Chapter 3

Explaining Crime

Introduction to Criminological
Theory
Severaltheoriesattempttoexplaincriminal
behavior.Sometheoriesassume:

Crimeispartofhumannature.
Crimeisbasedonbiological,
psychological,sociological,and/or
economicaspects.

ClassicalTheory
One of the earliest approaches to explaining
the causes of crime was classical theory.

classical theory
AproductoftheEnlightenment,basedonthe
assumptionthatpeopleexercisefreewillandarethus
completelyresponsiblefortheiractions.Inclassical
theory,humanbehavior,includingcriminalbehavior,
ismotivatedbyahedonisticrationality,inwhich
actorsweighthepotentialpleasureofanaction
againstthepossiblepainassociatedwithit.

ClassicalTheory
In 1764, criminologist Cesare Beccaria wrote
An Essay on Crimes and Punishments, which
set forth classical criminological theory.
He argued that the only justified rationale for
laws and punishments was the principle of
utility.

utility
Theprinciplethatapolicyshouldprovidethe
greatesthappinesssharedbythegreatestnumber.

ClassicalTheory
Beccaria believed the basis of society, as well
as the origin of punishments and the right to
punish, is the social contract.
Theonlylegitimatepurposeofpunishmentis
specialdeterrenceandgeneraldeterrence.

socialcontract
Animaginaryagreementtosacrificetheminimum
amountoflibertytopreventanarchyandchaos.

specialdeterrence
Thepreventionofindividualsfromcommittingcrime
againbypunishingthem.
continued

generaldeterrence
Thepreventionofpeopleingeneralorsocietyat
largefromengagingincrimebypunishingspecific
individualsandmakingexamplesofthem.

NeoclassicalTheory
Classical theory was difficult to apply in
practice. It was modified in the early 1800s
and became known as neoclassical theory.

neoclassical theory
Amodificationofclassicaltheoryinwhichitwas
concededthatcertainfactors,suchasinsanity,might
inhibittheexerciseoffreewill.

NeoclassicalTheory
Neoclassical theory introduced the idea of:
Premeditation as a measure of the degree of free will.
Mitigating circumstances as legitimate grounds for
diminished responsibility.

NeoclassicalTheory
Classical and neoclassical theory are the basis
of the criminal justice system in the United
States.

PositivistApproachestoExplaining
Crime
The theory of the positivist school of
criminology grew out of positive philosophy
and the logic and methodology of
experimental science.

ThePositivistSchoolofThought

The key assumptions of the positivist school

of thought were:

1. Humanbehaviorisdeterminedandnotamatteroffree
will.
2. Criminalsarefundamentallydifferentfromnoncriminals.
3. Socialscientistscanbeobjectiveintheirwork.
4. Crimeisfrequentlycausedbymultiplefactors.

BiologicalTheories
Biological theories of crime causation
(biological positivism) are based on the belief
that criminals are physiologically different
from noncriminals. The cause of crime is
biological inferiority.

biological inferiority
Accordingtobiologicaltheories,acriminalsinnate
physiologicalmakeupproducescertainphysicalor
geneticcharacteristicsthatdistinguishcriminalsfrom
noncriminals.

HeredityStudies

Several studies have attempted to determine if

criminality is hereditary by studying:
family trees
statistics
identical and fraternal twins
adopted children

Allofthesemethodsfailtoprovethatcriminalityis
hereditary,becausetheycannotseparatehereditary
influencesfromenvironmentalinfluences.

ModernBiocriminology
Ongoing research has revealed numerous
biological factors associated either directly or
indirectly with criminal or delinquent
behavior:
chemical,mineral,andvitamindeficienciesinthediet
dietshighinsugarandcarbohydrates
hypoglycemia
continued

ModernBiocriminology
ingestionoffooddyesandlead
exposuretoradiation
braindysfunctions

Hormones

Criminal behaviors have also been associated

with hormone abnormalities, especially those
involving:
Testosterone(amalesexhormone)
Progesteroneandestrogen(femalesexhormones)
Administeringestrogentomalesexoffendershas
beenfoundtoreducetheirsexualdrives.

PositivistApproaches
Today, most criminologists believe that
criminal behavior is the product of a complex
interaction between biology and
environmental or social conditions.

PositivistApproaches
Biology or genetics gives an individual a
predisposition to behave in a certain way.
Whetherapersonactuallybehavesinthat
wayandwhetherthatbehaviorisdefinedasa
crimedependonenvironmentalorsocial
conditions.

PsychologicalTheories
There are many theories regarding
psychological causes of crime, including:
Intelligence and crime
Psychoanalytic theories

IntelligenceandCrime
The idea that crime is the product primarily of
people of low intelligence has been popular
occasionally in the United States.
Astudyin1931showednocorrelation
betweenintelligenceandcriminality.

PsychoanalyticTheories
Psychoanalytic theories of crime causation are
associated with the work of Sigmund Freud
who believed that people who had unresolved
deep-seated problems were psychopaths.

psychopaths
Personscharacterizedbynosenseofguilt,no
subjectiveconscience,andnosenseofrightand
wrong.Theyhavedifficultyinformingrelationships
withotherpeople;theycannotempathizewithother
people.Theyarealsocalledsociopathsorantisocial
personalities.

SociologicalTheories
Sociologists emphasize that human beings
live in social groups and that those groups and
the social structure they create influence
behavior.
Most sociological theories of crime causation assume that a
criminals behavior is determined by his or her social
environment and reject the notion of the born criminal.

TheTheoryofthe
ChicagoSchool
In the 1920s, a group of sociologists known as
the Chicago School attempted to uncover the
relationship between a neighborhoods crime
rate and the characteristics of the
neighborhood.

TheTheoryofthe
ChicagoSchool
Studies found that neighborhoods that
experienced high delinquency rates also
experienced social disorganization.

social disorganization
Theconditioninwhichtheusualcontrolsover
delinquentsarelargelyabsent,delinquentbehavioris
oftenapprovedofbyparentsandneighbors,thereare
manyopportunitiesfordelinquentbehavior,and
thereislittleencouragement,training,oropportunity
forlegitimateemployment.

AnomieorStrainTheory
Robert Merton in 1938 wrote about a major
contradiction in the U.S. between cultural
goals and social structure. He called the
contradiction anomie.

anomie
ForMerton,thecontradictionbetweenthecultural
goalofachievingwealthandthesocialstructures
inabilitytoprovidelegitimateinstitutionalmeansfor
achievingthegoal.

AnomieorStrainTheory
Merton argued that the limited availability of
legitimate institutionalized means to wealth
puts a strain on people. People adapt through:
1. Conformityplayingthegame.
2. Innovationpursuingwealthbyillegitimate
means.
continued

AnomieorStrainTheory
3. Ritualismnotactivelypursuingwealth.
4. Retreatismdroppingout.
5. Rebellionrejectingthegoalofwealthandthe
institutionalmeansofgettingit.

LearningTheories
Edwin H. Sutherlandin his theory of
differential associationwas the first 20thcentury criminologist to argue that criminal
behavior was learned.
Thistheory,modified,remainsoneofthe
mostinfluentialtheoriesofcrimecausation.

differential association
Sutherlandstheorythatpersonswhobecome
criminaldosobecauseofcontactswithcriminal
patternsandisolationfromanticriminalpatterns.

LearningTheories
Among the policy implications of learning theory is
to punish criminal behavior effectively, according to
learning theory principles. This is not done
effectively in the U.S.
Probationdoesnotfunctionasanaversive
stimulus.
Mostoffendersarenotincarcerated.
continued

LearningTheories
Punishmentisnotconsistentandimmediate.
Offendersaregenerallyreturnedtothe
environmentsinwhichtheircrimeswere
committed.
Thereisnopositivereinforcementofalternative,
prosocialbehaviors.

SocialControlTheories
The key question in the social control theory
is not why people commit crime and
delinquency, but rather why dont they? Why
do people conform?

SocialControlTheories
The most detailed elaboration of modern
social control theory is attributed to Travis
Hirschi who wrote the 1969 book, Causes of
Delinquency.

SocialControlTheories

Hirschi argued that delinquency should be

expected if a juvenile is not properly
socialized by establishing a strong bond to
society, consisting of:
1. Attachmenttoothers
2. Commitmenttoconventionallinesofaction
3. Involvementinconventionalactivities
4. Beliefinthemoralorderandlaw

SocialControlTheories
More recently, Hirschi wrote with Michael
Gottfredson that the principal cause of deviant
behaviors is ineffective child rearing, which
produces people with low self-control.

CriticalApproachesto
ExplainingCrime
Critical theories grew out of the changing
social landscape of the American 1960s.
Critical theories assume that human beings
are the creators of institutions and structures
that ultimately dominate and constrain them.
Critical theories assume that society is
characterized primarily by conflict over moral
values.

LabelingTheory
The focus of labeling theory is the
criminalization process rather than the
positivist concern with the peculiarities of the
criminal.

labeling theory
Atheorythatemphasizesthecriminalizationprocess
asthecauseofsomecrime.

criminalization process
Thewaypeopleandactionsaredefinedascriminal.

LabelingTheory
The labeling theory argues that once a person
commits a first criminal act and gets
processed in the system, they are labeled
negatively as a criminal.
The label becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

ConflictTheory
Conflict theory focuses on the conflict in
society between rich and poor, management
and labor, whites and minorities.

conflict theory
Atheorythatassumesthatsocietyisbasedprimarily
onconflictbetweencompetinginterestgroupsand
thatcriminallawandthecriminaljusticesystemare
usedtocontrolsubordinategroups.Crimeiscaused
byrelativepowerlessness.

RadicalTheory
Radical theories argue that capitalism
requires people to compete against each other
in the pursuit of material wealth.
The more unevenly wealth is distributed, the
more likely people are to find persons weaker
than themselves that they can take advantage
of in their pursuit of wealth.

radicaltheories
Theoriesofcrimecausationthataregenerallybased
onaMarxisttheoryofclassstruggle.