Criminology in Forensics

FRSC 3110 Week 2

What is crime?
What is criminal?
What is criminology?
What is Crime?
Four definitional perspectives in present day
criminology:
 Legalistic

 Political

 Sociological

 Psychological

How we view crime affects how we think about

it, study it, talk & write about it, and ultimately
how we try to prevent and control it
 Legalistic Perspective
define
breaking/defying
* crime as law

 Crime:
Human conductin violation of the criminal laws of a
state,
the federal
goat, or a provencal or local
jurisdiction
thathas the power to makesuch laws

* alooflaw to dtomn the ben to be criminal there

would be no law

↳ is didcrime
crime
justan invention oflaw?or
come Ist?

the social, moral, indiv of fundamentally

significance
·

immoral forms of beh. Is not easily

recognized
~need to consider temporal element

definition ofcrime by
rely on
lawmakers (pp) authority
-

of
Political Perspective
 Defines crime in terms of power
structures
 Crime is the result of criteria built
into the law by powerful groups &
used to label selected undesirable
behavior as illegal
 Law serves the interests of the
politically powerful
 Criminal laws do not bear any
inherent relationship to popular
notions of right and wrong
Sociological Perspective
 Crime is an antisocial act that is necessary to repress in order to
preserve the existing system of society (Fattah)
 Primarily an offense against human relationships and then a
violation of the law (Classen) ↳
strains,breaks
crime

relationships
 Need a broader consideration of crime than either the legal or
political perspectives
individuals
look dynamics bturn institutions
a
at
-
Psychological Perspective

❑ Crime is problem behaviour

❑ A form of social
maladjustment
❑ Results in difficulties in living
within a framework of
acceptable social
arrangements ->
"fit
don'tin"

❑ If this definition was

adopted…
❑ What is studied by
criminologists would greatly
expand
Crime News Reporting
 What factors do local
newspapers/media
emphasize?
~

"Crazylexciting"details A skewed for

·

characteristics ofperpa vic

·

type of crime
engagement
 Do you think that various
news sources report on
crime in different ways?
-
feed into world views (ex. Foxvs. CNN)

 How might these things

shape the public’s
perception of crime?
(5) effect
-

~not always empirical (lack of stats, misinterpretation of correlations)

Crime and Deviance
❑ Deviant behaviour is human activity that violates
social norms -> ben. that
accepted is
the majority by varies across time

↓regions
❑ Some forms of deviance are not criminal
3 the store
putting
ex.not
groceryback your cartat

❑ Some types of behaviour are still against the law

even if those who engage in them do not think of
them as deviant
&
going
to over the speed limit, I
walking
What Should be Criminal?
 Most agree that certain behaviors should be criminal
 Murder, assault, etc.
 Three contrasting points of view on what should be
defined as criminal:
1. The Consensus Perspective

2. The Pluralistic Perspective

3. The Conflict Perspective

The Consensus Perspective
❑ A perspective on social organization
❑ Holds that laws should be enacted to criminalize
given forms of behaviour when members of society
generally agree that such laws are necessary
❑ Core values exist within society small large
-> or

❑ Laws reflect the collective will of the people

❑ Laws serve all people equally

❑ Those who violate the law represent a unique subgroup

of the population
❑ Whose values contravene the majority
 The Pluralist Perspective
❑ Holds that multiple of values and beliefs exists in any complex
society…
❑ But most social actors agree on usefulness of law as a means of
dispute resolution ->
competing values/beliefs
resolve

❑ Many diverse social groups exist within society

❑ Each social group has its own characteristic set of values, beliefs,
and interests
❑ Formalized laws are viewed as useful in the settlement of disputes

❑ The legal system is value-neutral and concerned with the best

interests of society
❑ Value neutral: free of petty disputes or above the level of
general contentiousness that may characterize relationships
between groups what
~

is
not
rightis wrong,
of more

navigating relationships
The Conflict Perspective
❑ An approach to social organization that considers
conflict a fundamental aspect of social life and can
never be fully resolved
❑ Society is comprised of diverse social groups
❑ Each group has different definitions of right and wrong
❑ Conflict between groups is unavoidable
❑ Group conflict centers on the exercise of political power

❑ Law is a tool of power *

❑ The powerful strive to keep their power -> maintenance

❑ Furthertheir interests (gain and deny “legitimate” access to

resources)
-> perception control
of
power
But no matter how you look at it,
crime is diverse, in both nature
and motive.
Crime rates & Criminology

❑ The 1960s and 1970s were a time of social and

political upheaval
❑ Increase in alcohol consumption, increase in divorce
rates, increase in use of mind-altering drugs
❑ Dramatic increase in crime rates, throughout the
1960s, 1970s, and 1980s
❑ Contributed to greater interest in discipline of
criminology
 What is Criminology?
 Boyd - “the scientific study of crime”
 Gabor – “the systematic study of crime & reaction of
-> moreregimented
society to criminality” how society
-
views criminals
crimes

 Winterdyk – “the scientific study of human behaviour,

crime causation, crime prevention, and the punishment
and rehab of offenders” beyond just
-

oriented
the future
act-more

 Schmalleger & Volk – “an interdisciplinary profession

built around the scientific study of crime and criminal
behavior, including their forms, causes, legal aspects,
prevention, control”
 What is Criminology?
 Criminologists
 While they vary in approach, at a fundamental
level most agree that criminology includes:
I. The study of what motivates people to commit
crimes
II. Identifying effective crime prevention strategies
III. Considering the response of society to different
crimes
Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Study

❑ Draws on sociology, psychology, biology, law

geography, economics
❑ Includes:
❑ Study of law & the history of crime
❑ why people commit crime & the criminalization process

❑ Crime responses, prevention and control

❑ Crime rates and change over time

❑ Deviance

❑ Policing, corrections and penology

❑ And other studies related to the criminal justice system

 GROUP 2 (BERNARDO REVIEW CH. 3)

Group Seminar Presentation date Membership

Thursday Alex Battistuzzi, Caroline Findlay,
2 W01
February 2nd Meaghan Mullen, Abbey Rose
Thursday Alexandra Champagne, Kari Janik,
2 W02
February 2nd Kelsey Rhody, Hailey Symes Devos
Thursday Jasmine Boyer, Nicole Henderson,
2 W03
February 2nd Anna McNab, Krisha Sanghavi Niraj
Thursday Hannah Belcourt, Lucas Dunne,
2 W04
February 2nd Elliott MacKesy, John Santiago
Friday February Maggie Barnett, Piper Hammond,
2 W05
3rd Nicholas Kary, Jamie Sheridan
Friday February Virginia Bartlett, Joeleen Keks,
2 W06
3rd Nadra Musse, Patrick Tan
Friday February Shelby Baldino, Angel Dicochea Parra,
2 W07
3rd Carlee Oliphant, Madison Wagar
Criminologist vs. Criminalist
❑ Criminologists
❑ Study crime and its prevention

❑ Criminals and their treatment

❑ Societies responses to crime

❑ Criminalists
❑ Focus on the collection of
evidence from crime scenes
❑ Identify, document, collect, test,
analyse & preserve evidence
❑ Interpret findings and testify in
court
There is some overlap, however…

 What effects have the popularity of CSI had on….

(snows)
 Commission of crime?
·

gives criminals Ideas?

↳ teach them to
what do vs. to
whatnot do

 Investigation of crime?
expectations of evidence, information,
-

resources
pressure on investigators
-

transparity accountabilityof
~

increased
police
 Criminal trials?
-distortedidea of timelines
-

standard
expertwitnesses maybe held
higher
to

pp, volunteer for juryduty

-

may

 Crime prevention?
~

more awareness
-
Criminalization /Decriminalization

Criminologists also study:

❑ Criminalization process
❑ How certain behaviours become criminalized
over time, while others become decriminalized
❑ The stigmatization process — how offenders are
treated or “labelled”
❑ Net widening/shrinking — the potential of new
laws and methods to increase/decrease
“community” supervision and impact social control
❑ The effects of smart phones and electronic
surveillance
↳ ex. GPs, doorbell cameras

& both sides

good or bad!used on
‘Guyanese MP flees to Toronto after receiving death
threats for voting against his own government’ (CBC news Jan. 2019)

 "I cried all night [the night before the vote]," he

said, thinking he would die.
 Feeling only got stronger after the vote when he said
another MP told him he would be dead that night.
 "It was not an idle threat I entertained."
 Persaud said he was even prepared to use his
water carafe as a weapon should he be
attacked.
 He said he was lucky nothing happened,
adding that modern technology probably
saved him. Charrandas Persaud
 "Thank God for the advent of cellphones. Too
many people were watching internationally
and locally."
 The Questions of Criminology

 What happened?
 How often does something like this happen?
 Where can we get that information?
 What gets the most press & why?

 Why would someone do this and others not?

 Who are likely victims?
 What is society’s reaction?
 What has/can be done to prevent it?
The Questions of Criminology

 What do you think are some important factors that

shape the public’s perception of crime?
-

types ofcrime, media

coverage
narratives,
politics,

 What do you think are some important factors that

influence crime prevention policies?
method of
crime, where theyoccur,
finding budgets,
-
The Questions of Criminology
Four Basic Questions:
1. Why do crime rates vary?
2. Why do individuals differ as to criminality?
3. Why is there variation in reactions to crime?
4. What are the possible means of controlling
criminality?
The Questions of Criminology
How answer?
❑ Theory development – “Theoretical criminology,
rather than simply describing crime and its
occurrence, posits explanations for criminal
behavior” (Text, p.15)
❑ Answered by measuring crime

❑ Quantitative & Qualitative

❑ Constructing integrated theories – examine
crime from a number of perspectives:
❑ Sociological explanations
❑ Biological explanations
❑ Psychological explanations
 Sociological Approaches
❑ Focus on the social order and on how social forces
work to define crime and create the conditions in
which crime can either diminish or flourish
❑ Examine how social conditions (social context) can
influence our laws and our crime rates.
❑ Argue that criminal conduct is more likely to be
driven by social conditions than by individual
“aberrations”
Alook Contributions
larger
at whole vs. Indiv.
Psychological Approaches
❑ Focus on individual criminal behaviour
❑ Trying to predict the risk of reoffending
❑ Trying to evaluate the effectiveness of
treatment and rehabilitation
❑ Put the individual front and centre
❑ theyfocus on the individual’s psyche and
behaviour
Biological Approaches
❑ Early criminologists argued that criminality was a
biological trait
❑ Little empirical evidence to support the notion of
a crime gene
❑ Recent biological approaches have focused more
on interplay between biology and the
environment (sociology) context
*

❑ Argue that some individuals have personality

traits or certain characteristics that predispose
them to committing crime
-
still individual focus
structural components (ex. damage)
-
Social Problem vs. Social Responsibility
who's fault?
at

Social Problem Perspective

 Crime is the manifestation of underlying social

problems:
 Poverty

 Discrimination

 Breakdown of traditional social institutions

 Pervasive family violence

 Inadequate socialization practices

 Breakdown of traditional social institutions

Social Problem vs. Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility Perspective:

❑ Individuals are fundamentally responsible for their

own behavior
❑ They choose crime over other more law-abiding

courses of action
 Making Sense of Crime
The Causes and Consequences of Crime

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 33

 Primacy of Sociology

Crime occurs in the social world

The primary significance of crime and of criminal

behaviour is fundamentally social in nature

Any control over crime must stem from effective

social policy