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CRIMINOLOGY TODAY

CRIMINOLOGY TODAY. Chapter 1 – What is Criminology? Chapter 2 – Patterns of Crime. Introduction. CSI – most popular TV show Reveals a penchant among American TV viewers for crime-related entertainment and fascination with criminal motivation and detective work.

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CRIMINOLOGY TODAY

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  1. CRIMINOLOGY TODAY Chapter 1 – What is Criminology? Chapter 2 – Patterns of Crime

  2. Introduction • CSI – most popular TV show • Reveals a penchant among American TV viewers for crime-related entertainment and fascination with criminal motivation and detective work. • Reality TV Shows – America’s Most Wanted…

  3. What is crime? • Definitional perspectives of crime • Legalistic • Political • Sociological • Psychological • Legalistic perspective: crime is human conduct in violation of the criminal laws of the state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction that has the power to make such laws.

  4. What is crime? Con’t • Edwin Sutherland is regarded by many as the founding figure (father) in American criminology. • We will use the legalistic approach to crime, but it is important to realize that laws are social products. • Crime is a socially relative in the sense that it is created by legislative activity. • Without a law defining it, there can be no crime. (*common law – Chapter 4) • Criminalize – to make illegal • Statute – a formal written enactment of a legislative body • Statutory law – law in the form of statutes or formal, written strictures made by a legislature or governing body with the power to make law.

  5. What is crime? Con’t • Changes in law – criminalized certain types of behavior – Ex. Human cloning • Political perspective – power structures that exist in society and asserts that criminal laws do not necessarily bear any inherent relationship to popular notions of right and wrong. • Sociological perspective – crime is an antisocial act of such a nature that its repression is necessary or is supposed to be necessary to the preservation of the existing system of society. • Sociological approach – criminalizes indirect harm – example – businessman efforts injuries to workers or consumers – (example: bad debt)

  6. Crime and Deviance • Deviant behavior – human activity that violates social norms • Some deviance doesn’t violate law. Example - Deviant styles of dress. • Example – Patricia Marks – page 8 bottom • Ex. - ABC requirements Illegal Deviant

  7. ABC REGULATIONS • 20-X-6-.11. Prohibition Of Obscene, Lewd Or Indecent Conduct On Licensed Premises. • (1) No ABC Board licensee shall permit bottomless dancing, topless dancing wherein the portion of the female breast beneath the top of the nipple is exposed, or such performing, or any other lewd or indecent conduct on the premises of such licensee. • (2) No ABC Board licensee shall permit any person to perform acts of or acts which simulate: • (a) Sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation or any sexual acts which are prohibited by law. • (b) The touching, caressing or fondling on the breasts, buttocks, anus or genitals. • (c) The displaying of the portion of the female breast beneath the top of the nipple, pubic hair, anus, vulva or genitals. • (3) No ABC Board licensee shall permit any patron, customer or member to touch, caress or fondle the breasts, buttocks, anus, genitals or any part of the body or clothing of a performer. Performers may not touch, caress or fondle the breast, buttocks, anus, genitals or any part of the body or clothing of patrons or other performers. • (4) No ABC Board licensee shall permit the showing of films, still pictures, electronic reproduction or other visual reproductions depicting: • (a) Acts or simulated acts of sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation or any sexual acts which are prohibited by law. • (b) Any person being touched, caressed or fondled on the breasts, buttocks, anus or genitals. • (c) Scenes wherein a person displays the vulva or the anus or the genitals. • (d) Scenes wherein artificial devices or inanimate objects are employed to depict, or drawings are employed to portray, any of the prohibited activities described above.

  8. Crime and Deviance • Common conduct – still against the law – Ex. Speeding • Some behaviors are illegal some places and not in others – Ex. Gambling, 38 states have lotteries, Prostitution is illegal everywhere but Nevada • (Be ready for discussion question under topic of crime and deviance)

  9. What Should Be Criminal? • Consensus viewpoint – holds that laws should be enacted to criminalize given forms of behavior when members of society generally agree that such laws are necessary. • Pluralist view of crime – recognizes the importance of diversity in societies. Behaviors are typically criminalized through a political process only after debate over appropriate course of action. Legislation and then Courts. • Ex. - Virginia Tech University shootings – caused further examination of the gun control debate • Ex. Page 11 – Polygamy - Jeffs

  10. What do criminologists do? • Criminologist – one who is trained in the field of criminology . Also, one who studies crime, criminals, and criminal behavior. • Criminalist – A specialist in the collection and examination of the physical evidence of crime. • Page 13, Table 1-1 – What do criminologist do?

  11. Definitions you should learn. • Social policy – a government initiative, program, or plan intended to address problems in society. Ex. War on Crime • Criminology – an interdisciplinary profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, including their forms, causes, legal aspects and control • Criminality – a behavioral predisposition that disproportionately favors criminal activity. • Criminal justice – the scientific study of crime, the criminal law, and components of criminal justice system, including the police, courts, and corrections.

  12. More definitions… • Theory – a series of interrelated propositions that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and ultimately control some class of events. • General theory – a theory that attempts to explain all (or at least most) forms of criminal conduct through a single, overarching approach. • Unicausal – having one cause. • Intergrated theory – an explanatory perspective that merges (or attempts to merge) concepts drawn from different sources.

  13. Criminology and Social Policy • Violence in TV, music, video games, and movies leads to increased levels of violent behavior among children – True or False. • Despite all the studies, policymakers have been reluctant to curtail the production of violent media, and violence on TV and in video games – still way of life in USA. Why? • Professionals are aware of the need to link sound social policy with criminological research

  14. Social Policy & Crime Concerns • Public safety is back in the forefront of national issues – Ex. Random violence, etc. (media) • 67% in US think crime is more prevalent than before and 49% think it is extremely serious or very serious. • Crime, education and economy are enduring worries.

  15. Social Problems vs.Social Responsibility • Social problems perspective – the belief that crime is a manifestation of underlying social problems, such as poverty, discrimination, pervasive family violence, inadequate socialization practices, and the breakdown of traditional social institutions. • Proponents of the social problems perspective typically foresee solutions to the crime problem as coming in the form of large-scale government expenditures in support of social programs designed to address the issues that are perceived to lie at the root of crime.

  16. Social Problems vs.Social Responsibility • Social responsibility perspective – the belief that individuals are fundamentally responsible for their own behavior and that they choose crime over other, more law-abiding courses of action. • Advocates of this perspective say their emphasis is on individual choice, tend to believe that social programs do little to solve the problem of crime because, they say, a certain number of crime-prone individuals, for a variety of personal reasons, will always make irresponsible choices. • They suggest highly personalized crime reduction strategies based on firm punishments, imprisonment, individualized rehabilitation, increased security, and wider use of police power.

  17. Which Perspective is it? • Sue Bell Cobb: Drug Courts in all 67 Counties • The Montgomery Advertiser has an article entitled "Drug courts help non-violent offenders mend lives" in which it states that Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Sue Bell Cobb, wants to have drug courts established in all 67 of Alabama's counties by the end of her term Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb

  18. Causes & Consequences of Crime • Author says crime is not an isolated individual activity but a social event. • Crime carries different meanings for the offender and the victim. • Social relativity – the notion that social events are differently interpreted according to the cultural experiences and personal interests of the initiator, the observer, or the recipient of that behavior.

  19. The Murder of John Lennon p. 25 • What was the initial thoughts on why Chapman killed Lennon? • What did Chapman relate about his mindset when he killed him? • What is Chapman’s claim now? • Will we ever be sure of motivation?

  20. Theory of case • accident vs. self defense

  21. More definitions… • Criminal justice system – the various agencies of justice, especially the police, courts, and corrections, whose goal it is to apprehend, convict, punish, and rehabilitate law violators. • Socialization – the lifelong process of social experience whereby individuals acquire the cultural patterns of their society.

  22. Society and problems of victims in our system • Drug dealer crime – robbing a drug dealer • Date rape • Way people think others should react • Mass media – role models • Homicide rates vs. medical services • Court overload and its effect

  23. Sociological perspective • Will continue to dominate the field of criminology • Its dominance is rooted in the fact that crime – regardless of all the causative nuances that may be identified in its development – occurs within the context of the social world. • The primary significance of crime and of criminal behavior is fundamentally social in nature, and any control over crime must stem from effective social policy.

  24. PATTERNS OF CRIME CHAPTER 2 • Wesley “Pop” Honeywood, page 36 • Why is Pop’s story a statistical anomaly? • People 65 and older commit fewer than 1% of all crimes • Demographics – the characteristics of population groups, usually expressed in statistical fashion.

  25. Quetelet and Guerry • Crime stats – one of the first investigators was Andre Michel Guerry (1802-1866) who calculated per capita crime rates throughout various French provinces in the early 1800s. • Assessing the degree to which crime rates vary with climate, sex and age was Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1864) a Belgian astronomer and mathematician.

  26. Statistical school • Criminologist perspective with roots in the early 1800s that seeks to uncover correlations between crime rates and other types of demographic data.

  27. NCVS, UCR and NIBRS • NCVS – National Crime Victimization Survey – a survey conducted annually by the Bureau of Justice Statistics that provides data on surveyed households that report they were affected by crime. • UCR – Uniform Crime Reporting Program – A Federal Bureau of Investigation summation of crime statistics tallied annually and consisting primarily of data on crimes reported to the police and on arrests. • NIBRS – National Incident-Based Reporting System – A new and enhanced statistical reporting system that will collect data on each single incident and arrest within 22 crime categories.

  28. UCR Program • Part 1 Offenses – the crimes of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft, as defined under the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

  29. UCR 2007 Stats

  30. Newton man sentenced to 42 years for murder • Sep 25 2008 12:00AM  By Special to the Sun-Courier  • Judge P.B. McLaughlin sentenced Darrin Keith Johnson of Newton to 42 years last Thursday for the stabbing death of his wife on Christmas Eve 2007. Johnson admitted to stabbing Allison Fuller Johnson multiple times in the chest and neck. He pled guilty to the charge on Aug. 18. During the sentencing hearing at the Dale County Courthouse in Ozark, District Attorney Kirke Adams argued for a stiff sentence in light of the violent nature of the crime and because the Johnsons' 5-year-old child witnessed the murder. William White, Johnson's attorney, asked for a 20-year sentence and leniency. Testimony at the hearing included the 911 tape, divorce documents and crime scene photos. McLaughlin gave Johnson credit for pleading guilty and for not having any prior felonies, but noted that his wife had a life expectancy of another 42 years at the time of her death. "The family and I feel that justice was served, especially since the Department of Corrections considers a sentence of 30 years to be equal to life. Johnson received a greater sentence," Adams said. "It is a shame that Johnson's actions did not meet the legal requirements for capital murder, and therefore, he will be eligible to be released one day. I will make sure that I attend the parole hearing with the family to protest his release every time he becomes eligible." Alabama law provides inmates with a first parole hearing within one-third of their sentence or 10 years which ever is less, therefore, Johnson will be eligible for parole in 10 years. Darrin Keith Johnson 2007 murder that missed the stats Dale County Jail awaiting transport to prison

  31. More Definitions . . . • Clearance rate – the proportion of reported or discovered crimes within a given offense category that are solved (has nothing to do with successful in-court prosecutions) • Dark figure of crime – the numerical total of unreported crimes that are not reflected in official crime statistics.

  32. The Darkest Figure - Rape • Some experts say that rape is the most underreported crime in the FBI data, with four to five times as many rapes occurring each year as are reported. Reasons… • Fear of perpetrator • Shame, which may carry over from traditional attitudes about sexual behavior and a woman’s role in sexual encounters • Fears the victim may have of not being believed • Fear of further participation in the justice system – testify – cross-examination and public scrutiny

  33. Ozark Man found Guilty of Rape and Sexual Abuse of Nine Year Old Child • Date: 09/10/2008 It took a Dale County jury less than 10 minutes to return a verdict of guilty on all three counts. Morris Michael Glasscock, 45, Ozark, Alabama was found guilty of two counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old and guilty of rape of a child less than 12 years old. The sexual abuse charges are Class B felonies that carry a 2 to 20 year sentence, and the rape charge is a Class A felony that carries a 10 to 99 years or life sentence. Glasscock has been in jail since his arrest on the rape charge and was remanded by Judge P. B. McLaughlin, Jr. until sentencing. District Attorney Kirke Adams said the case was a team effort. The excellent work of Harvey Mathis, Chief Investigator for the Dale County Sheriff’s Department, the forensic interviewers from the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) and Jennifer Bonam of DHR all contributed to the success in the case. In addition, Adams said, “we learned a great deal in this case about the tremendous work that is done by Flowers Hospital’s SART/SANE program from Nurse Susan Marsh. The ability to show the jury physical evidence of a rape goes a long way with juries in these cases.” A prior victim of Glasscock was allowed to testify in the case about the similar sexual abuse that she suffered at the hand of Glasscock when she was also 9 years old. Adams said, “this Defendant ended the innocence of this child, and I am so grateful to the jury for putting a final end to the Defendant’s trail of victims.” The District Attorney’s Office expects to call other victims of Glasscock at the sentencing hearing. Morris Michael Glasscock A 20 year old former step-daughter came and testified that he had done the same thing to her when she was 9 years old. Sentencing to be set within the next month.

  34. Hate Crimes • A criminal offense in which the motive is hatred, bias, or prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation of another individual or group of individuals. • Hate Crime stats were mandated by the Hate Crimes Act of 1990. • 7,489 hate crime incidents reported in 2006. • 52.5% motivated by racial bias, 16.4% by religious bias, 16.4% by bias based sexual orientation and 14.2% by bias based on national origin. • The vast majority of hate crimes are not committed by organized hate groups and their members, but by teenagers, primarily white males, acting alone or in a group.

  35. NCVS • NCVS began collecting data in 1972. • It differs from FBI-supported programs in one especially significant way: Rather than depending on reports of crimes to the police, the data contained in the NCVS consist of information elicited through interviews with members of randomly selected households throughout the nation. • NCVS uncovers a large number of crimes that may not have been reported, and it is therefore regarded by researchers as a more accurate measure of the actual incidence of crime in the US.

  36. NCVS Findings • Victims report about half of the violent crimes and about 40% of the property crimes that they experience to the police. • Violent crimes against females are more likely to be reported to police than those against males, and African American females are the most likely of all to report violent victimization when it occurs.

  37. Concern about Crime • NCVS reports decline in victimization in recent years, but there continues to be high concern about crime among the public. • Factors that explain: • A persistent media focus on stranger-precipitated violent crime and random acts of violence and on the seemingly inability of the criminal justice system to protect innocent victims.

  38. Concern about Crime, Con’t. • A continuation of the “war on drugs” and the ongoing publicity associated with drug arrests • The sense that crime rates are just “taking a breather” and that they retain explosive potential, which could manifest should American neighborhoods drop their guard • An increased fear of terrorism and terrorism-related crimes. • Recent evidence seems to indicate that the decline in crime is ending, and that we may be on the cusp of a new cycle of increased crime.

  39. Crime in World Context • Criminality Index – the actual extent of the crime problem in a society. The criminality index is computed by adding the actual crime rate and the latent crime rates. • Latent crime rate – a rate of crime calculated on the basis of crimes that would likely be committed by those who are in prison or jail or who are otherwise incapacitated by the justice system. • Criminality index = actual crime rate + latent crime rate

  40. Major Crimes in U.S. • Criminal Homicide – the illegal killing of one human being by another. • First degree murder – criminal homicide that is planned or involves premeditation • Second degree murder – criminal homicide that is unplanned and that is often described as “a crime of passion” • Negligent homicide – the act of causing the death of another person by recklessness or gross negligence • Felony murder – a special class of criminal homicide in which an offender may be charged with first-degree murder when that person’s criminal activity results in another in another person’s death.

  41. Ariton teen to be tried in juvenile court for Coach Horne’s death • Dothan Eagle - Published: October 10, 2008 • An Ariton teenager who authorities said failed to yield the right-of-way in the wreck that killed Dale County High School football coach Todd Horne will face charges in juvenile court for criminally negligent homicide. • Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams said a grand jury decided the boy will be tried in juvenile court after testimony from 10 witnesses. • The boy’s sentence will now be left up to a juvenile court judge, although Adams said the state would not seek any criminal detention for the crime. • Horne died after a wreck on U.S. 231 in Ozark this summer when the 2005 GMC truck he was driving collided with the 1974 Chevrolet C10 pickup that the boy drove off Camilla Avenue. • Ozark police said the boy failed to yield the right-of-way. • Four other coaches in Horne’s vehicle - Chad McKnight, Wesley Locke, Matt Phillips and Drew Danner - were injured in the wreck, but neither the teen nor the passenger in his vehicle was injured, according to initial reports. • Because he will be tried as a juvenile, the boy’s name was not released.

  42. Murder pled to Manslaughter Daleville Sun-Courier June 25, 2008 Johnny William Draugh Easterling CF Release Date: 6/7/2026

  43. Murder stats • 17,034 murders were committed throughout the U.S. in 2006. The 2006 rate of criminal homicide was 5.7 people murdered for every 100,000 individuals in the U.S. population. • Although African Americans make up only 13% of the American population, they typically account for almost 50% of all people arrested for murder. • Only 12.7% of murders were committed by strangers, and the relationship between killer and victim was undetermined for 44% of all reported murders. • 52% of all murder victims die of handgun-inflicted injuries. • 26% of all murders resulted from arguments and 16% were the consequence of other felonious activity like robbery, rape or arson.

  44. Rape • Rape (NCVS) - carnal knowledge through the use of force or the threat of force, including attempts. Statutory rape (w/o force) is excluded. Both heterosexual and homosexual rape are included. • Forcible Rape (UCR/NIBRS) The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. • Spousal Rape – the rape of one spouse by the other. • Date Rape – unlawful forced sexual intercourse with a woman against her will that occurs within the context of a dating relationship. • Clarkson example page 57

  45. Alabama: Rape 1st • § 13A-6-61. Rape in the first degree. • (a) A person commits the crime of rape in the first degree if: • (1) He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex by forcible compulsion; or • (2) He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated; or • (3) He or she, being 16 years or older, engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is less than 12 years old. • (b) Rape in the first degree is a Class A felony.

  46. Alabama Definitions • § 13A-6-60. Definitions. • The following definitions apply in this article: • (1) SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. Such term has its ordinary meaning and occurs upon any penetration, however slight; emission is not required. • (2) DEVIATE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. Any act of sexual gratification between persons not married to each other involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another. • (3) SEXUAL CONTACT. Any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person not married to the actor, done for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party. • (4) FEMALE. Any female person. • (5) MENTALLY DEFECTIVE. Such term means that a person suffers from a mental disease or defect which renders him incapable of appraising the nature of his conduct. • (6) MENTALLY INCAPACITATED. Such term means that a person is rendered temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling his conduct owing to the influence of a narcotic or intoxicating substance administered to him without his consent, or to any other incapacitating act committed upon him without his consent. • (7) PHYSICALLY HELPLESS. Such term means that a person is unconscious or for any other reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act. • (8) FORCIBLE COMPULSION. Physical force that overcomes earnest resistance or a threat, express or implied, that places a person in fear of immediate death or serious physical injury to himself or another person.

  47. Alabama: Rape 2nd • § 13A-6-62. Rape in the second degree. • (a) A person commits the crime of rape in the second degree if: • (1) Being 16 years old or older, he or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex less than 16 and more than 12 years old; provided, however, the actor is at least two years older than the member of the opposite sex. • (2) He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is incapable of consent by reason of being mentally defective. • (b) Rape in the second degree is a Class B felony.

  48. Alabama: Sodomy 1st • § 13A-6-63. Sodomy in the first degree. • (a) A person commits the crime of sodomy in the first degree if: • (1) He engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another person by forcible compulsion; or • (2) He engages in deviate sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated; or • (3) He, being 16 years old or older, engages in deviate sexual intercourse with a person who is less than 12 years old. • (b) Sodomy in the first degree is a Class A felony.

  49. Alabama: Sexual Torture • § 13A-6-65.1. Sexual torture. • (a) A person commits the crime of sexual torture: • (1) By penetrating the vagina or anus or mouth of another person with an inanimate object by forcible compulsion with the intent to sexually torture or to sexually abuse. • (2) By penetrating the vagina or anus or mouth of a person who is incapable of consent by reason of physical helplessness or mental incapacity with an inanimate object, with the intent to sexually torture or to sexually abuse. • (3) By penetrating the vagina or anus or mouth of a person who is less than 12 years old with an inanimate object, by a person who is 16 years old or older with the intent to sexually torture or to sexually abuse. • (b) The crime of sexual torture is a Class A felony.

  50. Sexual Torture to Sexual Abuse JOHN GILBERT ROGERS Easterling CF Release Date: 9/27/2023 Charged with 3 counts of Sexual Torture and one count of Sexual Abuse 1st Found guilty of 4 counts of Sexual Abuse 1st Received sentence of 10 years on each count and sentences were run consecutively for a total of 40 years in prison.

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