WHAT IS CRIMINOLOGY?

Origins of Criminology

During the Middle Ages people thought criminals were witches

Included those who deviated from social norms and religious practices

Torture to elicit confessions

Those convicted suffered whipping, branding, maiming, and execution

Classical Criminology

By mid 18th century things change Cesare Beccaria developed systematic

understanding of why people commit crimes Says crimes committed when pleasure of act

out weighs the punishment Crimes must equal punishment not too much

not little. Punishment too light people will still commit

crime Punishment too severe people will commit more

crimes Example if rape = death penalty rapists would kill

to keep victim silent

Classical Criminologycontinued

Beccaria’s theory Punishment must be public, prompt,

necessary, the least possible in the given circumstances, proportionate, and directed by law.

Elements forming Classical Criminology People have free will to chose criminal/lawful life Crime attractive when bennies great/punishment

low Crime controlled by fear of punishment Punishment that is severe, certain, and swift will

deter criminal behavior

Let The Punishment Fit the Crime!

Positivist Criminology

During the 19th Century world started looking for causes of crime. (Scientific Method)

Auguste Comte (Founder of Sociology) said that societies pass through stages. Those that embrace a rational and scientific view are called Positivists.

Positivist CriminologyContinued

Positivists embrace a more rational or scientific view of the world

Positivists use Scientific method to conduct their research Explain social phenomena in a logical manner

Both Human behavior and natural phenomena can be explained.

The concept of God and faith can’t be proven, therefore can’t be used

Science must be value free and not influenced by politics or someone’s point of view

Early Positivism

Studied facial features such as space between eyes, and the shape of ears and nose to identify criminals.

Cesare Lombroso (Father of Criminology) studied cadavers of criminals to figure out differences.

“Found” that criminals were throwbacks to primitives times when people were thought to have stronger jaws and canines like carnivores.

Sociological CriminologyBeginning of the 20th Century

Impossible to have a society without crime Crime is inevitable

People are different and meet their needs in different ways

Crime is healthy for society/brings about social change

Also societal change causes anomie (Lack of usual or ethical standards in an individual or group) when society goes from rural to urban

Did social media cause anomie due to loss of privacy?

Contemporary Criminology

Classical Criminology has evolved into the Rational Choice Theory. Criminals are rational decision makers Choice structured by fear of punishment

Positivism has evolved into Trait Theory Biological and psychological traits interact with

environmental factors to influence criminality Social Structure Theory

Place in society dictates behavior. People at bottom commit crime to move up What about people on top of society?

Contemporary Criminology

Anomie Changed to the Strain theory

Says that strain is felt when one can’t achieve a goal, feel threatened, lose something important, or something negative is forced upon them.

When someone is faced with any one, or combination of these situations, and cannot cope with it, they feel angry, and turn to violence to obtain what they want or need by force

Strain Theory or Not? There was speculation that Harris and Klebold

committed the killings because they were members of a group of social outcasts called the Trench coat Mafia that was fascinated by Goth culture. It also was speculated that Harris and Klebold had carried out the shootings as retaliation for being bullied. Additionally, violent video games and music were blamed for influencing the killers.

http://extras.denverpost.com/news/shot1018a.htm

Not

The killers weren't part of the Trench Coat Mafia, a nonviolent school group of computer gamers, they weren't bullied by other students, and they didn't target any groups (Chen, 2009). Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory does not describe the Columbine High School Massacres. Harris and Klebold had their own circle of friends. Klebold took a date to the prom, riding with a dozen friends in a limo, just days before the shooting (Chen, 2009). They were not stopped from achieving a goal, threatened, lost something important to them, or had something negative or unnecessary forced upon them. These two adolescents who committed this devastating event in history were mentally unstable.

Strain Theory or Not The suicide bombings of Moscow’s stations led to 39 people dead during

rush hour at two metro stations, and 71 wounded in hospitals, five of whom were critical. Agents from the Federal Security believe that two of the so-called “Black Widows” were sent to avenge the death of Said Buryatsky, a leader of Islamist rebels in Russia's North Caucasus (Stewart, 2010). They were wearing "shahid" belts strapped around their waists, filled with nails and metal fragments. The explosions at the stations happened within 40 minutes of each other. The second blast got the commuters fleeing the first attack. The women were being linked to extremists in the Northern Caucasus, where the Russian government had been trying to suppress an Islamist uprising. The Black Widows are close female relatives of fighters against this oppression who have been killed by the Russians in the conflicts. There were allegations that a heightened police presence before the blasts signified that there was knowledge of a terrorist threat, but the public was not informed. The Kommersant newspaper claimed that intense searches were being carried out on women appearing to come from the Caucasus. However, the two bombers were not caught in time .

Yes

Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory applies to this incident by explaining that these women committed this brutal crime because of strains in their life. These women faced oppression because they were of Islam origin and lost their husbands to the conflicts with the Russian government. They were devastated, angry, and had nothing more to lose. Their pain and anger led them to go through with the suicide bombings. Strain killed the unfortunate 39 individuals. By having a better understanding of the General Strain Theory, devastating tragedies similar to this Moscow bombing would not occur. If governments helped their citizens in stressful situations, if people knew how to cope better, if the world was a better place, then individuals would be in a better situation, not angered, and not violent.

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

Criminology attempts to understand Criminal Behavior

Violent crime Theft Crime Public Order Crime Organized Crime

Studies White Collar Crime Once thought victimless

How much do victims play into Criminal Behavior?

Victimology

Victim’s behavior plays role in crime Many times they are criminals themselves Many times they put themselves at risk

Also studies where are person lives Example people from bad neighborhoods more prone to crime than

others People who live in areas with many trees less likely to suffer from crime

Includes study of consequences of crime Emotional stress PTSD Feeling of worthlessness