1. INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY DEFINING CRIMINOLOGY THE CRIMINAL LAW DEVELOPMENT OF ACADEMIC CRIMINOLOGY THEORIES OF CRIME POLITICS/IDEOLOGY

2. DEFINING CRIMINOLOGY Edwin Sutherland’s definition The scientific study of lawmaking, lawbreaking, and the response to lawbreaking Lawmaking = how laws are created/changed Lawbreaking = nature/extent of crime Reaction = police, courts, corrections Science vs. other ways of knowing stuff

3. CRIMINOLOGY VS. CRIMINAL JUSTICE Criminal Justice The study of agencies related to the control of crime Criminology The study of crime trends, nature of crime, theories of crime Reality? Two sides of the same coin

4. CRIMINOLOGY VS. DEVIANCE Criminology focuses on crimes Crime = violation of criminal law Deviance focuses on violations of societal norms These may or may not also be law violations Can you think of a norm violation that is not a law? How about a law violation that does not violate a norm?

5. TYPES OF LAW Criminal Law Procedural vs. Substantive Civil Law Tort law 5

6. SUBSTANTIVE VS. PROCEDURAL LAW Substantive Law Written code that defines crimes and punishments Procedural Law Rules of the court, trials... 6

7. CRIMINAL AND TORT LAW A public offense Enforcement is state business Punishment is often loss of liberties or sometimes death Fines go to the state State doesn’t ordinarily appeal Proof beyond a reasonable doubt A civil or private wrong Individuals bring action Sanction is normally monetary damages Both parties can appeal Individuals receives the compensation for harm done “Preponderance of the evidence” is required for a decision. 7

8. SERIOUSNESS OF CRIMES I Mala in se Wrong or evil in themselves Core of legal code Homicide Robbery Mala prohibita Wrong because they are prohibited Change over time and across society Prostitution Gambling

9. SERIOUSNESS OF CRIMES II 9 More serious offenses Punishable by death or imprisonment for more than a year in a state prison. FELONY Less serious offenses Punishable by incar- ceration for less than a year in a local jail or house of correction. MISDEMEANOR

10. A CRIMINAL LAW MUST INDICATE A TYPE OF INTENT AND A SPECIFIC BEHAVIOR Actus Reas Physical act must be voluntary If crime is“Failure to act,” there must be legal obligation. Statutory Obligation, Relationship between parties, Contract Mens Rea General or specific intent Transferred Intent Negligence Strict Liability Offenses 10

11. SPECIFIC CRIMINAL DEFENSES Deny the Actus Reas (I didn’t do it) Deny the Mens Rea Ignorance / Mistake Intoxication? Insanity Defense 11

12. WHO DOES THE LAW SERVE? Consensus view Law results from societal agreement on what behaviors are most harmful Laws apply to all citizens equally Conflict view Law results from conflict over what behavior should be criminalized Those with the most power define what is criminal and often use the law to protect their interests Which is correct?

13. CRIMINOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE  Until the 1970s, there was no “criminology” or “criminal justice” degree  Sociology became the dominant disciple Still contributions from biology, psychology, political science  1980-Present  Criminology emerging as separate entity PhD in Criminology/Criminal Justice now the norm  Still debate about whether Criminology is a distinct discipline  Organized around a class of behaviors rather than a distinct way of looking at the world Sociologists still see criminology as a “sub-discipline” of sociology

14. SOCIOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY—GOOD & BAD Good: Focus on social structure and inequality; healthy skepticism (debunking) Bad: Ignore/ridicule “outside” disciplines and their focus on individual differences The Irony? Psychologists and biologists believe that social forces are as (or more) important than individual differences This class will explore crime from a multidisciplinary lens

15. A CRUDE HISTORY OF CRIMINOLOGY Demonic Perspective pre-1750s Crime as god’s will, result of demonic possession Classical School (1750s-1900; 1970s to now) Utilitarian philosophy (Becarria, Bentham) A response to an unjust/arbitrary legal system Free will, humans use a “hedonistic calculus” Rational legal code  less crime Basis of deterrence theory

16. CRUDE HISTORY—PART II Positive School (1900-present) Crime is “caused” by outside forces (determinism) Solution is to fix these causes (medical model, rehab) Scientific research on offenders, crime (not law) Different types of positivism Bio/psych determinism (1900-1920s) Sociological theory (1920s-Present) Critical theories (1960s-early 1970s) Developmental Theory (1990s-present)

17. CRIME THEORY Backbone of criminology Scientific Theory Must be able to test theory A GOOD theory survives empirical testing Empirical = real world observations Some theories are sexier than others Parsimony Scope Usefulness of policy implications

18. FLOW CHART FOR EVALUATION Falsifiable? Logical? NO = Useless, stop here YES Empirical Evidence? NO: Modify/Discard Yes Evaluate the Following: Scope Parsimony Policy Implications

19. EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE IS THE KEY Theories attempt to demonstrate cause-effect Criteria for causation in social science using a poverty  crime example Time ordering: poverty happens before crime Correlation: X is related to Y Relationship is not spurious (e.g., low self-control causes both poverty and crime)

20. METHODS FOR GENERATING EVIDENCE Experiment Key is randomly assigned groups Only factor that effects outcome is group difference at start of experiment Limit = artificial nature

21. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

22. METHODS FOR GENERATING EVIDENCE II Non-experimental Survey research Cross sectional  Stimulant Study Longitudinal Limit = how to rule out spuriousness Upside = ask whatever you want

23. IDEOLOGY IN CRIMINOLOGY Walter Miller Ideology is the “permanent hidden agenda of Criminal Justice” What is “Ideology?” American Political Ideology Liberal/Progressive Ideology Conservative Ideology Radical Ideology

24. DOMINANT IDEOLOGIES IN U.S. CONSERVATIES Value order/stability, respect for authority People get what they deserve Crime caused by poor choice (Free will) LIBERALS Value equal opportunities and individual rights Success/failure depends on outside forces and where you start Crime is caused by outside influences

25. IMPLICATIONS OF IDEOLOGY FOR CRIME AND JUSTICE Conservatives tend to fit with “Classical School” “Neo-Classical” = deterrence, incapacitation James Q. Wilson’s “policy analysis” Liberal/Progressive fit with positive school Favor decriminalizing some acts “Root causes” of crime only fixed by social change Rehabilitation may be possible Elliott Currie = ample evidence that government can address social ills and prevent crime Radical = Marxist/conflict theory

26. IDEOLOGY AS “HIDDEN AGENDA” Many policies and programs are driven more by ideology than empirical evidence Intensive supervision probation (conservatives) Restorative justice (liberals)

27. THE “MARTINSON REPORT” (MR) The “Martinson Report” was review of studies on rehabilitation published in the early 1970s Concluded that not much is working Used by politicians as the reason for abandoning rehab Social Context of the 1960s Hippies, Watergate, Attica, Viet Nam, Kent State… Conservatives? SKY IS FALLING Liberals? Cannot trust the government Reality = liberals and conservatives were both “ready” to pull the plug on rehabilitation

28. THE LIMITS OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE Criminologists tend to be cautions with conclusions All studies are flawed in some way Politicians and public tend to “over generalize” from a single study This can lead to bad policy RAND Felony Probation study Domestic Violence Experiments

29. GOOD THEORY MAKES GOOD POLICY… In a perfect world, programs and policies would flow from empirically supported theories of crime Unfortunately, people often “shoot from hip” Policy without Theory The “panacea” problem: scared straight, intensive probation, boot camps, warm and fuzzy circle… Some hope in “evidence-based” movement Multisystemic Therapy (MST) Targets for change = parental supervision, delinquent friends, reducing rewards for deviance…

30. GOOD THEORY MAKES GOOD POLICY… In a perfect world, programs and policies would flow from empirically supported theories of crime Unfortunately, people often “shoot from hip” – Policy without Theory – The “panacea” problem: scared straight, intensive probation, boot camps, warm and fuzzy circle… Some hope in “evidence-based” movement – Multisystemic Therapy (MST) Targets for change = parental supervision, delinquent friends, reducing rewards for deviance…

31. CRIME AND THE MEDIA WHAT DO AMERICANS BELIEVE ABOUT CRIME AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM? WHERE AND HOW DO THEY DEVELOP THESE BELIEFS? WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THESE BELIEFS?

32. CRIMINOLOGY VS. OTHER SCIENCE How many “crime related” T.V. shows can you name off the top of your head? Crime and the CJS on T.V. news or newspapers? Crime and the CJS in movies and fiction books? How does this compare to biology, psychology, or physics?

33. WHO CARES? People get information about most things from television, newspapers BUT—with regard to crime, the question becomes, “How accurately does the media reflect crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system?” “Back stage” behavior

34. SOURCES OF MEDIA BIAS—OR “REASONS FOR SKEPTICISM” Newspapers and T.V. news Crime in general captures audiences Violent crime, especially stranger violence “If it bleeds it leads” Politicians “Get tough” on crime = political payoff Entertainment Need for “excitement” belies accurate portrayal of criminals and criminal justice system Think “COPS”

35. TYPES OF DISTORTION Creation of “crime waves” Attention to violent crime What about “white collar crime?” Creating/Spreading Crime Myths Halloween psychopaths The Serial Killer Epidemic Satanic Daycare

36. 2011 CLASS SURVEY: CRIME TRENDS In the past 10, has crime increased, decreased, or remained stable? 46% said crime has increased How many murders occur in the U.S. in any given year? Mean (average) = 44,472 Actual = 13,500

37. CLASS SURVEY: PERCENT AGREE FOR CRIME TRENDS

42. WHAT PERCENT OF HOMICIDE CAUSED BY SERIAL KILLERS?

43. WHAT PERCENT OF THOSE FOUND GUILTY HAD A TRIAL (NOT PLEA)?

46. CHILDREN POISONED WITH HALLOWEEN CANDY IN PAST 20 YEARS?

48. CHILDREN ABDUCTED BY STRANGER IN TYPICAL YEAR IN U.S.

50. CLASS SURVEY: MYTHS Halloween, strangers with bad candy 43% yes Percent of murders by serial killers? Average = 12% (actual about 2%) Random child abductions Average = 12,000 (actual less than 300)

51. OPERATION OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM What is the nature of police work? How effective are police? What is “profiling” and how many cases are solved using this technique? What typically happens after arrest? What are prisons like? How often are criminals “let go” because of “loopholes” in the system?

52. CLASS SURVEY ANSWERS: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM Percent found guilty by jury trial? 40% – Actual = Less than 10% of felonies, less than 5% of all crimes Percent of police time fighting crime? 30% – Not too bad….nice work. Is “profiling” an effective way to catch serial killers? 73% yes – Remember the “sniper” case folks? – Behavioral Science Unit of FBI?

53. MEDIA AND CRIME: SUMMARY Tendency to distort reality: Political rhetoric If it bleeds it leads (other types of crime?) Overemphasis on crime (crime waves) An “effective” criminal justice system Why is any of this important Dorthy and W.I. Thomas (1928), if people believe it, it is “real in its consequences.”

54. FEAR OF CRIME Why is “fear of crime” important? How fearful are Americans? Are some Americans more fearful than others? Structural Factors (size of town/city) Individual Factors (age, race, gender)

55. Class Survey, % Afraid of Victimization by Gender

56. SERIOUSNESS OF CRIMINAL EVENTS Why important? General trend here is agreement across groups But, some differences exist What about “White Collar Crime?”

57. ATTITUDES TOWARDS PUNISHMENT When polling questions are broad/general, it appears that Americans are punitive and punishment oriented: Do you support the death penalty for convicted murderers? (75% yes) In general, do you think the courts in this country deal too harshly or not harshly enough with criminals? (80% not harsh enough). (Our Class = 50% not harsh enough) Consistency across race, class, other factors BUT: Adding complexity to the questions affects answers

58. MORE COMPLEX QUESTIONS Class Survey Responses Do you support the Death Penalty? 64% If given the option of “life without parole?“ 54% Applegate, Cullen, Turner and Sundt (1996) 3 Strikes legislation 90% of Ohio residents supported 3 Strikes in general Only 17% choose life in prison as a punishment when given specific cases

59. WHAT ABOUT “REHABILITATION” OR PREVENTION? Again, public attitudes are complex Does the public want their pound of flesh? YES, believe in retribution and deterrence Does the public also want rehabilitation? YES, especially for drug/property offenses Is the public willing to use tax dollars for prevention? YES

60. FEATURE PRESENTATION (IF TIME) 4 Things to Watch for: 1.Ideology (not my primary reason for showing) – BUT, very ideological movie 2.Role of media 3.Fear of crime 4.What is the central question of the movie? – This is a question we will address in “theory”