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CHAPTER 1: Schmalleger
FOCUS OF BOOK: What is Crime?? Their thesis: NO EASY ANSWER
There are many ways of looking at crime, including:
1) Legalistic
2) Political
3) Sociological
4) Psychological
5) Moral (note: We've added this)
Our text looks at crime as a SOCIAL PROBLEM.
This means that the concern isn't with moral judgments, but with
the impact of unacceptable behaviors on society.
What we think about crime is shaped by our IMAGES of crime.
The author argue that the media shape our view of crime:
1) Crime stories dominate, especially dramatic and violent crime
(What pct of tv (6-10 pm) is crime or law enforcement related?)
2) Media give the impression that crime is rising
3) Media distort the incidence of nonviolent crime (eg, non-violent crimes
like theft comprise 47 pct of all crimes report to police, but only 4 pct of
all crime items in newspapers)
WHAT IS "CRIME?"
1) Natural Law v. Positive law definitions
2) Definitions of WHAT is a crime change
3) Legal category: Crime characterizes in two ways:
a) Mala in se (wrong in itself) or mala prohibita
(prohibited acts)
b) Actus reus (an illegal act or ommission)
c) mens rea - intent/responsiblity
The starting point to explain crime is that INDIVIDUALS' ACTIONS are
shaped by their position in society
SOCIOLOGICAL DEFINITIONS OF CRIME
1) Crime as violation of norms
(Thorsten Sellin: One's conduct norms may differ from
others' conduct norms, based on group belief. Point: Crime
should not be studied simply as "legal" phenomenon
2) Crime as a social harm or injury
Donal Sutherland: Expand crime to include social harms/injury
3) Crime as a violation of human rights
4) Crime as "deviance" (normative consensus)
In looking at crime as a social problem, the text looks at the interplay of
economic, political, and other forces to show the complexity of the concept.
WHAT SHOULD BE CRIMINAL?
1. Consensus perspective (social agreement on behaviors)
2. Pluralist perspective (recognition of diversity)
WHAT IS CRIMINOLOGY?
The text notes that the term was coined in 1889, but roots much earlier.
There are many definitions. We should ask:
1) is it the study of behavior?
2) The study of definitions?
3) The study of social context?
4) The study of systems that process it?
We adopt the author's perspective: It is BROAD, MULTIDISCIPLINARY, and
a SIGNPOST, not a written-in-stone definition (see chart on page 16)
GOALS OF CRIMINOLOGY
1) Theoretical criminology: We must explain, not just describe patterns of,
crime
2) It must be relevant to social understanding and social policy
3) It must include SOCIAL CONTEXT of crime
4) We must recognize different stakeholders in crime (public, offfenders,
researchers, control agents, victims)
The text takes a three-dimensional approach:
1) Understanding causes
2) Examining processes involved in criminal event as it unfolds (ie,
the MEANING of crime)
3) Examine the intrepretation of crime (eg, public images, responses,
and broader issues)
This requres that we examine IDEOLOGY
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