1. Unit 1: Chapter 2
Causes of Crime

2. Bell Work
How is it possible to have a consensus about what should or should not be illegal in country with several hundred million adults from all races, religions, and walks of life?
Although DNA profiling has been a boon for law enforcement, why are some observers concerned about its widespread use?

3. Criminology and Correlation vs. Causation Criminology: Correlation:
Exploring the Causes of Crime
Criminology and Correlation vs. Causation
Criminology:
“The scientific study of crime and the causes of criminal behavior”
Correlation:
Correlation between two variables means that they tend to vary together
Ice Cream Sales and Crime in the Summer?
Causation:
Causation means that one variable is responsible for the change in the other

4. Crime and Free Will: Choice Theories of Crime
Exploring the Causes of Crime
Crime and Free Will: Choice Theories of Crime
Classical Criminology
People have free will to choose their behavior
Crime as a choice, is more attractive to some than abiding by the law
People may refrain from crime if the punishment or pain for it may be greater than the gain from it
Threat of punishment is the primary deterrent to crime

5. Exploring the Causes of Crime
Positivism
“A school of social science that sees criminal and delinquent behavior as the result of biological, psychological, and social forces.”
Because wrongdoers are driven to deviancy by external factors, they should not be punished but treated to lessen the influence of those factors.

6. Exploring the Causes of Crime
Biological and Psychological Theories of Crime
Biological Theories
Biochemical Conditions and Crime
Genetics and Crime
Behavioral Genes
Twin Studies
Brain Activity and Crime
Psychological Theories
Psychoanalytic Theory – id, ego, superego
Psychopaths

7. Psychological Theories
Psychoanalytic Theory
Id- controls sexual urges
Ego- controls behavior that leads to the fulfillment of id
Superego- directly related to the conscience and determines which actions are right and wrong, with person’s environment
Psychopath/Sociopath, Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

8. Psychopath/Sociopath, Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)
Repeat unlawful behavior
Deceitfulness, persistent lying for profit or pleasure
Impulsiveness or failure to plan for future
Reckless disregard for safety
Irresponsibility, unemployment or indebtedness
Lack remorse
Aggressiveness in form of repeated fights or assaults

9. Substance Abuse Disorders
Drug Abuse- the use of any drug- licit or illicit- that causes either psychological or physiological harm to the abuser or to third parties
Dopamine
Medical Model of Addiction- addicts are not criminals, ill individuals, rehabilitate
Criminal Model of Addiction- endanger society and should be treated the same as other criminals

10. Sociological Theories of Crime
Exploring the Causes of Crime
Sociological Theories of Crime
Social and Physical Environmental Factors
The Chicago School- human behavior reflects their environment
Social Disorganization Theory- crime is largely a product of unfavorable conditions in certain communities
Strain Theory- crime is a result of frustration felt by individuals who cannot reach their financial and personal goals through legitimate means
Cultural Deviance Theory- people adapt o the values of the subculture to which they belong

11. Figure 2.1 The Stages of Disorganization Theory

12. Family, Friends, and the Media: Social Processes of Crime
Exploring the Causes of Crime
Family, Friends, and the Media: Social Processes of Crime
Social Process Theories
“A school of criminology that considers criminal behavior to be the predictable result of a person’s interaction with his or her environment.”
Learning Theory
Criminal behavior is learned
Control Theory
Social bonds promote conformity to social norms
Labeling Theory
Society creates crime by labeling certain behavior and individuals as deviant

13. Social Conflict Theories
Exploring the Causes of Crime
Social Conflict Theories
Criminal behavior is the result of class conflict
Certain behavior is labeled illegal because the ruling class has an economic or social interest in restricting such behavior in order to protect the status quo.
Marxism vs. Capitalism
The Social Reality of Crime

14. Exploring the Causes of Crime
Life Course Theories
“The study of crime based on the belief that behavioral patterns developed in childhood can predict delinquent and criminal behavior later in life”
Self-Control Theory
Continuity Theory of Crime
The Possibility of Change
Moffitt believed there were two groups of youthful offenders: Those that age out of crime (their life of crime pertains to childhood), and those that continue to commit crime as adults

15. Exploring the Causes of Crime
Emerging Theories in Criminology
Biosocial Theory
Combines aspects of biological and sociological theories
Racial Threat Theory
Focuses on the relationship between modern racism and the amount of control the criminal justice system exerts on African Americans
Differential Coercion Theory
Focuses on the types of force that compel a person to commit crime
Convict Criminology
Involves the unique input of ex-inmates who offer experiential views of corrections

16. Victimology and Victims of Crime
“A school of criminology that studies why certain people are the victims of crime and the optimal role for victims in the criminal justice system”
The growing emphasis on the victim has had a profound impact on criminal justice administrators

17. Victimology and Victims of Crime
Repeat Victimization- certain people and places are more likely to be subject to criminal activity and that past victimization is a strong indicator of future victimization
Domestic Violence- willful neglect or physical violence within familial or intimate relationships

18. Victimology and Victims of Crime
Factors of Victimization
Aspects of an individual’s life, including gender, lifestyle, and environment affect the possibility of being a crime victim
Examples of the factors associated with victimization are:
Alcohol
At greatest risk are frequent and heavy drinkers
Gender
More consistent clues as to actual threat of violence toward women

19. Chronic Offenders- career criminals
Criminology from Theory to Practice
Chronic Offenders- career criminals
Earlier research suggested that a small group of juvenile offenders was responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime