Criminology & Penology Course Outline

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI SCHOOL OF LAW GPR200 CRIMINOLOGY AND PENOLOGY

COURSE CONTENT. Nature and scope; theories, meaning and degrees of crime; theories of causation of crime; deviate and criminal behaviour; types and administration of penal sanctions and their effect on crime; comparative penal systems; special problems in criminology and penology. Criminal law I and II are prerequisites. CRIMINOLOGY. PART A CRIMINOLOGY 1.

Rob White, Santina Perrone

Crime and social control, oxford University press (1997).

2.

David Downes

Understanding Deviance, a guide to the Sociology of crime and rule breaking 2nd ed. Clarendon Press. (1988)

3. 4.

Yvonne Jewkes, Niger Walker & Nicola Padfield

Criminology, SAGE London (2002). Sentencing theory, law and practice 2nd ed. Butterworths London. (1996)

5.

Susan Caffrey

The sociology of crime and deviance: Selected issues, Greenwich University Press. (1995)

6.

Susanne Karstedt

Social Dynamics of crime and control, New theories for a world in transition, Oxford Portland Oregon. (2000).

7.

Roger Hood

8.

Cressy &Sutherland;

Crime, criminology and public policy, Heinemann London. (1974). Criminology (Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincot)

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9.

Rob White, Fiona Haines

Crime and Criminology 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. (1996)

10.

Quinney, Richard;

Criminology: (Boston, Little Brown & Co.

11.

Taft, Donald;

Criminology: A cultural Interpretation (New York, Macmillan).

12.

Williams, J.E Hall;

Criminology and Criminal Justice (London, Butterworths).

13.

Korn, Richard;

Criminology and Penology (New York, Holt).

14.

Clifford, William;

An Introduction to African Criminology (Nairobi Oxford University Press).

15.

Mushanga, Tibamanya;

Criminal Homicide in Uganda (Nairobi, East Africa Literature Bureau).

16.

Mushanga, Tibamanya;

The Development Process as a Generating Milieu for crime and crime Diversity in Law and Rural Development in East Africa (Kisumu, 18-22 July 1977).

17.

Mushanga, Tibamanya;

18.

Muga, Erasto;

Crime and Deviance: An Introduction to Criminology (Nairobi, East Africa Literature Bureau). Crime & Delinquence in Kenya (Nairobi East African Literature Bureau)

19.

Quinney, Richard;

Crime and Justice in Society (Boston. Little, Brown & Co.).

20.

Wooton Barbra;

21.

Clinnard, Marshall B;

Crime and Penal Policy: Reflections of Fifty Years Experience (London, Allen & Unwin ltd). Crime in Developing Countries: A Comparative Perspective (New York, Wiley).

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22.

Tappan, Paul;

23.

Smith & Hogan;

24. Ferri, Enrico: Agathan 25. 26.

Crime, Justice and its correction (New York, Mc graw Hill Books). Criminal Law (Butterworthsw, London 7th Ed. 1992). Criminal Sociology (New York,

Press) Social Reality of Crime (Boston, Little, Brown & Co.) Knudten, Richard (Editor); Crime, Criminology and Contemporary Society (Illinois, Dorsey Press). Quinney, Richard;

Relevant Statutes. The Constitution of Kenya. The Penal Code, chapter 63 of the Laws of Kenya. The Criminal Procedure Code, chapter 75 of the Laws of Kenya. The children and Young persons Act, chapter 141 of the Laws of Kenya. The Prisons Act, chapter 90 of the Laws of Kenya. The Probation of Offenders Act, Chapter 64 of the Laws of Kenya INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS SECTION 1 THE STUDY OF CRIME 1. CRIMINOLOGY AS A FIELD OF STUDY  Contains varied and competing perspectives, which are a product of knowledge.  Criminology focus on three main areas. (a) The sociology of law, which examines social aspects and the institutions of the law. (b) Theories of causation (criminogenisis) (c) The study of the social responses to crime, which examines in more depth the formal institutions of criminal justice (police, courts and corrections) 2. DEFINING CRIME.  Constantly changing ideas, perceptions and conceptions regarding what constitutes criminal behaviour.  There are difficulties surrounding different definitions of crime. For example:

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  

Who defines the law? What about cases? Today where people may actively break the law in the name of social justice? What about the unjust systems of the world and where many legal definitions are built on highly contentious and unjust or unfair propositions?

(a) Legal and sociological definitions of crime.  A formal legal definitions (criminal law and penal code).  A social harm conceptions (criminal and civil offences)  A cross-cultural universal norm (e.g. regarding murder).  A labeling approach (social response to a particular activity).  A human rights approach (regardless of legality)  A human diversity approach (power relations focus) - Variation in definition has real consequences on how each behaviour is dealt with at a practical level  Response by the criminal justice systems and institutions depend on political and social factors.  Crime is defined under particular material circumstances and in relation to specific social processes. (b) Historical constructions of crime  Legal definitions determine society response to an act deemed wrongful.  Critical questions that make the laws why are they made, whose interests are reflected in those laws and how are they enforced?  Legal definitions of crime may change over time.  Law socially produced and not static.  Morality is variable as reflected in the law (example laws on vagrancy and witchcraft in England)  Crime is an offence of the time. (c) Popular media images of crime  Media have a significant influence on portrayal of crime in society media images  They permeate popular consciousness.  Crime is sensationalized as a continuing law and order problem in society.  Media shape our perceptions of crime and define crime in a particular way (e.g. crime waves when there is actually no increase in these crime only awareness)  Media may lead to changes in law; tougher sentences e.t.c. 3. MEASURING CRIME

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   (a) (b)

Crime trends and official data on criminal activity need to be confirmed. No unity in approach to crime and crime statistics. Three broad strands within which criminology that deal with measurements. The realist approach (problem of a mission) crime exist “out there” The institutionalist approach; crime is a “social process” (problem of bias)

(c) The critical realist measurement grounded on social process and reality (problem of victimization)

4. CRIMINOLOGY PERSPECTIVES  There are roughly three levels of analysis to explain criminal behaviour or criminality: (a) Individual explains crime in terms of choices or characteristics of the individual person (b) Situational: the nature of the interaction between different players within the system. (c) Social structural: looks at crime in terms of the broad social relationships and the major social institutions of the society as a whole. Most theories of crime tend to congeal into one of these analytical categories, or integrate all. (d) Contribution of political orientations to broad levels of analysis.  Whether one views society as a hierarchy, harmonious, interrelated and institutions, individuals’ construction of reality e.t.c.  The manner in which we view society influences the way in which we view crime.  The motivation, conceptual development, methodological tools and social values are usually intertwined with one of three broad political perspectives (conservative, liberal or radical)  The dominant paradigm or approach that is adopted by governments and represented in criminological circle varies over time.  Criminology theory is always related in some way to specific historical context specific material conditions and specific political struggles.  The objectives and methods of analysis used in criminology reflect certain underlying ideas and concerns of the writer.  The study of crime involves the values and opinions of criminologists. Critical questions to be asked for each theory. 1. What question is not being asked, why not? 2. What is the social relevance of the theory or perspective? 3. What does it tell us about our society and the direction that our society is or ought to be headings?

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A Radical Definition of crime. Crimes of the Powerful Typical Crimes

Examples

Economic

Breaches of corporate law, environmental inadequate Industrial health and safety provisions, pollution, Violation of labour laws, fraud. Police brutality, government corruption, bribery, Violation of civil rights, misuse of public funds

State

Crime of the Less Powerful. Typical crimes

Examples.

Economic

Street crime, workplace theft, low – level fraud Breach of welfare regulations, prostitution. Vandalism, assault, rape, murder, resistance via Strikes and demonstrations, public order offences, Workplace sabotage.

Social cultural

SECTION 2 CRIMINOLOGY 1. A.     

THEORY AND CRIME. Theory as an explanation. Scientific theory as one kind of explanation. Scientific theories can be falsified through research. Criminology has a large number of scientific theories. Are these theories supported by fact?

B. BROAD THEORIES OF CRIME (a) Spiritual explanation: (Not observable) - Belief in influence from other worldly powers - Example of feudal criminal justice system  Private affair between families (blood feuds)  Trial by battle.  Trial by ordeal. - Attribution of crime to the devil

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

Limitation of this approach

(b) Natural explanations  Uses objects and events in the material world to explain.  Hobbes, Desecrates and other studied human affairs as physicist study matter impersonally and quantitatively.  Scientist seeks their explanations within observable phenomena in physical and material world.  This approach also limitations depending on ways of thinking about crime. 2. OVERVIEW OF EXPLANATIIONS.

FRAMES

OF

REFERENCE

FOR

CRIME:

NATURAL

A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY  Criminal behaviour is freely chosen  Intelligence and rationality are fundamental human characteristics and each person master of his fate.  Crime defined as from a strict legal point of view.  Task is to design and test a system of punishment that would result in minimal occurrence of crime CLASSICAL THEORY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Definition of crime Legal   Focus of analysis

The criminal act  

Cause of crime

Individual choice Irrational decisions

Voluntaristic 

Response to crime

Specific offence The criminal law

Rationality  

Nature of offender

Violation of law. Rights and social contract.

Free – will, self-interest capacity to reason

and

equal

punishment  

Proportional to the crime. Fixed or determinate.

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Crime prevention

deterrence  

Operation of criminal Justice system

Pleasure pain principle Reform of the legal system to make it more accessible.

legal philosophical approach 

Basic principles.

B. POSITVISIT CRIMINOLOGY     

An explanation for failure of classical theories Criminal behaviour caused by forces beyond the control of the individual Behaviour is predetermined and free will and intelligence not controlling factor. This is frame of reference for positivist criminology, psychology, sociology, philosophy and biological. The main frame of reference is to attempt to identity the causes of criminal behaviour.

C. THE BEHAVIOUR OF CRIMINAL LAW  Focuses on the behaviour of criminal law rather than the behaviour of the criminals.  These criminologists question the ‘natural’ definition of crime, and contend that criminal behaviours are essentially similar to legal behaviours.  The main task: to explain why some behaviour is officially defined as criminal while other similar ones are not.  Why some people are officially defined as criminals while other who act similar are not.  Focus on the processes by which human create the social world in which they live.  Crime is socially constructed, and treats different types of offences and classes of offenders differently. 3. CRIMINOLOGY SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

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A. CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY   



 

Radical challenge to institutional and class relationships under pinning the justice system and method of criminal justice adjudication. Social context - grounded on transition from feudalism to capitalism. It was a challenge to the spiritualistic approach (St Thomas Aquinas) and was based on the social contract thinkers approach. (Lockes, Montesquieu Voltaire, Rosseau and Hobbes) Beccaria Cesare a protest writer (on crimes and punishment) sought to change the excessive and cruel punishment of criminals, and purely personal justice judges dispensed. Punishment should fit the crime. Jeremy Bentham further developed the classical view utilitarianism punishment should offer more pain than the transgression of the law is worth.

THE NEO – CLASSICAL SCHOOL  The classical conceptions of justice involved an exact scale of punishment for equal acts without reference to the individual involved or circumstances of crime.  First offendes were treated same as repeat, adult, minors under code of 1791.  The neo-classical theories were efforts to revise and refine the application of classical theory of free will and complete responsibility.  Considerations were made involving age, mental condition, and extenuating circumstance.  It represented primarily the modifications necessary for implementation based on practical experience. Contemporary examples of this theory in the legal system 1. The legal doctrine that emphasizes conscious intent (Mens Pea: the guilty mind) 2. In sentencing principles (the idea of culpability or responsibility) 3. In the structure of punishment (e.g. gradation of penalties according to seriousness of offence) 4.philosophically – supports of “just deserts” approach to sentencing (a) Only guilty persons must be punished (b) Guilty person must be punished. (c) Punishment should be proportionate to crime. (d) Punishment must not be of less degree then crime.

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CRITICISM OF CLASSICAL THEORIES       

They represent the beginning of the scientific search for causes of criminal behaviour. The problems of fairness in individual cases still remains where a system focuses on the offence not the offender. Theory provides no insight into how to deal with cases were offending results from an in capacity to reason. Classical concepts of rationality and equality before the law do not take into account social inequalities and its contribution to rational choice. There are clear differences between formal law (written) and substantive law (that which happens in practice) The legal process influenced by broader social inequalities (wealthy versus poor) No system has ever reflected the total demands of the system

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE THEORY 1) 2) 3) 4)

Promotes open, systematic system of justice compared to arbitrary system. Argues for the rights of an individual within the system Places limits on judicial discretion. Espouses a humanitarian approach to punishment compared to barbaric practices. 5) The classical thinkers initiated a lasting period of debate on crime and criminal behaviour. 6) The reason for offending formed the basis of the theories of the positive perspective. B. POSITIVIST POSITIVISM)    

CRIMINOLOGY

(BIOLOGICAL

AND

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Classical and positivist viewpoint often seen as counter posed. Positivists explain crime by references to forces and factors outside the decision-making ability of the individual. Rise of positivism represents hands on; science bases approach rather than theorising. Crime can be explained by examining individual differences and how these linked to certain biological and psychological factors predispose certain people towards criminal behaviour.

Social context.  New crime statistics revealed failure of classical punishment policies.

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   

    

Suggesting other social factors might influence level of crime. Andre Michael Guerry (1820 – 1866) first work in scientific criminology. Tested belief that crime associated with poverty and lack of education. Adolphe Quetelet (1796 – 1874) Analyzed social data and noticed some people are more likely to commit crime than others (especially young, male poor, unemployed and under educated). Propensity to engage in crime a reflection of moral character. Crime an inevitable feature of social organization. Cesare Lombroso (1835 – 1909) Published the Criminal Man in 1876. Known principally for formulation of the theory of atavistic criminal. Three major classes of criminals (born, insane and criminaloids). Positivist Approaches

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Definition of crime Natural    Focus of analysis

The offender 

Cause of crime

Diagnosis on individual basis. Indeterminate to fit offender.

Diagnosis and classification 

Operation of criminal Justice system.

Biological and social conditioning and individual differences.

Treatment  

Crime prevention.

Individual deficiency. Not a matter of individual choice.

Determined and /predisposed to certain types of behaviour. 

Response to crime.

Characteristics of offender.

Pathology  

Nature of offender

Violation of social consensus Extends beyond a legal definition. Deviant behaviour with respect to social norms.

Early intervention.

Scientific approach  

Measurement and evaluation. Essentially neutral.

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Basic concepts of the school 1) It is based on the idea of scientific understanding of crime and criminality. 2) Hallmark of the approach is that behaviour is determined by factors outside control of the individual. (Biological, psychological or social). 3) Offenders vary and have individual differences and should be seen in these terms. 4) Focus on nature and characteristics of the offender rather than criminal act. 5) Crime and deviance must be studied scientifically, and research done on nature of crime. 6) Research on individual pathology. Leading to personal difficulties with conformity must be studied. 7) Approach directed towards treatment of offenders rather than punishment. 8) Since individuals different sentences should be indeterminate. Contemporary Examples 1. A variant of early psychiatric interest in criminology forensic psychology. 2. Academic theories and bio – social explanation to crime. 3. Theories and practice on rehabilitation and interpretation of culpability. 4. Criminal profiling. Relationship between classical and positivist theories: both seek to identify that influence incidence of criminal behaviour. 4. MAJOR THEORIES ON THE CAUSES OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR. 1. THEORIES RELATED TO PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.  Explanation of is biological defectiveness and inferiority. (a) Physiognomy and phrenology (appearance of face and external shape of the skull)  Franz Joseph Gall (1758 – 1828) developed doctrines of phrenology.  Crime involves the lower propensities of the brain, which can be restrained by moral sentiments or intellectual facilities. (b) Criminal Anthropology: Lombroso to Goring.  Lombroso studied all anatomical features of the human body and linked certain physical characteristics to crime.  Charles Goring. Advanced theory of hereditary inferiority. (c) Body type theories: Shield to Cortes.  High degree of correspondence between the physical appearance of the body and temperature of the mind.  William Sheldon: studied relationship between mesomorphy (large muscle, heavy chest) and delinquency, especially among delinquent youth.

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  

Gluecks: mesorphs more aggressive with tendency to criminal behaviour. Coupled with traits not normally found in mesomorphy. Cortes: found that mesomorphy was associated with need for achievement and with need for power.

2. THEORIES RELATED TO INTELLIGENCE.  Idea emerged after the physical appearance theory, that criminal less intelligent than law-abiding people.  Through natural selection inferior strains would be characterized by undesirable traits.  Richard Dugdale (1874) studied “degenerate families”.  Intelligence testing and crime.  Alfred Binet (1857 – 1911) applied intelligence testing to the problem of retardation in Panis schools.  H.H. Goddard – American, used Binet tests to sort out people into appropriate social roles, and to identify ‘subnormal’ for institutionalization.  Used test in jails and determined most criminal were feeble minded. Intelligence, delinquency and race  Scholars have used differences in intelligence quotient (1Q) to explain difference in crime and delinquency rates.  Questions abound as to whether 1Q tests are culturally biased.  Questions whether the cause of the ‘difference’ genetics or environmental influence?  William Shockley (1967)  Arthur Jenser (1969)  Travis Hirschi V Michael, Hindelang (1977) found that low I Q was at least as important as social class or race in predicting delinquency.  Verbal abilities of delinquents (Quay, Herbert 1987).  The Bell curve (1994) (Herrnstain and Murray).  Dumbing down hypothesis. 3. BIOLOGICAL FACTORS AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR.  Role of genetic and inheritance.  Family studies: inheritance of appearance, mannerisms and disposition.  Goring Charles: used these techniques to conclude that crime is inherited.  He established connection between imprisonment of parents and that of children, and not that of spouses.  He did not measure environmental influences adequately.

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

Ellis Lee (1982) crime runs in the family.

Twin and Adoption studies  Johannes Lange (1929) found a relationship between imprisonment between of one twin and the other.  Studies show greater similarity of criminal behaviour among identical twins than fraternal. Neurotransmitters:  Underlie behaviour including anti – social.  Scerbo and Raine: studied relationship between neurotransmitters levels and antisocial behaviour. Hormones  Effects of hormones levels on human behaviour.  Role of testosterone and aggressive behaviour.  Booth and Os good (1993) testosterone may reduce social integration, and reduced social integration associated with higher deviance levels.  Links between hormonal changes and female irritability and hostility. The Central Nervous system.  New brain imaging procedures have been used to detect structural and functional abnormalities.  Repeat offender have abnormal EEG. The Automatic Nervous System (ANS)  ANS active in flight or fight situations.  Eysenck (1964) Psychopaths are extreme extroverts and fail to develop adequate consciences because at the way their ANS function. Environmentally induced biological components of behaviour.  Drug and alcohol abuse.  1980 research showed hypoglycemia common in habitually violent criminals.  Further research on linkages between lead exposure and negative behaviour consequences.  Relationship between head injury and anti social behaviour.  Pregnancy and birth complications. 4. THE PERSONALITY OF THE OFFENDER.  Personality refers to complex set of emotional and behavioural attributes.  Psychological and Psychiatric theories on criminal behaviour.

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 

Psychoanalytic theories causes of criminal behaviour found in unconscious elements of the personality. Personality inventory research on the conscious personality.

Historical background:  Psychiatry as a springboard for psychoanalytic theory.  Pythagoras and Alcmaeon (580 – 500 BC) identified brain as the organ of the mind, and mental illness as a disorder of that organ. Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis (1856- 1939)  Psychoanalysis a recent development of Freud and his pupils.  Has profound impact on all modern thought including human behaviour.  Freud believed behaviour can be explained by past traumatic experiences of which individual was not conscious of.  The unconscious divided into id and superego.  The conscious is ego.  Criminal and delinquent behaviours attributed to disturbances or malfunctions in the ego or super ego.  August Aichhorn (1963) found that many delinquent children had underdeveloped super egos due to lack of parental love or attention.  Common criticism of Psychoanalytic theory it is untestable?  The explanations of behaviour are subjective.  Assertions that crime caused by unconscious mind: many crimes are quite conscious and rational. Research using Personality Tests  Test developed to measure personality differences.  1950 Schuessler and Cressey study skewed personality differences exist between delinquents and non – delinquents.  Waldo and Dinitz (1950 – 1965) study found that delinquents and criminal more psychopathic than non-delinquents and criminals. Antisocial personality Disorder  Psychopath is used to describe individuals who exhibit a certain group of behaviour and attributes (socio path and antisocial personality disorder).  Essential feature is violation of rights of others (arrests, lying, impulsive, fights, failure to sustain work, lack of remorse).  Majority of psychopaths are not criminals and visa versa Predicting future dangerousness  Psychiatrists argue that they can identify offenders.

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 

John Monaham (1981) received clinical techniques for predicting violent behaviour. Research now centered on identifying factors associated with an increase or decreased in likelihood that person would engage in crime future.

Impulsivity and Crime.  Wilson and Hernstern study  The key individual level factor associated with criminality is the tendency to think in terms of short term rather than long-term consequences.  Impulsivity is an enduring personality characteristic of criminals.  Crime proneness associated with a combination of impulsivity and negative emotionality (anger, anxiety, irritability). Critique: Research linking personality to crime has a lot of methodological problems.  More meaningful to analyze the situation people find themselves rather than the personalities? 5. CRIME AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.  Theories with non – individual orientation and explain criminal behaviour in terms of economic differences or influence.  Focus on economic conditions and crime rates, relationship between crime rates and unemployment rates, crime and economic inequality.  Research on crime and economic conditions are inconsistent and have contradictory results.  Crime and unemployment. Contradictions between juvenile delinquency and unemployment and adult crime and employment.  However there is a positive relationship between crime and unemployment, especially property crimes. Problems of interpretating Research on crime and economic conditions  Lack of clear definition of poverty and unemployment.  The theoretical assumptions are contradictory (inverse and negative or direct or positive)  Specifying the amount of time before economic changes have effect on criminality.  Contribution of other factors to crime in high crime communities. 6. DURKHEIM; ANOMIE AND MODERNIZATION  Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917) viewed inequality as a natural and inevitable human condition.  Breakdown of this normal condition (crime) is anomie.

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   



Society is divided into those who confirm to collective conscience and solidarity and those who don’t. Crime is normal in society because there is no clear line between criminal and non-criminal behaviour. The abnormal or pathological state of society would be one in which there was no crime. Durkheim argues that as society develops a greater variety of behaviour would be tolerated and punishment becomes less violent (from repression to restitution). He was concerned about the role that social forces play in determining human conduct and the role of modernization.

7. THE ECOLOGY OF CRIME.  Chicago School of Human Ecology (1920), study to pinpoint the environmental factors associated with crime and determines the relationship among those factors.  What disturbs the social balance and equilibrium?  Clifford Shaw (1920) study on delinquency areas in Chicago concluded that delinquency and other social problems closely related to the process of invasions, dominance and succession (rapid shift of populations, social disorganization, immigration).  Answer to delinquency is organization of the neighbourhood residents.  Neighbourhoods cause of crime and should be focus of crime prevention programs.  Situational context of crime.  Immediate setting – people will commit crime if given a chance (opportunity theories) e.g. looting.  Crime cannot be understood unless you understand the context in which it occurs. 8. STRAIN THEORIES  Robert Merton (1938) these are certain relatively stable social conditions associated with higher crime rates (social structural strain)  Many human appetites are “cultural” whereas the society limits ability of certain groups to satisfy those appetites.  Result: pressure on certain persons to engage in non-conformist conduct.  Cultural goal – acquisition of wealth, using any means.  This causes strain in lower classes, especially those who cannot achieve wealth.  Crime in American society explained by cultural imbalance, leading rebellion and to innovation (in crime) as a response.

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 

Strain theories led to passing of Juveline Delinquency Prevention and Control Act (1961) to improve access to education and work for lower classes. However the law did not succeed because change cannot occur without change in social structural arrangements?

Criticism of Theory. 1) Strain is evenly distributed in society and is not greater among poor? Even rich people want to get more. 2) Is the desire for economic success a natural desire not requiring cultural supports? 3) (American) culture does not value monetary success it values hard work and honesty? 4) Social structuring more appropriate term than strain? 5) Strain theories focus on changing the social machinery that produces the criminal after they are produced.

Strain Theory Definition of crime.  

Natural. Violation of consensus.

  

Structure of opportunities Nature of social learning Youth subcultures.

 

Social strain, viz opportunity structure Learned behaviour

Focus of analysis

Cause of crime

Nature of offender 

Determined (by) social pathology.

Response to crime 

Provide opportunity offender.

to

reduce

strain

resocialise



Expanding opportunity and fostering healthy peer group activity.

Crime prevention

Operation of criminal 

Essentially neutral.

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Justice system 

Individual rehabilitation programmes.

combined

with

social

9. LEARNING THEORIES  The role of normal learning in the generation of criminal behaviour.  These theories focus on the content of what is learned and process by which that learning takes place.  Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) all learning and knowledge by association and experience.  Learning through association (classical conditioning (Pavlov) operant conditioning (rewards and punishment; and social learning theory watching what happens to other people). Tarde (1843 – 1904 Law of Imitation.  Criminal’s normal but brought up in an atmosphere where they learnt crime as a way of life.  Crime begins, as fashion then becomes custom like any other social phenomenon.  Inferiors imitate superiors.  Newer fashions displace order ones (murder by knifing down, by shooting up) Sutherland Edwin (1883 – 1950) Differential Association Theory.  Criminal behaviour is learned both in content and process by association with other people.  Key factor determining whether people violate the law is the meaning they give to social conditions rather than conditions.  Divergent differential social organizations will inevitable have some law abiding and some criminals. The content of learning: cultural and sub cultural theories  Causes of criminal behaviour are ideas of behaviour values norms and expectations).  Walter Miller (1958) (cultural theory in explanation of gang delinquency.  M. Wolfgang and F. Ferracuti (1981) “ subculture of violence” arising in the past for specific historical reasons and transmitted from generation to generations.  Lynn Curtis (1975) Sub cultural theory of violence among American Blacks, central mechanism an exaggerated view of manliness.  Sub culture of violence tied to general social conditions that generate it.  These social conditions must be addressed in addition to attempts to modify the subculture of violence.

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   

Bernard Thomas (1990) Theory of Angry Aggression. Extremely violent responses to trivial conflicts and insults. Chronically aroused people see threat everywhere and respond aggressively. Poverty, urban environments and discrimination and social isolation are structural conditions that all result in chronic arousal.

The Learning Process social learning Theory.   

   

Learning can take place through direct interactions with the environment independent of associations. Behaviour can also be learned not only ideas. Ronald Akers (1968) “ Differential reinforcement” or social learning theory: criminal behaviour learned in both nonsocial situations and through social interaction. Learning takes place by observing the consequences that behaviuors have for other people. Criminal behaviour is explained by differential associations, definitions, imitation and social reinforcements. Social learning process explains link between social structural conditions and individual behaviours. Implications of this theory are crime must be viewed in the context of political and social conflict.

10.CONTROL THEORIES.  All people naturally would commit crimes if left to their own devices.  Most people do not commit crimes because of controlling forces that restrain them.  Crime is a result of breakdown or weakness of those restraining forces.

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Early control Theories Reis to Nye Albert Reiss (1951) published article related to use of control perspective to predict probation revocation among Juvenile offenders. He found relationship between personal controls, social controls and revocation. Jackson Toby (1957) concept of “stakes in conformity” How much a person has to lose when he breaks the law (high or low stakes). Ivan Nye (1958) – focused on family as the single most important source of social control for adolescents. Matza’s Delinquency and Drift (1964) Modern control theories. Matza proposed an alternative image for delinquents that emphasize freedom and similarity (drift). Drift occurs where social control loosened freeing delinquent to respond to whatever forces come along.

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Travis Hirschi (1969): Social control Theory. All animals are naturally capable of committing crime so no need to explain motivation. The most important elements of social bond are attachments, commitment, involvement and belief. Assessing social control theories

1. They work better for youth delinquency but are less appealing when one considers gang delinquency and adult criminality. 2. Are human inherently peaceful or inherently aggressive? 3. Serious criminal behaviour represents a degeneration of the aggressive instincts.  Social control theory could only apply to less serious forms of delinquency and crime.  From social control to self-control.  Michael Gottfredson v T. Hirschi (1990) All crime can be explained by “ low self control” coupled with availability of opportunities.  Self-control is internal.  Ineffective child rearing is the most important contributor to low selfcontrol.  Social control theories provide criminologists with very testable theories but work better for juvenile delinquently then adult crime. 11. THE MEANING OF CRIME.  Human actions are best understood in terms of the meaning that these actions have for actor.  People construct meaning in relation to situations and acts towards situations in context of their meanings.  Meaning of crime to self: Labeling Theory.  Self-image is constructed through interactions with other people.  Criminals do not think of themselves as criminals although easily recognize criminality in others.  Criminal behaviour frequently committed by people who don’t conceive or themselves as criminals.  Person defines the situation to show that actions not really crimes.  They commit crime without change in self –image.  Criminal justice agencies play a role in process by which a person comes to accept a criminal self- image, by labeling them criminals.  This label overrides other labels leading to discrimination by society and association with similarly labeled persons.

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Labeling Perspectives Definition of crime  

Defined by social action and reaction. Conferred by those who have power to label.

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Relationship between offender and those with Power to label.

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Stigmatization and negative effects of labeling.

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Determined (by) labeling process.

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Diversion from formal system.

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Decriminalization. Radical non – intervention.

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System should not have stigmatizing effect. Greater tolerance and minimal intervention.

Focus of analysis

Cause of crime Nature of offender Response to crime Crime prevention

Operation of criminal Justice system

Meaning of crime to criminal.     

J. Katz: Seduction of crime (1988) more important to understand the foreground variable- what are people trying to do when they commit crime? Focus on the meaning of crime for the criminal. Criminal action is an attempt to transcend a moral challenge faced by the criminal in the immediate situation. Engaging in crime involves transcending a moral challenge and achieving a moral dominance. (Thrill). Fundamental meaning of crime for the criminal is to escape the control of others and to impose control on others.

The meaning of crime to the larger society: Deviance and social reaction.  Legally speaking, societies create crime by passing laws.  Social reaction theorists view this as part of general process in society of defining and suppressing deviance.  Those who define others, as deviants must be more powerful than the deviants.

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State power and the meaning of crime: control–ology. One group of theorists focus on the group who defines other people as deviant (control–ology Ditton 1979). Michael Foucault (1967) prisons developed as a manifestation of state power where state control was redefined as rehabilitation of soul and mind of offender. State attempts to maintain legitimacy by packing control efforts to appear reasonable, humane and necessary. All state control mechanisms work in a coherent way despite diversity to achieve a wide spread control over entire society. Theories on meaning of crime discuss issue of power.

12. CONFLICT CRIMINOLOGY  Based on contrasting views presented by social theorists: consensus view of society and conflict view.  Basic argument of conflict criminology is that there is an inverse relation between power and official crime rates: people with less power are more likely to be officially defined and processed as criminals  T. Seellins culture conflict theory (1938) presented criminology theory focused on conflict of conduct norms: law reflects conduct norms of the dominate culture.  Gorge Vold (1958) Groups conflict theory focusing on conflict of interests.  Conflict is one of the principal and essential processes in the continuous and going functioning of society.  The whole process of law making law breaking and law enforcement reflects deep seated and fundamental conflicts between group interests.  Criminal behaviour is the behaviour of minority power groups.

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R. Quinney’s Theory of the social reality of crime The social reality of crime is constructed by the formulation and application of criminal definitions, the development or behaviour patterns related to criminal definitions and the construction of criminal conceptions. A. Turk’s Theory of criminalization. Social order is based on a consensus – coercion balance maintained by the authorities. Turks theory specifies conditions under which cultural and social differences between authorities and subject will result in conflict and criminalization will occur. Chambliss and Seidman (1971) Analyses of the Criminal Justice system.

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Consensus perspective and conflict perspectives provide radically different versions of how the criminal justice system functions. Emergence of legal norms consistently shows the immense importance of interest group activity not the public interest as a critical variable. The higher a group’s political and economic position, the greater their views reflected in the laws. Values of the judge will be primarily oriented to the wealthy rather than the poor. McGarrell and Castellane (1999) Integrative Conflict model. Proposed athree level analysis of the criminal law formulation process: structural foundations of crime, enforcement of criminal law and enactment of criminal law. John Hagan (1989) Structural criminology. Crime must be explained in terms of “ power relation” rather than powerlessness it self. Different class types are more or less likely to perceive injustice in the criminal justice system. Hayan suggests research should go beyond superficial analysis by looking at the relations between social actors and institutions, history and social context. Donald Black (1976) Behaviour of law. Law is social control and will be greater where other forms of social control are weaker. Conflict criminology implies that greater equality in the distribution of power among groups should result in greater equality in the distribution of crime rates.

13. CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY.  Umbrella designation for a series of emerging perspectives (Marxists, post modernist and feminist).  They argue that values cannot be separated from the research agenda and the need to advance a progressive agenda favouring disprivileged peoples. A MARXISM AND MARXIST CRIMINOLOGY (1818 – 1883) 

Presented conflict between the material forces of production and social relations of production.

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Industrial revolution reflected a sudden a violent restructuring the social relations of production.

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He predicted take over of socialism to replace capitalism A restructuring of the social relation of production would be inevitable at some point. Unequal distribution of wealth in society produced unequal distribution of power, leading to demoralization. Crime is not a willful violation of the common good but the struggle of isolated individual against the prevailing conditions (primitive rebellion thesis) A socialist society would eliminate crime because it would promote a concern for welfare of all. Law is an instrument of the ruling class used to its advantage and at the expense of other groups. Every political economic system contains contradictions that cannot be resolved without changing the fundamental structure of the society crime is a response to those contradictions. (B POST MODERNISM AND POST MODERNIST CRIMINOLOGY.

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Believe that all thinking and knowledge are mediated by language and language is never a neutral medium. Scientific thinking does not have a special position. Postmodernism seeks out the disparaged points of view to make them more exploits and legitimate, so that there is diversity of views. Modernism and science has led to increased oppression rather than to liberation. The objective is to expose the structures of domination especially the language systems. Examine the relationship between human agency and language in the creation of meaning, identity, truth, justice, power and knowledge (through discourse analysis) Specific attention is paid to the values and assumptions implied in the language used by the author. Discourses are either dominant e.g. language of medicine, law and science or oppositional e.g. the language of prison inmates) The goal is to move to a situation where different discourses are recognized as legitimate (replacement discourses). Goal is greater inclusively, more diverse communication and a pluralistic culture. Postmodernists listen carefully to the otherwise excluded views in constituting the definition of criminal acts. Creating a society of in which alternative discourse liberates citizens will legitimate the role of the citizens in the project of reducing crime.

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(C FEMINISM AND FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY. 

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Arose from critiques that argued that a number of topics related to women offenders had largely been ignored or heavily distorted within traditional criminology. Most criminology theories did not explain criminal behaviour of woman and difference between women and men in participation in crime. Failed to address the different ways in which women were treated by the criminal justice system. Freda Adler (1975) women were becoming more aggressive and competitive. Ruta Simon (1991) women were moving out of traditional homebound roles and encounting wider variety of opportunities to commit crime. Critical feminism arose to challenge the social structure within with liberial feminism operated. Marxist feminism tied patriarchy to the economic structure of capitalism. The criminal justice system defines as crime those actions that threaten this capitalists patriarchal system. Postmodern feminism suggests that male dominated thinking is as legitimate as feminist thinking. Is there some definable and separate “feminist thinking” that diverges from and is even incompatible with traditional criminology? Daly and Chesney- Lind – Argue that there are differences between women and men criminologist’s women address the gender ratio problems where as men address the generalizability problem.

14. DEVELOPMENTAL CRIMINOLOGY.  Different factors may have different effects on the offenders of different ages.  Crime explained in the context of the life course.  Some factors explain criminal behaviour at start of childhood, others at adulthood. The great debate: Criminal careers: Relationship between Age and Crime.  A career criminal is a chronic offender over a long period of time.  One view: independent of other sociological explanation, age simply matures people out of crime and therefore no reason to attempt to identify and selectively in capacitate career criminals.  Debate boiled down to criminal propensity and the “criminal career” positions. Some people are more prone to commit crime and other people less prone. This is what needs to be explained not the age crime curve.  But criminal career position believe that different set of variables may explain behaviour at different points in the life course:

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Necessary to build separate models for age of onset, participation, frequency, duration, and desistance. Charles Tittle (1988) suggests that the labeling and control theory can be used to explain the age crime relationship from the criminal career perspective. Nagin and Land (1993): Efforts should be now being directed to new challenges: developing theory of developmental criminal with strong roots in development psychology. New theories that treat crimes as social events in the life course. Thorn berry T: Interactional Theory. Combines control and social learning attempting to increase their collective ability to explain deliquent behaviour will change over an individual’s life course. Poor association may affect behaviour but behaviour in turn can influence one’s selection of peers. Sampson and Laub’s Age - graded theory of informal social control (1993) Study aim to access the factors most related to juvenile delinquency. The theory has three components: Juvenile delinquency; behaviour transitions to adult hood; and adult criminal behaviour. Change is common in the life course, Juvenile delinquents often do not turn out to be adult criminals and adult behaviour can change. Strongest effects on delinquency were family, school and peer factors, which are, influenced somewhat by structural variables. Fairly new theory: looking also at how the changing relationship between an individual’s development and his or her community may affect ones likelihood to engage in delinquency or crime.

INTEGRATED THEORIES  There are many theories and issues should we reduce the number of theories by falsifying some of them?  Or should we integrate them as a way of reduction?  Integration is an alternative to falsification.  Elliot et al Integrated theory.  Attempt to combine strain, control and social learning to explain delinquency and drug use with greater power.  Argue that delinquency should be highest when an individual experiences strong strain and weak control (as a result of inadequate socialization).  Integrate social control and social learning by arguing that an individual can form strong or weak bends to conventional or deviant groups.

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Third step in integration is to propose a single line of causation that includes saviables from all three theories.

Strain Inadequate Socialization

Weak Conventional Bonding

Strong Delinquent Bonding

Delinquent Behavior

Social Disorganization         

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Hirschi critic of this integrated approach. Braithwaite’s theory of Reintegrative shaming (1989). It draws on labeling, sub cultural, opportunity, control, differential association, and social learning theories. He creates a new theoretical concept reintegrative shaming. Stigmatization and reintegration. Reintegrative shaming leads to lower crime rates whereas stigmatizing shaming leads to higher crime rates. New theory that has not received much discussion in literature or subjected to much empirical testing. Tittles control Balance Theory (1995). Proposes a theory that integrates essential elements from differential association, Merton’s anomie, Marxian conflict, social control labeling, detterrence, and routine activities theories. Argues adequate theory must be able to explain a broad range of devient behaviour. Proposes a new concept around which to integrate the prepositions from earlier simpler theories. Theory too recent to have been subjected to criticism or testing. Vila’s General Paradigm (1994). Broadest and most complex approach to integration. If a theory is to be general enough to explain all criminal behaviour it must be ecological, integrative, developmental and must include both micro level and macro level explanations. Vila criticizes existing theories for not allowing macro- level correlates to crime (such as social disorganization) to vary over time. Central assumption of the model is that all crimes involve the seeking of resources. Mathematical chaos theory rather the traditional linear models will best predict the development of criminality over an individual life.

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Vilas paradigm is frustratingly general. Critical questions whether social scientists are capable of testing theories that are as complex as required by this paradigm. Bernard and Snipes Integrated Model. Chart middle course between Hirschi’s stance against integration and integrated theories. Their goal is to interpret criminology theories in a way that allows them to be both broadly integrated and readily tested. They argue that the theories make different but not incompatible arguments and therefore they can be broadly integrated. Argue that criminologist should shift their focus from theories to variables: what variable are related to crime and in what ways? This approach places theory in its proper role in the scientific process. Propose a new interpretation of criminological theories to replace the strain or control cultural deviance interpretation. New interpretation based on the location of independent variations in the theory. There are two categories of criminology theories: structure /process and individual differences theories.

Assessing Criminology Theories. Criminology as a Science  A good theory is practical. A.INDIVIDUALS DIFFERENCES THEORIES:  Lombroso’s theory on physical appearance and crime are false, but body type (Sheldon/ cortes) seems to indicate a correlation.  However the correlation is mediated by some other variable, such as personality or motivation.  Therefore physical appearance in itself is never actually a cause of crime and these theories should be abandoned?  Theories about intelligence: There is correlation between lower the score and increased likelihood of crime.  Question is whether there is some sense in which low intelligence itself causes crime.  Intelligence itself has independent casual impact on crime?  Biological Variables:  Twin and adoption studies support the nation of a biological and hereditary impact in human behaviour.  However the effect of these factors on the probability or engaging in criminal behaviour has not been well measured.  Genetic research needs to continue to address the contribution of these factors to the overall theory of individual differences.

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Other biological factors or characteristics suggest some modest casual impact on the likelihood of community crime, all linked to antisocial devient or criminal behaviour. However the process by which these variable are linked to criminal behaviour are not well understood. Despite these questions, it seems reasonable to conclude a casual relationship exists between these biological characteristics and the probability of engaging in criminal behaviour. If so then a variety of policy intervention that can reduce crime (e.g. prescribing lithium carbonate to increase serotonin levels). Psychoanalytic Theories: may or may not have validity, but seem impossible to test. The sources of independent variations that they identify are not susceptible to practical interventions through crime policies? Personality Types: Seems to apply psychological labels to criminals, which add nothing to our knowledge about the person or to our ability to anything to reduce the criminal behaviour? There may be some personality characteristics associated with an increased risk of engaging criminal behaviour but research to date has not clearly determined what those are. Earlier childhood problem behaviours and poor parental child management techniques are both associated with increased likelihood to later criminal and delinquent behaviour. Policy implications should focus on training parents in effective child rearing techniques and early cognitive behaviour interventions with problem children?

Sociological theories  Association, strain, cultural theories, control and life style theories have implications about individual differences, which increase the probability of community criminal behaviour  Recent integrated theories important to recognize both multiple cause (independent contributions from different theories) as well as interactive causes (synergetic contribution from different theories in explaining crime e.g. biosocial theory.  Integrating various theories must be done with careful attention to the way they may fit together. B. STRUCTURE/ PROCESS THEORIES  These theories assume that there are situation that are associated with higher crime rates.

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Theories identify variables in the situation itself that are associated with higher crime rates. They are complex, descriptive and hard to locate, they have to be tested at the individual level. Sometime there can be high levels of variables and it becomes difficult to determine which (if any) is causally related to the crime rate and which have no impact. Economic modernization and development: are associated with higher property crime rates. Since modernization is not a reversible process, strong counter measures should involve increasing effectiveness of measure such as surveillance, alarm systems and neighbourhood water? Economic modernization and development is not strongly associated with higher rates of violence. Many underdeveloped societies are extremely violent, and at least some developed societies have little violence. Economic development tends to be associated with great deal of economic in equality and economic inequality is associated with higher rates of violence. This association is asserted as structural arguments, and policy implication involves reducing inequality. This policy could also reduce the overall rate of economic growth in society. If this is the case, it would be necessary to balance the qairis associated with violence reduction against the losses associated with slower economic growth before implementing this policy. Societies whose cultures have a strong emphasis on the goal of material success while only a weak emphasis on adhering to the legitimate means will tend to have higher rates of instrumental crime than other societies. Policy implication of these theoretical arguments include changing the culture reducing the emphasis on achieving material success and increasing the emphasis on adhering to the legitimate means.

C. THEORIES OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF CRIMINAL LAW  Law defines the natural boundaries of the society by excluding and punishing criminal and other deviants.  The great expansion of incarceration is motivated by a threatened sense of social soliclarity in the larger society, rather than by the perceived threat of crime itself.  State responded to the victimizing behaviours of lower class people with criminal sanctions, but responds to the victimizing behaviours of white-collar people with regulations and civil violations.  According to Marxist conflict theories people in legislative and criminal justice agencies act in ways that are consistent with their interests where those interests are shaped by social structure.

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Conflict theory argues that the enactment and enforcement of criminal law is shaped by the distribution of political power. Regardless of what alter interests are served by the criminal law, it must serve the economic interests of the owners of the means of economic production. Theories of the behaviour of criminal law, do not contradict theories of criminal behaviour. Criminologist must come up with theories that simultaneously explain the behaviour of criminal law and the behaviour of individual criminals (unified theory of crime)

PART B PENOLOGY Recommended Texts. 1.

2. 3.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Cross, Rupert;

Punishment Prison and the Public (the Hamlyn lectures 23rd Series, London, Stevens & Sons) Ezorsky, Gertrude; Philosophical Perspective on Punishment ( New York, State University of New York Press) Oruka, Odera; Punishment and Terrorism in Africa: Problems In the Philosophy and practice of punishment ( Nairobi, E.AB). Manheim, Hermann), The Dilemma of penal Reform (London, George Allen and Unwin). Smith, Alexander; Treating the criminal Offender (New York, Dobbs Ferry) Waldron, Uppal et al The criminal Justice system (Boston Houghton, & Co. Korn, Richard Criminology and penology (New York, Holt) Alper, Benedict, Prisons Inside Out (Cambridge, Ballinger Co.) Klare, Hugh; Changing Concepts of Crime and its Treatment (Oxford, Bergamon Press). Wilson, Margaret; The Crime of Punishment (Oxford, Jonathan Cape)

SECTION 3  The Philosophy of Punishment.  Debate on Punishment.

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The Problem of Definition. The Goals of Punishment. - Rehabilitation A tarnished Ideal? - Deterrence: A call for further Understanding. - Retribution. Is Punishment Necessary Recommendations on Punishment. The Ideology of Imprisonment.

PART C SELECTED ISSUES IN CRIME          

Crime and the Media Bias in the Criminal Justice System Crime, Culture and Community White Collar and Corporate Crime. New ways to break the law: Cyber crime and the Politics of Hacking Crime Statistics, Patterns, and Trends. Youth Delinquency and gang culture Female criminality Globalisation and crime Deviance and moral panics

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