Criminology Week 2A PDF

WEEK 2A Criminology and the study of Crime Introduction  The purpose of this Lecture is to explore the different levels of analysis used to explain crime and the different political perspectives that have an impact on criminological analysis.  Provide a sense where Criminolog...

WEEK 2A Criminology and the study of Crime Introduction  The purpose of this Lecture is to explore the different levels of analysis used to explain crime and the different political perspectives that have an impact on criminological analysis.  Provide a sense where Criminology comes from  Give some context to Criminological Perspectives 2 Talking about crime  Conversationsabout crime have existed for many centuries  ‘Poverty engenders crime’ (Aristotle, 384-322 BCE)  ‘The more promptly … punishment follows upon the commission of a crime, the more just and useful will it be’ (Cesare Beccaria, 1764)  ‘[T]he criminal produces the whole apparatus of the police and criminal justice, detectives, judges, executions, juries, etc. … Torture itself has provided occasions for the most ingenious mechanical inventions, employing a host of honest workers in the production of these instruments’ (Karl Marx, 1863)  At the time of these statements, “criminology” had not emerged Academic Criminology  Academic Criminology Begins in 19th Century  Italy 1870s  Criminal anthropology (Lombroso, Ferri, Garofalo)  Garofalo first uses term “criminology” in 1885  US 1920s  so-called Chicago “school” of criminology  (first bone-fide school of criminology, Berkeley 1950s)  UK 1950s  (British Journal of Criminology first published in 1950s)  Australia 1950s  (first department, University of Melbourne 1950s)  Canada 1950s  (University of British Columbia 1951) See, Mark Finnane (2006) ‘The ABC of Criminology: Anita Muhl, J.V. Barry, Norval Morris and the Making of a Discipline in Australia’, British Journal of Criminology (46) 399-422. Criminology as a Field of Study Criminology generally focuses on three main areas: 1.The sociology of law (Socio-Legal Studies)  Examination of social aspects/institutions of law 2.Crime causation (Criminogenesis) 3.Social responses to crime  Formal institutions of criminal justice—police, courts, corrections  All of these observe crime from different viewpoints. 5 What is Crime? How is it Defined?  Several different perspectives on how crime is defined  Formal Legal Definition  Crime is that which is defined by criminal law.  Social Harm Conception  Criminal and civil offences in which action (or inaction) brings with it some type of harm.  Cross-Cultural Universal Norms  Some crimes exist cross-culturally  But… crime is not always the same in different cultures 6 Defining Crime, cont’d  Labelling Approach to Defining Crime  Crime only exists when there has been a social response to a particular activity that labels that activity as criminal.  Human Rights Approach  Crime is a violation of human rights regardless of the legality of the actions.  Harms associated with capitalism (Pharma Bro)  Human Diversity Approach 7  Crime/deviance represents a normal response to oppressive or unequal circumstances. Historical Construction of Crime  Behaviour considered as criminal evolves over time:  Being a vagabond (e.g., unemployed, idle, homeless) became a crime in England in the 16th century.  Witchcraft was a crime in 17th-century Europe.  Prior to 1929, women were not legal persons under Canadian law. Thus rape of a woman was effectively a property offence against the owner (i.e., father of an unmarried woman or the husband of a married one).  Law is not, nor has it ever been ‘neutral’. Marginalised people have always been 8 disproportionately targeted. Popular Media Images of Crime  The media shape our perception of crime.  There is an unbalanced coverage of crime in the media.  “Street Crime”/“Violent Crime” receive most focus.  Environmental crime, domestic violence, white-collar crime, etc. do not receive as much coverage.  Crime is often falsely portrayed as getting worse / more serious.  Threat to civility  Criminal Class that is preying on weak and vulnerable  9 Consequently, responses to crime (e.g., punishment) are often portrayed as “too lenient.”  Political Orientations, Interpretations of Crime Three Broad Perspectives in Criminology (ways of seeing criminality and punishment)  Conservative  Support the status quo  Dissenters need to conform to Law / resist deviance  Liberal Perspective  Address social inequality to reduce crime.  Radical Perspective  Society is divided on the basis of class, gender, race, etc. perpetuated by the powerful who oppress the weak.  Structural change is necessary to deal with imbalances and inequalities. 10 Criminological Perspectives Three Broad Levels of Criminological Explanation (theoretical schools of thought) 1. Individual  Focuses on individual characteristics/choices of the offender/victim. 2. Situational/Structural  Focuses on the immediate circumstances or situations in which criminal or deviant activity occurs. 3. Social  Crime is the result of broad social relationships and the major institutions of society. 11  Role of Criminologists  Unfortunately the narratives that surround crime in Canada are not balanced by statistical and empirical facts – Rather they tend to be influenced by political ideology  It is reasonable to suggest (but not likely to happen) that any statement made about crime (by media, politicians and CJS reps) should be tested by referring to the “facts” about crime.  What we “measure” (and how we measure it) depends on how we define crime and how we 12see the criminalization process. Conclusion  There is no such thing as “value-free” criminology.  Just as we as individuals are not a Tabla Rasa – neither is the criminology we think about  The political/ideological orientation of any approach has major implications for how crime is studied, viewed and defined! 13  Mini Essay  Watch the following video and answer this question:  Do you feel the response to crime in the USA is from a conservative, liberal or radical perspective?  https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=KUdHIatS36A 14