Crime and Criminal
Justice: (Discussion Points from Chapter
6)
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1. The text begins
with an important distinction between the concepts of “Crime” and
“Deviance.” Deviance is the violation
of a norm while crime is the violation of a specific kind of norm—a law. A better example would be |
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UPDATE: Fornication
is no longer illegal in Virginia! The
law was changed in 2005 by a Virginia Supreme Court Ruling. An example of a law
that many people would object to: Ҥ 18.2-344 Fornication Any person, not being married, who
voluntarily shall have sexual intercourse with any other person, shall be
guilty of fornication, punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor. (If you’re wondering what the punishment
for a Class 4 misdemeanor is, see below): § 18.2-11 Punishment for
conviction of misdemeanor [in The authorized
punishments for conviction of a misdemeanor are: (a) For Class 1 misdemeanors, confinement in
jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500,
either or both. (b) For Class 2 misdemeanors, confinement in jail for not more than six
months and a fine of not more than $1,000, either or both. (c) For Class 3 misdemeanors, a fine of not more than $500. (d) For Class 4 misdemeanors, a fine of not more than $250.” |
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Finally, Taboos are norms that are so strong that
it is considered absolutely repulsive and disgusting to violate them; e.g.,
serving up the family cat for dinner on Thanksgiving Day in 2. Lets
start with crime rates— The 1990s saw a significant decline in violent crime
rates. (Its interesting that public
opinion polls indicated that people thought crime was increasing over
this period—Too much television?) If
you look at statistics collected through 2002, (See Figure 6-1 on page 138)
violent crimes (against persons) dropped from a high of around 750/100,000
population in 1991 to just under 500/100,000 population in 2002; The murder rate
has dropped since 1993 to levels found in 1960 (p. 137). Also, checking the FBI’s website
<http://www.fbi.gov/>for Index Crimes, the most recently available data
indicate that the rates for violent crimes of murder, forcible rape, robbery,
aggravated assault, and property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor
vehicle theft, and arson have also dropped between 1999 and 2002. a. The
following was taken directly from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports for
the year, 2002: |
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“During 2002, the number of violent
crimes declined nationally by 0.9 percent from the 2001 estimate. An examination
of 5- and 10-year trend data showed that the 2002 estimate of 1.4 million
violent crimes was 7.0 percent lower than the 1998 approximation and 25.9
percent below the 1993 figure. As in previous years, aggravated assaults
accounted for the largest share of the violent crime distribution, 62.7
percent. Robbery made up 29.5 percent of the total; forcible rape, 6.7
percent; and murder, 1.1 percent. The violent crime rate for 2002 was
estimated at 494.6 offenses per 100,000 persons, a decrease of 2.0 percent
from the previous year's rate. The current estimate was a decrease of 12.9
percent when compared to the 1998 rate and 33.8 percent when compared to the
1993 violent crime rate” (FBI. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm#cius). Check
out the FBI web page http://www.fbi.gov/
for more on crime statistics. |
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b. But, to
cast this in proper perspective, it must be noted that the 1.) J. John Palen,
in a social problems text published 2000 asserts the following: Each day 70 people in this country die of
homicide—5 times more people die by handguns in the U.S. every day than in
England IN AN ENTIRE YEAR. “American
children under the age of 15 are twelve times more likely to die by gunfire
than their counterparts in the rest of the industrialized world.” The text
also claims that “Homicide by firearms is the second leading cause of death
for 15 to 24 year olds” (pp. 326-328).
3. Types of criminal
offenses—felony; misdemeanor; homicide; murder; aggravated assault. What is the difference between crime and
delinquency? The FBI collects data on
eight Index Crimes (also referred to as “Part I Offenses”) under the
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, (FBI. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/html/web/appendices/07-append02.html): |
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The FBI’s
Uniform Crime Reporting Program “The
Uniform Crime Reporting Program classifies offenses into two groups, Part I
and Part II crimes. Each month, contributing agencies submit
information on the number of Part I offenses (Crime Index) known to law
enforcement; those offenses cleared by arrest or exceptional means; and the
age, sex, and race of persons arrested. Contributors provide only
arrest data for Part II offenses. The Part
I offenses, those that comprise the Crime Index due to their
seriousness and frequency, are defined below: Criminal homicide—a.) Murder and
nonnegligent manslaughter: the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by
another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to
kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded. The Program
classifies justifiable homicides separately and limits the definition
to: (1) the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line
of duty; or (2) the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by
a private citizen. b.) Manslaughter by negligence: the killing of
another person through gross negligence. Traffic fatalities are
excluded. While manslaughter by negligence is a Part I crime, it is not
included in the Crime Index. Forcible rape—The carnal knowledge
of a female forcibly and against her will. Rapes by force and attempts
or assaults to rape regardless of the age of the victim are included.
Statutory offenses (no force used—victim under age of consent) are
excluded. Robbery—The taking or attempting
to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or
persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim
in fear. Aggravated assault—An unlawful
attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or
aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied
by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily
harm. Simple assaults are excluded. Burglary (breaking or entering)—The unlawful
entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted forcible
entry is included. Larceny-theft (except motor vehicle theft)—The unlawful
taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or
constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles or
automobile accessories, shoplifting, pocket-picking, or the stealing of any
property or article which is not taken by force and violence or by
fraud. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence
games, forgery, worthless checks, etc., are excluded. Motor vehicle theft—The theft or
attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled
and runs on the surface and not on rails. Motorboats, construction
equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment are specifically excluded from
this category. Arson—Any willful or
malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a
dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property
of another, etc.” Source:
FBI. <http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/html/web/appendices/07-append02.html> |
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4. Crime
Statistics: Which of the eight
index offenses listed above, is the most underreported? According to the (U.S. Justice Department) National
Crime Victimization Survey, only 33% of all crime is reported to the
police. (Only 20% of all rapes are
reported). About half of all violent
crimes are committed by someone that the victim knows. a. The |
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BJS criminal victimization data
collections National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the Nation's
primary source of information on criminal victimization. Each year, data are
obtained from a nationally representative sample of 42,000 households
comprising nearly 76,000 persons on the frequency, characteristics and
consequences of criminal victimization in the Source: http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/cvict.htm#ncvs |
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5.
Characteristics of Criminals:
(See the Text). |
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6. Categories
of Crime: (Corporate; Organized;
Victimless; Hate
Crimes) White Collar Criminals—The
largest amount of unreported crime in the |
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7. Who
are the |
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<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm>. But more and more women are committing
violent crime. Most street crime is
committed by the young—Those under 25 account for 39% of all violent crime
arrests and 47% of all property crime arrests (Macionis,
p. 143). White collar crimes (fraud,, forgery, counterfeiting, etc. are mostly committed by older persons. African Americans, (12 percent of the total
population) accounted for about 38 percent of all those arrested for violent
crimes and about 30 percent of all people arrested for property crimes. According to John Palen,
Blacks are also much more likely to be the victims of both violent and
property crime—Over 85% of all violent crimes committed by Blacks are against
other Blacks. One exception is robbery
with 45% of all robberies involving a black offender and a white victim (Palen, 2000).
Social class and d crime—The rich may actually have a higher crime
rate than the poor if one takes into consideration white-collar and corporate
crime, organized crime, middle-class drug usage. The lower classes definitely commit more
street crime. Self-reported studies
indicate that the middle classes commit as much “hidden crime” as poor
people. Macionis
also points out that in the U.S., Blacks are five times more likely to spend time
in jail than whites, and that one-third of black males aged 20 through 29 are
in jail, on probation, or on parole (Macionis, p.
144). |
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8. The
Criminal Justice System (Police; Courts; Prisons): Community Policing and
the Broken Window Theory: Some feel that criminologists and the police
attribute the declining rates of urban violence to community policing. How does the “broken window theory” fit
into this? Plea Bargaining: “For every 100 felony arrests brought by
the police for prosecution, 49 are carried forward to trial and 45 of these
will be settled by plea bargains.” (Palen, 2000, p.
354). What is the future of plea
bargaining? Prisons: Functions of prisons—punishment;
retribution; deterrence; rehabilitation; social protection (or “restraint” by isolating the
criminals from the rest of society).
The country’s largest prison system is in |
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9.
Perspectives on crime and deviance:
Biological; Psychological; Sociological |
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10. Sociological
perspectives on crime: |
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a. Functionalism: One idea from this perspective is that
crime exists in society because it serves a function. (For example, it opens “alternative’ routes
for success to those who may not have the opportunity through regular
channels. The great French
Sociologist, Emile Durkheim suggested that deviance is “normal” in modern,
industrialized society. Durkheim’s four “functions” of crime (Macionis,
p. 154): 1.) affirming “norms and values.” 2.) defines “right” from “wrong.” 3.) creates social
solidarity. 4.) “encourages
social change.” Another example is
Robert K. Merton’s anomie (or strain) theory.
Merton called one type of deviant an “innovator.” He called non-deviants “conformists” and
“ritualists.” His other two “deviant” categories were “retreatists” and
“rebels.” Building on Merton’s work, Cloward and Ohlin focused on “opportunity structures” and
crime.” Macionis
also describes Hirschi’s “Control Theory” which
emphasizes the importance of four kinds of social ties to others in
society. Even total institutions like
boarding schools, prisons, and the military experience significant amounts of
deviant behavior. The term “cumshaw”
is nautical slang for obtaining something through unauthorized channels in an
illegal manner.It’s a form of unofficial barter or
trade. What are functionalists’
suggestions for reducing crime? The
answer is to integrate people more tightly into society; make punishment swift
and sure to increase the cost of crime. |
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c. Interactionist
Theory: This micro perspective is
concerned with how deviant behavior is learned and transmitted from one
individual to another. (Sutherland’s
Differential Association Theory); (Becker’s Labeling Theory-- Some
individuals and groups are “labeled” as deviant by powerful groups in
society). Lemert
builds upon labeling theory and introduces the terms primary and secondary
deviance. Primary deviance occurs when
an individual commits a deviant act, but does not consider him/herself
deviant. Secondary deviance occurs
when one assumes a deviant life-style.
Goffman continues this perspective with the
concept of “stigma.” Interactionists
would say that one way to reduce crime is through the socialization
process—remove people from influences that lead to criminal behavior. |
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b. Conflict
Theory: (Marxist theory): Powerful
groups in society define what is criminal and enforce the laws
unequally. Generally, the poor suffer
harsher penalties than the rich. A
bank robber who steals $5,000.00 will serve a harsher sentence than the bank
VP who embezzles $500,000. Even if
charged with a crime, the rich are much more likely to be acquitted than the
poor who can’t afford the best lawyers.
This holds especially for large corporations that may intentionally
manufacture unsafe products. Feminist
theory and crime: Conflict theorists
say that crime can be reduced by eliminating inequality and by imposing equal
sentences regardless of social class, etc. |
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11. Political perspectives on crime: |
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