Introduction To Criminology 9th Edition PDF

INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY 9th Edition David Kauzlarich and Hugh Barlow ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham Boulder New York Toronto Plymouth, UK ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELDPUBLISHERS,INC. Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,...

INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY 9th Edition David Kauzlarich and Hugh Barlow ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham Boulder New York Toronto Plymouth, UK ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELDPUBLISHERS,INC. Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowmanlittlefield.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2009 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kauzlarich, David. Introduction to criminology / David Kauzlarich and Hugh Barlow. - 9th ed. p.cm. Includes index. Rev.ed. of: Introduction to criminology/ Hugh D. Barlow and David Kauzlarich. 8th ed. ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-6186-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7425-6186-0 (pbk.: alk. paper) eISBN-13: 978-0-7425-6577-7 eISBN-10: 0-7425-6577-7 1. Criminology. 2. Criminal justice, Administration of. I. Barlow, Hugh D. II. Barlow, Hugh D. Introduction to criminology. III. Title. HV6025.B29 2008 364-dc22 2008010180 @™The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-l 992. -CH APT E Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 1 CRIME AND CRIMINALITY UNCOVERING THE "TRUE" STORY OF CRIME If the media were the sole source of infor- WHAT Is CRIMINOLOGY? mation about crime and criminals, the picture would be highly distorted. For example, vio- Lawmaking lent crimes are much more often publicized Lawbreaking than property crimes, but the real frequency Reactions to Crime of these phenomena is the reverse: The vast WHAT Is CRIME? majority of crimes are property offenses. VICTIMS OF CRIME Editors weigh the information they receive according to its newsworthiness, and then SOCIAL CoNTROL AND LAW report it selectively. Furthermore, conjecture Origins and Development of Criminal Law and opinion are presented and "experts" are CRIME AND PUBLIC POLICY used whose views fit the particular version of Order with Justice: The Crime Control the story being told (Jewkes, 2004; Kappeler, Model Blumberg, and Potter, 2000). The resulting "reality" is generally far from the truth, or Justice with Order: The Due Process Model at least the whole story. The reality of crime U.S. Crime Policy: Due Process or Crime reported by the press is one of exceptionally Control? violent, exceptionally greedy, or exception- PUBLIC POLICY AND CRIMINAL STEREOTYPES ally corrupt people picking on exceptionally CHAPTER SUMMARY vulnerable victims. In addition, the coverage.KEY TERMS is often racially biased, especially against Af- rican American males (Barlow, Barlow, and RECOMMENDED READINGS Chiricos, 1995a; Young, 2007). The image REcoMMENDED WEB SITES portrayed on TV and movie screens is even more distorted. Consider shows such as Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which have also been shown to play on racial and gender stereotypes (Es- chholz, Mallard, and Flynn, 2004). Often these types of television programs portray criminal justice practitioners saving the world from se- M ost Americans are touched by crime at rial murderers and child molesters. some point in their lives. If they are not directly victimized, they see or hear of others being victimized. Despite the fact that crime UNCOVERING THE "TRUE" STORY OP CRIME surrounds us, it is often misunderstood. In large measure this has to with how the media Criminologists try to uncover the "true" story portrays the crime "problem." Open almost of crime. But the truth is socially constructed. any newspaper or news Web site and you will What we know about the world of crime is a find at least one item about crime. However, product of how people-particularly those in these sources do not bother to report petty power-define, interpret, and react to crime. thefts and vandalism, or even most robberies, What "officially"counts as crime depends on, assaults, and burglaries, although small-town among other things: what behaviors legislators media sources often make them headline news. declare as punishable; whether or not a victim Big-city newspapers and major news Web sites decides to report an incident to the police; seldom give coverage even to rape or murder how the police exercisediscretion in making a unless there is a sensational angle to it. stop, search, or arrest; what specific charges the 2 CHAPTERI Crimeand Criminality 3 prosecutor's officedecides on and whether they seeking out the facts about crime. Exposure drop the case or continue with it; and what the to these facts is sometimes painful and often courts declare as fair and reasonable evidence. surprising. As you read through the sixteen So when people speak of the nature, extent, and chapters of this text, you will learn that the distribution of crime, it is important to consider most likely victims of crime are the poor;.you the sources upon which those claims are based. will learn that crime is like a huge iceberg, 1nsum, when we speak of "crime" or "crim- and only the tip is reported to and by the po- inals;' our images and ideas are influenced lice; you will learn that most criminals are not by the people and institutions that regulate punished for their crimes. You will also learn human behavior, and by those who sell the that the most common place where women images to us. Even self-report and victimiza- and children are assaulted is the home, and tion surveys of crime (discussed in chapter 2) the numbers are staggering-as many as 4 are based on socially constructed images. One million women and 3 million children are person's experience and understanding of abused by family members in the United crime may not be the same as another's, even States each year. You will learn that gang vio- though the objective facts are the same. Sim- lence and drug use are widespread-but also ply put: "There is no such thing as a pure fact that many youth gangs spend most of their innocent of interpretation" (Zinn, 1999: 658). time doing other things. You will learn that Criminology is, nevertheless, interested in American jails and prisons are full of young 4 CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality males, half of them African American, and dents often come to the study of crime with most of them from city neighborhoods in preexisting assumptions and conclusions. which joblessness, overcrowding, and physi- Some students have strong opinions about cal deterioration are commonplace. You will the causes of crime and what to do with learn that even though the costs of corporate people convicted of crimes; rarely does some- and governmental crime far exceed those one walk into an introductory biology class of traditional street crimes such as robbery, with a strong moral or political opinion on burglary, and auto theft combined, white- zygotes or photosynthesis. The challenge of collar criminals are less likely than others understanding crime demands the ability to to be arrested and prosecuted-and, if con- suspend final judgment until we can base our victed, less likely to go to jail or prison. Box conclusions on valid and reliable information. 1.1 provides some other well-known facts Most people, however, simply have not had about crime. the opportunity to study crime in detail. This One of the goals of criminology is to sepa- text is designed to provide readers with this rate fact from myth. Sometimes the reality opportunity. contradicts not only media representations, but our own personal beliefs as well. For ex- ample, many students we talk to believe that WHAT Is CRIMINOLOGY? the crime rate has risen to all-time highs in recent years. However, the reality is that all Criminology can be defined in any number of available measures show an overall decrease ways, but Sutherland and Cressey (1974) pro- in nearly all forms of traditional street crime vide the clearest definition: Criminology is and victimization over the last thirty years. the study of lawmaking, lawbreaking, and the Figures 1.1 and 1.2 show this trend based on reactions to crime. There are many specialties victimization rates: in this case, the number in criminology, and box 1.2 provides a list of of households per thousand experiencing a some of the major ones. crime against one or more members from 1976 to 2006. Public opinion surveys, how- Lawmaking ever, reveal that more than half of the Ameri- can public believes that crime has increased The first part of the definition of criminol- every year over the last· two decades (Maguire ogy includes the study of lawmaking. This and Pastore, 2007). area of inquiry generally focuses on the While every science tries to distinguish various political, economic, and cultural between myth and reality, the task is espe- factors that help shape laws and criminal cially difficult in criminology, because stu- justice policies. For example: Why and how 60 600.. 50 +----~----=-~-----~---~------- --- ~-~ 40 +--------~-----",~~----.... ----------·.... ~ __-.. ·---. 500 400 30 +---------------'--c---- 300 20 +----------------- 200 10 100 0+---~------------~ 0 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 A Figure 1.1. A Figure 1.2. Violent Crime Victimization Rates per 1,000 Property Crime Victimization Rates per 1,000 Households, 1976-2006 Households, 1976-2006 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2007). Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2007).  CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality 5 Box 1.2. SOME MAJOR SUBJECT AREAS IN CRIMINOLOGY Age and Crime Alcohol, Drugs, and Crime Biology and Crime Comparative Criminology Crime and Public Policy Crime and the Media Criminological Theory Economic Class and Crime Environmental Criminology Fear of Crime Gender and Crime Grihs and Crime ··.Hate.Crime ?Juvenile Delinquency [~~fc:e;.Ethnicity,and Crime f~.ResearchMethods ''""sogal:Control Institutions (Police, Courts, and Corrections).~,J~~fogy. ence against Women JJ.,.,CollarCrime (including State and Corporate Crime) are certain behaviors crimes? Why has there crime, property crime, hate crime, violence been a historic lack of effective laws protect- against women, or literally dozens of other (, kg women and children from abuse in the types of crime. They might also focus on p.ome? Why and how were early laws pro- what specific things draw people toward or }Jibiting theft developed? Why and how were away from crime, such as family relationships, ·,;:.ree strikes" policies created (and why are peers, neighborhood, social class, gender, race, h,strongly supported)? The criminologi- and employment status. ~\udy of lawmaking, sometimes called the One example of how some criminologists i~logy of law, has shown that law and pol- have addressed the question of lawbreaking ~flect the interests of those in power. For can be seen in the area of race and crime..le, the history of rape laws has largely Although the risk of being a victim of most «!n',:thehistory of males exercising power street crimes has remained relatively stable ei:;4{,~p.i.ales. This is discussed in more detail or even declined during the past fifteen a ter 4. years, the risks are not borne equally: African Americans have higher rates of victimization than whites for many offenses, including violent crimes (see figure 1.3). Most of this d major part of the definition of crime involves young black males victimiz- : is the study of lawbreaking. Here ing other blacks. When explaining this fact, fo~i~tsare interested in how and why it has become fashionable in some circles to "':·:t crime. Criminologists might downplay the dehumanizing and disruptive 9ses and correlates of juvenile setting in which many urban blacks spend ,:_ugand alcohol use, violent their lives, as if their behavior is somehow 6 CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality This includes the study of the state's reac- 70 tion-the police, courts, and correctional in- 60 stitutions-as well as the analysis of various other criminal justice policies and practices, 50 for example, capital punishment. Criminolo- gists also study the public's reaction to crime. 40 One well-researched topic in this area is the 30 fear of crime. 20 Fear of Crime 10 Many Americans fear crime. Public opinion 0 surveys show that nearly 40 percent of those Black White Other Two or more races polled are afraid to walk alone at night in their own neighborhoods (Maguire and Pastore, Figure 1.3. Violent Crime Victimization by Race 2007). Fear of crime is greater for some groups (per 1,000 persons), 1976-2006 of people than for others. For example, women Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2007). are almost three times more likely than men unaffected by the environment and they are to feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods at personally responsible for ( or deserve) the night. Some other findings are that African ills that confront them. Americans are more fearful than whites, and A good place to begin studying the plight that fear tends to go up as income goes down. of America's underclass from a sociological Over the years since 1971, these findings have perspective is by reading William Julius Wilson not changed in any meaningful way. (1987) andElijahAnderson (1990; 1994; 1999). Conventional wisdom holds that the people These scholars have documented the life expe- most afraid of crime are the ones who have riences of young black males in the inner city, been personally victimized by it. While this is and the picture is grim. On the issue of vio- true to some extent, the relationship between lence, for example, Anderson has this to say: experiencing crime and fearing crime is not simple. Elderly women, for example, are most The inclination to violence stems from cir- afraid yet least often victimized, and young cumstances of life among ghetto poor-the men are least afraid yet most often victim- lack of jobs that pay a living wage, the ized (Maguire and Pastore, 2007). Those who stigma of race, the fallout from rampant have experienced crime themselves are no drug use and drug trafficking, and the re- more likely to be afraid than people who have sulting alienation and lack of hope for the future. ( 1994: 81) merely heard about other people's victimiza- tion. In fact, one researcher discovered that While this is only one view on the compli- actual criminal victimization is less important cated topic of race and crime, much crimi- as a cause of fear than the physical and social nological theory and research supports this environments in which people live (Skogan, interpretation, as will become evident in later 1986). So-called social and physical incivili- chapters. ties in a neighborhood-such as unkempt lots, graffiti, homeless people, drunks, and trash-may raise levels of fear among both Reactions to Crime residents and visitors by affecting people's The third major area of inquiry within crimi- perceptionspf the risk of being victimized (La- nology is the study of the reactions to crime. Grange, Ferraro, and Supancic, 1992; Weitzer CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality 7 Box 1.3. THREE CHALLENGES TO THE LEGALISTIC DEFINITION OF CRIME T he legalistic definition of crime is popular for its simplicity, but has been challenged for various reasons, as discussed in the text. The following quotes illustrate three dif-. ferent positions on the definition of crime. [The] argument for limiting criminological inquiry to the specifications of the law overlooks the fact that the law itself reflects a set of subjectively held values, and limiting investigation within its boundaries reflects a no more inherently "scientific" choice than expanding inquiry beyond the law.... Right and wrong are moral concepts. The criminal law is essentially a politically enforced definition of right and wrong. Therefore, neither those who support a criminology that goes beyond the law's definition of right and wrong nor those who wish to keep it within these limits are mak- ing morally neutral choices. Any moral choice, even those about "scientific" data, will reflect the individual's values. (Michalowski, 1985: 317) Criminologists often complain that they do not control their own dependent variable, that the definition of crime is decided by political-legal acts rather than by scientific procedures. The state, not the scientist, determines the nature or definition of crime. This book breaks with this tradition. of passive compliance and attempts to construct a definition of crime consistent with the phenom- enon itself and with the best available theory of criminal behavior.... [C]rimes [are] acts of force or fraud undertaken in pursuit of self-interest:' (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990: 3, 15) Only those are criminals who have been adjudicated as such by the courts. Crime is an intentional act in violation of the criminal law.... Criminology... cannot tolerate a nomenclature of such loose and variable usage [by anti-legalists]. (Tappan, 1947: 100) It should be remembered that all legal systems are contextual in that they reflect ~he particular cultural and political characteristics of the times and places in which they were created or modified. This means that the legalistic elements of a crime may not be the same over time or in different jurisdictions. and Kubrin, 2004). Finally, there is evidence states: Crime is a human act that violates the that television news broadcasts have a strong criminal law. impact on people's fear of crime, perhaps This definition has two important compo- regardless of their victimization experiences nents. First, crime involves behavior: Some- or local crime rates ( Chiricos, Padgett, and one has to perform some act. Second, this Gertz, 2000; Weitzer and Kubrin, 2004). behavior is identified in terms of a body_ The remaining sections of this chapter of substantive law. According to that law, a discuss some of the important concepts and number of specific criteria must normally be ideas that define the subject matter of crimi- met for an act to be considered a crime and nology: What is crime? Who is the criminal? the perpetrator a criminal. First, there must Where does law come in? What is the connec- be conduct, or actus reus (mere thoughts, no tion between crime and public policy? matter how terrible, are not crimes). Second, the conduct must constitute a social harm: that is, the conduct must be injurious to the WHAT Is CRIME? state (or "the people"). Third, the conduct must be prohibited by law. Fourth, the con- The legal-or legalistic-definition of crime is duct must be performed voluntarily. Fifth, a departure point for considering the subject the conduct usually must be perfor~ed in-. matter of criminology. The definition simply tentionally (the issue here is criminal intent,·, 8 CHAPTER I Crime and Criminality expressed in the concept of mens rea, mean- at risk of unnecessary harm that dwarfs that ing guilty mind); however, unintentional which is caused by traditional street crimes. acts of negligence or omission may qualify as Reiman believes that the legal definition of crimes in some cases. Sixth, the harm must crime does not encompass all-or even the be causally related to the conduct: that is, most-socially injurious acts. the act must produce the harm. Finally, the Some time ago the Schwendingers argued conduct must be punishable by law (in fact, that the definition of crime does not have the punishment must be specified in advance to be associated with law. They propose that of the conduct). criminologists can and should study things The legalistic definition of crime is popular such as imperialism, racism, sexism, and other among both criminologists and the general violations of human rights: public; however, it has not gone without Our disagreement with such social scientists challenge. (See box 1.3 for example quotes.) as Thorsten Sellin and Edwin Sutherland... Many years ago Thorsten Sellin (1938) argued is not over the independent character of for a more universally applicable definition criminal behavior. Instead, the issue at hand that would encompass any violation of what is whether social scientists have been fully he called conduct norms. Sellin believed that justified in regarding the legalistic definitions the legal criteria used in legal definitions of of the behavior under study as the only jus- crime are at best artificial and arbitrary, and tifiable definitions of what can be treated as at worst ignore other actions that conflict with crime ( 1970: 73). the "general social interest." In Sellin's view, Other criminologists argue that crimes in- criminologists should study all conduct that clude violations of international law, such as violates group norms. the Declaration of Human Rights, the Nu- Around the same time, Edwin H. Suther- remberg Principles, and the Geneva Conven- land (1945) argued that crime should be de- tions (Kauzlarich and Kramer, 1998; Mullins fined not only in terms of traditional criminal and Rothe, 2008). law, but also in terms of regulatory law, for Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi example, restraint of trade, antitrust, and ( 1990) take a quite different approach, although unfair labor practices, rules, and regulations. they too believe that the subject matter of crim- Sutherland, who coined the.term white-collar inology should not be restricted to strictly legal crime, argued that criminologists who study categories of crime. They believe that many acts only robbery, burglary, and theft are biased are similar to common crimes, from smoking because they neglect the crimes of the more cigarettes and eating between meals to gam- powerful members of society. Sutherland's bling and speeding. Just like robbery, murder, viewpoint was very influential, giving rise to rape, employee theft, and drug use, these acts the study of white-collar crime, an important are easy to commit, require little or no planning subfield of criminology that is the subject or skill, and are exciting, risky, or thrilling. matter of chapter 6. Finally, the so-called labeling perspective Other critics of the legalistic approach to argues that crimes are distinguished from the definition of crime include Jeffrey Reiman other acts precisely because they have been and Herman and Julia Schwendinger. Reiman defined as crimes by people whose reactions (2007) lists a variety of acts and conditions matter. In other words, the social significance that are similar to crime in terms of their con- of a given act is in the reactions it calls forth. sequences: for example, loss of life, physical As Howard Becker has observed: injury, or property loss. He argues that when we are in the workplace, under medical care, [D]eviance' is not a quality of the act the and even simply breathing outside air, we are person commits, but rather a consequence of CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality 9 the applicationby others of rules and sanc- formal role in the criminal process. Historically, tions to an "offender."The deviant is one to the word victim did not even appear in many whomthe labelhas been successfullyapplied; statute books, nor were individuals thought of deviant behavior is behavior that people so as victims-"the state" or "the people" were the label.(1963: 9) victimized by any crime. This is why criminal cases are usually titled "The People" or "The Pursuing this reasoning, what makes be- State of X" versus a defendant. havior distinctive is the kinds of reactions it A secondary reason relates to the orienta- calls forth. The distinctive aspect of criminal tion of science and public policy in criminal behavior is that the behavior in question matters, which has traditionally focused on has been labeled crime (Hartjen, 1974: 5-8). how to explain and deal with the behavior When labeled as crime, behavior is trans- of criminals. Little attention has been paid formed into criminal behavior, and the actor to victims, and when they are brought in it is may be transformed into a criminal. This either as contributing causes of crime (espe- transformation is called criminalization. The cially common in discussions of assault, rape, opposite process-when the label criminal is and murder), in debates over whether some removed from an action, event, or person-is crimes are victimless (consensual sex offenses called decriminalization. The labeling per- and drug use, for example), or as people who spective views crime as status rather than as can help convict the offender. behavior. Bearing these points in mind, an But this picture has been changing dramat- alternative definition of crime might be stated ically in recent years. An international effort is as follows: Crime is a label that is attached to under way to study the victimizing effects of behavior and events by those who create and crime (and other social ills) and to bring the administer the criminal law. real victim back into the picture. Much of this While sensitive to the complex issues sur- effort has been directed at changing criminal rounding definitions of crime, in the end many justice policy and practice to accommodate a criminologists use the legalisticdefinition. Even more active role for victims. though most of the activities and events called For years, victims have been "twice vice crime in this text fall under the legalistic defini- timized" -first by the criminal, and then by tion, we prefer a definition that treats crimes as the very system to which they have turned both a behavior and a status. In this text, there- for help. Women who have been raped are fore we define crime as "actions and/or labels particularly at risk for this type of multiple that represent violation of criminal laws and victimization. Treated as nonentities, victims other regulations designed to protect individu- have been shuffled around, kept in the dark, als and groups from victimization:' Consistent had their property taken and not returned, with this definition, a criminal is "a person and, worse still, they have been subjected to whose actions violate the criminal law, and/or abuse and ridicule in court. have been called crimes:' A variety of constructive responses are now being directed at the needs of crime vic- tims. Some of these responses seek to reduce VICTIMS OF CRIME the probability of victimization, and, in that sense, are part of crime prevention efforts. Victims are arguably the forgotten people in Neighborhood crime watch programs and the crime scene. The primary reason is histori- Operation Identification are examples. Other cal: The development of modern criminal law responses seek to improve the treatment of and the corresponding decline of primitive law victims by the judicial process, and still oth- (discussed in the next section) left victims no ers seek to redress the grievance occasioned 10 CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality by crime. The latter are generally divided into ized by crime are the very same people who are two kinds of support: restitution, where vic- least equipped to deal with it and least able to tims are compensated for their loss by the of- change their social situation: the poor, African fender, either through fines or work; and com- Americans, people living in public housing, the pensation, where the state provides resources divorced, and single-parent families. to help victims deal with the monetary loss There are some critics who fear that the resulting from crime. Today, all fifty states victim movement has been co-opted and ma- and the District of Columbia have compensa- nipulated by politicians and criminal justice tion programs, and judges in most states are officials whose real agenda is to secure more permitted to include some form of restitution resources and public support for cracking in their sentencing options.Many jurisdictions down on criminals rather than reducing the have also established formal organizations, pain of victims (Elias, 1993). The true picture such as victims' advocate offices, to specifi- is probably somewhere in between: Victims cally help victims of a variety of crimes. As of are more significant players than they used April 2008, more than three dozen states had to be, and they are receiving more services constitutional amendments listing victims' and support than they used to; however, the rights (National Center for Victims of Crime, reforms have been piecemeal, and the social 2007). A federal constitutional amendment injustices that underlie much victimization- similar to those enacted in many states has and which victimization makes worse-have been stalled in Congress for some time, but not really been addressed. may by now have been reintroduced. The majority of these amendments require that victims be treated with "fairness, dignity, and SOCIAL CONTROL AND LAW respect:' They are also entitled to the right to be informed, present, and heard at significant Crime and law are intertwined. As a type criminal justice proceedings. Approximately of law, criminal law is generally regarded as one-half of the states give victims the right a relatively recent development. Although to notice of the release of the offender, while no specific date of origin can be identified, about one-third of the states require a speedy criminal law in the Western world developed resolution of the case and reasonable protec- two thousand years ago from already exist- tion from the accused (National Center for ing systems of law and began to take shape Victims of Crime, 2007). in the later years of the Roman Empire. In The impact of crime on victims can be dev- considering the development of criminal law, astating. Horror stories abound about victims an examination of the nature of law in general who were horribly mutilated, killed, driven is desirable. insane, or made penniless by crime. Every In any social group, efforts are made to time gruesome murders come to light-the ensure that members behave predictably and Virginia Tech atrocity, the bombing of the in accordance with the expectations of others. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, These efforts are at the heart of social control, the Columbine school shooting, the "Manson and their success is thought to be indispen- family" murders-our sympathies go out to sable to orderly group life. It is difficult to the families and friends of the victims. But, on imagine how group life could endure if mem- a much more mundane level,millions of crime bers simply acted impulsively or in continued victims-many not even realizing they are vic- violation of the expectations of others. tims-suffer unsensationally and find that few Social control may be informal or formal: seem to care about their plight. Criminologists It may appear in facial expressions, gestures, agree that the people most likely to be victim- gossip, or ostracism. It may consist largely of CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality 11 unwritten rules passed on by word of mouth whole. (Exceptions to this were acts or by example, or it may take the form of writ- deemed harmful to the entire commu- ten rules backed by force. Conformity is pro- nity: for example, aiding an enemy or moted sometimes through the use of rewards witchcraft.) (positive sanctions) and sometimes through 2. The injured party or family typically the use of penalties (negative sanctions). The took personal action against the wrong- effect of all these measures may be to create a doer, a kind of self-help justice. sense of guilt and shame, which becomes an 3. This self-help justice usually amounted internal control. to retaliation in kind. Blood feuds were Law is a type of formal social control, not uncommon under this system of which "is characterized by ( 1) explicit rules primitive justice. of conduct, (2) planned use of sanctions to support the rules, and (3) designated officials Strongly held customs and traditions, the to interpret and enforce the rules, and often to relative independence of the family, the simi- make them" (Davis, 1962: 43). larities among people and their activities, and other features of primitive life changed as technological progress and a growing division Origins and Development of Criminal Law of labor moved society toward the modern Much of what is known about the origins era. Growing differences in wealth, prestige, and development of criminal law has come and power were associated with new patterns through the efforts of legal historians and cul- of authority and decision making. The rise of tural anthropologists. Classic historical works chieftains and kings and the centralization of such as Ancient Law by Sir Henry Sumner political authority set the stage for the emer- Maine ( 1905) and The Growth of Criminal Law gence the civil state. The handling of disputes in Ancient Greece by George Calhoun ( 1927) slowly moved out of the hands of the family provide important interpretative accounts of and into the hands of sovereign and state. early law. Twentieth-century anthropologists Eventually, the creation of legal rules became have added to the store of knowledge through the responsibility of heads of state, acting "in their studies of primitive societies. Works by the name of the people." A. R. Radcliffe-Brown (1948), Bronislaw Ma- These changes did not happen overnight. linowski (1926), E. Adamson Hoebel (1941), Today's criminal law is a product of centuries and E. E. Evans-Pritchard ( 1940) are among of change. The earliest known code of writ- the best-known studies. ten law dates back to the twenty-first-century BC. This is the code of Ur-Nammu, the Sum- erian king who founded the Third Dynasty The Decline of Primitive Law of Ur. The famous Code of Hammurabi was It is generally agreed that primitive law-the discovered in 1901 in Susa, near the Persian system of rules and obligations in preliter- Gulf. This code dates from around 1750 Be. ate and semiliterate societies-represents the Other ancient codes of law include the Twelve foundation on which modern legal systems Tables of Rome, the Mosaic code, the laws of were built. Primitive law contains three im- ancient Greece, and the laws of Tacitus. All portant features: these codes show strong ties with the self-help justice typical of more primitive eras. As Maine 1. Acts that injured or wronged others (1905: 341-42) notes, early penal law was pri- were considered "private wrongs": that marily the law of torts (or private wrongs). The is, injuries to particular individuals TwelveTables treated theft, assault, and violent rather than the group or tribe as a robbery as delicta (private wrongs), along with 12 CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality trespass, libel, and slander. The person, not the the word for "crime" means not only an act state or the public, was the injured party. that is illegal but also one that is evil or sin- The maturing legalsystems of ancient Greece ful (Schafer, 1969). In time, criminal codes and Rome moved steadily toward the formula- expanded and laws were passed to regulate tion of offensesagainst the state (public wrongs, activities in business, politics, the family, or crimena) and the establishment of machin- social services, and even people's intimate ery for administration and enforcement. Ac- private lives. The connection between law cording to Maine, the legislativeestablishment and morality became less clear, and people of permanent criminal tribunals around the categorized crimes as mala prohibita, mean- first century Be represented a crucial step in the ing bad or evil because they are forbidden, emergence of true criminal law. or mala in se, meaning bad or evil in them- One of the most interesting features of selves. Mala prohibita crimes include drug these early codes is the number of activi- offenses, traffic violations, and embezzle- ties they cover. The Code of Hammurabi is ment; examples of mala in se crimes include particularly wide ranging. The laws covered incest, murder, arson, and robbery. such diverse areas as kidnapping, unsolved crimes, price fixing, rights of military person- Interests and the Development of Law nel, sale of liquor, marriage and the family, inheritance, and slavery (Gordon, 1957). The Studies of the history of criminal law have contents of these early codes suggest three documented the role that interests play in the observations: (1) some laws articulate long- creation, content, and enforcement of legal established customs and traditions and can be rules. Interests are simply the things people thought of as formal restatements of existing value, and different people sometimes value mores; (2) some laws reflect efforts to regulate different things. and coordinate increasingly complex social One of the first systematic discussions of relations and activities; and (3) some laws ar- interests in the formulation of law was by Ro- ticulate prevailing moral standards and show scoe Pound. According to Pound, law helps to close ties to religion. adjust and harmonize conflicting individual and group interests: Mala Prohibita and Mala in Se Looked at functionally, the law is an at- In the minds of some people, law is based on tempt to satisfy, to reconcile, to harmonize, moral beliefs and criminal codes are a sort of to adjust these overlapping and often con- catalog of sins. But others have argued that flicting claims and demands, either through there is much in criminal codes that bears no securing them directly and immediately, or through securing certain individual interests, obvious connection with ethics or morality. In or through delimitations or compromises of what sense, for example, are laws prohibiting individual interests, so as to give effect to the certain forms of drug use or certain kinds of greatest total of interests, or to the interests business activities matters of sin? that weigh the most in our civilization, with Laws were once indistinguishable from the least sacrifice of the scheme of interests as the general code governing social conduct. a whole. (1943: 39) As primitive societies became more complex, law and justice were identified as concepts The functionalist theory of sociological that regulated the moral aspects of social jurisprudence offered by Pound has been at- conduct. Even the extensive legal codes of tacked for its emphasis on compromise and Greece and Rome fused morality with law. harmony and for its suggestion that there In some languages (Hungarian, for example) will be consensus where important social CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality 13 interests are concerned. Some scholars believe and Wonders, 1993). Laws, criminal justice in- a conflict perspective better reflects the real stitutions, and actors within those institutions workings of societal institutions. According to have gradually become more sensitive to issues Richard Quinney, such as violence against women. As long as a [S]ociety is characterized by diversity, con- society is structurally and culturally organized flict, coercion, and change, rather than by around patriarchy, however, there will continue consensus and stability. Second, law is a to be relationships and institutions within result of the operation of interests, rather criminal justice that reflect-and sometimes than an instrument that functions outside of promote-gender inequality. particular interests. Though law may control Another example of how law does not nec- interests, it is in the first place created by in- essarily reflect the interests of the majority terests. Third, law incorporates the interests can be illustrated by a relationship between of specific persons and groups; it is seldom a multinational corporation and third world the product of the whole society. Law is mothers. Some years ago Nestle launched an made by men, representing special interests, international campaign to promote its infant who have the power to translate their inter- formula. Ads proclaiming "Give your baby ests into public policy. Unlike the pluralistic conception ,:ifpolitics, law does not represent love and Lactogen" were used to promote the a compromise of the diverse interests in product in less developed countries, where society, but supports some interests at the families are typically large. However, the pro- expense of others (1970: 35). motion discouraged mothers from breast- feeding and encouraged practices that were Historically, those low in status or power more expensive, irreversible, and, because have been labeled criminals most often and of contaminated water supplies, potentially punished most severely for their crimes harmful. Many babies became ill, and some (Chambliss, 1973). Early legal codes specified died. But Nestle had committed no crime, different reactions according to distinctions legally speaking, nor were any sanctions im- of status: The most powerful were the most posed on the company. In effect, the law both privileged. Conflict and power help explain here and abroad protected the company, and why some activities are not crimes. This is had it not been for publicity surrounding especially evident in matters relating to busi- the efforts of social activists in England and ness and government, but also applies to laws America, the company doubtless would have regarding sexual assault. Today, women and continued its legal but ultimately victimizing poor people still find it hard to protect their practices (Post and Baer, 1978). Corpora- interests through law.In part this is because the tions from developed countries often operate state must support not only certain economic internationally because they can engage in relationships, but other social relationships and practices that would be illegal in the United institutions that can and often do reflect social States but are not illegal in the host country inequality (Chambliss, 1988). The relationship (Kramer and Michalowski, 1987; 1999). between law and patriarchy, a social condition The advantages enjoyed by corporations in in which men have disproportionate power matters of crime also extend to situations in and privilege over women in a society, is one which corporations are the victims of crime: such example. Gender bias exists not only in "The form and content of criminal justice law,but also in official data-gathering processes in modern capitalistic societies supports and by the state and in formal social control institu- legitimates the use of criminal law for the tions, such as the police and courts. For exam- protection of corporate property against in- ple, until very recently, few states considered it dividuals. That is... the modern criminal criminal for a man to rape his wife (Caulfield justice system better serves corporate than 13 14 CHAPTERI Crime and Criminality individual interests" (Hagan, 1982: 1019). sions of precedent and Supreme Court rul- These issues are examined in detail in chapter ings; (3) administrative regulations-those 6, but they are discussed from time to time policy decisions employed by agencies on the throughout the text. federal, state, and local levels as they carry out their legal duties; and (4) statutory enact- ments by legislatures. Anglo-American Criminal Law A distinction is made between procedural Criminal law in the United States draws mainly rules and substantive law. This distinction from Greek, Mosaic, and Roman law via Eng- draws attention to two basic issues: (1) the lish law. The common law of England can be question of procedure (how the authorities traced to the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). handle lawbreaking and lawbreakers), and (2) For centuries English law had been a system the question of substance (the content of the of tribal justice, the primitive law of private specific rules making up the body of criminal wrongs and self-help retaliation. As feudalism law). Thus substantive criminal law spells out took hold in the eighth and ninth centuries, the nature of criminal acts and the punish- Anglo-Saxon society underwent important ments associated with them. changes. The family lost its autonomy, kings Procedural rules govern the way lawbreaking and kingdoms emerged, and the blood feud and lawbreakers are handled by the criminal was replaced by a system of material compen- justice system. They are applicable at all stages sation (usually money) directed by individu- of the legal process. Procedural rules shape the als with special status-king, lord, or bishop. administration of criminal justice and help Equally important, political unification was determine whether given acts and individuals underway, as territorial acquisitions by the will be officiallyidentified as criminal, how of- new kings transformed a patchwork of small fenders will be "processed;' and what will hap- kin-dominated domains into a smaller num- pen to them if they are found guilty of a crime. ber of larger kingdoms. With the Norman Procedural aspects of criminal law set the tone conquest of 1066, complete political unifica- for the process of criminalization and provide tion was but a short step away. insights into criminal law in action. Together The Normans centralized their administra- with the substance of criminal prohibitions, tive machinery, including that of law. During procedural rules reflect and reinforce public the reign of Henry II, new legal procedures policy and the ideology that underlies it. The emerged, including a court of common law. following section deals with the important Those with complaints against others could topic of public policy. take them to traveling courts, and justice dis- pensed there became a body of precedent to guide future judgments. During this period CRIME AND PUBLIC POLICY certain acts were identified as offenses against king and country ("Breaches of the King's Public policy impinges on all aspects of the Peace"), and these are the bones of mod- crime scene. Its impact begins with official ern criminal law. The Puritans took English decisions about what and whom to identify criminal law to the New World. Over the next as criminal, and continues through all phases four hundred years, English common law was of the criminal process. Policy influences ar- slowly Americanized. rest, prosecution, trial, and sentencing. It also The rules embodied in American criminal influences penalties and how punishment is law come from four sources: ( 1) federal and carried out. state constitutions; (2) decisions by courts Many things shape public policy,whether on (common law or case law), including deci- crime or anything else. The attitudes, beliefs, CHAPTER1 Crime and Criminality 15 ideas, and assumptions about crime held by (1973) developed one of the most detailed people in power help comprise the ideological statements on major ideological positions; it underpinnings of policy and shape the posi- is still relevant today. Miller analyzed pub- tions taken on specific issues. These positions lic statements on criminal matters made by are often uncritically adopted by the public. a variety of Americans, including novelists, This is called the hegemonic effect of ideol- sociologists, journalists, government officials, ogy. The particular ideology underlying public lawyers, police, clergy, historians, and labor policy is not always obvious, but it is there leaders. Though one does not hear so much nonetheless, and actual policy decisions cannot these days from the radical left, the distinc- be divorced from it. As noted thirty years ago, tions that Miller presents provide a useful "ideology is the permanent hidden agenda of starting point in thinking about ideology and criminal justice" (Miller, 1973: 142) public policy on crime. The same ideology is not, of course, shared Miller placed the different ideological posi- by everyone, or even by all those who work tions he was able to identify on a one-dimen- in the criminal justice system. For example, sional scale: a study of attitudes among criminal jus- tice practitioners found that prosecutors and Leftist Centrist Rightist judges were less likely than probation officers 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 and defense attorneys ( 1) to agree among radical conservative themselves and (2) to advocate alternatives to The most extreme ideological positions prison as punishment for crime (Lein, Rich- were given the value 5. More moderate ones ard, and Fabela, 1992). ranged between the extreme left and extreme Nor does a particular ideology necessarily right positions. The ideological position left retain its influence over time. Policies change 3 is more leftist than position left 1 but less as time passes. Different assumptions and leftist than position left 5. Each ideological beliefs about criminal matters have achieved position Miller identified concerns a specific prominence at different times. The under- crime issue and is made up of assumptions lying ideology sometimes stimulates policy and beliefs about that issue. changes and sometimes reinforces existing For example, left 5 opinions on the causes policies. The influence of a particular ideol- of crime include assertions that the behavior ogy on policy depends on many things, and called crime by the ruling elite "is an inevita- most important are the power and influence ble product of a fundamentally corrupt and of those subscribing to it. unjust society. True crime is the behavior of Samuel Walker (2005) claims that both lib- those who perpetuate, control, and profit erals and conservatives are guilty of "peddling from an exploitative and brutalizing system" nonsense" about crime. Most people, Walker (Miller, 1973: 155). This, of course, is a radical notes, base their ideas about crime and justice conflict perspective. on "faith" rather than facts. This faith serves In contrast, right 5 views on the causes to undermine the sensible and successful of crime include assertions that "crime and implementation of crime and criminal justice violence are a direct product of a massive policy. This echoes the theme we began this conspiracy by highly organized and well- chapter with-that perceptions about crime financed radical forces deliberately seeking are often biased. to overthrow the society... [through an]... Despite the obvious importance of ideol- unrelenting attack on the fundamental moral ogy, there have been few attempts to identify values of the society" (Miller, 1973: 156). and classify beliefs and assumptions about More moderate views are reflected in left 3 crime. Nearly forty years ago, Walter Miller and right 3 positions. Left 3 views place the re- 16 1 Crime and Criminality CHAPTER sponsibility for crime on the shoulders of pub- of the criminal justice system. Moderate con- lic officials who allocate "pitifully inadequate servatives also stress system reform, but put resources to criminal justice agencies" and on more emphasis on increasing criminal justice the shoulders of "damaging social conditions": efficiency through modern management and poverty, urban collapse, lack of jobs and edu- information-processing techniques. cational opportunities, and race/ethnic seg- Miller believes that both left and right can regation (Miller, 1973: 156-57). This may be be reduced to basic governing principles or called the classic liberal position on crime (see values and that few Americans would quarrel Walker, 1998). Right 3 views include this sort of with them, since they are "intrinsic aspects of statement: "The root cause of crime is a mas- our national ideals": sive erosion of the fundamental values which For the right, the paramount value is order- traditionally have served to deter criminality, an ordered society based on a pervasiveand and a concomitant flouting of the established binding morality-and the paramount dan- authority which has traditionally served to ger is disorder-social, moral and political. constrain it. The most extreme manifestations For the left,the paramount value is justice-a of this phenomenon are found among... the just society based on a fair and equitable young, minorities, and the poor" (Miller, 1973: distribution of power, wealth, prestige, and 157). This view underlies the classic conserva- privilege-and the paramount evil is in- tive policy position summarized by Messner justice-the concentration of valued social and Rosenfeld as follows: resourcesin the hands of a privilegedminor- ity.... Stripped of the passion of ideologi- The police will act swiftly to remove crimi- cal conflict, the issue between the two sides nals from the streets; prosecutors will vigor- could be viewed as a disagreement over the ouslybring their casesto court without plea- relative priority of two valuable conditions: bargaining them to charges carrying lesser whether order with justice, or justice with penalties; judges and juries will have less order should be the guiding principle of the discretion in determining the penalties im- criminal justice enterprise. (1973: 148). posed; and more criminals will serve longer sentencesfor their crimes. (1994: 94) While Miller's research is valuable, liber- als and conservatives probably have more People's views about the proper ways to in common when it comes to crime control deal with criminals and the proper operating policy than anything else. Former U.S. presi- policies of criminal justice agencies are con- dent Bill Clinton, for example, who was con- sistent with their views about the causes of sidered fairly liberal, often supported very crime. In Miller's study, more radical opinions conservative crime control measures, such stressed the brutalizing and militaristic strate- as limiting death penalty appeals, adding gies of government crime control, while more more police officers, and advocating longer conservative views stressed the dangerousness prison terms (Kramer and Michalowski, of offenders and the need for swift, certain, 1995). While some of the policies Clinton and severe punishment. supported are closer to classic liberal think- Left 1 and right 1 opinions show that the ing, such as his support of community polic- moderate left and right converge on policy ing and certain rehabilitation programs, the matters. Moderate liberals stress a holistic traditional conservative ideology appears to approach to crime in which the criminal have influenced liberals more than liberal justice apparatus is coordinated with other ideology has influenced conservatives. In- agencies that serve the general welfare of the deed, President George W. Bush's policies community and where the role of the federal do not appear to be significantly different government is to finance and oversee reform from those of his "liberal" predecessors, as  1 Crime and Criminality CHAPTER 17 indicated by widespread bipartisan support To support this ideology, the crime control of key elements of the Patriot Act, which are model pays the most attention to the capacity clearly within the crime control perspective. of the criminal justice system to catch, pros- The expectation that ideology influences ecute, convict, and dispose of a high propor- public policy is based on the assumption tion of criminal offenders. With its emphasis that views or theories about an issue largely on a high rate of apprehension and convic- determine how people deal with it. In the last tion, and given limited resources, the crime hundred years or so, public policy on criminal control model places a premium on speed matters has indeed incorporated competing and finality. Speed is enhanced when cases crime strategies. Two "ideal type" models of can be processed informally and when pro- organized reactions to crime and criminals cedure is uniform or standardized; finality have been identified. One rests heavily on is secured when the occasions for challenge order with justice, the other on justice with are minimized. To ensure that challenges are order. Although neither model exactly repro- kept to a minimum, those who work in crim- duces the real world, both are drawn from inal justice presume that the apprehended criminal justice in action and emphasize what are in fact guilty. This places heavy emphasis are thought to be fundamental divergences in on the quality of administrative fact-finding assumptions and beliefs about the correct way and the coordination of agency tasks and to deal with criminals. The models were first role responsibilities. Success is gauged by suggested by Herbert L. Packer (1964, 1968), how expeditiously nonoffenders are screened who calls them the crime control model and out of the process and whether offenders are the due process model. passed through to final disposition. Packer likens the crime control model to a conveyer belt, down which flows an endless stream Order with Justice: The Crime Control of cases processed by workers who perform Model routine tasks. According to Packer, the ideology underlying the crime control model emphasizes repres- Justice with Order: The Due Process Model sion of criminal behavior as the most impor- tant function of the criminal process: Whereas the crime control model resembles an assembly line, Packer visualizes the due The failureof law enforcementto bring crim- process model as an obstacle course: "Each inal conduct under tight control is viewedas of its successive stages is designed to present leadingto the breakdownof public order and formidable obstacles to carrying the accused thence to the disappearanceof an important any further along in the process" (1968: condition of human freedom. If the lawsgo 163). unenforced-which is to say,if it is perceived The due process model sees the crime that there is a high percentage of failure to control function as subordinate to ideals of apprehend and convict in the criminal pro- justice. This model emphasizes ensuring that cess-a general disregard for legal controls the facts about the accused are subjected tends to develop. The law-abiding citizen then becomesthe victim of all sorts of unjus- to formal scrutiny; that the accused is af- tifiableinvasionsof his interests.His security forded an impartial hearing under adversary of person and property is sharplydiminished, procedures; that coercive and stigmatizing and, therefore,so is his liberty to function as powers are not abused by those in an official a member of society.The claim ultimatelyis position to exercise them; that the presump- that the criminal processis a positiveguaran- tion of innocence is maintained until guilt is tor of socialfreedom. (1968: 158) legally proven; that all defendants are given 18 1 Crimeand Criminality CHAPTER equal protection under the law, including the ities and personnel of law enforcement agen- chance to defend themselves adequately; and cies. There have been, conversely, a paucity that suspects and convicted offenders are ac- of judicial decisions supporting due process corded the kind of treatment that supports values and few serious efforts to organize and their dignity and autonomy as human beings. fund programs that ensure equal protection The emphasis, then, is on justice first. under the law and guarantee the dignity and autonomy of either victims or offenders. Important congressional support for the U.S. Crime Policy: Due Process or Crime crime control model came in 1968 when Control? Congress passed the Omnibus Crime Control American public policy on crime appears to and Safe Streets Act. Under Title 1 of the act, be dominated by the ideology and practices Congress established the Law Enforcement of the crime control model. Through the years Assistance Administration (LEAA) under the there has been a proliferation of public and Department of Justice. Through this move, private police forces whose primary goal is Congress extended federal involvementin the the detection and apprehension of criminals enforcement activities of state and local gov- and the defense of order. There have been ernments and helped establish what were to continued efforts to create and enforce laws become the primary crime strategies through- dealing with moral questions and essentially out the nation. Although the Constitution private behavior. There have been increasing specifically places the major responsibility for efforts to unite and coordinate crime control criminal matters in the hands of the states, at the federal, state, and local levels. There has the federal government was able to assume been a growing emphasis on informality in considerable power and influence in such the criminal process, best exemplified in the matters. To help the LEAA carry out its man- extensive use of plea bargaining. There have date, Congress allocated just over $60 million been continued efforts to promote efficiency, for operation in 1969. Over the next few years, productivity, and professionalism in the activ- the LEAA was one of the fastest-growing CHAPTER1 Crime and Criminality 19 federal agencies; in 1971 its annual budget surveillance equipment, tactical helmets, tacti- reached half a billion dollars, then it climbed cal communication headsets, and a... SWAT to over $800 million, and by 1976 it stood at van" (Kraska and Cubellis, 1997: 612). Prisons, $1.015 billion (U.S. Department of Justice, jails, and various correctional programs have 1976: 42). As a result of numerous criticisms also experienced a boom in funding. From of agency practices during the 1970s, how- 1980 to 2003, state expenditures rose nine ever, Congress voted the LEAA only $486 times over (Maguire and Pastore, 2007). million in 1980 before scrapping the agency The crime control approach is also reflected altogether. The Justice System Improvement in "three strikes" policies and the passage of Act of 1979 established as its successor agency multiple forms of federal legislation over the the Office of Justice Assistance, Research and past decade. Besides authorizing the use of Statistics (OJARS). Its budget for fiscal 1981 capital punishment for some sixty offenses, was $144,397,000,and, after a couple ofleaner specific 1996 Crime Act provisions included years, grew to $197.3 million in 1984 (McGar- $10.7 billion for state and local law enforce- rell and Flanagan, 1985:25). In 1984 Congress ment agencies, including $8.8 billion to put created the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) one hundred thousand police officers on the as successor to OJARS, and the OJP budget streets in community-policing programs and over the last few years has been between $4 $1 billion for drug enforcement; $8.3 billion and $5 billion (U.S. Department of Justice, to states for construction of new prisons 2006). More generally, current funding ap- and development of prison alternatives; $2.6 proved for federal criminal justice activities billion for federal enforcement agencies, in- is estimated to be much higher, around $47 cluding $1 billion for the Immigration and billion (Maguire and Pastore, 2007: 15). Naturalization Service and the U.S. Border Most of the federal money goes to police Patrol; $1.8 billion in direct funding for local agencies. In 2007, for example, just under half anticrime efforts such as drug treatment, edu- of all federal expenditures on criminal justice cation, and jobs; $1.3 billion for "drug court" went to police protection (Maguire and Pas- programs providing at least six hundred thou- tore, 2007). Funds are used to purchase new, sand nonviolent offenders with substance sophisticated police equipment (from weap- abuse services over six years. In sum, more ons and ammunition to vehicles, computers, than two-thirds of its $30-billion budget was and bulletproof clothing), to train officers and earmarked for law enforcement. to reorganize police departments, to finance Recent state expenditures mirror the fed- management training programs and opera- eral outlays on crime control. Nearly every tions research, to fund scientific and tech- state spends more than half of its criminal nological research, and to plan future policy justice funds on policing (Maguire and Pas- throughout the various levels of the legal tore, 2007). This funding policy gives rise to a process. Furthermore, the police, even those in "structural imbalance" in the criminal justice relativelysmall towns, are becoming more mil- system, reducing the capacity of nonpolice itarized. A study of local police agencies serv- agencies to handle violators and thereby un- ing populations of twenty-five to fifty thou- dermining the crime control capacity of the sand people found that more than 80 percent system as a whole. of them had "MPS submachine guns, tactical semiautomatic shotguns, night vision equip- ment, sniper rifles, flash-bag grenades, tactical PUBLIC POLICY AND CRIMINAL STEREOTYPES shields, battle dress uniforms, and specialized dynamic entry tools." Fifty percent of these Every president since Lyndon Johnson has small-town policing agencies had "electronic called for some form of "war on crime:' The 20 CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality passing of the Omnibus Crime Control and over more frequently (Lamberth, 1998). The Safe Streets Act in the late 1960s drew at- study found that blacks did not use the road tention only to certain crimes and certain more frequently, nor did they violate traffic criminals. Despite using such broad expres- laws more frequently than other racial groups. sions as "lawlessness in America," political It appeared that race was the key to the traffic officials considered the real crime problem stops. Armed with corroborating testimony to be the overt threats to public order and from state troopers, a New Jersey state court prevailing institutions represented in street found Lamberth's study compelling and ruled crimes-muggings, forcible rapes, burglaries, that the police had been engaging in racial assaults, and armed robberies-and the ac- stereotyping. "Driving While Black" (DWB) is tivities of junkies and dope pushers, militant the expression commonly used to refer to this activists, and other so-called radicals. Except type of racial profiling. Multiple studies over for the last two groups, the bulk of those the last decade have confirmed the ubiquity of identified as the real threat to law and order racial profiling (Birzer and Birzer, 2006). are minorities and lower-class individuals liv- Stereotyping can also result in the view ing mostly in the poverty areas of the nation's that criminals are categorically "bad" people cities (Chambliss, 1999). Nineteenth-century and victims of crime are categorically "good" officials dubbed such persons "the dangerous people. This has been called moral polariza- classes:' tion-the "tendency to locate participants in Because current crime policies show little criminal events on opposite and extreme sides evidence of changing focus, people have no of a moral continuum" (Claster, 1992: 196). incentive to alter their long-held stereotypes In reality, as we have seen, criminality and of the criminal. On the contrary, current poli- victimization are interwoven, and cannot be cies merely reinforce these stereotypes. Amer- easily distinguished from each other. icans are encouraged to view the streets as The targets of crime policy (and also many the unsafe turf of the criminal class. They are victims of crime) feel oppressed by the au- encouraged to distrust less well-off neighbors thorities (Allen, 1974; Maguire and Pastore, and to demand speedy and harsh disposition 2007). Crime control policy further alienates of criminal offenses. Criminal stereotyping at and aggravates the disadvantaged segments work is found in the practice of racial profil- of society when they realize that middle-class ing. This term describes a practice in which criminality escapes the serious attention of a person's race or ethnicity strongly influ- the state. With all the money spent on projects ences police decisions to stop, search, or make and programs dealing with drugs, burglary, an arrest. It came to national attention in robbery, and street crimes generally, the gov- the mid- l 990s following a highly publicized ernment has little left over to spend on polic- case in New Jersey. Over a short period of ing the middle class even if it wanted to. time, twenty-five African Americans had been This does not mean that street crimes pulled over by the New Jersey State Police should receive no attention, or even that they in one particular area of the the New Jersey should receive less attention than they do. The Turnpike. The defendants' cars were stopped issue is how much and what kind of attention and subsequently searched, and drugs were they receive relative to other forms of crimi- found. Defense attorneys suspected that their nality. The relative lack of attention authori- clients were pulled over only because they were ties give to white-collar, state, and corporate African American. A study was commissioned crime is hard to justify because its negative to see if a higher proportion of African Amer- impact on society is arguably greater than that icans were using that part of the highway or if resulting from street crimes. Chapter 6 looks African Americans were simply being pulled at this issue in detail. CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality 21 Jeffrey Reiman (2007) provides an inter- attached to behavior, events, and individuals esting interpretation of this problem. He by people in positions of authority or power. believes that the criminal justice system has This text favors a definition that sees crime as failed to reduce crime and to protect society both a behavior and a status. precisely because that failure benefits those Criminal law formally creates crime by who are wealthy and powerful. How can that defining it into existence. It is the applica- be? Reiman asserts that this failure performs tion of law, however, that criminalizes actual an ideological service by funneling discon- behavior, people, and events. This process is tent toward those depicted as responsible influenced by interests: the things that people for crime-the poor, minorities, the lower value. When interests are in conflict, as they classes-and away from the rich and power- often are, law usually reflects the interests of ful. At the same time, the system focuses on the more powerful groups in society. As later individual wrongdoing rather than on the chapters will show, even laws supported by organizations and institutions that make up broad public consensus-rape statutes, for social order, which ultimately eliminates the example-may actually serve the interests of interest in examining the root economic, the more powerful (males) at the expense of political, and social causes of crime. If social the less powerful (females). conditions are not responsible for crime, then Public policy on crime is shaped by histori- cries for fundamental change in the social cal forces as well as by the attitudes and beliefs order are without substance; the "radical" of people in power. The crime control model threat can be resisted by a united middle class emphasizes order with justice and pays most urging continuation of prevailing policies. As attention to the capacity of society to catch, William Chambliss (1999) maintains, crimi- prosecute, and dispose of a high proportion nal stereotyping gives us an inaccurate picture of guilty defendants. The due process model of both victimization and victimizers. emphasizes justice with order and sees the crime control function as secondary to the protection of individual liberties and the right CHAPTER SUMMARY to equal treatment under the law. American public policy on criminal mat- This chapter began with the observation that ters is dominated by the crime control model. the media image of the crime scene is highly Government spending is used largely to im- distorted. The emphasis on crimes that are prove apprehension and conviction rates of especially violent or sensational helps fuel criminals rather than to prevent crime in widespread fear of crime, which leads many the first place or to ensure that the rights of people to retreat behind locked doors, mak- offenders and victims are protected. Crimi- ing the streets even more dangerous for those nal stereotypes abound, and this clouds our who venture out. understanding of other threats to life and Criminologists try to uncover the "truth" property such as white-collar and corporate about crime and criminals. The chapter dis- crime. cussed various concepts, definitions, and per- spectives that criminologists have developed. The legalistic definition of crime is behavior KEY TERMS that violates the criminal law; criminals are people who engage in that behavior. Oth- conflict perspective ers have argued that the definition of crime crime need not be based on law. Another definition crime control model proposed is that crime and criminal are labels criminal 22 CHAPTER 1 Crime and Criminality criminalization Chambliss, William J. (1999). Power, Poli- criminology tics, and Crime. Boulder, CO: Westview decriminalization Criminal Justice Collective of Northern due process model Arizona University. (2000). Investigating Dif- functionalist theory ference: Human and Cultural Relations in labeling perspective Criminal Justice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. mala in se Jewkes, Yvonne. (2004). Media and Crime. mala prohibita London: Sage. procedural rules Surette, Ray. (2006). Media, Crime, and racial profiling Criminal Justice: Images, Realities and Policies. social control Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. substantive law RECOMMENDED WEB SITES RECOMMENDED READINGS American Society of Criminology (http:// Barak, Gregg. (1994). Media, Process, and the www.asc41.com). A professional association Social Construction of Crime: Studies in News- for criminologists and all other students of making Criminology. New York: Garland. crime. Best, Joel. (1999). Random Violence: How Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics We Talk about New Crimes and New Victims. (http ://www.albany.edu/ source book/ index. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of Cali- html). Copious information on crime and fornia Press. victimization in the United States.