CRI205 Final Review PDF

[CRI205 Final] **Week 7 -- Social Process Theories** **Differential Association Theory -- Edwin Sutherland** - What is it? - The theory argues that individuals are not inherently criminal; they learn criminal behaviours and motivations through interactions with others...

[CRI205 Final] **Week 7 -- Social Process Theories** **Differential Association Theory -- Edwin Sutherland** - What is it? - The theory argues that individuals are not inherently criminal; they learn criminal behaviours and motivations through interactions with others - The likelihood of adopting criminal behaviour depends on the frequency, priority duration, and intensity of the relationships promoting criminal definitions - People learn not only the techniques of committing crimes but also the motives, rationalizations, and attitudes that justify those actions - How did it emerge? - In the late 19^th^ and 20^th^ centuries, criminology was dominated by theories that attributed crime to biological defects or individual psychological traits - Edwin Sutherland challenged these approaches, arguing that they overemphasized individual pathology and ignored the social and environmental factors influencing behaviour - Criticisms - Critics argue that the theory underestimates personal choice and biological or psychological factors - Explanations of Criminality - White-collar crime - Employees may adapt definitions favourable to crime when exposed to a corporate culture that prioritizes profit over ethics - Juvenile delinquency - Substance abuse and drug trafficking - Applied in Practice - Crime prevention programs - Programs targeting at-risk youth pair them with positive role models to counteract negative peer associations - Rehabilitation and Reintegration **Neutralization Theory -- Sykes and Matza** - What is it? - Explains how individuals engage in criminal or deviant behaviour by temporarily suppressing their sense of guilt or moral responsibility - Five techniques - Denial of Responsibility - Offenders argue that their actions were caused by forces beyond their control, such as bad parenting, poverty, or peer pressure - Denial of Injury - Offenders minimize or deny the harm caused by their actions - Denial of the Victim - Offenders justify their actions by blaming the victim, suggesting they deserved it - Condemnation of the Condemners - Offenders shift the blame to those who disapprove of their actions, portraying them as hypocritical or corrupt - Appeal to Higher Loyalties - Offenders claim their deviance was in service of a greater cause or loyalty to a group - How did it emerge? - Emerged in the mid-20^th^ century as a response to earlier sociological theories of crime that they believed oversimplified the motivations of offenders - Criticism - Neutralization may not apply to chronic offenders who are fully committed to deviance and no longer feel the need to justify their actions - Explanations of Criminality - Juvenile Delinquency - Youths may justify actions like vandalism, theft, or underage drinking as harmless, or blame external forces (peer pressure) - Violent Crime - Offenders may use neutralization techniques like denying the victim or appealing to higher loyalties - Applied in Practice - Community Programs - Programs such as Neighbourhood Watch aim to foster a sense of accountability and reduce opportunities for offenders to rationalize their behaviour as harmless **Labelling Theory** - What is it? - Focuses on how individuals become identified as deviant and how this label influences their behaviour and interactions - Social processes through which people become labelled as deviant shapes identities and future actions - How did it emerge? - Emerged in the mid-20^th^ century as part of the broader intellectual shift toward understanding deviance and crime through a lens of symbolic interactionism - Criticisms - Critics argue that it neglects why people engage in deviant acts before they are labelled - Neglect of individual agency - Explanations of Criminality - Juvenile Delinquency - Juveniles often commit minor infractions that may lead them to be labelled as delinquents - Marginalized Communities - Racial minorities and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to labelled as deviant - Applied in Practice - Decriminalization and Legal Reforms - Decriminalizing certain minor offenses reduces the likelihood of individuals being labeled and stigmatized **Social Control Theory -- Hirschi** - What is it? - Explains why individuals conform to societal norms rather than engage in deviance - Hirschi assumes that people are capable of committing deviant acts because humans are naturally self-interested - People conform to norms and laws because they have strong bonds to society - Four elements of social bonds - **Attachment** -- Strong attachment fosters care about others' opinions, discouraging deviance - **Commitment** -- The more one is committed to achieving conventional societal goals, the less likely they are to jeopardize those investments through deviant behaviour - **Involvement** -- Participation in conventional activities reduces time and opportunity for deviant behaviour - **Belief** -- Strong belief in societal roles discourages deviance - How did it emerge? - Emerged in the late 1960s as a response to earlier criminological theories that primarily focuses on the causes of deviant behaviour - Instead of asking why people commit crimes, Hirschi sought to explain why most people do not engage in deviance - Criticisms - Neglect of structural and societal factors - Hirschi's theory focuses on individual relationships and personal bonds but largely ignores structural and systemic influences like poverty, inequality and racism - Assumption of universality - This overlooks cultural diversity and varying values across different social groups - Explanations of Criminality - Juvenile Delinquency - Adolescents often experience weaker bonds to conventional institutions like family and school during this developmental phase - Gang Membership and Deviant Subcultures - Weak bonds to conventional institutions may push individuals toward deviant peer groups or gangs, where they form new attachments and commitments - Applied in Practice - Correctional Programs -- Rehabilitative approaches aimed at reintegrating offenders into society by fostering new social bonds **The General Theory of Crime -- Gottfredson & Hirschi** - What is it? - Proposes that low self-control is the primary cause of criminal behaviour - They argued that most crimes are impulsive, requiring little skill or planning, and are committed by individuals seeking immediate gratification - How did it emerge? - Response to perceived limitations in exiting criminological theories - Criticisms - Overemphasis on self-control - Other individual traits and social factors are also important determinants of crime - The theory asserts that self-control is developed by age 10 and remains stable throughout life, however research suggests that self-control is malleable and can change over time due to life experiences - Explanations of Criminality - Understanding everyday crime - Most effective at explaining opportunities and impulsive crimes such as theft and drug use - These crimes align with the traits associated with low self-control; a preference for immediate gratification - Applied in Practice - Early childhood interventions - The theory underscores the importance of parenting in developing self-control during childhood - Crime Prevention through opportunity reduction - Since opportunity is a critical factor in this theory, strategies to reduce offending include environmental design (CPTED), and target hardening **Week 8 -- Social Conflict Theories** Where do we see it in explanations of criminality? Where is it applied in policy/practice? **Critical Criminology** - What is it? - Views crime ant its control as products of societal power dynamics and economic inequality - Argues that law and the criminal justice system often serve the interests of the elite or ruling class while marginalizing disadvantages - How did it emerge? - Developed in the 1960s and 1970s in the context of growing social movements, including civil rights, feminist, and anti-colonial movements - Criticisms - Overemphasis on Structure and not Individual Agency - Criticized for focusing too much on social structures, such as class, race, and gender, while neglecting the role of individual agency and personal responsibility - Neglect of Victimology - Critics argue that the focus on offenders, social inequality and the injustices within the system can leave out discussions on victim blaming and the harm caused to victims - Explanations of Criminality - Crime and Social Control - White collar crime is often underreported or lightly punished compared to street crimes, even though the harm caused by corporate crimes may be far more significant - This examines how criminal laws often reflect the interests of the ruling class - Applied in Practice - Decriminalization - Critical criminology has influenced calls for the decriminalization of behaviours traditionally being criminalized, such as drug use and sex work, arguing these should be treated as public health issues - Challenging power dynamics - Connects deeply to prison reform and human rights movements such as Black Lives Matter **Marxist Theory -- Karl Marx** - What is it? - The criminal justice system primarily serves in the interests of the wealthy and powerful, it criminalizes actions that threaten capitalist interests, while protecting the elite class and their property - How did it emerge? - Critique of traditional criminological theories, which often viewed crime as a result of individual pathology, moral failings, or social disorganization - Criticisms - Lack of attention to individual agency - Lack of practical solutions or clear policy recommendations - Explanations of Criminality - Criminalization of the Poor - The criminal justice system disproportionately targets the working class and marginalized groups, while often ignoring crimes committed by the elite. Marxists argue that the criminal justice system criminalizes behaviours that threaten the capitalist system, such as protests, labour strikes, or collective actions that might disrupt the established power dynamics - Applied in Practice - Social movements **Left Realism -- Lea and Young** - What is it? - Aims to address the relationships between crime, social inequality, and social control in a practical way - How did it emerge? - Response in the late 20^th^ century to both traditional leftist critiques of criminology and the failure of more radical perspectives like Marxism - Criticisms - Overemphasis on street crime - Some critics argue that left realism overemphasizes street crime and working-class crime at the expense of understanding white-collar, corporate, and other forms of state crime - Focus on social order - Focus on maintaining social order through community policing and crime control is seen by some as a conservative approach, which may not challenge the underlying structures of power and inequality in society - Explanations for Criminality - Relative Deprivation - A sense of deprivation when people compare their social position with that of others - Structural Causes of Crime - Crime cannot be understood merely as the result of individual choices or deviance; it is rooted in social structures - Applied in Practice - Policy on Crime Prevention - Supports crime prevention programs that address the root causes of crime, such as poverty, lack of education, and social exclusion **Corporate Crime -- Goode** - Also known as white-collar crime, it refers to illegal acts committed by individuals or organizations in positions of power and authority, typically within the context of business operations - Rarely prosecuted - Media tends not to cover it - Rarely see themselves as criminals - Non-violent, but harmful - Difficult to detect due to complexities of business operations, the use of legal loopholes, and the powerful resources - Systematic and routine **Feminism and Criminology** - 2^nd^ wave feminism (60s and 70s) - Liberation thesis -- focus on the criminal - Laws/Criminology as male-centric - Rape laws changed - Mandatory charging in domestic violence - Self-Defence Law -- Lavallee BWD Case (1990) - Laws targeting johns and not sex workers - Women ignored or linked to sexual deviance **Week 10 -- Criminology and Colonialism** **Myth of Neutrality** -- The false idea that systems or frameworks are objective, fair, and unbiased, when in reality they are deeply rooted in power dynamics, cultural hegemony, and systemic inequalities. This myth serves to obscure the ways in which these systems perpetuate the domination of marginalized groups, particularly those affected by colonialism, such as Indigenous people and communities of colour **Forced Assimilation** - Residential schools - The 60s scoop - Continuation of colonial efforts to assimilate Indigenous peoples into mainstream Euro-Canadian society, rooted in the belief that Indigenous cultures and lifestyles were inferior or harmful - Thousands of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and communities by child welfare agencies and placed into predominantly white foster homes or adopted by white families **Starlight Tours** - Practice by some police officers in Canada, primarily in Saskatchewan, during which Indigenous individuals were detained, driven to remote rural areas, and abandoned in freezing temperatures - These incidents, reported primarily in the 1990s and early 2000s, often led to severe harm or death due to hypothermia and exposure - Neil Stonechild (1990) - A 17-year-old indigenous youth was found frozen to death on the outskirts of Saskatoon in 1990. - His death was initially dismissed by police, which sparked anger among the aboriginal community. - His face faded from the public eye for 10 years -- until two more aboriginal men were found frozen to death on the outskirts of Saskatoon within one week. - In 2003, the provincial government agreed to repeated demands that it call an inquiry into Stonechild' s death **Colten Boushie** - August 9^th^, 2016, Boushie and four friends drove onto Gerald Stanley's rural property near Biggar, Saskatchewan, after a day of drinking and swimming - Boushie and friends had a flat tire, they drove onto Stanley's property to seek help, though the defense alleged they were attempting to steal - Gerald Stanley and his son confronted the group. Stanley retrieved a handgun - During the confrontation, Stanley shot Boushie in the head while he was sitting in the SUV. Stanley claimed the gun went off accidentally during a struggle - Stanley was charged with second-degree murder - On February 9, 2018, he was acquitted of all charges, sparking outrage across Canada - Defense lawyers used peremptory challenges to exclude all Indigenous candidates from the jury pool, resulting in an all-white jury **Week 11 -- Post Modernist Theory** **Post-Modern Theory** - What is it? - Argues that there is no single, objective "truth" about crime or justice. Instead, these concepts are seen as social constructs that vary across time, place, and culture - Postmodern criminology deconstructs traditional legal and social norms to expose biases and inequalities. It highlights how these norms often reflect the interests of dominant groups while marginalizing others - How did it emerge? - As a part of a broader intellectual movement called postmodernism, which developed in the mid-to-late 20^th^ century - Challenged the grand narratives, rigid structures, and universal truths of modernist thought, arguing that knowledge, truth, and power are socially constructed and contextual - Criticisms - Lack of Practical Application - Critics argue that postmodern criminology is overly theoretical and abstract, offering few concrete solutions to address crime or improve justice systems - Explanations of Criminality - Postmodern criminology explains criminality as a label applied by those in power rather than a fixed or inherent quality - What is considered criminal is dependent on societal norms, which are influenced by historical, cultural, and political contexts - Applied in Practice - Inspired calls for penal reform, such as reducing reliance on incarceration and addressing the inequalities faced by marginalized groups in prisons **Objective-Legalist Approach** - What is it? - Perspective within criminology that emphasizes the legal definitions of crime as its foundation - Focuses on understanding crime as behaviours explicitly defined and prohibited by law, rather than as a social or moral construct - How did it emerge? - Emerged as part of the broader positivist movement in the social sciences during the 19^th^ and 20^th^ centuries - Sought to apply scientific methods and objective measurement to the study of human behaviour - Criticisms - Blind faith in law - By strictly adhering to legal definitions, the approach fails to question whether certain laws are just or equitable. Laws themselves may reflect power dynamics and inequalities, and defining crime solely by legal codes can perpetuate these issues - Explanations of Criminality - Focus on legal codes and crime statistics - Often applied when analyzing crime statistics and patterns - It assumes that crime can be objectively measured by the number of offenses reported and prosecuted under legal statues - Applied in Practice - Sentencing and Punishment - The approach plays a significant role in the way courts interpret and enforce laws - It encourages standardized punishments for crimes that fit legal definitions, without much consideration for social or contextual factors **Social Constructivism** - What is it? - Emphasizes that crime is not inherent to any act, but rather that societies decide which behaviours will be criminalized - Critiques the idea that crime is a natural or universal category and instead focuses on how certain actions or groups come to be defined as criminal - How did it emerge? - Emerged as a theory in response to traditional, essentialist views of knowledge, reality, and deviance that viewed social categories as objective and inherent - Criticism - Vagueness in Defining Crime - By emphasizing that crime is socially constructed, social constructivism may lead to a lack of clear criteria for identifying criminal behaviour - Explanations of Criminality - Labelling theory - Moral panics - Society reacts to perceived threats with exaggerated fear, often fueled by media representations - White collar crime explanations - Applied in Practice - Rehabilitation vs. Punishment - Social constructivist approaches highlight that criminal behaviour is often a product of social factors, such as poverty, marginalization, and lack of opportunities. As such, rehabilitative approaches emphasize addressing these root causes rather than punishing individuals for being labeled as criminals **Du Bois' Social Disharmony** - Explored the concept of social disharmony primarily in the context of racial inequality and its impact on society - The Colour Line - Represents the deep social and structural divisions between Black and White populations, created and perpetuated by racism - This racial division, he argued, leads to social disharmony, where inequality fosters resentment, mistrust, and conflict between groups. - Du Bois critiqued how racial prejudice dehumanizes and marginalizes individuals, leading to social alienation **The Centric Zone Model** - Developed as part of the Chicago School of Sociology, describes how cities grow and are structured in terms of social and economic dynamics - Central Business District (CBD) - The core of the city, characterized by businesses, government buildings, and high land value - Zone of Transition - Surrounding the CBD, this area contains deteriorating housing, factories, and is home to recent immigrants and low-income populations, it experiences significant social and physical decay - The zone of transition is characterized by poverty which contributes to social disorganization, these conditions weaken the community's ability to regulate behaviour, which leads to higher crime rates **Haggerty -- Modern Serial Killers** - Media - The mass media plays a crucial role in shaping serial killers, creating a culture of celebrity around them, this media allows troubled individuals to reference serial killer exemplars, which was not possible in pre-modern times - Anonymity - Modernity has led to a breakdown of familiar social networks, in pre-modern societies, individuals had deep knowledge of their neighbours, whereas modern individuals often live among strangers, which alters interpersonal relationships and facilitates the anonymity that can enable serial killing - Rationality - People focus on the most efficient methods to achieve their goals, often without considering the moral or ethical implications of their actions - Frameworks of Denigration - Modern societal attitudes and beliefs can devalue certain groups of people, often labeling them as less worthy or less human, making them more vulnerable to violence - Opportunity Structures - Specific social, economic, and environmental conditions can make certain individuals more accessible targets for crime - Social Engineering - The deliberate manipulation of social structures and relationships to achieve specific goals, often with the intent of creating a more organized or "ideal" society, can involve the marginalization or elimination of certain groups deemed undesirable