1 Trends and crime Historical and Current Forces

2 Historical trends n Little systematic data until the 20th century n High in early 19th, decreased, increased in mid 20th century, “flattening” now n What historical forces might affect crime rates?

3 Trends n Industrialization Need for skilled labor Lack of unskilled jobs Increased availability of goods n Urbanization Anonymity, opportunity Breakdown of informal controls, crowding

4 Trends n Increased amount of goods available n Egalitarianism--feeling of equality, less deference to the wealthy n Age structure: as young increase, crime increases. Related to: lower infant morality. More children to be socialized is a problem if there are not enough adults to supervise

5 Trends n Time horizon: are people more present oriented? Easy lives, TV, credit, etc. n Wars n Increase in survival of low birth weight babies (LBW). LBW can be caused by poor nutrition, teenage pregnancies, drug usage. At risk for LD, ADHD, etc., school problems, and delinquency

6 Trends n Family practices Divorces--although they may have negative effects, do not account for the increase in crime Absent fathers,Lack of extended family Mobility Working mothers--depends on amount of supervision, not work per se

7 Trends n Effectiveness of the CJS May appear to lead to higher crime rates, better reporting and processing Effect most noticeable at the extremes (no CJS--chaos; very strict--low crime) In-between, debatable

8 Trends n Improved medical services: Aggravated assaults:murder used to be 9:1, now 28:1 because of better medical care. n Social disorganization: less religion, less family, more mobility, less informal control, etc. n Legitimization of violence (Media) n Growth of personal freedom

9 Trends n Lack of jobs for youth: fewer rural jobs, need for technological skills, more service jobs rather than manufacturing n Changes in educational system n Social upheaval n Gangs n Drug use n Television

10 Drug use and crime n Psychoactive drugs: alter conscious awareness or perception n Psychological dependency: person craves a drug n Physiological addiction: body becomes biochemically dependent on a drug n Tolerance: greater doses are necessary to produce the same effect

11 Drugs & crime n Withdrawal: physical and psychological symptoms which develop in an addicted person when he or she abruptly stops or reduces intake of a drug n Central nervous system depressants: remove social inhibitions, relieve anxiety, impair judgment. Include alcohol, barbiturates and minor tranquilizers

12 Drugs and crime: Pharmacological classification n Central nervous system stimulants: addiction possible, stimulates alertness, wakefulness, euphoria; includes amphetamines, caffeine, nicotine and cocaine and its derivatives (crack, ice) n Hallucinogens: non-addicting; effects include hallucinations, sense of timelessness & mystical insights; LSD, mescaline, psilocybin

13 Drugs and crime n Narcotics: highly addicting, acts as an analgesic, euphoria; includes morphine, heroin, codeine and Demerol n Phencyclidine (PCP): not addicting; causes mental confusion, unfocused aggression, pain relief n Marijuana: not addicting, dose dependent effects

14 Legal classification of drugs n Drugs classified from Schedule I Drugs to Schedule V, with I the most restricted and V the least restricted n Classified based on: (1) medical usage; and (2) potential for abuse n Note that alcohol is not included, yet if it were to be classified, it should be a Schedule I drug

15 Substance abuse and criminality n Clear link between drug use and criminality n Alcohol n Prison inmates 3 times as likely as other males the same age to drink 2+ oz. of liquor per day n 25% indicated they had got drunk and hurt someone during last 3 years

16 Drugs and crime n Alcohol involved in 2/3 of homicides in a Philadelphia study, about 40% of rape cases n about 75% of arrestees have traces of illegal drugs in their systems (DUF studies) n In a study of CA inmates, over 40% reported using “heavy drugs” in the last 3 years

17 Drugs and crime n Heroin and crack have been most associated with chronic serious offenders n Hypotheses n 1. Psychopharmacological: drugs contribute to crime by reducing inhibitions (alcohol) or stimulating aggressive behavior (stimulants)

18 Drugs and Crime n Economic Compulsivity hypothesis: Addiction to substances contribute to crime to support a habit. n Studies of junkies have indicated that many commit crimes to obtain drugs n Lifestyle hypothesis: Offenders both use drugs and commit crimes as part of a lifestyle

19 Drugs and crime n Studies have found that some individuals commit crimes after becoming addicted (economic) n Studies have also found that many abusers were committing crimes before beginning drug usage. During periods of addiction, crimes tended to increase considerably, referred to as “on a run.”

20 Drugs and crime n For the latter group, decrease in substance abuse was associated with a decrease, but not stopping, criminal activity n For a number of offenders, then, stopping drug use will not stop their criminal behavior, although crimes may decrease

21 Mass media and crime: Television n 99% of American households have at least one television n Average American: watches 4 hours/day n Average child: 35 hours/week n May see 9.5 violent acts/hour in prime time, 25/hour in cartoons

22 TV and aggression n By age 18, a typical child will have seen 33,000 murders or attempted murders n Is there a relationship between viewing violence and subsequent aggression? n The answer is still disputed n The consensus is that violence on TV does lead to aggressive behavior by those who watch the programs

23 TV and aggression n Experimental results n Those who view violent vs. nonviolent episodes more likely to act aggressive (hit Bobo dolls, administer more electric shocks); however, this is artificial n Correlational studies: people with histories of violence typically prefer violent shows (which came first?)

24 TV and aggression n Hypotheses n People become aroused by the excitement of violence n Triggering of violence-related ideas n Erosion of inhibitions n Imitations of others’ violent behavior (note: the more similar the model, the more likely imitation)

25 TV and aggression n Desensitizes people to violence, might become indifferent to it. n Distorts perception of reality: may think violence is more common than it actually is, that it is accepted behavior n People end up spending less time in other productive activities which might lead them from crime (reading, homework)

26 TV and crime n TV appears to have differing effects on individuals n Only a few imitate acts on TV n People might be affected differently depending on personality characteristics n Children who were cooperative were more affected by Mr. Rogers than were aggressive children

27 TV n Little is known about the potential positive effects of TV n What are the effects of TV on property crime? n If someone is punished, does that affect viewers? n Does TV create envy and thus lead to crime?

28 Pornography and Sex Crimes n Pornography: sexually explicit material intended to create sexual arousal n 1970-President’s Commission on Obscenity and Pornography concluded that men exposed to pornography are not likely to commit sexual aggression n Sex offenders viewed less pornography

29 Pornography n Heavy viewing was not addicting--many became bored with it n Denmark-allowed it, rates of most sex crimes did not increase n 1985 Commission on Pornography condlued that exposure to pornography may cause aggression against women

30 Pornography and sex crimes n Why the difference? n The nature of pornography changed: “hard” pornography vs. “soft” pornography. Key appears to be aggression n Conclusions

31 Pornography and sex crimes n Pornography that portrays sexual aggression as pleasurable for the victim increases the acceptance of coercion in sex n In laboratory studies measuring short- term effects, exposure to violent pornography increases punitive behavior toward women

32 Pornography and sex crimes n Little evidence to support that nonviolent pornography causes sexual aggression against women n Pornography using children has long- term negative effects on its participants

33 Comparative Criminology n Different countries have different crimes and differing frequency of crimes n Method of agreement: identify common factors across cultures which account for high or low crime rates n Method of difference: find a country that does not fit what is expected and try to figure out why

34 Methodological problems n Countries do not gather crime statistics in the same way n Some countries may not record crimes formally n Countries have differing attitudes toward particular crimes, and emphasize some and de-emphasize others (Netherlands, bicycle theft, developing--begging)

35 Frequency of crime world-wide n 1. Theft 2. Assault n 3. Fraud 4. Robbery n 5. Drug abuse 6. sex crimes n 7. Drug trafficking 8. homicide n 9. Kidnapping n Property offenses account for greatest proportion

36 Trends worldwide n Developing vs. developed countries n Developing countries n Increase in the number of laws n Increase in youths, (population explosion) migration to cities, unemployment n Developed: rise in crime, better reporting

37 U.N. study of Factors & Crime n Homicide is associated with a low GNP and high proportion in agriculture n Property crime is associated with a high GNP and low proportion in agriculture n Low crime rates associated with: Strong kinship bonds Strong informal controls Homogeneity of the population

38 U.N. study n High crime rates associated with IndustrializationMigrationDislocationInstability

39 How crime is handled n In all countries, the bulk of funds goes toward law enforcement n Developed countries put a larger share in courts and corrections n CJS is replacing informal group control in most parts of the world

40 Japan n Low crime rate n Characteristics that would make it high risk: Rapid industrialization, urbanization, very rapid social change n Protective: no ethnic diversity, common tradition, group-oriented, self-restraint valued n Conflict and Durkheimian perspectives

41 Example: Switzerland n Low crime rate n Risk factors: industrialization, urban, three distinct ethnic groups n Protective: affluence, high degree of local governance

42 Specific example: Israel n Expected a low crime rate: Jews throughout the world have a low rate n Migration of two groups (after 1948) n European--highly educated, Western n Arabic n Prison population is mostly Arabic Jews (who had been law-abiding in Arabic countries) Conflict explanation