1. Criminology of Computer Crime - Social Theories
CJ 520
15.0

2. Social Structure Theories
“Crime arises from economic disadvantage”

3. Social Structure Theories
Socioeconomic conditions & cultural values impact crime
Originally used to explain crime in lower socioeconomic areas
Has been expanded to cover middle class / upper class crimes
Most computer crimes committed by middle/upper class

4. Three Types of Social Structure Theories
Social disorganization theory
Focus on community differences & crime rates
Not covered in this class
Strain theory
Crime caused by frustration due to inability to achieve success
Cultural deviance theory
Crime occurs due to conformity to subcultures

5. Strain Theory Society instills in its members a needs for success
Society does not provide equal opportunity to obtain success
Discrepancy between goals & means to obtain goals causes strain
Crime is result of attempt to relieve strain

6. Robert Merton’s Strain Theory
Every society has a unique combination of goals & means to achieve them
U.S. - financial success
Means to obtain goal
Education
Occupation
Deferral of gratification
Some individuals blocked from education/occupation means
Discrepancy between desire/ability causes strain
Five modes of adaptation to strain

7. Merton’s Strain Theory Adaptations
Conformity
Accepts goals
Accepts means
Little/no crime
Most common adaptation
Ritualism
Rejects goals
Lower expectations of financial success

8. Merton’s Strain Theory Adaptations cont.
Innovation
Accepts goals
Rejects means
Develops new means of achieving goals
Most Crimes in this category
All money crimes
White collar crimes
Computer crimes

9. Merton’s Strain Theory Adaptations cont.
Retreatism
Rejects goals
Rejects means
Use of escape mechanisms
Drugs / alcohol abuse
Homelessness
Some crime to support addictions
Rebellion
Rejects goals and means
Replace with new goals and means
Gangs / militias / cults
Some crime

10. Robert Agnew’s Strain Theory
More modern version
Strain causes negative affective states
Anger
Frustration
Disappointment
Depression
Fear
Crime occurs because of negative affective states

11. Agnew’s Strain Theory Causes of Strain
Failure to achieve positive valued goals
Disjunction between expectations & achievements
Feeling of inequality
Removal of positive stimuli
Death/loss of significant person
Loss of job
Presentation of negative stimuli
Family conflict
Failure in school
More intensity & frequency of strain - more likely to turn to crime

12. Criticisms of Strain Theory
Assumes one universal cultural goal
Does not address motivation
Does not apply to females/youths very well
Applies only to property crimes
Cannot explain maturational reform
Crime dwindles with age

13. Cultural Deviance Theory / Subculture Theory
“a set of values. Norms, and beliefs that differ from thee dominant culture”
Examples:
Gangs
Hackers
Not all subcultures are criminal
The Amish

14. Criminal Subcultures
Act in accordance with their own set of beliefs regardless of the law
Many crime theories in this area
Two theories effecting computer technology
Cohen: Delinquency & Frustration Theory (1955)
Cloward & Ohlin : Differential Opportunity Theory

15. Delinquency & Frustration Theory
Lower class children want to join the middle class
Lack educational skills to obtain middle class membership
Poor school performance leads to frustration
Children will associate with other poor performers
Group will commit crimes as protest against the middle class

16. Criticism of Cohen No rigorous empirical evidence
Failure to account for rational criminal behavior
Cohen felt delinquent behavior was non-utilitarian, malicious, and negative

17. Differential Opportunity Theory
Focused on urban male gangs
Two goals
Economic success (Merton - Strain Theory)
Middle class status (Cohen - Delinquency & Frustration Theory)
Not all gangs have access to stable criminal enterprises
Crime mentor
Three types of gangs dependant upon
Access to established criminals
Goals

18. Types of Gangs Criminal gangs Conflict gangs Retreatist gangs
Have access to older offenders
Obtain goals from association w/ mentors
Develop into organize communities
Gambling / drug dealing / commercial theft
Conflict gangs
No access to adult criminal role models
No way to obtain goals
Violence frequently used
Retreatist gangs
No access to mentors or goals
Failed / unwilling to accept illegal goals
Use drugs / alcohol
Sell drugs / petty crimes

19. Criticism of Cloward & Ohlin
More than one type of gang in one area
Gangs don’t specialize in one type of behavior

20. Explaining Hackers by Social Structure Theories
Computer technology new means of social approval
Hackers have developed a subculture
Motives come from the environment
Hacking is personally rewarding
Feel power/control lacking in real life
Confessions take form of justification of actions
Hard to reintegrate into the real world
Not all hackers are criminals

21. Social Process Theories
Focus on the relationship between socialization & crime
Impact of certain factors on crime
Family/peer relationships
Failure in school
Underlying assumptions:
Criminality is a function of an individual’s socialization
Interaction of an individual with more immediate groups is key to explaining behavior
Focus on crime across all social classes

22. Branches of Social Process Theory
Learning Theory
Criminal behavior is learned from associations with others
Social Control Theory
Criminal behavior is due to lack of social bonds with non-criminals -or-
Socialization process did not encourage lawful behavior
Culture Conflict Theory
Crime results from conformity to norms of a subculture

23. Learning Theories Assumptions Key Objective: Three Learning Theories
Criminal behavior is learned in a social context from friends/family
Crime is “normal” rather than ‘pathological”
Crime is a product of learning the norms, values, and behaviors associated with criminal activity
Key Objective:
Detail the process through which criminal patterns are cultivated
Three Learning Theories

24. Differential Association Theory
Edwin Sutherland
Criminal behavior arises from learning behavior from family/peers
Criminal behavior does not arise from stress / failure to achieve financial success
Both criminal and non-criminal are motivated by need for money & social gain
Associations more than past behavior indicative of criminal behavior
Focuses on how someone becomes a criminal, not why
Nine propositions that social interactions & learning lead to crime

25. Differential Association Theory Propositions
Criminal behavior is learned
Not biological, psychological or social structure
Criminal behavior is learned in interactions with other persons in a process of communications
Verbal communications
The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs with intimate personal groups
Family/peers have greatest influence on behavior

26. Differential Association Theory Propositions cont.
When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes (1) techniques to commit the crime and (2) the specific directions of motives, drives, rationalization, and attitudes
The specific direction of motives an drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable
A person becomes criminal because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of the law
Can have different definitions for different crimes

27. Differential Association Theory Propositions cont.
Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity
The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns is the same as any other learning
Criminal and non-criminal behavior have the same needs and values

28. Criticism of Differential Association Theory
Testability
Causal framework
Does internalization of deviant attitudes precede or follow criminality

29. Differential Reinforcement Theory
Ronald Akers /1985
Builds on Differential Association
Combines Differential Association with Operant Conditioning
Premises:
Criminal behavior depends on an individual’s experiences with rewards for conventional & deviant behavior
Reward for deviant behavior leads to crime
Reward more powerful than punishment

30. Neutralization/Drift Theory
David Matza & Grisham Skyes ’s
Criminals hold conventional values, not separate values of a subculture
Criminals neutralize these values in order to commit crimes
Neutralizing techniques allow criminals to drift back to conventional behavior
Theory based on four observations

31. Neutralization/Drift Theory Observations
Criminals express guilt over illegal actions
Criminals respect/admire law-abiding individuals
A line is drawn between who a criminal can victimize & who they can’t
Criminals not immune to the demands of conformity

32. Neutralization/Drift Theory Neutralizing Techniques
Denial of responsibility
Behavior accident or beyond criminal’s control
Denial of injury
Denies offense caused any harm - especially computer criminals
Denial of victim
Victim had it coming
Condemnation of the condemners
Criminal shifts blame back to those condemning him/her
Appeal to higher loyalties
Peer group takes priority over society

33. Criticism of Neutralization/Drift Theory
Not all criminals approve of societal values
When does neutralization occur - before or after act

34. Social Control Theories
Why don’t people commit crimes?
Assumptions:
Consensus in society
People will pursue self-interest rather than those of society
Behavior is controlled by social constraints - crime is a failure of those constraints
Key Objective:
Identify the processes which bind people to social order

35. Containment Theory Walter Reckless - 1961
Internal & external forces to behavior
Some forces encourage criminal behavior & some inhibit it
Four motivating/restraining factors

36. Containment Theory Behavioral Factors
Inner desires - wants, needs
Inner containments - self esteem, strong sense of responsibility
Outer pressures - peer influence, unemployment
Outer containments - parents, school, police, criminal justice system
Inner containments most effective

37. Criticism of Containment Theory
No measurement of outer pressures & how they influence criminal behavior
Measurement of inner factors ambiguous

38. Social Bond Theory Travis Hirschi - 1969
People don’t commit crimes because of potential damage to relationships
Premise:
Individual’s bond to society prevents him/her from violating the rules. If the bonds weaken, the person is free to commit crimes
Four elements to theory

39. Four Elements of Social Bond Theory
Attachment
Emotional/psychological connection to others
Commitment
Time, energy, and effort expended in activities connecting to others
Involvement
More time spent connecting with others, less time for criminal activity
Belief
Strength of belief in common morals (law should be followed)

40. Criticism of Social Bond Theory
Causal order
Weak bonds lead to crime -or-
Criminal behavior leads to bonds weakening
What are the origins of social bonds
How is the strength of a social bond determined

41. Self Control Theory Michael Gottfredson & Travis Hirschi - 1990
Premise:
Self control prevents people from seizing opportunities to commit crimes
No/little self control, individuals will be impulsive, insensitive, and seek immediate gratification
Cause:
inadequate child rearing, instilled by age 8

42. Criticism of Self Control Theory
Assumes self control to be fixed
Tautology (A and not A)
People are compulsive when they commit crimes
All criminals are impulsive or they would not commit crimes

43. Social Process Theories & Virus Writers
Offer best explanation for malware writers
Have money for computers - social structure des not fit
Malware written for
Money, fame, attention, competition, fun
Malware writing requires a learning process
Malware writers use neutralization techniques to explain behavior