HS811 Crime final review

Becarria / Classical Criminology
Social ecology / area of studies (Consensus)
Merton (anomie / strain) (CS)
Matza
Becker, Chambliss, Cohen, Goffman (interactionist)
Problem of official studies
Sutherland - White collar (CS)
Conflict studies - eg Chambliss, Kolko, Hall (Conflict)
Studies abt woman, including Messerschmidt (INT)
Right Realism - target hardening, ....
Left Realism (Use most of the above theories) [Sq of crime]
Police & Prison

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Essay
-Org
-Start, end pt[Conclusion]

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Overview
Classical Criminology
What give the rights to punish? Equal rights of rational men

Key idea: “rule of law”; justice (equally fair to all – blind to status differences of people, and other differences)

BUT unfortunately we continue unequal in property, etc, so we cannot fully practice the principles

Positivists
What causes criminals? comparing criminals with non-criminals
Control groups may not be valid control groups

Lombroso – born morally inferior.
Sheldon - born aggressive, impulsive, blithely (happily) unconcerned.
Eysenck – born unconditionable.
McCords and Gluecks – are unloved and unsupervised.
Shaw and McKay – are living in an area of mixed values and some criminals living there that one mixes with & can learn from.

Merton
What factors within American society (at structural level) cause criminals?

Strong materialistic values/success, plus structured lack of real opportunities of materialistic success

Sutherland
But, why do we not notice much of the criminality? done at work and it is done by high status people
Other high status people don’t like to send their sort of people into the criminal courts or into prison.
However, it is still done because of mixing with other people who do it.

Interactionists (labeling theory)
asking the wrong questions
“Crimes” and “criminals” are not “definite things”.
Criminals don’t come before crime, they come a long, long time after the first actions that are interpreted as crime.
And actions can only be “interpreted” as crimes if someone makes a law first.

what would-be law makers, & what law enforcers do?
=crusades to make laws, or unmake laws.
=panics about behavior and stop-and-search people ….
=label people

Marxists to Interactionists "Capitalist society”

Feminists: socially constructed “male-ness”

Right Realists: Practical changes instead of theories

Left Realists
Taking account first of those who suffer from the situation most.
And using a square as a way to organize it.”

Post-Modernists: “No ultimate truth"

Past year paper
a)Sutherland White Collar Crime. [how, why impt?]
b)Relevant in SG

1) S defined WCC ... He included ...
2) His studies ... huge amount, unrecorded
3) Impt because middle/high status crime ignored ...
4) but he put together some crimes that may be different ….
5/6) In Singapore,...

Merton vs Conflict
1. Merton focussed on and explaining crime, Conflict theory analysis whole society, crime just small element// or both analyse structures and connection to crime but focussed on individuals who commit crime // or …
[... vs Sub/super structure]
2, 3 Merton theory – [Zone in transition - mixed values, rundown, not well-off to move away, immigrant]
4, 5. Conflict theory –
6. Final summary point, or new point

Square of Crime
1. LR, (L Idealists, R Realists) ..
2. Square of crime – four parts, draw and label it.
3, 4, 5, 6. Look at one “corner” each. Refer to theories that are utilised. E.g. State and social control – Conflict theory, and interactionist theory. Work on prisons, etc.
7. Own view if LR is fully comprehensive. Is anything left out?