...Jane Ha Dr. Wagner Sociology of Deviance April 11, 2013 A Visit to the Detention Center My visit to the Clark County Juvenile Center provided many helpful and interesting insights on my own study of deviance, specifically on how social power and social context play a significant role on the definition, legalization, and construct of deviance and the deviant being. Based on the information from the two informants I interviewed about their life and the events that led them to the juvenile center, I noticed several patterns and similarities in the family structure and the reference group, whom they interacted with every day. The first similarity was the absence of the father figure; both informants’ parents were divorced and they reported having more communication with their mothers than their dad. My first informant, who was Eddie, 15 years old, simply stated their parents were separated and the informant was living with his mom and sister, with little mentioning of his dad. Similarly, Tyeal, 16 years old, said she rarely saw her dad and even though she added that he tried to be there for her. “…My dad lives in Springfield, he tries to be there for me, but he is an alcoholic and I don’t see him often.” However, the relationships between Eddie and Tyeal’s moms were significantly different. While Eddie seemed to have a good relationship with his mom and his sister; he described his mom as “cool and has a great sense of humor”, the relationship between Tyeal and her...
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...TUAGIRA Mike From RWANDA BURGLARY I. Introduction Nowadays, serious property crimes are among types of crimes that most people of various societies fear. Burglary is then one of the serious property crimes and it was defined differently by different scholars. In this essay, burglary will be discussed in its details by looking its historical background, its patterns and trends, characteristics of offender, victim and offence. Indeed, there will be analysis of its constitutive elements, reaction and response of the society to it, policing strategies in preventing and investigating burglary as well as challenges in its prosecution. II. Historical perspective II. 1. Background and definitions Historically, an offence to be qualified as burglary required entry into any structure even if the occupant is not therein at that time of entry. Traditionally, to be qualified as burglary, an offence must have occurred at nighttime when natural light was insufficient to identify a face (Hall and Clark, 2002). Finally burglary required the intention of perpetrator to commit a felony when entering the other’s dwelling even if the perpetrator did not commit or attempt to commit crime inside the structure. Today, many states recognize that there is a burglary when there is entry into any construction suitable for occupancy such as residential or commercial houses, car and others, while for the first degree burglary requires entering dwelling. Burglary in its modern appearance requires...
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...Outline and asses the three measurements of crime When measuring crime and deviance sociologist tend to look at the different types of ways that we can measure crime; this includes, Official statistics, Victim survey and lastly self report studies. Each of these methods focuses on very different things, they also have strong and weak points but by combining them, a possible general picture of crime and deviance could be drawn. Firstly, official statistics show that public fear of being a victim of crime is rising. This stark difference between the level of crime and fear of crime has been attributed to the way of crime is reported in the media. Tabloid papers often use alarmist headlines about crime and deviance to grab the attention of readers causing a moral panic. It’s been argued that these exaggerate the chances of being victim of crime. Official statistics have strong points such as they are relatively cheap and readily available. They are published annually and they provide data on crime across the whole of the UK and also provide insight into regional differences in crime. This means that sociologists would be able to compare between different parts of the UK for example rural and urban areas. Positivist sociologists such as Functionalists are very supportive of the Official statistics; they see that this method of measuring crime is reliable, representative and valid. It also provides a true picture of the extent and nature of crime. However, this method does come with...
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...RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIME AND JUSTICE CHAPTER 1 – THE RESEARCH PRACTICE Chapter Review Questions Respond to each of the following questions using the information from this chapter. 1. During a recent meeting of the command staff at a mid-sized police department, the chief asks the patrol captain for his recommendation for new flashlights. The captain responds, “I did a little research and I recommend that we purchase the DryLight, Model X flashlight”. The patrol captain’s research consisted of “asking a few of the officers” what they thought would be a good flashlight. Did the patrol captain actually conduct research? Why or why not? ANSWER: Technically, the patrol captain did some research. He conducted interviews which is a form of data collection. One could argue, however, that the patrol captain’s research was limited (pp. 7-8). 2. Respond to the following statement in 3-5 sentences: Conducting research in the social sciences and in criminal justice in particular is easier than in other sciences because the things we measure are so vague that nobody really cares if we get it right or not. ANSWER: Generally speaking, social science research is more challenging than some of the ‘hard sciences’ because the things social scientists study are difficult to measure objectively. As a result social scientists spend a great deal of time justifying how they measure concepts to their peers (pp. 4-5). 3. Read the following scenarios and identify which of the following...
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...Criminal Justice 207 Kwak The City That Became Safe Over the last ten years the United States has experienced a dramatic decrease in crime since the early 1990’s. New York, has maintained their remarkable drop in crime over the last twenty years in comparison. So it is only logical that criminologist would want to study this phenomenon to get to the root of its success. In “ The City That Became Safe” Zimring decides to go beyond New York’s surface success and find the causes in these decreases. Through his analysis of the New York’s constant decline in Zimring says: “We now know that life-threatening crime is not an incurable urban disease in the United States.” He takes the stance that improved policing strategies and systems explain New York’s constant decreasing in various area’s of crime. Dr. Zimring will further assert his stance through finding the causes of the decline and explain what else can be learned though criminological theories and crime control policy. As previously According to Zimring, New York’s decrease in serious crime is unprecedented among America’s biggest cities. In the 1990s the entire country experienced the largest documented crime decline of the twentieth century, in which the typical big city experienced approximately 35 to 40% reductions in felonies. But in most urban areas the downward trend ended around the year 2000. In contrast, Zimring notes that New York’s decline has so far lasted twice as long, and the average felony rate drop has...
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...and broke into shops and set fire to pubs. There are many theories as to why people commit crimes. Are these crimes due to inherited predispositions? Are they a response to the strain of disjunction between goals and the means of achieving? Is this because they were written off as delinquents at school? Are these crimes a result of being labelled a murderer or a hooligan? Is the inequality in the capitalist world responsible for these people’s actions? This essay will look at biological, physiological and sociological perspectives to consider why people commit crimes. Deviance can be defined as behaviour that differs from the normal and is subjected to public disapproval. What is labelled as deviant is relative and will clearly differ between cultures. Similarly what is seen as deviant behaviour changes over time, it was once deviant to bear a child out of wed lock but over time it is now considered to be the norm. Lastly deviance is subjective depending on location for example it would be considered to be deviant to chant, shout and walk around topless at your local supermarket but this is considered the norm at a football match (Harlambous and Holborn, 2004). Crime can be defined as breaking the laws of the land. Crime is distinct from deviance, although crimes tend to be deviant behaviour, not all crime is deviant. For example, many people ignore 30mph hour laws and this is a crime however it is not considered deviant (Taylor et al). There...
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...Carrie Campbell Soc. 277 November 1, 2012 Applying Theories and Concepts There are many theories throughout sociology and criminology that explain deviance and why individuals involve themselves in deviant activities and become deviant. In this particular case study there a many theories that an individual could apply to Kevin and his deviant behavior, but the three theories that I view as the best to explain Kevin’s deviance and behavior that was studied. The three theories that apply best to Kevin’s particular aspects of deviance are Social Bond Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Reaction Formation Theory. Social Bond Theory is a theory that states that if an individual has strong relationships and or bonds , and values, then they will not involve themselves in deviant behavior whether they have deviant friends or not. The theory also says that if the individuals lack these values and or strong relationships, then they fall back on peers in search of those bonds whether they are negative or positive ones. In relationship to Kevin, this theory plays a role in his deviant behaviors because of his relationship with his family and then his involvement in deviant behaviors with his peers. Kevin’s parents were divorced and his mother eventually remarried when he was in the seventh grade. His relationship with his step-father was negative relationships which often lead to arguments and or confrontations between Kevin and his stepfather and Kevin’s mother and step-father...
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...Computer crime Computer Crime Definition A computer crime is any illegal action where the data on a computer is accessed without permission. This access doesn't have to result in loss of data or even data modifications. Arguably the worst computer crime occurs when there are no indications that data was accessed. Computer crime is often attributed to rogue hackers and crackers, but increasingly organized crime groups have realized the relative ease of stealing data with relative low-level of risk. Government organizations are also rumored to be involved with hacking in to computer systems, but the legality of such actions is far too grey an area to be discussed here. Computer crime, or cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network, where the computers may or may not have played an instrumental part in the commission of a crime.[1] Netcrime refers, more precisely, to criminal exploitation of the Internet.[2] Issues surrounding this type of crime have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement, child pornography, and child grooming. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise. On the global level, both governments and non-state actors continue to grow in importance, with the ability to engage in such activities as espionage, financial theft, and other cross-border crimes sometimes referred to as cyber warfare. The international legal system is...
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...3 Учреждение образования «Брестский государственный университет имени А. С. Пушкина» Кафедра английского языка с методикой преподавания М. В. Гуль EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. COURTS AND TRIALS СИСТЕМЫ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И ПРАВОСУДИЯ ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИИ И США Практикум по английскому языку Для студентов 4-го курса гуманитарных и педагогических специальностей (специальность 1-21 06 01-01, современные иностранные языки специальность 1-02 03 06, иностранные языки (английский, немецкий)) БрГУ имени А. С. Пушкина Брест 2009 4 УДК 372.016 : 811.111(076) ББК 74.268.1(Англ)р Г94 Рецензенты: Кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры иностранных языков технических специальностей БГТУ Д. В. Новик Зав. кафедрой кафедрой иностранных языков второй специальности БрГУ имени А. С. Пушкина, доцент В. М. Иванова Практикум направлен на совершенствование навыков и развитие умений диалогической и монологической речи по темам: система образования, система правосудия Великобритании и США, а также на совершенствование письменной компетенции студентов. Каждый раздел содержит тематический словарь, ряд упражнений на закрепление лексики, достаточное количество текстов по теме, упражнения на повторение. Практикум предназначен для аудиторной и самостоятельной работы студентов 4-го курса, изучающих английский язык как основную специальность. 5 Educational System (the USA and the UK) Topical Vocabulary Nursery school, kindergarten, elementary school, high school (junior, senior), secondary school...
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...Why is the American Crime Rate So High? When compared with other Western-industrialized nations, the United States has the highest crime rate. It is a daunting question as to why, especially in the age we live in now. One might just boil it down to being a consequence of an ongoing population boom, the idea being that when there are more people, there is going to be more criminal activity. While this is obviously true, it is not even coming close to touching on the big picture. There are many societal factors that can influence a person to commit crime, from the hardened street thug to the typical law-abiding citizen. As for what they are doing differently in other western industrialized nations that is resulting in less crime than the United States, it is very hard to come up with a concrete idea as to why. Regardless of the country, the recession (which may be an indicator of criminal behavior) is being felt globally. The mistrust and harsh feelings toward police is just as strong, if not stronger, in other western industrialized nations. The make-up of towns and cities are pretty similar. There are ghettos in every country. There are violent street gangs in every country. Rioting against authority is far more prevalent in other countries, namely England, and they have been known to get quite hostile and violent at times, with deaths occurring in extreme cases. Laws may vary, but the main ideas remain the same in other western industrialized nations. In fact, certain...
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...the word “serial killer” comes to mind, usually for me the name Ted Bundy is the one that dominates. Before Bundy was executed in 1989, he confessed to killing more that thirty women in almost a dozen states across the U.S. during his four year long string of murders in the 70s. “The thing that set Ted Bundy away from the serial killer’s stereo typical analysis is that he was such a mainstream All-American man that the Washington State Republican Party hired him, so cunning that he escaped from jail, twice, and so dashing that a woman friend used to send marriage proposals to him on death row.” (www.crimemageyine.com) If this man was such a moral citizen, what could have brought him to the torturous murders of those young women? What psychological explanation is given on his behalf? I feel that a child’s upbringing and their exposure to different things can also trigger certain urges. Usually, the profile of a serial killer tends to be white heterosexual males in their twenties or thirties. While it is impossible to predict who will become a serial killer, there are traits that appear to be similar in all killers. These behaviors include cruelty to animals, bedwetting, lying, stealing, cheating, alcohol and drug abuse, and a very high fascination for pornography. A lot of these traits are prominent in Ted Bundy’s character. An obvious one was he was white, he had a history of torturing animals and was often found reading his grandfather’s porn magazines. The biggest...
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...material may be reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the President, The Open University of Hong Kong. Sale of this material is prohibited. The Open University of Hong Kong Ho Man Tin, Kowloon Hong Kong This course material is printed on environmentally friendly paper. Contents Introduction 1 The focus of criminology 4 What is criminology? Why study crime? 4 6 Developing theory: the foundations of criminology 8 Theorizing about crime before criminology: the classical perspective Positivist criminology 8 10 Sociological criminology The Chicago School Strain and subcultural theories of crime Control theories The labelling perspective Critical criminology 14 15 17 21 23 27 Environmental criminology 30 Jane Jacobs and Oscar Newman Routine activity theory Rational choice theory 30 33 35 Summary 39 References 41 Feedback on activities 43 Readings Unit 2 Introduction The purpose of this unit is to introduce you to the different kinds of theorizing about crime that have constituted the discipline of criminology. Criminology as an academic discipline has existed for well over 100 years. During this time, a number of distinct approaches have emerged, and it is these different approaches that this unit seeks to capture,...
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...LAWYERING SKILLS Professor Rogelio Lasso Summer 2012 Handout 5 THE BASIC OFFICE MEMORANDUM I. INTRODUCTION We have discussed how to analyze and apply legal authority. We have also discussed how to write a case brief, which law students usually write for their own use. Most legal writing, however, is done to communicate with others. As a law student (and new lawyer), you will receive legal problems and will be asked to analyze the problem and write up the results of that analysis. The typical vehicle that lawyers use to do this is the legal memorandum. When you write a memorandum, you will make use of the several analytical skills you have been developing. This handout explains the form and content of a legal memorandum. II. PURPOSE OF A MEMORANDUM A legal memorandum is a document written to convey information within a law firm or other organization. It is a written analysis of a legal problem. The memorandum is usually prepared by a junior attorney or by a law clerk for a more senior attorney early in the firm's handling of a legal dispute. The writer analyzes the legal rules that govern the issues raised by that problem and applies those rules to the facts of the case. These memoranda prepare attorneys to advise clients how to proceed, if at all, with prospective business dealings or litigation. The memo must be complete and objective including both the rules and facts that help the client and those that do not. In concludes with a considered opinion of...
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...Crime and Deviance Revision SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Sociology Department Greenhead College SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Remember: You have to revise everything, because you have no choice on the exam paper. The specification 1 Different theories of crime, deviance, social order and social control * Different definitions of crime, deviance, social order and social control * The distinction between sociological theories of crime and other theories (eg biological, psychological); crime and deviance as socially constructed * Functionalist theories of crime: Durkheim, anomie, collective conscience; Merton’s strain theory; manifest and latent functions; functionalist subcultural theories * Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of crime: classical Marxism, laws reflecting class interests; Neo-Marxism, hegemony, the CCCS studies, critical and new criminology * Interactionist theories of crime: labelling theory, the self-fulfilling prophecy * Feminist theories of crime: patriarchy, male control of women’s lives * Control theory and other contemporary approaches to crime: social bonds, communitarianism, situational prevention; postmodern theories; Foucault on individualisation and surveillance * Realist theories: New Left Realism and Right Realism * The relevance of the various theories to understanding different types of crime, and their implications for social policy. 2 The social distribution...
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...Crime and Deviance Revision SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Sociology Department Greenhead College SCLY 4: Crime and Deviance with Methods in Context Remember: You have to revise everything, because you have no choice on the exam paper. The specification 1 Different theories of crime, deviance, social order and social control * Different definitions of crime, deviance, social order and social control * The distinction between sociological theories of crime and other theories (eg biological, psychological); crime and deviance as socially constructed * Functionalist theories of crime: Durkheim, anomie, collective conscience; Merton’s strain theory; manifest and latent functions; functionalist subcultural theories * Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of crime: classical Marxism, laws reflecting class interests; Neo-Marxism, hegemony, the CCCS studies, critical and new criminology * Interactionist theories of crime: labelling theory, the self-fulfilling prophecy * Feminist theories of crime: patriarchy, male control of women’s lives * Control theory and other contemporary approaches to crime: social bonds, communitarianism, situational prevention; postmodern theories; Foucault on individualisation and surveillance * Realist theories: New Left Realism and Right Realism * The relevance of the various theories to understanding different types of crime, and their implications for social policy. 2 The social distribution...
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