1. Lesson 1 – Crime, Criminology and the Sociological Imagination
Robert Wonser
Introduction to Criminology
Crime and Delinquency

2. Introduction
U.S. crime rate has declined since 1990s, but prison/jail population has increased
Prison/jail population is more than 2.3 million inmates
Criminal justice system costs more than $250 billion annually
Media distorts our knowledge about crime
Crime is both an individual problem and a social problem
Sociological criminology: Sociological understanding of crime and criminal justice

3. Sociological Criminology
Why do crime rates differ across locations and over time?
Why do crime rates differ according to key dimensions of social inequality?
How/Why is the legal response to crime shaped by race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and other extralegal variables?

4. The Sociological Perspective
People are social beings
Society shapes:
Behavior
Attitudes
Life chances

5. Emile Durkheim Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) French Sociologist
Founder of sociology
Research on suicide
The individual act of suicide still had social roots
Focused on social structure

6. Emile Durkheim Established the sociological paradigm
Social structure more important than choice
Deviance will always exist because all rule-breaking cannot be prevented, crime is a normal part of society.

7. Social Structure
How a society is organized in terms of social relationships and social interaction
Horizontal: social/physical characteristics of communities
Vertical: social inequality
C. Wright Mills: social structure the root of private troubles

8. The Sociological Imagination
The ability to understand structural and historical basis for personal troubles
Berger observed that sociology studies false claims about reality and“unrespectable” elements of social life
Debunking motif

9. Mutual Relevance of Sociology and Criminology
Crime, victimization, and criminal justice cannot be fully understood without appreciating their structural contexts
Crime and victimization are public issues rather than private troubles (Mills)
Rooted in:
Social and physical characteristics of communities
In the network of relationships in which people interact
In the structured social inequalities of race and ethnicity, social class, and gender

10. Crime has two aspects to it:
Crime as individual problem
Individuals commit crime
Crime as social problem
Individuals are shaped by social background
Crime is rooted in society’s structure, organization and operation.

11. Rise of Sociological Criminology
For most of history, crime was a function of supernatural forces
God
Devil
Demons
Witchcraft

12. A Brief History of Criminology
Classical Criminology
Theoretical perspective suggesting that people choose to commit crime
Crime can be controlled if potential criminals fear punishment
Eighteenth Century
Focus on rational choice
Crime as a cost-benefit analysis
Criminal law should deter offenders from choosing to engage in criminality
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

13. A Brief History of Criminology
Positivist Criminology
Application of the Scientific method
Objective
Universal
Culture-free
Empirical verification
Value-free
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

14. A Brief History of Criminology
Sociological Criminology
Anomie - normlessness
The Chicago School
Individual’s socialization
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

15. Chicago School Neighborhood studies
High crime rates linked to social and physical dimensions of the neighborhood
Differential association
Crime linked to delinquent peers

16. Other Socio-Criminological Theories
Anomie/Strain theory
Social control/bonding theory
Labeling theory
Conflict theories

17. The Creation of Criminal Law
Consensus theory
There exists a consensus among people on what the social norms of behavior are or should be.
Interactionist View of Crime
Crime is the product of social learning and labels external to the individual.
Conflict theory
Members of the public disagree on many societal norms; law is created by the powerful
White-collar crime vs. street crime

18. Goals of Criminal Law Keep the public safe from crime and criminals
Articulate a society’s moral values and concerns
Protect the rights and freedoms of the nation’s citizenry

19. Criminal Intent
For a defendant to be found guilty, the following elements must be proved:
Mens rea
Criminal intent
Actus reas
The criminal act

20. Criminology vs Criminal Justice
The Field of Criminology
An academic discipline that uses the scientific method to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior.
Interdisciplinary science involving two or more academic fields.
Criminal Justice
System made up of the agencies of social control, such as police departments, the courts, and correctional institutions, that handle criminal offenders.
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

21. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Developing Theories of Crime Causation
Psychological
Biological
Sociological
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

22. What Criminologists Do: The Criminological Enterprise
Victimology
L01 – Explain the various elements of the criminological enterprise.

23. A Brief History of Criminology
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

24. Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define Crime
Deviance includes a broad spectrum of behaviors, ranging from the most socially harmful, such as rape and murder, to the relatively inoffensive, such as joining a religious cult or cross-dressing.
A deviant act becomes a crime when it is deemed socially harmful or dangerous; it is then specifically defined, prohibited, and punished under the criminal law.
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

25. Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define Crime
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

26. Deviant or Criminal? How Criminologists Define Crime
Crime is a violation of societal rules of behavior as interpreted and expressed by the criminal law, which reflects public opinion, traditional values, and the viewpoint of people currently holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these rules are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status.
L02 – Differentiate between crime and deviance

27. Common Law Holdovers
Retention of common law concepts of the types of crime and the elements of criminal law violation that must be proved before a defendant can be found guilty
Mala in se: Evil in themselves; violate traditional norms and moral codes (i.e. murder, theft)
Mala prohibita: Wrong only because prohibited by law (i.e. drug use, white collar)
Felony: Punishable by more than 1 year in prison
Misdemeanor: Punishable less than 1 year

28. Research Methods in Criminology
Scientific study of crime utilizes:
Surveys
Experiments
Existing data
Comparative/Historical analysis
Observation
Interviews