SOC109 Introduction to Criminology and Law and Society Lecture Notes PDF

SOC109 Introduction to Criminology and Law and Society Lecture Two Professor Julius Haag Department of Sociology University of Toronto Mississauga  What is Criminology? Which topics do Criminologists Learning...

SOC109 Introduction to Criminology and Law and Society Lecture Two Professor Julius Haag Department of Sociology University of Toronto Mississauga  What is Criminology? Which topics do Criminologists Learning study? How does society label crime and Objectives criminals? How is crime different than deviance? What is Criminology? Criminology is the scientific study of crime, criminal behaviour, and the criminal legal system.  Criminologists are (broadly) interested in: What is The social and structural causes of criminal behaviour. Criminology? How society views crime and people who have been criminalized.  Criminologists come from different academic backgrounds. Criminologists are interested in Criminology is crime, but often disagree on its Interdisciplinary causes and consequences. and Historically, Criminology was Multidisciplinary multidisciplinary. Contemporary Criminology is more interdisciplinary.  Fear of Crime Victimology Deviance Criminological Crime Statistics Interests Crime Prevention Juvenile Delinquency Gangs and many more  Consensus definitions are essential to assess the nature and extent of crime in our society. Definitions Definitions are necessary to Matter identify the behaviours, individuals, and groups of study. Clear definitions allow for comparative scholarship. Research Spotlight - 2012 Study published Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. - Employs content analysis to explore how Canadian journalists use the term ‘gang’. - Sample of nearly 3,900 occurrences in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun, and Montreal Gazette. - The authors found there was a lack of clarity and consistency in how journalists discuss gangs.  What is a Crime? Definitions of what constitutes a crime are socially constructed. When activities are deemed illegal, or people are treated as criminals they are criminalized. Commonly held definitions of crime often fail to capture deviant acts. Different types of offences can be either mala in se or malum prohibitum.  Several acts can violate commonly held mores or folkways but still not be criminal. Crime vs. Folkways represent the customs and norms that structure daily life. Deviance Mores extend to informal codes related to right or wrong or ethical or unethical actions. Mores may extend to crime.  Hagan’s Typology of Deviance Considers whether behaviours are labelled as deviant or if they are criminalized. Hagan considers the degree of social harm, the severity of the social response, and agreement about the norm. While some crimes are widely seen as harmful, there is a lack of consensus about many others. Source: Hagan (1991)  Crime is both historically and culturally relative. As society changes we see that Thinking certain behaviours have become legal Sociologically and while others have been made illegal. Criminologically The concept of criminalization about captures how crime and criminals are Criminalization socially constructed. For the purposes of this course, we will consider crime and deviance sociologically.  What is Criminology. What is Crime. Moving How Crime is different than Deviance. Forward The Social Construction of Crime and Criminalization. How Criminologists Study Crime. The Kick Ahead What questions do law and society scholars ask? What methodologies and data sources do law and society scholars use? Comparing the concepts of norms and laws. Considering the social construction of law and the process of social control.