Criminology Today An Integrative Introduction 8th Edition By Schmalleger - Test Bank

Criminology Today An Integrative Introduction 8th Edition By Schmalleger – Test Bank

 

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Chapter 1

What is Criminology?

 

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

 

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the textbook and to the field of criminology.  Crime can be defined in a variety of ways; the four main definitional perspectives see crime from the legalistic, political, sociological, and psychological viewpoints.  The text uses a legalistic approach, which sees crime as “human conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction that has the power to make such laws.”  This approach does have some limitations, however, some of which may be addressed by the other perspectives on crime.

Many crimes are forms of deviant behavior, human activity that violates social norms; however, not all crimes are deviant and not all deviant behavior is criminal.  There is also a significant difference between what is crime and what should be criminal.  The consensus perspective holds that a law should be enacted to criminalize a certain behavior when the members of a society generally agree that such a law is necessary.  However, in a multicultural society, consensus may be difficult to achieve.  The diversity of society is recognized in the pluralist perspective, which suggests that behaviors typically are criminalized through a political process after debate over the appropriate course of action.

The field of criminology itself is discussed in detail, with various definitions considered.  While criminology is primarily a social science, it is interdisciplinary.  It contributes to, and overlaps, the field of criminal justice.  A criminologist is one who studies crime, criminals, and criminal behavior; the term applies primarily to academics, researchers, and policy analysts with advanced degrees who are involved in the study of crime and crime trends and in the analysis of societal reactions to crime.  Criminalists collect and examine physical evidence of crimes, while criminal justice professionals do the daily work of the criminal justice system.  There are many professional opportunities for individuals with degrees in criminology.

One subfield is theoretical criminology, which posits explanations for criminal behavior.  There are many different theories of crime.  General theories attempt to explain all (or most) forms of criminal conduct through a single overarching approach.  An integrated theory does not necessarily attempt to explain all criminality but merges concepts drawn from different sources.

Criminological theorizing has as its ultimate goal the development of meaningful social policies based on scientific evidence.  Translational criminology involves translating criminological research results into workable social policy. Translating research into practice is often difficult, even with solid evidence to support policy innovations.  For example, despite widespread concern among professional groups about the effect of the media on teenage violence, policymakers have been reluctant to curtail the production of violent media.  Essentially there is a conflict between crime reduction policies and the profit motives of media vendors.

The social policy theme of the text is presented through a contrast of the two main perspectives popular in today’s society: the social problems perspective and the social responsibility perspective.  Recently the social responsibility perspective has had a substantial influence on national crime control policy.

Crime does not occur in a vacuum; every crime has a unique set of causes, consequences, and participants.  Crime is seen as a social event rather than an isolated individual activity.  The criminal event is the result of the coming together of inputs provided by the offender, the criminal justice system, the victim, and the general public (society).  Background and foreground features or inputs provided by each contributor are discussed.  In addition, each crime has consequences, or outputs, which affect not only the victim and offender but also society and the criminal justice system.  These consequences may be immediate or more long-term.

The text recognizes the primacy of sociology: the belief that the primary perspective from which many contemporary criminologists operate is a sociological one.  However, not all criminologists agree with this perspective and new and emerging perspectives are being developed.

 

 

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

 

After reading this chapter, students should be able to answer the following questions:

• What is crime? What is the definition of crime that the author of this text has chosen to use?
• What is deviance? How are crime and deviance similar?  How do they differ?
• Who decides what should be criminal? How are such decisions made?
• What is the theme of this chapter? Upon what two contrasting viewpoints does it build?
• What does it mean to say that “criminal activity is diversely created and variously interpreted”?

 

LECTURE OUTLINE

 

1. Introduction

 

1. Discuss the popularity of prime time television crime shows and the public’s interest in crime-related entertainment

 

1. Discuss the public’s fascination with the inexplicability of crime

 

1. What Is Crime?

 

1. Explain that various definitional perspectives exist when one attempts to define crime
   1. There are four perspectives: legal, political, sociological, and psychological
   2. Perspective is important because it determines what assumptions are made about how crime should be studied

 

1. The legalistic perspective defines crime as “as human conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction that has the power to make such laws:
   1. This is the definition and the perspective used in this text
   2. Under this definition, immoral forms of behavior that are not contravened by state statute are not recognized as crimes
   3. A serious shortcoming of this approach is that powerful individuals may use their power to ensure that their immoral behaviors are not criminalized
   4. Laws are social products, so crime is socially relative in the sense that it is created by legislative activity

 

1. The remaining three perspectives
   1. The political perspective sees crime as behavior that in some way threatens the interests of those with political power
   2. The sociological perspective considers crime to be an antisocial act of such a nature that its repression is necessary or is supposed to be necessary to the preservation of the existing system of society
   3. The psychological perspective sees crime as maladaptive behavior that prevents persons from living within the existing social framework

 

1. Summary
   1. It is difficult to come up with one simple definition of crime that is acceptable to everyone
   2. Consider the four perspectives as points on a continuum, with strict legalistic definitions at one end and more fluid behavioral and moralistic definitions at the other

 

• Crime and Deviance

 

1. Deviant behavior is defined as human activity that violates social norms

 

1. Discuss the relationship between crime and deviance
   1. Deviance and crime overlap but are not identical
   2. Discuss examples of deviant but noncriminal behavior (e.g., unusual dress styles)
   3. Discuss examples of criminal but common (and often socially acceptable) behavior (e.g., speeding)

 

1. Delinquency refers to violations of the criminal law and other misbehavior committed by young people

 

1. What Should Be Criminal?

 

1. The questions “What is crime?” and “What should be criminal?” differ
   1. Identify behaviors that most students in class agree should be against the law
   2. Discuss behaviors about which there is less consensus among class members regarding legal status

 

1. Two contrasting perspectives are used to answer the question “What should be criminal?”
   1. The consensus perspective emphasizes agreement among members of society as to what behaviors should be considered criminal and suggests that laws should be made to criminalize behaviors when members of society agree that the laws are necessary
   2. The pluralist perspective suggests that societies are diverse and behaviors become criminalized through a political process involving considerable debate as to the appropriate course of action

 

1. What Is Criminology?

 

1. Defining “Criminology”
   1. Review the wide variety of definitions presented in the chapter

• Explain the text’s definition of criminology as an interdisciplinary profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, including their forms, causes, legal aspects, and control

3. Review the four basic questions Jack P. Gibbs suggests are at the heart of criminology
4. Important key terms: criminology, criminality, crime, deviance, and criminal behavior
5. Criminology is mainly a social science but is interdisciplinary
6. Criminology is both a discipline and a profession and also contributes to the field of criminal justice
   1. Criminal justice focuses on the application of the criminal law and the study of the components of the justice system, especially the police, courts, and corrections
   2. Essentially criminology focuses on the causes of criminality whereas criminal justice focuses on the control of lawbreaking

 

1. What Do Criminologists Do?

 

1. A criminologist is defined as one who studies crime, criminals, and criminal behavior
   1. This term is increasingly being reserved for academics, researchers, and policy analysts involved in the study of crime and crime trends and in the analysis of societal reactions to crime
   2. A criminalist is a specialist in the collection and examination of the physical evidence of crime
   3. Criminal justice professionals include police and correctional officers, probation and parole officers, judges, defense attorneys and prosecutors, and others who do the day-to-day work of the criminal justice system
   4. Characteristics of academic and research criminologists
      1. Generally have a doctoral degree in criminology or criminal justice (or a related field) from an accredited university
      2. Most teach in institutions of higher learning, are involved in research designed to advance criminological knowledge, and publish their research results in U.S. and international journals
      3. Some are strictly researchers who work for federal agencies or private organizations
   5. Other options for people with degrees in criminology and/or criminal justice include work in police agencies, probation and parole agencies, court-support activities, correctional work, government agencies, private security, civil organizations, and so on

 

1. Theoretical Criminology
   1. Theoretical criminology is a subfield of general criminology that attempts to develop explanations for criminal behavior
   2. Criminologists have developed many theories to explain and understand crime
      1. A theory is made up of clearly stated propositions that posit relationships, often of a causal nature, between events and things under study
      2. A general theory is one that attempts to explain all or most types of criminal behavior through one basic overarching approach
      3. Unicausal theories suggest only once source for all serious deviant and criminal behavior
      4. Integrated theories do not necessarily attempt to explain all criminality but attempt to merge concepts drawn from different sources

 

• Criminology and Social Policy

 

1. The ultimate outcome of successful criminology theorizing is a set of meaningful social policies based on scientific evidence that proves the theory’s usefulness
   1. Translational criminology involves translating the results of criminological research into workable social policy
   2. Some policy innovations can be difficult to implement, even when there is strong evidence for their likely success
   3. Discuss why policy makers are reluctant to create policies limiting the production of violent media, despite considerable research evidence showing the link between medial violence and increased levels of violent behavior among children
   4. Video:  Go to www.youtube.com and watch the video, “Translational Criminology A Message From The Director”

 

1. Criminologists are aware of the need to link sound social policy to the objective findings of well-conducted criminological research
   1. Video: Go to www.youtube.com and search watch the video, “How Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships Are Redefining How We Study Crime.”  This video includes the introductory remarks by John Laub at the opening plenary of the 2012 National Institute of Justice Conference,

 

• The Theme of This Text

 

1. This text contrasts two perspectives which are popular in the United States and the rest of the world
   1. The social problems perspective sees crime as a manifestation of underlying social problems (poverty, discrimination, inequality of opportunity, the poor quality of education in some parts of the country, etc.)
      1. This perspective suggests that we need to deal with crime the same way we deal with public health concerns
      2. Solutions to the crime problem are seen as coming from large-scale government expenditures supporting social programs that address the issues that are at the root of crime
      3. This is a macro approach because it sees individual behavior (crime) as resulting from widespread and contributory social conditions that enmesh unwitting individuals in a causal nexus of uncontrollable social forces
   2. The social responsibility perspective holds that people are fundamentally responsible for their own behavior and that they choose crime over other, more law-abiding courses of action
      1. This perspective suggests that we need to focus on crime-prone individuals rather than developing social programs
      2. Crime-reduction strategies are more personalized and include firm punishments, imprisonment, individualized rehabilitation, increased security, and a wider use of police powers
      3. This is a micro approach that tends to focus on individual offenders and their unique biology, psychology, background, and immediate life experiences

 

1. The social responsibility perspective has substantially influenced national crime-control policy
   1. Federal examples include the expanded number of capital crimes under federal laws, increased funding for prison construction, federal “Three Strikes” laws, and increased penalties for many federal offenses
   2. Consider discussing appropriate examples of how the criminal justice system of your state has been influenced by the social responsibility perspective

 

1. The Social Context of Crime

 

1. Every crime has a unique set of causes, consequences, and participants
   1. Crime provokes reactions from victims, concerned citizens, the criminal justice system, and society as a whole
   2. These reactions may contribute to the creation of new social policy
   3. The text will attempt to identify and examine some of the causes of crime and will discuss the various different perspectives that have been proposed to explain crime and criminality

 

1. Making Sense of Crime: The Causes and Consequences of the Criminal Event
   1. This text sees crime as a social event rather than an isolated individual activity
   2. It applies the concept of social relativity to the study of crime, focusing on how social events are differently interpreted based on an individual’s experiences and interests
   3. Thus, crime means different things to the offender, the victim, the investigating officer, and the criminologist who studies the crime
   4. Explain how Figure 1-7 illustrates the causes and consequences of a criminal event

 

1. Crime and the Offender
   1. Offenders bring with them background features, biology, personality, personal values and beliefs, and skills and knowledge
   2. Background contributions to crime can be very important (e.g., possible link between child-rearing practices and criminality in later life)

 

1. Crime and the Criminal Justice System
   1. The criminal justice system contributes to the criminal event unwillingly, through its failure to prevent crime, to adequately identify and inhibit specific offenders before they become involved in crime, and to prevent the release of convicted criminals who later become repeat offenders
   2. Proper system response may reduce crime

 

1. Crime and the Victim
   1. Some victims are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, while others more actively contribute to their own victimization in some way
   2. Victim-precipitated offenses are those that involve active victim participation in the initial states of a criminal event and that take place when the future victim instigates the chain of events that ultimately results in the victimization

 

1. Crime and Society
   1. The general public (society) contributes to the criminal event both formally (e.g., through legislation defining the crime) and informally (e.g., through generic social practices and conditions)
   2. Socialization, the process by which people acquire the cultural patters of their society, may also contribute to crime

 

1. The Consequences of Crime
   1. All crimes have consequences; the immediate consequences are relatively obvious for those directly involved, but crime also indirectly affects society and the justice system over the longer term
   2. The real impact of the immediate consequences/effects of crime is mediated by perceptual filters, resulting in interpretations that consist of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to the crime
   3. The textbook’s perspective takes a three-dimensional integrative view of the social event termed crime, viewing crime along a temporal continuum as an emergent activity

 

1. The Primacy of Sociology?

 

1. Although many disciplines contribute to criminology, criminologists primarily operate from a sociological perspective
   1. This means that many theories of criminal behavior are based in sociology
   2. The social problems vs. social responsibility theme used in the text is an example of this

 

1. Not everyone agrees that the sociological perspective should be given increased importance in criminology today
   1. Those arguing in favor of the primacy of sociology emphasize the fact that crime is a social phenomenon
   2. Key problems with sociology include its apparent reluctance to accept the significance of findings from other disciplines, its frequent inability to integrate these findings into existing sociological understandings of crime, and its seeming inability to demonstrate effective means of controlling crime
   3. Much of contemporary criminology rests on a tradition of social scientific investigation into the nature of crime and criminal behavior

 

1. Discuss new and emerging perspectives in criminology, such as the increasing interest in the role of biology in explaining criminal tendencies

 

1. The sociological perspective is likely to continue to dominate criminology for some time

 

LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE

 

• A revised chapter-opening story and a new chapter-opening photo have been added to this chapter.
• A table has been added to visually explain the various possible definitions of the term “crime.”
• Statistics on crime and crime rates have been updated.
• A new Crime in the News box on “What Should be Criminal?” has also been added.
• The box includes a discussion of marijuana legalization and a map showing the legal status of the drug in various states.
• The theme of the text has been clarified.

 

 

ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES

 

Additional Lecture Topics

 

The Impact of the Mass Media on Crime. The mass media includes not only television news but also television reality programs, non-reality-based television programs, movies, radio news, and newspapers.  This lecture segment could include:

 

• What are the typical images of crime that are presented by the mass media (a focus on unusual circumstances or elements)?

 

• How are these images and information influenced or even distorted by the needs of the media?

 

• What types of crime are most commonly featured by the media (a focus on violent crime)?

 

• How “real” are reality-based TV shows?

 

• Do the large number of crime-related shows and information presented by the media leave viewers with a mistaken impression concerning the true amount and seriousness of crime in society?

 

• Are certain types of media more likely to sensationalize crime than other types?

 

• In what ways might the media improve its coverage of crime?

 

Subfields of Criminology. The text mentions theoretical criminology, but there are many other fields or areas within the discipline of criminology.  Some of these include:

 

• Penology
• Victimology
• The sociology of law
• Criminal statistics
• Criminal behavior systems

 

Student Activities

 

Activity #1:  How Does the Media Portray Crime and the Criminal Justice System?  Watch a number of reality-based television shows such as Cops and keep a record of the following information for each crime/event:

 

1. The gender and race of the suspects
2. The gender and race of the police officers
3. The type of crime
4. The products being advertised during these programs

 

Questions to consider:

 

1. What is the predominant race of the suspects? The police officers?
2. Do you notice any difference in the behavior of the suspects and police officers when they are both of the same race? Of different races?  Of different genders?
3. What types of crimes are featured? Does one type of crime predominate?
4. Are the products advertised during these programs directed toward any specific subgroup of the population? Are they age- or gender-based?

 

Activity #2:  The Difference between Crime and Deviance. First, on your own, identify five behaviors that are against the law but which you do not consider to be deviant, as well as five legal behaviors which you do consider to be deviant.  Your instructor will divide the class into groups.  Within each group, compare and contrast the items on your lists.  Focus on the wide range of opinions present among a fairly homogenous group (university students studying criminal justice).  Discuss possible reasons for differing opinions (e.g., religious beliefs, profession, prior experiences with the criminal justice system).

 

 

SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER ASSIGNMENTS

 

 

Questions for Review

 

1. What is crime? What is the definition of crime that the author of this text chose to use?  How might the notion of crime change over time?  What impact does the changing nature of crime have on criminology?

 

There are four definitional perspectives in contemporary criminology that may be used to define crime: legal, political, sociological, and psychological. The text employs a legalistic approach and defines crime as human conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction that has the power to make such laws.

 

Laws are social products, so crime is socially relative in the sense that it is created by legislative activity and determined by society.  Laws may be modified as social norms change over time. As a result, criminologists must manage their work under constantly changing conditions mandated by ongoing changes and revisions of both the law and social policy. Legalistic and definitional changes are frequently arbitrary and often unpredictable, making it more difficult to study crime.

 

2. What is deviance? How are crime and deviance similar?  How do they differ?

 

Deviance is defined as human activity that violates social norms.  While the concepts of crime and deviance overlap, they are not identical; some forms of deviance are not violations of the criminal law, while some crimes are not considered deviant behaviors.  Deviance is a broad area whose boundaries include many (but not all) types of crime as well as many noncriminal behaviors.

 

The concept of crime changes over time as society’s interpretation of behaviors changes.  A behavior that was in the past considered unacceptable and which was against the law may over time come to be seen as acceptable behavior, and the laws may be changed to reflect this.  Similarly, a formerly acceptable behavior may become seen as deviant and eventually the laws may be changed to criminalize the behavior.

 

3. Who decides what should be criminal? How are such decisions made?

 

The decision of what behaviors should be criminal is difficult, because while there is much general agreement in society that some forms of behavior (such as murder, rape, and theft) should be illegal, there is much less agreement about behaviors such as drug use, abortion, gambling, and so on.

 

According to the consensus perspective, behaviors should be criminalized when members of society generally agree that such laws are necessary.  However, a shared consensus is often difficult to achieve, particularly in a multicultural and diverse society like the U.S.  The pluralist perspective says that behaviors should be criminalized through a political process only after debate over the appropriate course of action.

 

4. What is criminology? What do criminologists do?  What are some of the employment opportunities available in the field of criminology?

 

There are many definitions of criminology.  This text defines criminology as “an interdisciplinary profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, including their forms, causes, legal aspects, and control.”  This definition was chosen because it includes many of the elements in the definitions provided by earlier writers as well as recognizing the increasingly professional status of the criminological enterprise.

 

A criminologist is defined in the text as one who is trained in the field of criminology; also, one who studies crime, criminals, and criminal behavior.  There are many professional opportunities for individuals with degrees in criminology.  Academic and research criminologists generally hold doctoral degrees in criminology, criminal justice, or a related field, and most teach criminology or related subjects in institutions of higher learning and are involved in research and/or writing projects by which they strive to advance criminological knowledge.  Some are strictly researchers and work for federal agencies (e.g., the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) or private research organizations (e.g., RAND, Search Group, Inc., the Police Foundation).

 

People with degrees in criminology may work in the criminal justice system in policing, in probation and parole agencies, in court-support activities, in corrections, or may enter private security.  They may also work for government agencies interested in the development of effective social policy intended to deter or combat crime.  Other options include going to law school, teaching high school, providing expertise to civic organizations, working for politicians and legislative bodies, or becoming involved in public advocacy.

 

5. How is social policy in the area of crime control determined? What role does criminological research play in the establishment of such policy?

 

Social policy is created by policy makers and legislators.  Criminology may influence social policy when policies are based on research findings.  Criminologists are aware of the need to link social policy to the objective findings of well-conducted criminological research, and many criminologists are working to help policy makers effectively use research results.

 

6. What is the theme of this text? On what two contrasting viewpoints does it build?

 

This book builds on a social policy theme and contrasts two perspectives on crime causation.  The social problems perspective sees crime as a manifestation of underlying social problems such as poverty, discrimination, inequality of opportunity, etc.  This is a macro approach because it views crime as resulting from widespread contributory social conditions that enmesh unwitting individuals in a causal nexus of uncontrollable social forces.

 

The social responsibility perspective holds that people are fundamentally responsible for their own behavior and that they choose crime over other, more law-abiding courses of action.  This is a micro approach because it focuses on individual offenders and their unique biology, psychology, background, and immediate life experiences.

 

7. What does it mean to say that “criminal activity is diversely created and variously interpreted”?

 

This refers to the realization that crime is not an isolated individual activity but a social event.  Like other social events, crime is fundamentally a social construction.  Thus, although a given instance of criminal behavior may have many causes, it also carries with it many different kinds of meanings for offenders, victims, and the criminal justice system.

 

8. What discipline has contributed the most to theoretical understandings of crime causation over the past century?

 

Criminology is interdisciplinary and numerous disciplines have contributed to the study of crime and crime causation.  However, the primary perspective from which many criminologists today operate is a sociological one.  Of all the disciplines, sociology has contributed the most to criminology and many modern theoretical explanations of criminal behavior are routinely couched in the language of social science and fall within the framework of sociological theory.

 

Questions for Reflection

 

1. This text emphasizes the theme of social problems versus social responsibility. How would you describe both perspectives?  How might social policy decisions based on these perspectives differ?

 

The social problems perspective sees crime as a manifestation of underlying social problems beyond individual control (poverty, discrimination, inequality of opportunity, breakdown of traditional social institutions, low level of formal education among some disadvantaged groups, pervasive family violence, and inadequate socialization).  Advocates generally agree that crime and violence are serious social problems but propose solutions based on a public health model, arguing that crime must be addressed in much the same way as public health concerns like AIDS, herpes, or avian flu.

 

The social responsibility perspective sees crime as a matter of individual responsibility and maintains that offenders choose crime over more law-abiding actions.  They may choose crime because it is exciting, because it offers illicit pleasures and the companionship of like-minded thrill seekers, or because it is simply personally less demanding than conformity. Advocates tend to doubt the ability of social programs to solve crime and suggest highly personalized crime-reduction strategies based on firm punishments, imprisonment, individualized rehabilitation, and increased security as well as a wider use of police powers.

 

Policies based on the social problems perspective emphasize government-funded initiatives that are designed to enhance social, educational, occupational, and other opportunities.  They call for large-scale government expenditures in support of social programs designed to address the issues that are perceived to lie at the root of crime.

 

Policies based on the social responsibility perspective emphasize individual choice.  Examples include increasing the number of capital crimes, mandating longer prison sentences, the use of three-strikes laws, putting more police on the streets, and building more prisons.

 

2. Do you think you might want to become a criminologist? Why or why not?

 

Answers will vary.

 

3. Are there any crimes today that you think should be legalized? If so, what are they? Why do you feel this way?

 

Answers will vary.

 

4. Can you think of any advances now occurring in the social or physical sciences that might soon have a significant impact on our understanding of crime and criminality? If so, what would those advances be?  How might they affect our understanding of crime and criminal behavior?

 

Answers will vary.

 

5. How would you describe the various participants in a criminal event? How does each contribute to an understanding of the event?

 

The main participants in a criminal event are the offender, the victim, the justice system, and society.  Each contributes to a criminal event in various ways.

 

Offenders bring various background features (personal life experiences, biology and genetic inventory, distinct personality, personal values and beliefs, skills and knowledge) as well as foreground contributions such as a particular motivation, a specific intent, or a drug-induced state of mind.

 

Background contributions to the criminal event by the criminal justice system include the system’s failure to prevent criminal activity, to adequately identify and inhibit specific offenders prior to their involvement in crime, and to prevent the release of convicted criminals who later become repeat offenders. The failure of system-sponsored crime-prevention programs also helps set the stage for the criminal event.  Proper system response, on the other hand, may reduce crime.  Immediate foreground contributions by the justice system include various features of the situation, such as the presence or absence of police officers, the availability or lack of official assistance, the willingness of police officers to intervene in pre-crime situations, and police response time.

 

Victims’ lifestyles may provide a background that fosters victimization.  However, victim-precipitation offenses are those that involve active victim participating in the initial stages of a crime and that take place when the soon-to-be victim instigates the chain of events that culminates in the victimization.

 

Finally society (the general public) contribute formally to the criminal event through legislation defining crimes and by delineating which forms of activity are to be thought of as criminal.  Less formal contributions arise out of generic social practices and conditions (poverty, poor education, discrimination, etc.) that block pathways to success and through socialization.  Society, through the divergent values and expectations it places on people, property, and behavior under particular conditions, may provide the motivational basis for many offenses.

 

6. In what way is contemporary criminology interdisciplinary? Why is the sociological perspective especially important in studying crime?  What other perspectives might be relevant? Why?

 

Criminology is interdisciplinary because it draws upon other disciplines to provide an integrated approach to understanding the problem of crime in contemporary society and to advance solutions to the problems crime creates.   However, while many disciplines (anthropology, biology, political science, psychology, psychiatry, economics, philosophy, etc.) make important contributions to the study of crime and crime causation, the primary perspective from which many contemporary criminologists operate is a sociological one. As a result, many modern theoretical explanations of criminal behavior are presented in the language of sociology and fall within the framework of sociological theory.

 

Another possibly relevant perspective is biology, as the role of biology in explaining criminal tendencies appears to be gaining strength.

 

7. How does contemporary criminology influence social policy? Do you think that policy makers should address crime as a matter of individual responsibility and accountability or do you think that crime is truly a symptom of a dysfunctional society?  Why?

 

Contemporary criminology may influence social policy by providing solid evidence to support needed changes in policy and ensuring that the evidence is implemented correctly in a real-world setting.

 

Answers may vary.