Criminology: A Sociological Understanding

by Barkan, Steven E.

• ISBN13: 9780130896438
• ISBN10: 0130896438
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

This book provides a sociological perspective on crime and criminal justice by treating social structure and social inequality as central themes in the study of crime-and major factors in society's treatment of criminals. It gives explicit attention to key sociological concepts such as poverty, gender, race, and ethnicity, and demonstrates their influence on crime. Recent coverage of major topics and current controversial issues includes computer crimes; harm reduction in society's effort to deal with illegal drug use; workplace violence; police scandals; violence against civilians; gun control; capital punishment; drug legalization; husband battering; civil disobedience; workplace violence; and racial prejudice and policing. For individuals trying to make informed judgements about why crime occurs and how society can best address this problem. m.

Table of Contents

Preface	xix
About the Author	xxiii
Part I: Understanding Crime and Victimization
Criminology and the Sociological Perspective	1	(19)
The Sociological Perspective	3	(3)
The Mutual Relevance of Sociology and Criminology	5	(1)
The Rise of Sociological Criminology	6	(2)
Consensus and Conflict in the Creation of Criminal Law	8	(1)
Research Methodology in Criminology	9	(4)
Types of Research	9	(3)
Criteria of Causality	12	(1)
An Overview of Criminal Law	13	(4)
Legal Distinctions in Types of Crime	14	(1)
Criminal Intent	15	(1)
Legal Defenses to Criminal Liability	15	(2)
Summary and Conclusion	17	(1)
Key Terms	17	(1)
Study Questions	18	(1)
Internet Exercises	18	(2)
Public Opinion, the News Media, and the Crime Problem	20	(28)
Public Opinion and Public Policy	22	(2)
The Accuracy of Public Beliefs about Crime and Criminal Justice	24	(10)
The News Media and Public Opinion on Crime	25	(2)
Overdramatization of Crime in the News Media	27	(1)
A Brief Look Back	28	(1)
Crime Myths	29	(3)
The Effects of Media Coverage	32	(1)
Crime and Controversy: Media Coverage of Violence Against Women	33	(1)
Research on Public Attitudes about Crime and Punishment	34	(11)
Fear of Crime	34	(1)
International Focus: Perceptions of Crime and Criminal Justice in Canada	35	(6)
The Seriousness of Crime	41	(2)
Attitudes toward the Punishment of Criminals	43	(2)
Summary and Conclusion	45	(1)
Key Terms	46	(1)
Study Questions	46	(1)
Internet Exercises	47	(1)
The Measurement and Patterning of Criminal Behavior	48	(30)
Measuring Crime	50	(11)
The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)	50	(6)
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)	56	(3)
Self Report Studies	59	(2)
Evaluating UCR, NCVS, and Self Report Data	61	(1)
Recent Trends in U.S. Crime Rates	61	(2)
The Patterning of Criminal Behavior	63	(2)
Geographical Patterns	63	(1)
International Focus: Measuring Crime in Other Nations	64	(1)
Seasonal and Climatological Variations	64	(1)
Social Patterns of Criminal Behavior	65	(9)
Gender and Crime	65	(4)
Race and Crime	69	(2)
Class and Crime	71	(2)
Age and Crime	73	(1)
Chronic Offenders and Criminal Careers	74	(2)
Crime and Controversy: Criminal Potential and Life Events after Childhood	75	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	76	(1)
Key Terms	77	(1)
Study Questions	77	(1)
Internet Exercises	77	(1)
Victims and Victimization	78	(28)
Defining Victims and Studying Victimization	80	(2)
The Patterning of Victimization	82	(11)
Geographical Patterns	82	(1)
Social Patterns	83	(2)
International Focus: Cross-National Victimization Patterns	85	(3)
The Victim--Offender Relationship	88	(2)
Crime Characteristics	90	(1)
Intimate Violence	91	(2)
Explaining Victimization	93	(5)
Lifestyle and Routine Activities Theory	94	(1)
Deviant Lifestyles and Victimization	95	(1)
Physical Proximity and Victimization	96	(1)
Explaining Demographic Variation in Victimization	96	(1)
The Issue of Victim Precipitation	96	(2)
The Costs and Consequences of Victimization	98	(2)
Economic and Medical Costs and Consequences	98	(1)
Psychological Consequences	99	(1)
Victims in the Criminal Justice System	100	(1)
Victimization by White-Collar Crime	101	(1)
Victimization of the Homeless	102	(1)
Crime and Controversy: The Politics of Victimization	102	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	103	(1)
Key Terms	104	(1)
Study Questions	105	(1)
Internet Exercises	105	(1)
Part II: Explaining Crime
Explaining Crime: Emphasis on the Individual	106	(36)
From Theology to Science	110	(5)
Gods and Demons as Causes of Crime and Deviance	110	(1)
The Age of Reason	110	(1)
The Classical School of Criminology	111	(3)
The Rise of Positivism	114	(1)
Biological Explanations	115	(15)
Phrenology	115	(1)
Cesare Lombroso: Atavism	115	(2)
Earnest Hooton: Biological Inferiority	117	(1)
William Sheldon: Body Shapes	118	(1)
Family, Heredity, and Genes	119	(3)
Neurochemical Mechanisms	122	(3)
Diet and Nutrition	125	(1)
Pregnancy and Birth Complications	126	(1)
Crime and Controversy: Race and Biological Research	127	(1)
Critique of Biological Explanations	128	(2)
Psychological Explanations	130	(8)
Psychoanalytic Explanations	130	(1)
Moral Development and Crime	131	(1)
Intelligence and Crime	132	(1)
Personality and Crime	133	(2)
Critique of Psychological Explanations	135	(1)
International Focus: Psychological Research in New Zealand	136	(2)
Summary and Conclusion	138	(2)
Key Terms	140	(1)
Study Questions	140	(1)
Internet Exercises	140	(2)
Sociological Theories: Emphasis on Social Structure	142	(30)
The Legacy of Durkheim	145	(1)
Social Disorganization and Social Ecology	146	(9)
Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. McKay	148	(1)
Critique of Social Disorganization Theory	149	(1)
The Revival of Social Disorganization Theory	149	(1)
Other Ecological Work	150	(1)
International Focus: Crime Rates Rise as Norms Break Down	151	(4)
Anomie/Strain Theory	155	(7)
Critique of Anomie Theory	157	(2)
Defense and Extension of Anomie Theory	159	(1)
General Strain Theory	160	(1)
Crime and Controversy: Crime in Families: Social Environment or Biological Problem?	161	(1)
Subcultural Theories	162	(6)
Albert K. Cohen: School Failure and Delinquent Subcultures	162	(2)
Walter B. Miller: Focal Concerns	164	(2)
Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti: The Subculture of Violence	166	(1)
Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin: Differential Opportunity Theory	167	(1)
Structural Theories and Gender	168	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	169	(1)
Key Terms	170	(1)
Study Questions	171	(1)
Internet Exercises	171	(1)
Sociological Theories: Emphasis on Social Process	172	(32)
Learning Theories	174	(8)
Edwin H. Sutherland: Differential Association Theory	175	(4)
Crime and Controversy: Delinquent Peers and Delinquency: The Causal Order Debate	179	(1)
Other Learning Theories	180	(2)
Control Theories	182	(17)
Walter Reckless: Containment Theory	183	(1)
Gresham M. Sykes and David Matza: Neutralization and Drift Theory	184	(3)
Travis Hirschi: Social Control Theory	187	(1)
International Focus: Social Bonding and Crime in Japan	188	(9)
Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi: Self-Control Theory	197	(2)
Integrating Social Process and Structural Explanations	199	(3)
Summary and Conclusion	202	(1)
Key Terms	203	(1)
Study Questions	203	(1)
Internet Exercises	203	(1)
Sociological Theories: Critical Perspectives	204	(32)
Labeling Theory	207	(9)
The Relativist Definition of Crime and Deviance	207	(1)
The Imposition of the Deviant Label	207	(2)
The Negative Consequences of Labeling	209	(3)
Critique of Labeling Theory	212	(1)
Revising and Renewing Labeling Theory	213	(1)
Crime and Controversy: How Should We Deal with Juvenile Offenders?	214	(2)
Conflict and Radical Theories	216	(11)
Consensus and Conflict Perspectives in Sociology	216	(1)
Conflict Perspectives in Criminology	217	(2)
Radical Theories in Criminology	219	(1)
International Focus: Crime and the Economy in China and Vietnam	220	(7)
Feminist Theories	227	(6)
Feminist Perspectives in Criminology	227	(2)
The Scope of Feminist Theory and Research	229	(2)
Developments in Feminist Criminology	231	(2)
A Final Word on Feminism	233	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	233	(2)
Key Terms	235	(1)
Study Questions	235	(1)
Internet Exercises	235	(1)
Part III: Criminal Behaviors
Violent Crime: Homicide, Assault, and Robbery	236	(34)
Homicide and Assault	238	(17)
Defining Homicide and Assault	238	(1)
The Patterning and Social Dynamics of Homicide	239	(3)
Trends in U.S. Homicide Rates	242	(3)
Explaining Homicide and Assault	245	(1)
International Focus: Why Is Canada Less Violent Than the United States?	246	(6)
Crime and Controversy: Using Violence to Stop Violence	252	(1)
Mass Media and Violence	253	(2)
Robbery	255	(5)
Defining Robbery	255	(1)
The Extent, Patterning, and Costs of Robbery	255	(3)
Types of Robbers	258	(1)
Explaining Robbery	258	(1)
Carjackings	258	(2)
Workplace Violence	260	(1)
Guns and Gun Control	260	(6)
The Extent and Distribution of Guns	261	(1)
The Use of Handguns in Violent Crime	261	(1)
Do Handguns Deter or Promote Violent Crime?	262	(2)
The Effectiveness of Gun Control	264	(1)
The Effectiveness of Tougher Penalties for Handgun Crimes	265	(1)
Reducing Violent Crime	266	(2)
What History Tells Us	266	(2)
Summary and Conclusion	268	(1)
Key Terms	268	(1)
Study Questions	268	(1)
Internet Exercises	269	(1)
Violence Against Women and Children	270	(28)
Violence against Women	272	(18)
An International Problem	273	(1)
International Focus: Dowry Deaths in India and Pakistan	273	(1)
Defining Rape and Battering	274	(1)
The Extent of Rape and Battering	275	(3)
The Social Patterning of Rape and Battering	278	(2)
Explaining Rape and Battering	280	(5)
The Issue of Husband Battering	285	(1)
Reducing Violence against Women	286	(2)
Crime and Controversy: Is a Woman's Sexual Past Relevant in a Rape Case?	288	(2)
Violence against Children: Physical and Sexual Abuse	290	(6)
Defining Child Physical and Sexual Abuse	291	(1)
The Extent of Physical and Sexual Abuse	291	(2)
The Patterning of Physical and Sexual Abuse	293	(1)
Explaining Child Abuse	294	(2)
Reducing Child Abuse	296	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	296	(1)
Key Terms	297	(1)
Study Questions	297	(1)
Internet Exercises	297	(1)
Property Crime	298	(26)
Defining Property Crime	300	(1)
The Extent of Property Crime	301	(1)
The Patterning of Property Crime	302	(3)
The Social Organization of Property Crime	305	(3)
Burglary	306	(2)
Property Crime Victimization: Costs and Circumstances	308	(2)
International Focus: Property Crime in Eighteenth-Century England	309	(1)
Forgery and Fraud	310	(3)
Check Forgery and Credit Card Fraud	311	(1)
Coupon Fraud	311	(1)
Welfare and Tax Fraud	311	(1)
Insurance Fraud	312	(1)
Explaining Property Crime	313	(6)
Cultural Emphasis on Economic Success	313	(1)
Techniques of Neutralization	314	(1)
Economic Deprivation and Unemployment	315	(1)
Routine Activities and Social Process Factors	316	(1)
Property Crime for Thrills	316	(1)
A Look at Shoplifting and Arson	317	(2)
Reducing Property Crime	319	(2)
Crime and Controversy: Target Hardening: Is Increased Security Worth the Price?	320	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	321	(1)
Key Terms	322	(1)
Study Questions	322	(1)
Internet Exercises	323	(1)
White-Collar Crime	324	(34)
Defining White-Collar Crime	326	(4)
Edwin Sutherland and White-Collar Crime	327	(1)
Conceptual Problems in Defining White-Collar Crime	328	(1)
Contemporary Views	329	(1)
Occupational Crime: Lawbreaking for Personal Gain	330	(8)
Employee Theft: Pilferage and Embezzling	330	(2)
Collective Embezzlement in the Savings and Loan Industry	332	(1)
Fraud in the Professions	332	(1)
Health-Care Fraud	333	(3)
Financial Fraud	336	(1)
Police and Political Corruption: Violations of Public Trust	337	(1)
Organizational Criminality and Corporate Crime	338	(12)
Corporate Financial Crime	339	(3)
Corporate Violence: Threats to Health and Safety	342	(1)
Crime and Controversy: Did Tobacco Companies Lie to Consumers?	343	(5)
International Focus: Pharmaceutical Industry ``Dumping'' in the Third World	348	(2)
The Economic and Human Costs of White-Collar Crime	350	(1)
Explaining White-Collar Crime	351	(3)
Reducing White-Collar Crime	354	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	355	(1)
Key Terms	356	(1)
Study Questions	357	(1)
Internet Exercises	357	(1)
Political Crime	358	(38)
Defining Political Crime	360	(2)
Crime by Government	362	(15)
Political Repression and Human Rights Violations	362	(3)
International Focus: Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria	365	(7)
Unethical or Illegal Experimentation	372	(1)
State-Corporate Crime	373	(2)
Political Corruption	375	(2)
Hate Crime	377	(2)
Crime against Government	379	(13)
Mass Political Violence: Rebellion, Riots, Terrorism	380	(6)
Civil Disobedience	386	(4)
Crime and Controversy: Blood and Hammers Against Nuclear Weapons	390	(1)
Espionage and Treason	390	(2)
Explaining and Reducing Political Crime	392	(2)
The Social Patterning of Political Crime	392	(1)
Reducing Political Crime	393	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	394	(1)
Key Terms	395	(1)
Study Questions	395	(1)
Internet Exercises	395	(1)
Public Order Crime and Organized Crime	396	(38)
Overview of the Public Order Crime Debate	398	(1)
Illegal Drug Use	399	(18)
Drug Use in History	400	(1)
Contemporary U.S. Drug Use	401	(4)
Explaining Illegal Drug Use	405	(3)
The Drugs--Crime Connection	408	(2)
The Legalization Debate	410	(6)
Harm Reduction and Drug Courts	416	(1)
Sexual Offenses: Prostitution and Pornography	417	(7)
Prostitution	417	(2)
Pornography	419	(1)
Crime and Controversy: Should Prostitution Be Legalized?	420	(4)
Gambling	424	(2)
Organized Crime	426	(4)
History of Organized Crime	426	(2)
The Alien Conspiracy Model and Myth	428	(1)
International Focus: The Globalization of Public Order Crime and Organized Crime	429	(1)
Reducing Public Order Crime and Organized Crime	430	(2)
Summary and Conclusion	432	(1)
Key Terms	432	(1)
Study Questions	432	(1)
Internet Exercises	433	(1)
Part IV: Controlling and Preventing Crime
Policing: Dilemmas of Crime Control in a Democratic Society	434	(36)
Crime Control in a Democratic Society	437	(2)
The Ideal of Blind Justice	438	(1)
A Preview of the Discussion	439	(1)
The Development of the Modern Police Force	439	(2)
Working Personality and Police Behavior	441	(8)
Police Misconduct: Brutality	443	(4)
Police Misconduct: Corruption	447	(1)
Police Scandals	448	(1)
International Focus: Police and Policing in Japan	449	(1)
Police Discretion: To Arrest or Not to Arrest?	449	(8)
Race, Ethnicity, and Arrest	450	(5)
Gender and Arrest	455	(2)
The Impact of Policing on Crime	457	(9)
Do Additional Police Deter Crime?	457	(3)
Does Arrest Make a Difference?	460	(1)
Crime and Controversy: The 1990s' Drop in Urban Crime: A Result of ``Zero-Tolerance'' Policing?	461	(2)
Community Policing: Real Promise or False Hope?	463	(1)
Legal Technicalities and Police Effectiveness	463	(1)
The Impact of Policing on Crime, Revisited	464	(2)
Women and People of Color in Police Forces	466	(2)
Summary and Conclusion	468	(1)
Key Terms	468	(1)
Study Questions	469	(1)
Internet Exercises	469	(1)
Prosecution and Punishment	470	(36)
Criminal Courts and the Adversary System	472	(4)
Prosecutors, the Courtroom Work Group, and Plea Bargaining	474	(2)
Punishment, Social Structure, and Inequality	476	(16)
Social Class and Legal Outcomes	478	(2)
The Impact of Race and Ethnicity	480	(10)
Gender and Sentencing	490	(1)
International Focus: Punishing Criminals in Denmark and the Netherlands	491	(1)
The Impact of Punishment on Crime	492	(5)
Crime and Controversy: ``Three Strikes and You're Out'' Legislation	494	(1)
The Evidence against a Deterrent Effect	495	(2)
The Death Penalty Debate	497	(6)
The Cost of the Death Penalty	497	(1)
General Deterrence and the Death Penalty	498	(1)
Arbitrariness and Racial Discrimination in the Death Penalty's Application	499	(2)
The Quality of Legal Representation of Capital Defendants	501	(1)
Wrongful Executions	502	(1)
Summary and Conclusion	503	(1)
Key Terms	504	(1)
Study Questions	504	(1)
Internet Exercises	505	(1)
Conclusion: How Can We Reduce Crime?	506	(16)
The Criminal Justice System ``Funnel''	508	(3)
Sociological Prescription for Crime Reduction	511	(9)
Social, Cultural, and Community Crime Prevention (Primary Prevention)	512	(3)
Developmental Crime Prevention (Secondary Prevention)	515	(2)
Criminal Justice Approaches (Tertiary Prevention)	517	(3)
Summary and Conclusion	520	(1)
Key Terms	521	(1)
Study Questions	521	(1)
Internet Exercises	521	(1)
Glossary	522	(7)
References	529	(45)
Photo Credits	574	(1)
Name Index	575	(10)
Subject Index	585

Excerpts

PREFACE Welcome to this sociological introduction to the field of criminology! The successful first edition of this book emphasized the need to understand the social causes of crime in order to be able to significantly reduce crime. I liken this approach to that followed by the field of public health. If crime were a disease like cancer, we would naturally try to determine what was causing it so that we could prevent people from getting it. Although it's important to treat people who already have cancer, there will always be more cancer patients unless we discover its causes and then do something about these causes. The analogy to crime is clear: Unless we discover the causes of crime and do something about them, there will always be more criminals. Unfortunately, this is not the approach the United States has taken during the past few decades. Instead it has relied on a "get tough" approach to the crime problem that relies on more intensive policing, longer and more certain prison terms, and the building of more and more prisons. The nation's prison and jail population soared and reached 2 million as the new century began. Although crime did decline during the 1990s, criminologists dispute whether this decline stemmed from this "get tough" approach or, instead, from an improved economy, a decline in illegal drug trafficking, and other factors. As the 1990s ended, many criminologists even began to warn that the surge in prisoners could be setting the stage for a crime increase down the line, as almost all of these prisoners, penniless and without jobs and embittered by their incarceration, will one day be returned to their communities. In offering a sociological understanding of crime, this book suggests that the "get tough" approach is short-sighted since it ignores the roots of crime in the social structure and social inequality of society. To reduce crime, we must address these structural conditions and appreciate the role that factors such as race and ethnicity, gender, and social class play in criminal behavior. For criminology courses like my own, housed in sociology departments, it is especially important that criminology students acquire the sociological understanding that this book offers. But this understanding is also important for criminology students in courses housed in criminal justice departments. If crime cannot be fully understood without appreciating its structural context, then students in both sociology and criminal justice departments who do not develop this appreciation have only an incomplete understanding of the reasons for crime and of the most effective strategies to reduce it. In presenting a sociological perspective on crime and criminal justice, this book highlights issues of race and ethnicity, gender, and social class in every chapter and emphasizes the criminogenic effects of the social and physical features of urban neighborhoods. This second edition continues to include certain chapters that remain uncommon in other criminology texts, including Chapter 2 on "Public Opinion, the News Media, and the Crime Problem," Chapter 13 on "Political Crime," and Chapter 17 on "How Can We Reduce Crime?" In addition, the book's criminal justice chapters, Chapter 15 on "Policing: Dilemmas of Law Enforcement in Democratic Society" and Chapter 16 on "Prosecution and Punishment," continue to address two central themes in the sociological understanding of crime and criminal justice: (1) the degree to which race and ethnicity, gender, and social class affect the operation of the criminal justice system, and (2) the extent to which reliance on the criminal justice system can reduce the amount of crime. These two themes in turn reflect two more general sociological issues: the degree to which inequality affects the dynamics of social institutions, and the extent to which formal sanctions affect human behavior. The second edition of this book has been thoroughly revised. It i