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Intro to Criminology Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Intro to Criminology notes

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Overview

Defini­tion:
Crimin­ology is the scientific study of crime, criminal behavior, and the criminal justice system. It examines the causes, conseq­uences, and prevention of criminal activity, as well as the social and legal responses to crime.
Scope:
Crimin­ology covers various topics, including the nature of crime, patterns of criminal behavior, the role of law enforc­ement and the judicial system, victim­ology, and the impact of crime on society.

Historical Develo­pment of Crimin­ology

Classical Crimin­ology:
Key Figures: Cesare Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham.
 
Rational Choice Theory: Beccaria proposed that indivi­duals have free will and engage in criminal behavior through rational decisi­on-­making, weighing the benefits against the conseq­uences.
 
Deterr­ence: The idea that crime can be prevented through the threat of punish­ment, which should be propor­tio­nate, swift, and certain.
Positivist Crimin­ology:
Key Figures: Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri, Raffaele Garofalo.
 
Biological Determ­inism: Lombroso’s theory that criminals are biolog­ically different from non-cr­imi­nals, identi­fiable by physical traits (atavism).
 
Empirical Methods: The shift towards using scientific methods and empirical data to study crime, focusing on factors beyond individual control (e.g., biology, psycho­logy, enviro­nment).
Sociol­ogical Crimin­ology:
Key Figures: Émile Durkheim, Robert Merton.
 
Anomie Theory: Durkheim’s concept of normle­ssness, where rapid social change leads to a breakdown of norms and increased crime.
 
Strain Theory: Merton’s theory that societal pressure to achieve success leads indivi­duals to commit crime when legitimate means are unavai­lable.

Major Theories in Crimin­ology

Biological Theories:
Core Idea: Crime is a result of biological factors, such as genetics, neurop­hys­iology, and bioche­mical imbala­nces.
 
Genetic Theories: Some studies suggest a genetic predis­pos­ition to criminal behavior, though this is highly debated.
 
Neurol­ogical Theories: Focuses on brain structure and function, linking criminal behavior to abnorm­alities in brain regions respon­sible for impulse control and aggres­sion.
 
Bioche­mical Theories: Examines the role of hormones, neurot­ran­smi­tters, and enviro­nmental toxins in influe­ncing behavior.
Psycho­logical Theories:
Core Idea: Criminal behavior arises from individual psycho­logical factors, such as person­ality disorders, mental illness, and cognitive develo­pment.
 
Psycho­ana­lytic Theory: Sigmund Freud’s theory that unresolved uncons­cious conflicts can lead to criminal behavior.
 
Behavioral Theories: The idea that criminal behavior is learned through reinfo­rcement and punishment (operant condit­ioning) or imitation (social learning theory).
 
Cognitive Theories: Focuses on how indivi­duals perceive, interpret, and think about their enviro­nment and the role of moral develo­pment in behavior.
Sociol­ogical Theories:
Core Idea: Crime is a product of social structure, culture, and intera­ctions within society.
 
Social Disorg­ani­zation Theory: Suggests that crime is more likely in commun­ities with weak social instit­utions and poor economic condit­ions.
 
Strain Theory: Proposes that societal pressure to achieve culturally accepted goals (e.g., wealth) without access to legitimate means creates strain, leading to crime.
 
Labeling Theory: Argues that society’s reaction to certain behaviors labels indivi­duals as deviant, which can lead to further deviance.
 
Subcul­tural Theories: Examines how certain groups or subcul­tures develop values and norms that are conducive to criminal behavior.
 
Conflict Theory: Views crime as a result of social and economic inequa­lities, with laws often reflecting the interests of the powerful.
Critical Theories:
Core Idea: Crime and criminal justice are viewed through the lens of power, inequa­lity, and social justice.
 
Marxist Crimin­ology: Argues that crime is a result of the capitalist system, where the ruling class uses law and order to control the working class.
 
Feminist Crimin­ology: Focuses on how gender inequality influences crime and justice, partic­ularly the experi­ences of women in the criminal justice system.
 
Critical Race Theory: Analyzes how race and racism influence criminal justice practices and contribute to the crimin­ali­zation of minority commun­ities.
 
Postmodern Crimin­ology: Challenges tradit­ional narratives and emphasizes the role of language, discourse, and power in shaping our unders­tanding of crime and justice.
 

Crime Typologies

Violent Crime:
Types: Homicide, assault, robbery, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
 
Causes: Can include personal disputes, substance abuse, mental illness, social and economic factors, and cultural influe­nces.
Property Crime:
Types: Burglary, larcen­y-t­heft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and vandalism.
 
Causes: Often linked to economic need, social enviro­nment, and opport­unity.
White-­Collar and Corporate Crime:
Defini­tion: Non-vi­olent crime committed by indivi­duals or organi­zations in the course of their profes­sional lives.
 
Types: Fraud, embezz­lement, insider trading, tax evasion, and corporate miscon­duct.
 
Causes: Often driven by greed, opport­unity, and a lack of regulation or oversight.
Organized Crime:
Defini­tion: Crime conducted by structured groups that system­ati­cally engage in illegal activi­ties, often with a profit motive.
 
Types: Drug traffi­cking, human traffi­cking, illegal gambling, money launde­ring, and extortion.
 
Causes: Can include socioe­conomic factors, political corrup­tion, and the demand for illegal goods and services.
Cyberc­rime:
Defini­tion: Criminal activities conducted via the internet or other digital means.
 
Types: Hacking, identity theft, cybers­tal­king, and online fraud.
 
Causes: Often linked to techno­logical advanc­ements, anonymity, and the global reach of the internet.
Enviro­nmental Crime:
Defini­tion: Illegal activities that harm the enviro­nment, such as pollution, illegal wildlife trade, and defore­sta­tion.
 
Causes: Driven by economic gain, weak enforc­ement of enviro­nmental laws, and lack of public awareness.

The Criminal Justice System

Law Enforc­ement:
Role: Police and other law enforc­ement agencies are respon­sible for enforcing laws, preventing crime, and appreh­ending offenders.
 
Challe­nges: Includes balancing crime control with civil liberties, addressing police miscon­duct, and improving community relations.
Judiciary:
Role: Courts interpret and apply the law, ensure fair trials, and determine guilt or innocence.
 
Due Process: Legal requir­ement that the state must respect all legal rights owed to a person, ensuring fairness in the justice process.
 
Advers­arial System: A legal system where two advocates represent their parties' positions before an impartial judge or jury.
 
Senten­cing: The judicial determ­ination of a legal sanction upon a person convicted of a crime, including fines, probation, impris­onment, or death penalty.
Correc­tions:
Role: Correc­tional systems manage the punish­ment, treatment, and rehabi­lit­ation of convicted offenders.
 
Types: Includes prisons, jails, probation, parole, and community service.
 
Challe­nges: Overcr­owding, recidi­vism, rehabi­lit­ation vs. punish­ment, and human rights concerns.

Victim­ology

Defini­tion:
The study of victims and the patterns of how they are victim­ized.
Key Concepts:
Victim­ization Theories: Explores why certain indivi­duals or groups are more likely to be victims of crime (e.g., lifest­yle­-ex­posure theory, routine activity theory).
 
Impact of Crime on Victims: Includes physical, emotional, and financial conseq­uences.
 
Victim Rights and Services: The develo­pment of legal rights and support services for victims, such as victim compen­sation, counse­ling, and advocacy.
 

Crime Prevention and Control

Primary Preven­tion:
Goal: To prevent crime before it occurs by addressing underlying social and enviro­nmental factors.
 
Strate­gies: Community develo­pment, education, poverty reduction, and enviro­nmental design (CPTED - Crime Prevention Through Enviro­nmental Design).
Secondary Preven­tion:
Goal: To intervene with at-risk indivi­duals or groups to prevent the escalation of criminal behavior.
 
Strate­gies: Early interv­ention programs, youth mentoring, substance abuse treatment, and mental health services.
Tertiary Preven­tion:
Goal: To prevent re-off­ending and manage the risk posed by convicted offenders.
 
Strate­gies: Rehabi­lit­ation programs, re-entry initia­tives, restor­ative justice practices, and ongoing superv­ision (probation and parole).
Law Enforc­ement Strate­gies:
Community Policing: Building relati­onships between police and commun­ities to proact­ively address crime and disorder.
 
Zero Tolerance Policing: A strict enforc­ement policy on minor crimes and infrac­tions to deter more serious crimes.
 
Intell­ige­nce-Led Policing: Using data analysis and intell­igence to guide policing strategies and allocate resources effect­ively.
Criminal Justice Reform:
Issues: Mass incarc­era­tion, racial dispar­ities, police reform, sentencing reform, and the decrim­ina­liz­ation of certain offenses.
 
Reform Movements: Advocacy for changes in laws, policies, and practices to create a more equitable and effective justice system.

Emerging Issues in Crimin­ology

Global­ization and Transn­ational Crime:
The rise of crimes that cross national borders, such as human traffi­cking, drug smuggling, and cyberc­rime, challe­nging tradit­ional law enforc­ement approa­ches.
Terrorism:
The study of politi­cally motivated violence aimed at civilians to achieve ideolo­gical object­ives, and the legal and social responses to such acts.
Techno­logical Advanc­ements:
The impact of new techno­logies on crime and criminal justice, including survei­llance, cyberc­rime, and the use of artificial intell­igence in policing.
Enviro­nmental Crimin­ology:
The study of the relati­onship between enviro­nmental factors (e.g., urban design, climate change) and crime patterns.
Crimin­ali­zation of Poverty:
Analyzing how poverty and social inequality lead to the crimin­ali­zation of margin­alized commun­ities, often resulting in over-p­olicing and harsh senten­cing.
Restor­ative Justice:
An altern­ative approach to justice focusing on repairing the harm caused by crime through reconc­ili­ation between offenders, victims, and the community.

Conclusion

Crimin­ology is a dynamic and interd­isc­ipl­inary field that seeks to understand the comple­xities of crime and develop effective responses to it
By exploring the causes of criminal behavior, the functi­oning of the criminal justice system, and the impact of crime on society, crimin­olo­gists aim to contribute to the develo­pment of policies and practices that promote justice, safety, and social well-being
As crime and society evolve, crimin­ology continues to adapt, integr­ating new theories, methods, and perspe­ctives to address contem­porary challenge