Module1 note soc 291 jun15 google docs by theory6

SOC291: CRIMINOLOGY

Module 1 Summary Crime, Criminology, Victimology, and the Nature and Extent of Crime Criminology According to the prominent American criminologist Edwin Sutherland (18831950), criminology is the study of “the making of laws, the breaking of laws, and the reaction to the breaking.” (Sutherland, 1939, p. 1) In North America and many other countries, criminology is considered a subdiscipline of sociology, the study of societies and social groups. This is especially appropriate because much of the foundational work in criminology derives from the work of prominent sociologists from France (Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim) and Germany (Max Weber). However, one may also find that in some countries, criminology may be expected to be considered a branch of other disciplines as public administration (Japan), law (Russia and Eastern European countries), medicine (Italy), and even social work (Ethiopia). In this Overview, information and resources will be shared pertaining to the introductory materials of the course, expanding upon some areas that are not covered by the course text – “Criminology: The Core,” by Larry Siegel (Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2015). This course is designed to complement and not be redundant of other courses at Thomas Edison State College (TESC) in the areas of sociology and criminal justice. For example, in this course we are using Siegel’s abbreviated criminology text, where a detailed treatment of the Criminal Justice system is omitted, as the CJ system is treated in detail within other TESC courses. As well, the relatively new and challenging field of victimology is only summarized in this course, as the College offers an entire course devoted to victimology.

Theories During the first four modules of this course, you will be introduced to explanations (theories) about what causes adults and children to commit crimes. A theory may be simply based upon supposition, “common sense,” superstition, or custom, as were theories concerning crime up to the 1700s (many of which are still in vogue today among certain sectors of societies). Theories may also be “grounded” in research through observations, scaling and measurement, forming empirical (from the Greek word for experience) generalizations, and then using inductive reasoning. Although grounded theories are preferred by scientists, in this course you will find that all manners of theories have emerged to attempt to explain why human being commit crimes and other antisocial deviant acts. It is well to keep in mind the historical context in which theories were developed. Given today’s sophisticated computerized techniques enabling us to analyze large amounts of data, such luxuries were not accorded criminologists of the past, and certainly not such luminaries as Cesare Beccaria (17381794), railing to the very best of his abilities against the hideous penalties imposed for even minor crimes in the late 1700s.

A grounded theory is a statement of the relationship between factors or variables. A theory can be tested or evaluated to see if it supports a contention or an inference. For example, a theory might say: "More poor Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Edison State College. All rights reserved.

people are in prison than rich people because poverty causes crime." This means the theory is contending or claiming or saying (thus “inferring”) there is a relationship between poverty and crime and incarceration. Presumably, as poverty increases, there is an increase in the number of poor people committing crimes, and an increase in the number of poor people being sent to prison for the crimes they committed. The factors or variables would be poverty, crime and incarceration. We could test this theory empirically.

For example, we could test this theory by setting up a research project that collects information or data on poverty and on crime and on incarceration. Our research project might define or describe the factor or variable "poverty" as the financial ability to hire a private criminal defense attorney. As we know well, many people in prison have been represented by public defenders because they lack the money needed to hire a private criminal defense attorney. Some say hiring a private lawyer (especially a very expensive one) is better than relying on a public defender. Those saying this point to high profile cases wherein rich defendants hire a celebrity lawyer to defend them and they subsequently are acquitted or found not guilty at trial. [Note: It is also contended that public defenders are as good as private criminal defense attorneys and make up in enthusiasm what they lack in compensation.]

We also might define or describe the factor or variable "crime" as any and all crimes involving a conviction for a homicide or a murder. To look at a specific type of crime probably would be a lot better or more precise than looking at all types of crime.

And we might define or describe incarceration as confinement in a publiclyoperated maximum security prison. There are jails and prisons. Jails usually are run by local governments [cities and/or counties] and involve persons usually serving shorter terms of incarceration. There also are minimum, medium and maximum security prisons. Some of these are operated by state governments; some by the federal government; and others operated by private forprofit businesses. To look at a specific type of facility probably would be a lot better or more precise than looking at all types of facilities.

After we collect this information or data, we could analyze it to determine whether the theory "More poor people are in prison than rich people because poverty causes crime" has some support in the real world through empirical research. The information or data we collect will help us evaluate the theory.

During the first half of this course and in Module 4, we will examine and study many different theories that attempt to explain why adults and/or children commit crime. As you study these theories, try to identify the factors or variables each theorist claims are related to crime. It is suggested that you make a chart in your notebook that indicates the name of each theorist, the school of thought to which s/he belongs, and the basic points of her or his theory. This chart will help you understand the theories and study for examinations. The study of criminology relies heavily upon the work of its prominent theorists and the contentions of its theories, so having a good working knowledge of the theories and their major developers is essential to being educated in this field. In Modules 5 and 6, we will examine the various forms of crime and specific problematic areas associated with each form, such as violent crimes, political crimes, terrorism, economic crimes, public order crimes, and our newest adventure, cybercrime. At the end of Module 6 we will also briefly study crime prevention and reduction.

The above described areas constitute “the core” of criminology, as the title of our text implies. As Thomas Edison State College offers a full Criminal Justice undergraduate program, that portion of criminology devoted to “the reaction to lawbreaking,” otherwise known as the Criminal Justice System, is extensively covered in other TESC Criminal Justice courses. For those of you taking this course as a separate standalone course as part of a sociology program of studies, a brief description of the agencies of the criminal justice system follows.

Justice Agencies During the second half of this course, we will examine or study society's response to crime and delinquency. More specifically, we will study police, courts and corrections agencies. There are public and private agencies that provide services related to criminal and delinquent conduct. We refer to this collection of agencies as the "Criminal Justice System" or the "Juvenile Justice System." POLICE Most visible are police agencies. We see police officers on a daily basis. They provide a wide variety of services some of which are not directly related to preventing crime and/or catching criminals. Take a look at this example of a police department's organizational chart . You will see police departments can be tiny parttime oneofficer outfits to very complex organizations, employing tens of thousands of individuals, with many components and responsibilities. COURTS Next most visible agencies are our courts. Although most of us do not go into a court for any reason, enough of us do that most of us believe we understand how our courts work. As you study the work of courts, please remember that most of what courts do is not related to handling or resolving criminal or juvenile delinquency cases, but rather are engaged in the legal resolution of a wide variety of disputes and other issues, such as child custody, dissolution of marriage, name changes, contract disputes, wage and labor issues, zoning and land use, licensing disputes, to name a few. Also remember that prosecutors and defense attorneys are not formal parts of the court, but are advocates representing and adversarial parties involved. Take a look at this example of a court's organizational chart . As with law enforcement organizations, you will see that courts may be the very simple oneperson arrangement of a rural justice of the peace holding “court” in her or his home kitchen to complex organizations, with many components and responsibilities, often employing thousands of people. CORRECTIONS Least visible are our prisons and other correctional agencies. As you study these agencies, one might get a bit confused. Usually, probation is an arm of the local court; parole is an arm of the state corrections department. But both probation and parole are considered part of corrections, or community corrections. Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Edison State College. All rights reserved.

At the federal government level, there are hundreds of agencies working to research, prevent, prosecute, and punish crime. Among these are: ● Department of Justice (DOJ: http://www.usdoj.gov/), ● Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP: http://www.ojjdp.gov/), and ● Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) (BJA: http://www.ojp.gov/BJA/). As stated, in Modules 5 and 6 we will examine different types of crimes and consider the extent of crime. As we study these issues, please remember we do not yet have a true sense of the amount of crime occurring or definite answers to questions concerning how much crime is taking place. We also do not know who is committing most crime because most crimes are not reported to police and because police are not able to make an arrest in many cases even when crimes are reported. This CJ flowchart was first published in 1967 as part of a 200page document titled “The Challenge of Crime in a free Society” which was the flagship report of a presidential initiative on crime and delinquency in the United States. This report was also accompanied by ten “Task Force Reports” (about 100 pages each) on a variety of crime concerns, such as drugs, juvenile delinquency, organized crime, and other points of focus on significant crime issues of the day. This initiative was one of the many “Great Society” programs engineered by President Lyndon Johnson and, to this day, many of those programs still exist to assist criminal justice agencies and programs in the United States in terms of criminal justice education and training, information dissemination, and specific program advocacy and funding. Although not as well recognized today as a major accomplishment of these programs (such as the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Medicare and Medicaid), within the criminal justice field they have made major contributions.

Please know, crime and its control is "serious business." Millions of people are victimized each year. Over two million people sit in prison. Criminology seeks to explain crime, conduct research, and make recommendations to policy makers and executives that are in positions to do something about this serious social problem.

Victimization Chapter three of our text provides an excellent overview of a comparatively new area in criminology, victimology, or victimization. Although we may trace the origins of serious criminological study back to the late 18 th Century works of Beccaria, Bentham, and Blackstone, specific consideration of the victim and her/his role in the criminological enterprise only dates back to 1948, gaining impetus during the time of the civil rights struggles in the 1960s, and meriting serious academic and research attention beginning in the 1970s. Consider all of the various dimensions of victimology and victimization closely and carefully in this chapter, as the author has provided us with an exceptionally concise and organized presentation of this important area of criminology. The College offers an upper division course in Victimology and Criminal Behavior (AOJ381).

Defining Crime and Delinquency Crime: For purposes of this course, a crime is a legally defined phenomenon. In other words, the legislative Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Edison State College. All rights reserved.

branch of a federal, state or local government must have passed a law describing a particular type of prohibited conduct and must have identified a specific penalty for engaging in this type of illegal conduct. For example, if City A passed an ordinance stating it is illegal to drive while talking on a cell phone, then when looking at the crimes occurring in City A we would consider those cases wherein people are driving while talking on a cell phone. If City B does not have an ordinance prohibiting people from talking on a cell phone while driving, we could not consider such cases (because there would be none). As you can see, comparing crime rates between jurisdictions is often difficult. A criminal law (or ordinance) must have two components: ● 1. A complete description of the prohibited conduct, usually laid out in “elements,” or individual components required to describe the illegal act or acts. ● 2. An identified penalty for violation of the law or ordinance. Criminal laws can become very complicated, especially when considering major offenses, such as homicide, robbery, rape, and burglary. Definitions of crimes may change over time and place. The “classical” (traditional) offense of burglary derives from British Common Law and goes back hundreds of years. “Classical” burglary consists of nine elements, all of which must be met to constitute the offense: (1) The unlawful (2) Breaking and (3) Entering (4) of the dwelling house (5) of another (6) with the intent of committing (7) a felony (8) therein (9) in the nighttime

All of these elements may be and have been argued at length in court cases and legal texts for decades, indeed for hundreds of years. There was a time in Alaska when one could not commit burglary for six months out of the year because the definition of “nighttime” in the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, 2nd Ed., defined “nighttime” as that period of the day when, in natural light, a person with normal vision could not recognize the facial features of another at a distance of 12 feet. Some states still adhere to the classical definition of burglary, reserving lesser offenses (with lighter penalties) when some elements of the classical definition are deleted. These offenses are often identified by degree (1 st degree burglary, 2 nd degree burglary, 3 rd degree burglary, etc.) or by different names (burglary, housebreaking, breaking and entering, criminal trespass, etc.). Incidentally, the Alaska Code has since been changed to delete “nighttime” from the burglary statute. Although burglary is often associated with theft, the traditional definition of burglary may be met by the intent to commit any felony offense, such as arson, rape, murder, or robbery. As well, a conviction for burglary may bring about a far higher penalty than the actual felony committed. For example, a conviction for “grand larceny” (a felony consisting of a theft of items over a certain monetary value) may have a Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Edison State College. All rights reserved.

maximum penalty of five years in prison, where the accompanying burglary conviction may involve imprisonment of up to 20 years. This sort of difference in penalties points up the importance a society may attach to invasion of a household versus the mere theft of property.

Delinquency: Delinquency usually refers to the conduct of juveniles or persons under the age of 18. Delinquency or delinquent acts include criminal conduct or often noncriminal conduct seen as antisocial in nature. Persons under the age of 18 occasionally commit serious crimes, such as murder, and when doing so are often tried as adults (thus facing the full consequences of criminal negative sanctions, such as the death penalty). Usually, though, young people committing crimes are adjudicated as juvenile offenders, guided through a system supposedly designed to rehabilitate rather than punish. Delinquency or delinquent acts also include acts prohibited on the basis of age. For example, in many states it is illegal for juveniles to possess and/or to consume alcohol and cigarettes. Thus, police officers may pick up or detain a juvenile when s/he is caught drinking a beer and/or smoking a cigarette. This conduct is not illegal for adults. But it is illegal for juveniles. These illegal acts are termed “status offenses,” because they are only illegal due to the offender's status as an underage offender. Also, the term “delinquency” is problematic in its broader definition, for the term actually means to fail to meet an obligation. Although we commonly associate the term with juvenile misbehavior, the term is also associated with other failed obligations, such as delinquent mortgage or other financial obligations.

Measuring Crime and Delinquency Measuring crime and delinquency is a very difficult task. Many people do not report crimes to the police. Also, police are often unable to make an arrest in those cases wherein a crime is reported due to a lack of evidence or in cases where the perpetrator has not been identified. Definitions of criminal conduct vary from state to state. All police agencies do not report their crime data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as participation in the federal Uniform Crime Reporting System is voluntary. Some states require all police agencies to report to the federal system, such as Florida and Georgia, where others do not. The FBI issues annually a report on crimes reported to police (among other crime data) and this report is titled “Uniform Crime Reports” and is published in the Fall of each year for the prior calendar year. These reports are available to the public in printed copy or on the Internet (simply type “FBI UCR” into a search engine). The many complex issues involving crime, such as reported crime, “cleared” crime (where a suspect is identified), charged crime (where a suspected perpetrator is charged), indicted crime, tried criminals, convicted criminals, and a host of other statuses for a crime and its perpetrators and victims, makes crime analysis for a criminologist a daunting task! Compounding the problem, too many people improperly use the FBI data, despite the strong warnings issued by the FBI. For example, the FBI clearly states on its website ( http://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/cjis/ucr/word ):

It is important for users of UCR data to remember that the FBI’s primary objective is to generate a reliable set of crime statistics for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management. The FBI does not provide a ranking of agencies but merely alphabetical tabulations of states, metropolitan statistical areas, cities, metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties, colleges and universities, and state, tribal, and other agencies. Law enforcement officials use this information for their designed purposes. Additionally, the American public relies on these data sets for information on the fluctuations in the level of crime from year to year, and criminologists, sociologists, legislators, city planners, the media, and other students of criminal justice use them for a variety of research and planning purposes. Since crime is a sociological phenomenon influenced by a variety of factors, the FBI discourages ranking the agencies and using the data as a measurement of law enforcement effectiveness. To ensure these data are uniformly reported, the FBI provides contributing law enforcement agencies with a handbook that explains how to classify and score offenses and provides uniform crime offense definitions. Acknowledging that offense definitions may vary from state to state, the FBI cautions agencies to report offenses not according to local or state statutes but according to those guidelines provided in the handbook. Most agencies make a good faith effort to comply with established guidelines. Finally, in a given year, more than 18,000 agencies contribute data to the FBI; however, because of computer problems, changes in records management systems, personnel shortages, or a number of other reasons, some agencies cannot provide data for publication. The FBI appreciates the conscientious efforts made by law enforcement personnel throughout the nation to report accurate and reliable crime data. Their efforts make it possible for the FBI to provide assessments of the nature and type of crime in the United States. Many states also issue crime reports each year. Some cities and counties also issue annual reports, and may also include crime statistical reports. Many of these reports are now online and available to the public.

Analysis of Crime Statistics A. Why Must I Know About Crime Statistics? As a degreed/educated person, chances are you will be working in a position of authority and responsibility. Because of this, you will be called upon to speak in public and to present briefings and reports to authorities. Even if you do not choose to use statistics in your talks to the public or presentations to authorities, people will ask you about statistics. When dealing with crime and justice, you cannot avoid statistics. Moreover (and depressingly so) EVERYBODY thinks they are an expert on crime and are very opinionated. So, unlike your family physician (from whom you take advice about your health), if you are a crime expert (criminologist) and someone disagrees with your point of view, you are wrong and they are right in their eyes. Criminologists get no respect. Criminology is the study of crime and criminals and in the USA is a subdiscipline of sociology. In other countries, however, criminology is studied under a variety of disciplines (Russia in law schools, Italy in medical schools, Japan in schools of public administration, etc.) So, like it or not, you are going to have to know something competent about crime statistics, lest you be made a fool of in public if some social scientist happens to be sitting in the audience. Moreover, you are going to need to be somewhat skilled in crime statistics to be successful in writing the course final paper. So, here is some useful information Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Edison State College. All rights reserved.

B. Statistics? Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. It also provides methods for prediction and forecasting based on data. It is applicable to a wide variety of disciplines including natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, government, commerce, and business. Statistical methods can be used to summarize or describe a collection of data; which is called descriptive statistics . Also, patterns in data may be modeled in a way that accounts for randomness and uncertainty in the observations, and are then used to draw inferences about the process or population being studied, which is called inferential statistics . Descriptive, predictive, and inferential statistics comprise " applied statistics ." There are also two other fields of statistics. " Mathematical statistics " is concerned with the theoretical basis of the discipline, and " exact statistics " focuses upon exact probability statements. C. Social Science Statistics In the analysis of crime data, it is necessary to realize that social science statistics are categorized in two ways " general social science statistics " and " deviant social science statistics ." In "general" social science statistics, all persons in a data set may be said to possess some variant of an attribute such as religion, race, age, ethnicity, income, education, etc. Even in the smallest populations, you may make inferences (statements and conclusions) about a village, town, county, etc., concerning religion, education level, occupation, race, age, etc. In "deviant" social science statistics, very few people in a data set possess an attribute (which could be seen as positive or negative), such as robber, murderer, rapist, Pulitzer Prize winner, heavyweight champion, Oscar nominee, Navy Cross winner, etc. General social science statistics are analytically treated differently than deviant social science statistics. D. Gathering Crime Statistics in the USA. 1. The Uniform Crime Reports are compiled by the FBI from reporting police agencies. The system is supposedly voluntary, but some states require all police departments and sheriff’s offices to report (such as Florida and Georgia). Other states have big gaps in reporting, such as South Dakota. The problem with the UCR is that it reports only crimes reported to police. Criminologists estimate that about twothirds of all crime is unreported. 2. Selfreport data is obtained by surveying individuals, usually in categorical groups (such as students). In criminological research, subjects are asked about their participation in unlawful activities and/or victimization. 3. Victimization surveys are conducted by a variety of methods, such as random sampling of the general public or surveying categorical groups concerning their victimization of a wide range of crimes or a narrow focus of crime, such as sexual assault. E. Interpreting (making statements or inferences about) Crime Statistics Inferences concerning rates of crime may only be drawn under certain controlled circumstances ! Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Edison State College. All rights reserved.

1. A rate is not the same as an amount . Amounts (such as the number of robberies occurring in Memphis, Tennessee in 2014), generally, cannot be interpreted because adequate comparative data is not available. 2. Rates of deviance (i.e. crime rates or rates of the occurrence of homosexuality or altruistic industrialists) cannot be analyzed in the same fashion as “conventional” or “general” sociological rates (such as occupation, religion, income, education, and/or ethnicity), because of the relative infrequency of occurrence. For example, everyone has an occupation (even if unemployed) and everyone has a religion (even if atheist), but relatively few deviate from societal norms, no matter what the deviation. For this reason, meaningful analyses of deviance can only occur statistically in population bases of about 500,000 people or greater. 3. A researcher must apply an organized approach to analyzing deviant social science statistics: a. Is the data reported in rates , rather than amount? (1). Yes: Go to “b.” (2). No: Convert data to rates . b. Is the rate reported in standard notation? (“standard notation” means the reporting method that we, in sociology and criminology all understand)(NOTE: Standard notation is the rate of occurrences per 100,000 population per year). (1). Yes: Go to “c.” (2). No: Either convert to standard notation or give a very good reason why you did not convert to standard notation. c. Is the condition/phenomenon that you are examining concern deviant social science statistics or general social science statistics? (1). If general social science statistics (occupation, ethnicity) , then an inference may be made in virtually any community population size. (2). If deviant social science statistics (crime) , then an inference may not be made without an adequate population base, at least 500,000 people (the larger the better). d. If the condition/phenomenon you are examining concerns deviant social science statistics AND you do not have an adequate base (500,000 people), then there are three strategies you may wish to consider to remedy this problem (depending upon the place, one or more of them may not work): (1). Expand the area under examination until it does include enough people to make an inference. Some cities may have a “MSA” (Metropolitan Statistical Area) far larger than the city population. In that case, using the MSA would yield stable numbers for the analysis of crime rates. For example, the cities of Atlanta, GA, Phoenix, AZ, and Denver, CO are similar in their MSA (2 to 3 million Copyright © 2015 by Thomas Edison State College. All rights reserved.

people) but the actual city populations are quite dissimilar: Denver511,000, Atlanta488,000, and Phoenix1,100,000. In other cases, you may have to include surrounding counties until the population base is adequate. This may not work because expansions may enter into areas which are very demographically different from the area under study. (2). Expand the temporal span. Instead of using the rate of occurrences per 100,000 people per year, expand it to two year blocks, five year blocks, or ten year blocks and average the results into a rate per 100,000 population per year over the period covered. Use the minimum number of years required to get the total population above 500,000. So, if you have a jurisdiction with a 100,000 population, looking at five year blocks would move the population to 500,000. Often, this method is not practical because of the changes in a community over time. A very small community of, say 10,000 residents, under this method, would require analysis in 50year blocks (relatively meaningless). (3). Perform a qualitative study . Ahh, forget statistics. Examine each and every case to see if patterns emerge that will help you draw conclusions. This method is very time consuming and expensive. In criminology, it is essentially a last resort unless the researcher has very specific research aims in mind. References Sutherland, Edwin (1939). Principles of Criminology, 3d ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company.