Crim 101 Notes #1

* What is criminology? A friendly science studying evil and related to phenomenon such(prenominal) as law making, abominable behavior, victimization and punishment Discipline of criminology is a recent development close to ideas and concepts we straight give way ab let on discourtesy and unlawfuls emerged e verywhere last 2 or 3 centuries Modern criminology is multi-disciplinary (inter-disciplinary) Influenced by sociology, psychology, and biologyThe fascination with aversion offense is popular topic for newspapers, TV institutes , books and movies There is starter-ranking relationship surrounded by crime news and actual totality of crimes Media focus primarily on lurid crimes, even though such crimes forms b bely smart part of all im incorrupt activity Appears as though police solve much than crimes and arrest much cirminals than they do in reality The good luck charm of crime stories and crime newsCrime related stories ar often dramatic and lurid handle with moral questions of good vs evil Criminals protrude in stories as insane or dangerous psychopaths Stories come to pass in forgetful age span- amidst newscasts or newspaper editions Easy for the public to understand Felsons 10 fallacies ab push through crime entertain 1. the dramatic Fallacy o musical accompaniment ratings high, media seek strange/violent incidents to compensate/create dramas around murder makes up less than 1% of all crime, besides from watching TV or recital the papers, it bes like a commonplace events seems that or so murders ar well-planned, grisly affairs, or they happen solely by random find in fact, or so murders start as arguments that escalate into violence roughly crimes argon relatively minor property crimes 2. the cops and courts false belief police work made to estimate much dangerous and challenging than it unfeignedly is increased policing found to be of exceptional value ost crimes be not reported, most of crimes that atomic number 18 reported ar not solved by police very few elaborate court trials (charges dropped, supplication bargaining, guilty plea) 3. the not-me phantasm most slew think they could never (or would never) commit a crime however, many a(prenominal) people turn out shoplifted, smoked marijuana, driven when theyre impaired, or gone joy-riding in a automobile most people violate at least some laws sometimes, even though they may not get caught or end up with a abominable record 4. the destitute youth false belief endency to view younger people as creation pure or innocent in reality, teen years are the most active years for vile activity majority of crimes commit by younger offenders younger offenders often are more dangerous than older offenders 5. the adroitness error tendency to think criminals are more clever than they really are in reality, lightweight, high value items set about made crime even more simple most criminals take little planning, little skill, and almost no time to commit 6. the organized crime fallacy endency to view crime as more organized and conspiratorial than it really is most criminals act quickly, avoid contact with co-offenders, and tiret do a big bucks of work or planning dealings with organized criminals makes what law enforcement officials are doing seem more important and sophisticated than its really is 7. the adolescent gang fallacy juvenile gangs nowhere near as dark as the media and law officials make them out to be loosely structured very much of so-called members just hanging out on the periphery crime that such gangs engage in is petty and disorganize 8. he welfare state fallacy ravish to blame crime on unemployment and poverty no evidence to show that government hand-outs or government programs do anything to decease crime when the economy improves, or when government hand-outs increase, statistics show that crime goes up too 9. the agenda fallacy many individuals and groups blame crime on declining mo ral philosophy say that a healthy does of moral and religious values is what criminals and society really needs most criminals already recognise right from wrong, and simply choose to abridge it, especially when theyre not being observed 10. he whatever-you-think fallacy wrong to think that some crime is subjective, and is whole regarded as crime because of labeling, media attention or influence of interest groups laws are in reality quite similar across assorted countries and different kind systems criminologists who talk well-nigh negative effects of labeling and how moral bothers are turned into crime-control problems are misguided and side-stepping their obligation to help solve the crime problem crime myths and realities * * * myth * reality almost criminals are dangerous and clever * some criminals resemble their victims * Most criminals are pathological individuals who kill at random * Most crimes are routine, mundane and often abortive * Police investigators are clever and rough-and-ready * Most crimes are not detected, or not reported, most go unsolved * Most crimes are violent * nevertheless a small portion of crime is violent * The elderly are more likely to be victimized * Young, low SES males are more likely to be victimized * Victimization are pass judgment going up * Victimization range are going down onceptualizations of crime crime as a sound construct crime as a violation of societal norms debate between the consensus vs. and conflict samples the wakeless construct model Sacco and Kennedy say the dominant way of idea about crime is in legal terms Crime is conceptualized relative to the concept of law- crime is breaking the law Because committing criminal act amounts to breaking the law, it is subject to pursuit and punishment The four main components a.Actus Reus a real event, in which somebody has committed or failed to commit an act b. hands Rea criminal intent you must have the intent to commit the act c. No legal de fense or justification d. Must be contrary to a provision of criminal law Crime as normative violation pictures Mala in Se Mala in se something uncool or evil in itself Laws that criminalise acts most societies and cultures agree are inherently wrong, e. g. , murder and incest Mala ProhibitaMala prohibita something that is deemed to be wrong or criminal only because it is prohibited Acts where there might be considerable discrepancy from society to society re their lawfulness Concensus vs. conflicy * consensus * conflict * Society as a functional organism * Society and social transformation rooted in social conflict * Norms/expectations based on share values/interests * Society not total or natural. But forced upon us * Those who are different (e. g. ,criminals) are deemed to be abnormal * Society/laws based on values and interests of those with the power