Q.1. 1 [250 words] Name three major problems with the concept of crime as criminal behaviour.
“Criminal behaviour is defined by the laws of particular jurisdictions, and there are sometimes vast differences between and even within countries regarding what types of behaviour are prohibited”. (Edge, 2016). One of the key problems is that throughout the world many countries consider some criminal acts to be more serious than others for example marijuana is an illegal drug in Ireland but is legal in Alaska. (Ferner, 2015). Another major problem with the concept of crime as criminal behaviour would be the stigma that is associated with it, for example one individual is convicted for theft and would be labelled a criminal, another individual …show more content…
“The two main public anxieties about the media are that they are subversive and that they are a subtle form of social control, they are also a source of misinterpretation and exaggeration.” (Reiner: 2007). The worst aspects of the mass media’s coverage of crime is that they primarily base their focus around the method of ‘newsworthiness’ which is completely biased. Instead of broadcasting what is important around the world they choose to broadcast what they determine would grasp the most attention. Eight “professional imperatives” were identified as implicit guides to the development of news stories, they were: Immediacy, Dramatisation, Personalisation, Simplification, Titillation, Conventionalism, Structured access and Novelty. (Chibnall:1977). Another unacceptable aspect of the mass media’s coverage of crime is the idea of criminogenic behaviour. I undoubtedly agree that the media are criminogenic based on the riots that took place in Tottenham, it is believed that the riots exacerbated due to the use of social networking on Twitter and Blackberry Messenger. (Newburn: 2013). In my opinion, the media are doing nearly everything but their main role, informing and persuading. The mass media only create moral panics among the public which in most cases are unnecessary and somewhat glamourize the concept of …show more content…
Most of Lombroso’s earliest work resulted from autopsies performed on male criminals. (Newburn, 2013). In order to identify a criminal, Lombroso focused mainly on the mental and physical characteristics for example the deviation in head size, asymmetry of the face, eye defects and peculiarities, nose twisted, upturned or flattened in thieves, defects of the thorax and imbalance of the hemispheres of the brain etc. (Newburn, 2013). Lombroso’s entire theory was based around the simple belief that ‘Criminals were born, not made. Lombroso’s theory had many major weaknesses for examples, he paid little heed to transient characteristics or physical processes and he measured skulls in order to determine the cranial capacity of criminals and did this without knowing the age of the criminal, a factor which affects the capacity of size of the brain in the skull. (Anon., 2010). Basically, due to Lombroso’s many unsuccessful theories we can learn to not go by those ideas and rule them out. It was people like Beccaria, Jeremey Bentham and Quételet who had a huge influence on crime and criminology back in the 18th century which has a part to play in our criminal understanding today. Beccaria abolished the concept of torture and capital punishment and he believed that laws were created to bring about justice, not to avenge crime. (Anon., 2013).” Either he is guilty, or not
“Criminal behaviour is defined by the laws of particular jurisdictions, and there are sometimes vast differences between and even within countries regarding what types of behaviour are prohibited”. (Edge, 2016). One of the key problems is that throughout the world many countries consider some criminal acts to be more serious than others for example marijuana is an illegal drug in Ireland but is legal in Alaska. (Ferner, 2015). Another major problem with the concept of crime as criminal behaviour would be the stigma that is associated with it, for example one individual is convicted for theft and would be labelled a criminal, another individual …show more content…
“The two main public anxieties about the media are that they are subversive and that they are a subtle form of social control, they are also a source of misinterpretation and exaggeration.” (Reiner: 2007). The worst aspects of the mass media’s coverage of crime is that they primarily base their focus around the method of ‘newsworthiness’ which is completely biased. Instead of broadcasting what is important around the world they choose to broadcast what they determine would grasp the most attention. Eight “professional imperatives” were identified as implicit guides to the development of news stories, they were: Immediacy, Dramatisation, Personalisation, Simplification, Titillation, Conventionalism, Structured access and Novelty. (Chibnall:1977). Another unacceptable aspect of the mass media’s coverage of crime is the idea of criminogenic behaviour. I undoubtedly agree that the media are criminogenic based on the riots that took place in Tottenham, it is believed that the riots exacerbated due to the use of social networking on Twitter and Blackberry Messenger. (Newburn: 2013). In my opinion, the media are doing nearly everything but their main role, informing and persuading. The mass media only create moral panics among the public which in most cases are unnecessary and somewhat glamourize the concept of …show more content…
Most of Lombroso’s earliest work resulted from autopsies performed on male criminals. (Newburn, 2013). In order to identify a criminal, Lombroso focused mainly on the mental and physical characteristics for example the deviation in head size, asymmetry of the face, eye defects and peculiarities, nose twisted, upturned or flattened in thieves, defects of the thorax and imbalance of the hemispheres of the brain etc. (Newburn, 2013). Lombroso’s entire theory was based around the simple belief that ‘Criminals were born, not made. Lombroso’s theory had many major weaknesses for examples, he paid little heed to transient characteristics or physical processes and he measured skulls in order to determine the cranial capacity of criminals and did this without knowing the age of the criminal, a factor which affects the capacity of size of the brain in the skull. (Anon., 2010). Basically, due to Lombroso’s many unsuccessful theories we can learn to not go by those ideas and rule them out. It was people like Beccaria, Jeremey Bentham and Quételet who had a huge influence on crime and criminology back in the 18th century which has a part to play in our criminal understanding today. Beccaria abolished the concept of torture and capital punishment and he believed that laws were created to bring about justice, not to avenge crime. (Anon., 2013).” Either he is guilty, or not