Criminology Theories

Front 1

Criminology questions

Back 1

1. Why have only some things been made a crime?

2. What are the causes of crime?

3. What should be done? (How should criminals be dealt with)

Hint 1

Why

What

How

Front 2

Explanation of classicism

Back 2

Enlightenment thinking and penal transformation. Crime is a freely willed behaviour and justice can be sought through deterrence via punishments that are proportional to the crime.

Hint 2

Punishment should......the crime.

Front 3

Main people involved with classicism

Back 3

Beccaria and Bentham

Front 4

Criticisms of classicism

Back 4

1.Rationality largely depends on how it is defined

2.Not all crimes can be defined as rational

3.Not all crimes can be defined as being of free will

4.If crime is defined as an expression of free will then the risk of failing to address social inequalities and injustice become apparent.

Hint 4

Think of how it relies on free will and rationality

Front 5

Positivism explanation

Back 5

Crime is a determined behaviour - people behave that way because they are forced to.

Hint 5

Biological

Front 6

Key people involved with positivism

Back 6

1. Lombroso

2.Ferri

3.Garofalo

Hint 6

Italian school

Front 7

Criticisms of positivist theory

Back 7

1. Suggests law breakers are predetermined and lack free will

2. Biological positivists have been unable to identify 'criminal pathology'

3. Considers statistics to be and is dependent on facts

4. Does not account for social inequality nor that crime is a social constructed set of legally prohibited actions rather than a natural phenomenon.

Front 8

Explanation of Marxism

Back 8

Class conflict, economic conditions and the egoism of crime in capitalist society.

Front 9

Main people involved in marxism

Back 9

1. Karl Marx

2. Friedrich Engels

3. William Bonger

Front 10

Criticisms of marxism

Back 10

Many of Marxs major predictions did not come true, leading many to discredit the whole theory.

Structuralist and deterministic assumptions too strong - being poor does not mean you would commit crime.

Shows working class life as being miserable and immoral.

Front 11

Chicago school explanation

Back 11

Social ecology, the city operated like a living organism. Ecology; the resources of the city were limited and different groups must compete for sustenance.

Front 12

Main people involved with Chicago school

Back 12

1. Parks & Burgess

2. Shaw & Mckay

Front 13

Criticisms of Chicago school

Back 13

1. Many ideas nearly a century old

2. Concentric zone model usually seen to be only one special case.

3. Ecological fallacy - just because areas contain more crime it cannot be assumed that people living in those areas are actually criminals.

Front 14

Social strain explanation

Back 14

Strain caused by a mismatch of culturally defined goals and the means to achieve those goals. If the means to achieve the goals are not present then people may turn to illegitimate means instead.

Front 15

Main people involved with social strain

Back 15

1. Robert Merton

Front 16

Criticisms of social strain theory

Back 16

1. May assume too readily that most people subscribe to the norms and values of capitalist/consumerist society.

2. Fun and excitement might also be reasons for offending rather then just tension of anomie.