3 Criminological Theory Pt1

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SC104.

Introduction to Crime, Law


and Society
Lecture 3. Criminological Theory (Pt 1)
What is theory and why do we need to theorise
crime and control?
• Theories give us an understanding of our world, our society
and peoples’ behaviours.
• Theory allows us to give a name to the behaviour we observe,
to describe and explain what is going on.
• Criminological theory allows us to understand why laws are
made, how we enforce rules and punish transgressions
• Criminological theory allows us to understand what the
effects of crime control are, why some rules are obeyed and
others broken and what the effects of rule breaking may be.
Understanding criminal behaviour

Early approaches:

1. ‘Classicism’

2. ‘Positivism’
1. Classicism
Cesare Beccaria:

• Emphasising ‘reason’ over


religion

• People's actions were


governed by rational
thought which balanced
benefits against costs.

• Motivated by self-interest
Key issues:
• The psychology of offending

• The nature of criminal motivation  rational


action and free will.

– We choose to commit crime.


– Why? Benefits Vs costs.

• The possibilities for deterrence and reform


Situational Crime Prevention – Hostile Architecture
Situational Crime Prevention – defensible space
Situational Crime Prevention – surveillance
2. ‘Positivism’: The ‘science of crime’

• There is something ‘different’ about criminals

• Argues that crime can be studied scientifically (i.e.


using methods derived from the natural sciences).

• Aims to search for, explain & predict future patterns


of social behaviour
Cesare Lombroso
“while offenders might not look
fierce, there is nearly always
something strange about their
appearance. It can even be said
that each type of crime is
committed by men with particular
physiognomic characteristics, such
as a lack of a beard or an
abundance of hair; this may
explain why the overall
appearance is neither delicate nor
pleasant” (Lombroso, 1876
[2006]: 51).
‘Atavism’ & criminal anthropology

Anton Otto Krauser


‘Apache’
Influenced by ‘Phrenology’…………… & Darwin
Five different ‘criminal Thieves had:
types’: • ‘mobile, restless, frequently
oblique eyes’ and ‘thin beards’,
1. Born criminals;
• rapists had:
2. Epileptics; ‘brilliant eyes, delicate faces and
tumid lips’,
3. Insane criminals;
• Murderers had:
4. Occasional criminals ‘cold, glassy eyes’ strong
-‘criminaloids’ (opportunists) - `jaws and hair that was
‘habitual criminals’ - ‘epileptiods’ ‘curly, dark and abundant’
(quoted from Wolfgang, 1972:
5. Criminals of passion. 251).
3 key differences between positivism
and classicism:
• Determinism: crime caused by biological,
psychological or social factors.

• Differentiation: criminals differ from non-criminals

• Pathology: not only are criminals different, there is


something wrong with them
The ‘Chicago School’

Robert Park (1925):


‘human ecology’ & the
urban environment
Ernst Burgess’ ‘Zonal Hypothesis’

• Zone 1. Business
district
• Zone 2. Zone in
Transition
• Zone 3.
Working-class
housing
1 2 3 4 5 • Zone 4. Middle-
class housing
• Zone 5. Affluent
suburbs.
The Chicago School: landmark
studies/theories
• Shaw and McKay Juvenile Delinquency and
Urban Areas, 1942

• Thrasher The Gang: A study of 1313 gangs


in Chicago, 1925

• Sutherland: Differential Association Theory,


1947
Zone 2 is constantly being invaded  the further away from zone 2, the
better the processes of social control.

• Zone 1. Business
district
• Zone 2. Zone in
Transition
• Zone 3.
Working-class
housing
1 2 3 4 5 • Zone 4. Middle-
class housing
• Zone 5. Affluent
suburbs.
Review questions
• Do we need to theorize crime in order to
reduce it?
• Are classicism and positivism just outdated
theories or do they remain relevant to
understanding crime and control?
• Is crime a product of free-will or is it
determined by psychological, biological or
social factors?

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