Ch 4-5 theories

Durkheim

• Founder of sociology.
• Applied sociological principles to crime, mirroring his work on suicide rates.
• Crime rates vary across different times and locations.
• Social solidarity is a key concept in maintaining social order.
• Urbanization can impact crime rates.
• Anomie, or normlessness, can contribute to crime.

Chicago School/Disorganization Theory

• Concentric ring model explains urban organization.
• The second ring is a transitional zone characterized by disorganization due to factors such as immigration and criminal organizations.
• Collective efficacy, referring to the community's ability to unite and address social disorder with mutual support and trust, plays a crucial role in social organization.

Merton's Strain Anomie Theory

• The "American Dream" and an emphasis on material success create strain.
• Crime arises from the inability to achieve culturally defined goals through legitimate means.
• Relative comparison to others fuels this strain.
• Innovators are individuals who devise new, sometimes criminal, ways to achieve these goals.

Cohen's Strain Theory

• Focuses on juvenile delinquency.
• Individuals can find success within a subculture that deviates from conventional norms.
• Status and success can be attained outside of mainstream societal expectations.

Social Control Theory

• Bonds and attachments prevent delinquent behavior.
• The theory asks, "Why don't we all commit deviance?"
• It posits conformity should be the focus, not deviance itself.
• Key elements include attachments, commitments, involvement, and beliefs.

Differential Association Theory

• Criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others.
• Frequency and intensity of interactions matter.
• Peers are a key source of learning.
• Individuals learn techniques, rationalizations, and motivations for criminal behavior.

Labeling Theory

• Examines how crime is defined and reacted to by those in power.
• Primary deviance refers to initial acts of deviance.
• Social reaction to deviance can lead to secondary deviance.
• Labels attached to individuals can alter their opportunities and identity.
• "Perp walks" and public displays contribute to labeling.

Critical Criminology

• Views crime as a product of class struggle for power.
• Argues the government serves the interests of economic elites.
• Focuses on both those who break the rules and those who make them.
• Rooted in a Marxist perspective, highlighting class conflict.
• Marginalized groups are often underserved by the government.

Left Realism

• Adopts a legalistic definition of crime as defined in the criminal code.
• Acknowledges crime as a genuine problem for the working class and marginalized groups.
• Relative deprivation contributes to crime.
• Oversaturated policing can be detrimental.

Feminist Criminology

• Before the 1970s, female crime received limited attention.
• Shifts in women's equality and rights across social, economic, and political domains occurred in the 1970s.
• Criminal justice systems adapted their responses to sexual assault (SA) and domestic violence (DV).
• Mainstream criminology, often termed "malestream," lacked adequate explanations for female crime.
• Historically, women were treated as property of men, leading to oppression.
• Feminist theories reject biological explanations, instead focusing on social power dynamics.

Liberation Emancipation Hypothesis

• Posits that increases in women's emancipation will correlate with increased rates of female crime.
• Seeks causes of female crime in broader social structures.
• Property offenses like fraud and shoplifting are examined.
• Women from marginalized backgrounds did not equally benefit from the social movements of the 1970s.

Gender Variation Through Patriarchy

• Power control theory incorporates gender dynamics.
• Deviance is linked to the type and level of control exerted in a household.
• Girls are often subjected to stricter controls, while boys have more freedom to deviate.

Male Violence Against Women

• There was significant silence surrounding domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA).
• Canadian rape laws were revised in 1983, becoming sexual assault statutes, also encompassing marital rape.
• Less required evidence compared to before.
• Moral character of the victim is no longer questioned.

General Theory of Crime

• Gottfredson and Hirschi argue that all crime and deviance stem from low self-control.
• Individuals with low self-control tend to be risk-takers and impulsive.
• Behavioral issues in childhood can progress to juvenile delinquency and later adult offending.

Life Course Perspective

• Explores why criminal activity typically decreases later in life.
• Crime rates diminish significantly after age 60.
• Crime peaks from teenage years into the 30s.
• Early victimization can have lasting negative consequences.

AGNEW General Strain Theory

• Examines pressures on youth, including home life, school, acceptance, bullying, and exclusion.
• Strain arises from the loss of something valued.
• Exposure to crime and the inability to achieve desired stimuli or goals also contribute.
• Anticipation of or actual exposure to harmful stimuli generate strain.

Rational Choice Theory

• Centers on rational thinking as a driver of criminal behavior.
• Has roots in classical criminology.
• Crime is viewed as a deliberate choice.
• Variations in opportunity influence crime rates.
• Used to explain white-collar crime.
• Individuals conduct a cost-benefit analysis.
• People generally behave rationally.
• Explains a wide range of crime regardless of age, gender, or race.
• Includes instrumental and expressive crimes.

Routine Activity Theory

• Changes in crime rates are closely linked to lifestyle.
• An individual's location and activities affect the likelihood of crime.
• Reduced supervision, such as the shift from the 1950s, can impact crime.
• Mobility, as enabled by cars, plays a role.
• Crime requires a motivated offender, a suitable victim, and an unprotected location.

CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design)

• Emphasizes defensible space.
• Crime can be reduced by designing environments to minimize opportunities.
• Natural surveillance, access control, and territorial enforcement are key strategies.
• Maintenance and the "broken windows theory" are important.
• Focuses on legitimate users of space.

Critical Criminology (Marxist)

• Focuses of inequalities and class divisions.
• Examines who benefits from existing social arrangements, power relations, and imbalances.
• Crimes of the powerful are treated differently than those of the working class.
• Includes socially injurious behaviors such as racism, sexism, poverty, and heteronormativity.

Risk and Actuarial Crime

• Builds on Foucault's concept of governmentality.
• Seeks to understand the criminal.
• The 20th century saw the rise of risk assessment.
• Aims to alter current behavior to prevent future negative outcomes.
• Includes predictive policing strategies.
• Quantifies risk to make predictions (e.g., credit card suspension based on spending patterns).