College Level Criminology www.AudoLearn.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: The Demographics and Impact of Crime.....................................6 How We assess Crime ......................................................................................................6 Offender Characteristics .................................................................................................. 7 Victimology Statistics....................................................................................................... 7 Incarceration Statistics ....................................................................................................8 International Comparisons..............................................................................................8 Murder Statistics in the US..............................................................................................9 The Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)..............................................................9 Rape Definition Changes ................................................................................................11 Violent Crime and Ethnicity ...........................................................................................11 Crime Victimization and its Impact............................................................................... 13 Limitations of Crime Reporting..................................................................................... 14 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 16 Chapter Questions and Answers.....................................................................................17 Chapter 2: Victimology..............................................................................20 Definitions......................................................................................................................20TheEarlyDaysofVictimologyStudies..........................................................................22ModernVictimizationTheories.....................................................................................23Victim’sRightsHistoryintheUS..................................................................................24DevelopingVictimAssistancePrograms.......................................................................25
More on Victim Studies .................................................................................................26 Who are the Crime Victims? .......................................................................................... 27 Victims and Outcomes of the Trauma ...........................................................................28 The Future of Victimology .............................................................................................30 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 31 Chapter Questions and Answers....................................................................................32 Chapter 3: Theories about Crime .............................................................. 36 Summary of a Few Theories ..........................................................................................36 Important Points in this Chapter...................................................................................50 Chapter Questions and Answers.................................................................................... 51 Chapter 4: The Neurobiology of the Criminal Mind ................................... 55 Biological Factors involving Behavior ........................................................................... 55 What is Psychophysiology?............................................................................................ 55 The Brain and Criminality ............................................................................................. 56 Striatum .........................................................................................................................58 The Neuro Moral Theory...............................................................................................58 Genetics and Criminality ............................................................................................... 59 Feedback Loops in Biology ............................................................................................60 Managing ChapterImportantPsychopathy..................................................................................................60PointsinthisChapter...................................................................................62QuestionsandAnswers....................................................................................63 Chapter 5: Early Development and Criminal Behavior .............................. 67 Adverse Child Experiences (ACEs)................................................................................ 67 ACEs and Violence .........................................................................................................68
ACES and TransgenerationalCrime.............................................................................................................70TraumaandCrime...........................................................................71RisksforCriminalityinCasesofParentalDeath...........................................................71ChildhoodMaltreatmentandCriminality.....................................................................73ArethereInterventions?................................................................................................75ImportantPointsinthisChapter...................................................................................78ChapterQuestionsandAnswers....................................................................................79 Chapter 6: Social Disorganization as Causes of Criminal Behavior............83 The Original Research ...................................................................................................83 Neighborhoods and Social Organization.......................................................................86 Economic Deprivation and Social Disorganization.......................................................86 Social Disorganization in Rural Areas........................................................................... 87 Important Points in this Chapter...................................................................................89 Chapter Questions and Answers....................................................................................90 Chapter 7: The Psychology of Violent Criminals ........................................94 Introduction to Interpersonal Violence.........................................................................94 Who are the Perpetrators?............................................................................................. 95 The Psychology of Rapists ............................................................................................. 97 Psychology of Murderers ...............................................................................................98 The Psychology of Serial Killers.....................................................................................99 Important Points in this Chapter..................................................................................101 Chapter Questions and Answers.................................................................................. 102
Chapter 8: Property Crimes .................................................................... 105 Basic Divisions of Property Crime ............................................................................... 105 Types of Property Crime .............................................................................................. 106 Important Points in this Chapter..................................................................................113 Chapter Questions and Answers...................................................................................114 Chapter 9: Crimes against Women and Children......................................118 Child Abuse and Neglect...............................................................................................118 International Parental Kidnapping ..............................................................................121 Human Trafficking....................................................................................................... 122 Child Pornography....................................................................................................... 123 Child Prostitution......................................................................................................... 123 Important Points in the Chapter ................................................................................. 125 Chapter Questions and Answers.................................................................................. 126 Chapter 10: Domestic Partner and Family related Violence .................... 130 The Spectrum of Domestic Violence............................................................................ 130 Violence against Intimate Partners ............................................................................. 132 Abuse in LGBTQ Relationships ................................................................................... 133 Elder Abuse .................................................................................................................. 133 Battered Woman Syndrome or BWS ........................................................................... 134 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 136 Chapter Questions and Answers...................................................................................137
Chapter 11: White Collar Crimes ..............................................................141 Antitrust Offenses .........................................................................................................141 Fraud Offenses ..............................................................................................................141 Counterfeiting .............................................................................................................. 144 Embezzlement.............................................................................................................. 145 Insider Trading ............................................................................................................ 146 Intellectual Property Theft........................................................................................... 146 Money Laundering....................................................................................................... 147 Tax Evasion .................................................................................................................. 148 Public Corruption......................................................................................................... 148 Important Points in the Chapter ................................................................................. 150 Chapter Questions and Answers...................................................................................151 Chapter 12: Mass Murder and Rampage Murder ......................................155 Definitions of Murder Types.........................................................................................155 School Shooter Psychology ...........................................................................................157 Portraits of School Shooters ........................................................................................ 159 A Look at Factors in Mass Shootings............................................................................161 Portraits of Mass Shooters........................................................................................... 163 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 166 Chapter Questions and Answers.................................................................................. 167 Chapter 13: Hate Crimes .......................................................................... 171 Hate Crimes Defined..................................................................................................... 171 The Mississippi Burning Murders ................................................................................172 The Death of Matthew Shepard....................................................................................173
History of Hate Crimes .................................................................................................173 The Psychological Effects of Hate Crimes ................................................................... 174 Motivations for Hate Crime ......................................................................................... 174 Laws on Hate Crimes ....................................................................................................175 Hate Crimes in the US Today ...................................................................................... 176 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 179 Chapter Questions and Answers.................................................................................. 180 Chapter 14: Drug-related Crime .................................................................. 1 Alcohol and Crime............................................................................................................ 1 Possession of Drug Paraphernalia................................................................................... 3 Drug Possession ............................................................................................................... 3 Important Points in this Chapter..................................................................................... 7 Chapter Questions and Answers......................................................................................8 Chapter 15: Crimes involving Terrorism ..................................................... 1 Definitions........................................................................................................................ 1 Radicalization................................................................................................................... 5 Religious Terrorism .........................................................................................................6 Terrorist Perpetrators ......................................................................................................6 How do Terrorists Groups End their Activities? ............................................................. 7 Crimes against Humanity ................................................................................................8 Trials and Tribunals.........................................................................................................8 Types of Crimes against Humanity in the World ............................................................9 Important Points in this Chapter....................................................................................11 Chapter Questions and Answers.................................................................................... 12
Chapter 16: Cybercrime ............................................................................ 16 Phishing Scams .............................................................................................................. 16 Computer or Internet Harassment.................................................................................17 Ransomware Cybercrime............................................................................................... 18 Online Prostitution ........................................................................................................20 Child Pornography on the Web ..................................................................................... 21 Account Hacking............................................................................................................23 Online Drug Trafficking.................................................................................................23 Credit Card Fraud ..........................................................................................................24 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 27 Chapter Questions and Answers....................................................................................28 Chapter 17: Organized Crime .................................................................... 32 Range of Organized Crime Activities.............................................................................32 Organized Crime Defined ..............................................................................................32 Modeling Organized Crime............................................................................................34 Common Activities in Organized Crime ........................................................................ 35 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 37 Chapter Questions and Answers....................................................................................38 Summary ..................................................................................................42 Course Questions and Answers .................................................................46
Have you always been fascinated by criminology and the reasons why people commit certain crimes? Why does one person commit premeditated murder when another simply murders in a fit of rage, for example? Listen to this impactful course on college criminology to gain a better perspective on the who, what, when, where, and why of crime and its victims. Criminology is the complex study of crime and the reasons behind it. When you take this course, you will better understand the prevailing theories on why crime exists and learn why we are all victims of it in one way or another. The high cost of crime goes far beyond its immediate victims. The more we learn about the criminal mind and the current trends in this important area of sociology, the more capable society, governments, and law enforcement can be of preventing as much crime as possible in our neighborhoods and the world at large.
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Chapter one in the course introduces you to the study of crime by looking at the US national crime demographics and the impact of crime on our society. Crime is definitely impactful on an individual level. Just ask any victim of a violent crime about what it meant for them to be a victim. We will also look at how crime demographic information is gathered and what we know about who is at the greatest risk of being a crime victim in our society today.
Chapter two in this criminology course introduces you to what we know about victimology or the status of crime victims before and after the crime was perpetrated on them. This does not mean that victims are necessarily participatory in any crime they are victims of. The focus of victimology is to identify who are the most vulnerable people in society and to develop strategies to help these vulnerable individuals after they have been victimized. These types of programs can promote recovery and may prevent further risk of being victimized again. In chapter three of the course, we will talk about what the different schools of thought say about why crime exists at all. There are classical theories that have existed for many years as well as theories more strictly related to a person’s biology and theories related to having a psychological predisposition toward committing crimes. Others blame society in general for the crime that exists within it. There is probably no single theory
1 PREFACE The study of criminology is inarguably fascinating. There are so many different theories on why crime exists and who commits them. Beyond that, however, these theories are challenging to put into practice. Does the individual who is a self described burglar have the same mindset and background as the one who commits mass murder? Is victimology important or does the victim have anything to do with the individual who perpetrates a crime against them? This course will allow you to study many different crimes in society and look more in depth at criminal profiles with examples of actual crimes used to help you apply what you learn along the way.
Chapter six in the course looks at social disorganization theory and how it applies to crime rates. These began as a theory that began out of the finding that certain parts of towns and cities were at higher risk for crime than others. These areas were remarkably stable in terms of being at risk for long periods of time, despite who lived there. What was it that contributed to certain “bad neighborhoods” in urban areas in particular? This led to research on the reasons why the neighborhoods themselves carried a risk of crime rather than the people living in them.
Chapter five looks at early childhood experiences and criminal behavior. It should come as no surprise that children from unstable homes who are abused or neglected in some way have a higher risk of criminality and antisocial behavior. Are there other factors, besides obvious abuse, and neglect, however, that can influence a child’s risk for criminality? You will see that adverse experiences of all kinds in childhood do play a role in creating criminals in adulthood. The chapter discusses which factors in childhood most relate to these behaviors as well as the known interventions that contribute to improving the lives of at risk children.
2 to explain crime in general, which is why there are so many competing ideas on the etiology of crime. This chapter focuses on the criminal mind from a neurobiological perspective. There is evidence that the brains of certain criminals are different from normal individuals. This has been demonstrated by autopsy findings of some infamous criminals like Aaron Hernandez, who was convicted of murder and was later found to have advanced brain damage from repeated concussions. You will learn about the parts of the brain most related to aggression and criminality.
Chapter four in the course focuses on the criminal mind from a neurobiological perspective. There is evidence that the brains of certain criminals are different from normal individuals. This has been demonstrated by autopsy findings of individuals who have criminality but were later found to have advanced brain damage from repeated concussions. You will learn about the parts of the brain most related to aggression and criminality.
The topic of chapter eight in the course is property crime. Property crimes include things like theft, burglary, vandalism, shoplifting, and arson. In general, the crime is against the property and not a specific individual, even though people are highly affected by these crimes. This is a diverse group of crimes that have different motivations and types of offenders.
Chapter nine covers issues related to certain crimes against women and children. These are generally crimes related to sex and the use of children or women by criminal perpetrators who enslave, coerce, or entice them to perform sex acts or engage in pornographic photography. These are crimes with global impact with victims who often never recover from the psychological wounds from their experience. Chapter ten in the course discusses domestic partner violence and family violence. This is a subject that easily spans many different topics in criminology. Children who observe domestic violence have a risk of doing this behavior as adults. They also have a greater risk of abusing their child and grandparents later in life. The cycle of intergenerational trauma leading to depression and so many other psychological problems in all people has its origins in domestic violence.
Chapter eleven covers some of the many white collar crimes currently recognized in the US and international law. The list of white collar crimes is long and includes many types of fraud, antitrust violations, counterfeiting and money laundering, white collar thefts of trade secrets and international property, tax evasion, and public corruption. These are not victimless crimes, often having victims who are vulnerable to fraud and even the everyday person who is exposed to attempts by unscrupulous people to take their money.
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Chapter seven takes you into the discussion of the psychology of the violent criminal. You will see how these violent crimes are clustered into crimes like murder, assault, and sexual crimes. While these are different crimes, the psychology of these violent offenders is mostly the same. Some have studied the brains of these individuals, which as you know, can be abnormal. You’ll also learn more in this chapter about how these individuals think.
In chapter twelve of the course, you will learn about mass murder and related events, such as rampage murder, mass shootings, and spree killing. In all senses, murder is still murder; however, there are key differences in how these types of murder are defined and what makes the perpetrators do what they do. The problem with these types of spectacular events is that there is more to them than mental illness or “deranged” minds. Social factors also play a major role in these horrific phenomena.
The topic of chapter sixteen in the course is cybercrime, which is a common crime people are exposed to every day. One of the more common cybercrimes is phishing a type of email scam. Other common crimes happening on the internet include internet pornography, credit card fraud, drug trafficking, harassment, and cyberbullying. You will learn about the different types of cybercrimes and their overall impact on internet users.
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The topic of chapter thirteen is hate crimes. We look at why it seems like hate crimes are so prevalent and what kinds of hate crimes we have today compared to decades ago. A hate crime was once the equivalent of being against people of African descent or Jewish descent. In this chapter, you will see that hate crimes are multifactorial and can involve many more issues with crimes perpetrated because of hatred toward the sexual orientation, religious belief, race, or ethnicity of another individual.
Chapter fourteen in the course talks about drug related crimes. There are actually several classifications of drug crimes in the US, including possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a drug, manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, and drug trafficking or drug dealing. Drug crimes do have victims, some of whom are the families of the drug addict, while others are true victims of violence perpetrated by the drug affected person. Those who use and abuse drugs are also victims in many ways. Chapter fifteen takes crime into the realm of politically motivated crimes, such as terrorism and crimes against humanity. Terrorism is usually based on political ideology and intended to send a message to others; it may or may not be state sponsored but does not occur under the pretext of war. Crimes against humanity are usually sponsored by a government and may or may not happen in a wartime situation. There are special laws related to terrorism, in particular.
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Chapter seventeen covers the many activities involved in organized crime. Organized crime can range from gang activity to sophisticated international organizations that engage in human trafficking, smuggling, fraud, and arms trafficking. This is an industry that siphons billions of dollars off of the US economy each year. The crimes these criminals commit are difficult to catch and involve so many working parts that negatively affect everyone.