key Terms

Criminology

Criminality

Crime

Deviance

Criminal behavior

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Is Criminology?

An interdisciplinary social science

Contributes to criminal justice

Application of the criminal law and study of the components of the justice system

Focus on control of lawbreaking

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Figure 1–3 Criminology’s Many Roots Source: Schmalleger, Frank, Criminology. Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Do Criminologists Do?

Criminologist

Studies crime, criminals and criminal behavior

Criminalist

A specialist in the collection and examination of the physical evidence of crime

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Do Criminologists Do?

Criminal Justice Professionals

Do the day-to-day work of the criminal justice system

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Do Criminologists Do?

Academic/research criminologists

Ph.D. in criminology, CJ, related field

Teach in universities

Conduct research to advance criminological knowledge

Publish in journals

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

What Do Criminologists Do?

Other career tracks

Work in CJS

Private security or private investigation

Law school

Work for legislative bodies, provide expertise to civic organizations

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Theoretical Criminology

Subfield of general criminology mainly found in colleges and universities

Posits explanations for criminal behavior

Theory

Made up of clearly stated propositions that posit relationships between events and things under study

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Theoretical Criminology

General theory

Tries to explain all/most forms of crime through a single overarching approach

Unicausal theory

Posits a single identifiable source for all serious deviant and criminal behavior

Integrated theory

Tries to explain crime by merging concepts from different sources

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Criminology and Social Policy

Translational criminology

Focuses on translating research results into workable social policy

Sound social policy needs to be linked to objective findings of well-conducted criminological research.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

The Theme of This Textbook

Social Problems

Crime a manifestation of underlying social problems

Public health model to deal with crime

Macro approach

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

The Theme of This Textbook

Social Responsibility

Crime a matter of individual responsibility

Personalized crime-reduction strategies

Micro approach

Substantially influenced national crime-control policy

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Figure 1–6 The Theme of This Text: Social Problems versus Social Responsibility

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

The Social Context of Crime

Crime does not occur in a vacuum; every crime has a unique set of:

Causes

Consequences

Participants

Crime provokes reactions from many sources.

Reactions to crime may affect future criminal events.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

The Causes and Consequences of the Criminal Event

Crime is a social event, not an isolated individual activity.

Apply concept of social relativity

Social events interpreted differently according to cultural experiences of initiator, observer, or recipient of behavior

Crime means different things to offender, criminologist, police, victim.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Figure 1–7 Interpreting the Criminal Event

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

The Causes and Consequences of the Criminal Event

Crime results from the coming together of inputs provided by the offender, the victim, the criminal justice system, and society.

Foreground

Features that immediately determine the nature of the crime (inputs)

Background causes

Generic contributions to the crime

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Crime and the Offender

Background

Life experiences

Biology/genetic inventory

Personality

Values/beliefs

Skills/knowledge

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Crime and the Offender

Foreground

Motivation

Specific intent

State of mind (drug-induced)

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Crime and the Criminal Justice System

Background

CJS contributes to crime through failure to:

Prevent crime

Identify/inhibit specific offenders

Prevent release of recidivists

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Crime and the Criminal Justice System

Foreground

Proper system response may reduce crime.

Presence/absence of police officers

Availability of official assistance

Willingness of officers to intervene pre-crime

Response time

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Crime and the Victim

Background

Passive presence

Lifestyle

Foreground

Victim precipitation

Active victim participation in initial stages of criminal event

Victim instigates chain of events resulting in victimization

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Crime and Society

Background

Legislation defining crime

Generic social practices and conditions

Socialization process

Foreground

Distribution of resources

Accessibility of services

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

The Consequences of Crime

Outputs/immediate consequences affect those parties directly involved.

Real impact mediated by perceptual filters

Results in ongoing interpretations before, during, after crime

Everyone associated with a crime engages in interpretations.

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Integrative Approach to Crime

Text takes a 3-D integrative view of crime.

Try to identify, understand causes of crime

Highlight processes involved in the criminal event

Analyze interpretation of the crime phenomenon

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Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

Integrative Approach to Crime

Crime viewed along temporal continuum as emergent activity that:

Arises out of past complex causes

Assumes a course building on immediate interrelationships

Elicits formal response from CJS, shapes public perceptions, may lead to changes in social policy

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger

The Primacy of Sociology?

Many disciplines have made important contributions to criminology.

Primary perspective today is sociological.

Many modern theories of criminal behavior based in sociology

New and emerging perspectives being recognized, but sociological perspective dominates

Criminology Today: An Integrated Introduction, 8e

Frank Schmalleger