Chapter 2: Causes of Crime

1. Chapter 2: Causes of Crime Given a certain set of circumstances, why do individuals commit certain crimes?

2. Causes of Crime & Theories • Criminology is the study of crime & the causes of criminal behavior. • Criminologists are always trying to answer the question: Why do people commit crime? • They use correlation & causation help answer that question. • Correlation: when 2 variables seem to work together. • Causation: one variable is responsible for change in the other.

3. We know that crime rates & the sale of snowballs go up in the summer time. • Is there a correlation between the two? A correlation would mean that every time the crime rate went up, snowball sales would go up & vice versa. • Is there causation? Does that sale of snowballs cause crime rates to go up in the summer? Or does the crime rate go up because snowballs are on sale? • The problem is that it is very difficult to predict violent behavior & the source of that violent behavior.

4. Crime & Free Will: Is there a Choice in Crime? • Why do people commit crimes? • Because they choose to commit crimes (free will.) • This is known as choice theory. • Choice theory is not absolute—extenuatingcircumstancesmay show that the person could not make a rational decision. • In these cases, the defendant may not be punished as severely as in other cases.

5. Classical Theory • Developed by Cesare Beccaria & Jeremy Bentham (1700s.) • People have free will to choose their behavior. • Crime (as a choice) is more attractive to some than following the law. • Following the law is about avoiding punishment &pain vs. the gain from criminal activity. • Threat of punishment is the primary deterrent to crime (Bentham.)

6. 4 Goals of Punishment • To prevent all crime • When it cannot prevent crime, to assure that a criminal will commit a lesser crime to avoid a harsher punishment. • To give the criminal an incentive not to harm others in the pursuit of crime. • To prevent crime at the least possible cost to society. (Jeremy Bentham)

7. Positivism Cesare Lombroso • Late 19th century • Criminal behavior is determined by external forces (biological, psychological, social.) • Criminality is similar to mental illness which can be passed down from one generation to another (genetic predisposition.) • People who commit crimes have no free choice when it comes to wrong doing (predetermined at birth.) • Emphasis on rehabilitation & social programs.

8. Rational Choice Theory • Rehab & social programs did not help crime rates go down so an updated version of positivism was created. • RCT: a person makes a choice after considering the rewards & punishments of criminal activity. • The rewards of criminal activity can be anything from sensual to financial. • The seduction of crime—the rush some people experience for successfully committing a crime.

9. In the U.S. policymakers have added another variable—harsh punishment. • Does harsh punishment deter criminal activity? • Discuss…… • Are people born criminal or is crime a choice? • Discuss…… • Beccaria based his theory on rationalist principles. What is the flaw in using rationalism to explain criminal behavior?

10. Biological & Psychological Theories • Born criminal • Certain biological or psychological traits in individuals could incline them toward criminal behavior given a certain set of circumstances. • AKA “trait theories” • Similar to Social Darwinism or eugenics. • Researchers think certain biochemical conditions can influence behavior. • Biochemical conditions can be either genetic or environmental.

11. Basically these show the influence of psychology on the defense of the accused. • The “Twinkie defense”—the defendant suffered a “mood disturbance” caused in part by an addiction to high-sugar junk food. • Post-partum psychosis • Not guilty by reason of insanity • Biochemical substances like hormones or steroid use have been linked to aggressive behavior in many people. • “Roid Rage” • Violent crime perps = high testosterone levels

12. Genetics & Crime • Rational Choice Theory is being replaced by the Gene-Based Evolutionary Theory. • G-BET is based on the assumption that people are predisposed to certainbehavioral patterns. • What used to be beneficial human survival patterns are now labeled as criminal actions. • Example—extreme sexual aggressiveness in males. • Another theory concerns the “crime gene.”

13. The Crime Gene • A person’s genetic make up may contribute to personality traits associated with criminal behavior. • The court system has dismissed the idea of the crime gene. • Medical evidence has not been able to establish a causal relationship between genetic defects & criminal behavior. • But that doesn’t stop scientists from studying the presumed link between genetics & criminal behavior

14. How much of criminal behavior is nature vs. nurture? • Discuss……. • What would be some of the ramifications IF scientists found a crime gene? • Discuss……. • Why would it be important to prove a genetic link to criminal behavior? • Discuss…….

15. Psychology & Crime • Sigmund Freud—founder of psychoanalysis • His followers have proposed a psychoanalytic theory for criminal behavior. • Freud’s theory of personality • Id: controls sexual urges • Ego: controls behavior that leads to the fulfillment of the id. • Superego: directly related to the conscience; determines which actions right & wrong (person’s environment)

16. Theory believes that people who exhibit criminal behavior have either an overdeveloped or underdeveloped superego. • Strong ego—feelings of guilt that a person commits a crime in order to be punished. • Weak superego—person cannot control his or her violent urges. • Psychoanalytical theory is controversial b/c it relies on untested hypothesis. • Influence of psychoanalytical theory comes in the terms of psychopath/sociopath. • The terms are interchangeable.

17. Characteristics of the psychopath: • Superficial charm and average intelligence. • Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking. • Absence of nervousness or neurotic manifestations. • Unreliability. • Untruthfulness and insincerity. • Lack of remorse or shame. • Antisocial behavior without apparent compunction. • Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience • Pathological egocentricity and incapacity to love.

18. General poverty in major affective reactions. • Specific loss of insight. • Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations. • Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink and sometimes without. • Suicide threats rarely carried out. • Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated. • Failure to follow any life plan. • Keep in mind, that all people have some characteristics but it’s the extreme version that constitutes psychopathy.

19. Trait Theories & Public Policy • Choice theory—punishing wrongdoers • Biological & psychological—identify anti-social behavior & treat it (preventive) • People who show antisocial behavior should be treated with psychotropic drugs behavior • People who are incarcerated should have some type of therapy or counseling to address root causes of their antisocial behaviors. • Rehab vs. retribution

20. Sociological Theories of Crime • Sociology: the study of societies & social aspects of cultures & people. • These theories focus on social & physical environmental factors in their study of criminal behavior. • The Chicago School developed the following theories • Social Disorganization Theory • Strain Theory • Cultural Deviance Theory

21. The Chicago School • Chicago School gathered empirical evidence from the slums of the city. • Empirical = info. gained by means of observation & experimentation • Correlation between conditions of poverty & high rates of crime. • Conditions of poverty include inadequate housing & lack of economic opportunities, failing school systems. • Neighborhood conditions greater determinant effect than ethnicity, race, or religion.

22. Social Disorganization Theory • The community is disorganized which leads to antisocial behavior & criminal activity. • Breakdown in the social controls of the community. • Elevated levels of high school dropouts, unemployment, deteriorating infrastructures, single parent families, drug abuse, etc. • Found mostly in inner-city areas. • SDT is based on traditional community standards.

23. Strain Theory • Life goals of people are similar—good job, financial success/stability, nice housing. • Inability to achieve these goals leads to strain (anger or frustration.) • People who live in disorganized communities alleviate the strain by engaging in criminal activity. • Of course, not all people who live in disorganized communities turn to crime. • General Strain Theory tries to explain why some people turn to crime while others don’t.

24. Cultural Deviance Theory • People adapt to the values of their subculture. • Subculture: a subdivision that exists inside a dominant culture group. • Subculture has its own standards of behavior & values. • Members of low-income subcultures are more likely to value ideas that are contrary to the values of society in general. • Gangsta Rap subculture: glamorization of violent crime, sexism, misogyny, materialism

25. Public Policy • Increase in social programs that change the conditions that lead to criminal behavior. • Decrease unemployment, reduce poverty, improve schools, more opportunities for economic stability.

26. Victimology • Study of the relationship between victims & offenders & also victims & the criminal justice system. • Post-WWII—interest in the scientific study of crime • Growing interest on the victim • Effect victims have on the police, court system, & corrections

27. Hans von Hentig: credited with introducing the idea that more attention needs to be placed on the victim’s role in crime.

28. Blaming the victim—the victim played a role in the crime. • Heavily criticized concept • Criminologists began to concentrate on the physical, emotional, & financial damages suffered by crime victims. • Crime victims suffer from a number of problems ranging from lost wages to mental health problems & substance abuse. • Being a victim may also lead to being an offender (sex abuse victim become an abuser later in life.)

29. Factors of Victimization • What people are most at risk of being victims of crime? • Presently the demographic group that is particularly at risk would include young, low-income African-Americans. • Criminologists want to explore what aspects of an individual’s life would lead to his being a crime victim. • There are many aspects of a person’s life that can lead to victimization.

30. Some factors include alcohol or drug use, risky behaviors, unfamiliar social situations, or unsafe surroundings. • Most criminologists agree that alcohol consumption has a causal effect on victimization under certain circumstances. • Men & alcohol use—aggressive & offensive behavior. • The vast majority of offenders are male even though rates of female offenders are on the rise. • Women are more likely to be victims of crime than men (sexual assault.)

31. Victim’s Rights • Used to be, the victim’s role in the legal process was limited to appearing as a witness for the prosecution. • The victim sometimes becomes an afterthought; the system is more concerned with the guilt or innocence of the defendant. • Advocates of victim’s rights are more concerned with preventing “system revictimization.” • Keeping the focus on the victim & the crime.

32. State Laws • Many states have laws protecting the rights of crime victims. • Crime victims may receive restitution. • Victims may assist in the prosecution & sentencing of the offender. • Protection from harassment or abuse from the criminal justice system (intrusive police interviews.) • Many more regulations can be found to help victims of crime.

33. Federal Level • Inconsistency of state laws make many people feel that victim’s rights need to be added to the Constitution. • Constitution has numerous safe guards for defendants but never mentions victim’s rights. • Federal legislation was passed to give victims certain rights in the federal court system. • The Europeans are much farther a head in this field than the U.S.

34. Conclusion • There are many different theories about what causes crime. • Studying crime helps to understand the nature of criminal activity. • By studying crime, criminologists established the concept of the chronic offender. • Career criminals begin as juvenile offenders;. • 6% of juvenile offenders were responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime.

35. This is the “chronic 6%” concept. • States have enacted “habitual offender” laws to deal with the chronic offenders (3 strikes laws.) • Policing has taken a more pro-active approach. • Law enforcement efforts have focused on the community & conditions in the community (community policing programs.) • “Broken window” theory: broken windows & neglected property lead to the decay & eventual destruction of a neighborhood which in turn leads to crime.