Crime and Social Inequality From the Lower Class to Prison

by Neal, Roderick Q

• ISBN13: 9781256472544
• ISBN10: 1256472549
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-12-29
• Publisher: Pearson Learning Solutions

Summary

Preface This book was prepared, with you, the student in mind. It is designed to help you understand and apply the theories, concepts, and terms related to criminal behavior, social inequality, juvenile delinquency, and the drug crime relationship. This book can be used as a stand-alone text for criminal behavior and juvenile delinquency. The book is also designed to accompany any books in criminology. It may also be used with any sociology text to enhance specific chapters on crime and deviance, social stratification, race and ethnicity, population, urbanization, and theory. The text will aide in giving a more thorough examination of those particular chapters. The text can be used as supplemental materials in other disciplines such as criminal justice, specifically juvenile justice and corrections. I would recommend this book to law makers, legal practitioners, law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and law enforcement training personnel. This text is an interdisciplinary approach, multi-directional and multifaceted. "The fields are changing daily, as new theories of causation are proposed; as novel forms of crime take their place alongside traditional ones; and as policymakers strive to embrace ever more effective crime control techniques in legislative debates, social programs, and innovative alternatives to incarceration, in addition to examining social policies. Further, this book will provide a historical and sociological perspective on the intersection of race, communities, and crime. The course will also examine the inequalities that exist in the criminal justice system, from policy to policing, arrest, sentencing, incarceration and the scope and significance of the disenfranchisement of the individuals that are affected. The course will also conceptualize the development of the black community its maintenance and structural conditions which have a significant impact on criminal behavior. This book will discuss the theoretical explanations of social inequality, with a focus on social class. The area upon which I placed more emphasis was the development of the underclass. The factors significantly related to poverty, the Broken Window Theory, and social disorganization will be linked to crime. In chapter 3, you will find a model which illustrates the theoretical views linking social class and crime. The main objective of the model is to enhance the readers understanding of the crime and social class relationship, specifically between the underclass and crime. Crime and Social Inequalityemphasizes the wide and interdisciplinary variety of academic perspectives that contribute to a thorough and well-informed understanding of the crime problem-hence the book's subtitle. Crime and Social Inequalityis up-to-date. It addresses the latest problems and discusses innovative alternative perspectives within a well-grounded and traditional theoretical framework for incarceration. Crime and Social Inequalitycontrasts contemporary issues of crime and social order with existing and proposed crime control policies, and recommendations. The culmination of my academic and professional experiences prepared me to write this book. Chapter one through three are a demonstration of my knowledge and expertise in crime and social inequality which was used as a satisfying preliminary examination for my Ph.D. Chapter four and five were produced as a result of my research interest. As a Judicial Officer for the West Virginia supreme court of appeals I was allowed to gain firsthand knowledge of law enforcement, judicial, and correctional applications and procedures. That was an extremely rewarding experience. Further I witnessed the strong drug crime relationship, the alarming recidivism rates, disproportionate incarceration rates of the poor and minorities. I was able to examine the inequalities from policy to policing, arrest, sentencing, incarceration and the scope and significance of the disenfranchisement of the individuals that are affected. As an expert witness in Federal Court, I produced sentencing memorandums on the behalf

Preface: viii

Appreciations: x

Organization: xii

Chapter 1. Explanations of Crime and Deviance ................................................................1

• Schools, Thought & Theoretical Perspectives ......................................2

• Introduction ..........................................................................................3

• Traditional Explanations for Crime ......................................................3

• Spiritual Explanations for Crime ..........................................................3

• Natural Explanations ............................................................................4

• Natural Explanations for Crime ............................................................4

• Classical School....................................................................................5

• Neoclassical School ..............................................................................5

• Cartography ..........................................................................................6

• Positivist School....................................................................................6

• Cesare Lombroso ..................................................................................7

• Biological/Biosocial Theories ..............................................................7

• Drugs and Crime ..................................................................................9

• Psychological Factors ..........................................................................10

• Differential Association ........................................................................11

• Chicago School ....................................................................................12

• Shaw McKay ........................................................................................12

• Strain Theory ........................................................................................12

• Conflict Theory ....................................................................................13

• Labeling Theory....................................................................................14

• Control Theories ..................................................................................14

• Control Theory: Elements of Social Bond............................................15

• Travis Hirschi on Control Theory ........................................................15

• A General Theory of Crime: Gottfredson and

Hirshci ..............................................................................................16

• Developmental Factors ........................................................................16

• Social Disorganization as It Relates to Social

Capital ..............................................................................................17

• Integrated Theories: Some Considerations and a

Proposed Model................................................................................18

• Elliot’s Integrated Theory of Delinquency and

Drug Use ..........................................................................................19

• Criminal Behavior and Public Policy: Future

Directions..........................................................................................19

Chapter 2. Explanations of Social Inequality ......................................................................21

• Social Inequality Diagram ....................................................................22

• Explanations of Inequality ....................................................................23

• Classes and Masses ..............................................................................23

• Classical Views of Social Inequality ....................................................23

• Max Weber............................................................................................25

• Durkheim ..............................................................................................26

• Mechanical Solidarity ..........................................................................27

• Organic Solidarity ................................................................................28

• Social Structure ....................................................................................28

• Cause of Organic Solidarity..................................................................28

• Division of Labor..................................................................................28

• Davis and Moore ..................................................................................29

• Power Elite............................................................................................30

• Dahrendorf’s Conflict Theory ..............................................................31

• Giddens ................................................................................................32

• Domhoff ................................................................................................32

• Wright’s Marxian View ........................................................................33

• William Julius Wilson: Truly Disadvantaged and When

Work Disappears ..............................................................................34

• Massey and Denton (American Apartheid)

The Making of the Underclass..........................................................36

• Culture of Poverty ................................................................................36

• Global Inequality ..................................................................................39

• Gender Inequality ................................................................................40

• Social Class ..........................................................................................41

• Social Inequality and Culture ..............................................................43

• Inequality Research ..............................................................................44

• The Inequality of Educational Attainment............................................45

• Contemporary Views ............................................................................46

• Poverty in America ..............................................................................47

• Personal Reflection ..............................................................................49

• Conclusion ............................................................................................49

Chapter 3. Crime and Social Inequality ..............................................................................51

• Crime and Social Inequality Diagram ..................................................52

• Introduction ..........................................................................................53

• Social Disorganization/ Crime Ecology................................................54

• Broken Window Theory........................................................................56

• Merton’s Strain Theory ........................................................................56

• Social Capital ........................................................................................57

• Culture ..................................................................................................58

• Consequences of Criminal Behavior ....................................................59

• Recidivism ............................................................................................60

• Drug Crime Relationship ......................................................................62

• Intervention/ Drug Courts ....................................................................63

• Social Class and Crime ........................................................................64

• Conclusion ............................................................................................65

Chapter 4. Juvenile Delinquency Research ........................................................................67

• Chapter Four Summary ........................................................................68

• Identifying At Risk Youth ....................................................................68

• Literature Review..................................................................................70

Social Predictors ............................................................................72

Psychological Predictors................................................................74

Other Predictors ............................................................................75

Method ..........................................................................................79

Subjects..........................................................................................79

Procedure ......................................................................................80

Results ..........................................................................................80

Discussion......................................................................................81

Summary and Conclusions ............................................................81

Limitations of the Study ................................................................82

Appendix A ............................................................................................83

Appendix B ............................................................................................85

Appendix C ............................................................................................87

Chapter 5. Drug Crime Relationship ..................................................................................89

• Chapter Five Summary ........................................................................90

• Overview ..............................................................................................90

• Statement of the Problem......................................................................92

• Literature Review..................................................................................92

• Methodology ........................................................................................109

• Findings ................................................................................................113

• Discussion/Conclusions ........................................................................141

References: ..........................................................................................................................147

Word Glossary: ....................................................................................................................161