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Law and Order:Cops, Courts and Corrections

Eric J. Williams PhDSonoma State University

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Reality or Perception

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Why do we get misleading information on crime?

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Politicization of Crime

The Founding Fathers viewed crime control as a function for the state and local government indicating their fear of a central police authority that was housed in the national government.

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Misconceptions about Crimes in the United States

Does the average American have the knowledge and capacity to make policy decision?

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“If the voter cannot grasp the details of the problems of the day because he has not the time, the interest or the knowledge, he will not have a better public opinion because he is asked to express his opinion more often” (Lippmann, 1925).

From what is now considered classic literature discussing public opinion and its formation, there was a consensus that the American people lacked the knowledge to formulate policy through public opinion and, in actuality, policy was formed by the elite.

Ignorance

Ignorance§ plain ignorance – knows that he or she does not know,

fears the unknown

§ ignorance that one is ignorant – more dangerous than just being ignorant

§ willful ignorance

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If people have very little knowledge on a particular subject, how do they form opinions about it?

Whenever the ratio of what is known to what needs to be known approaches zero, we tend to invent “knowledge” and assume that we understand more than we actually do. We seem unable to acknowledge that we simply don’t know.

- Rosenhan (1973), On Being Sane in Insane Places

Public Opinion of Crime

§ In the United States, there is a strong relationship between public opinion of crime and crime policy.

§ However, it is not clear how and what impact public opinion of crime has on crime policy.

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§ easily, inexpensively, and simultaneously accessible to large segment of a population

Mass Media

Is there any problem with relying solely on the media as source of crime information?

CIVIL LIBERTIES GUN CONTROL PRIVATE RESEARCH INTERESTS

CRIMINAL JUSTICEPROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

Equal Justice USA

Brady Campaign to Prevent GunViolence

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

Second Amendment Foundation

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus

Citizens for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Law Enforcement Alliance of America

Liberty Belles

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Violence Policy Center

Gun Owners of America

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Pink Pistols

American Hunters and Shooters

Criminal Justice Policy Foundation

Heritage Foundation

Institute for Law and Justice (ILJ)

Police Executive Research Forum (PERF)

RAND Corporation

Vera Institute of Justice

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS)

American Society of Criminology (ASC)

American Bar Association (ABA)

American Correctional Association (ACA)

American Judicature Society (AJS)

American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS)

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)

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TYPES OF CRIME

Crimes can be categorized into seven types:

• Visible crime• Occupational crime• Organized crime• Transnational crime• Victimless crime• Political crime• Cyber crime

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VISIBLE CRIME

Often called “street crime” or “ordinary crime”

Three categories:

1. Violent crime: death or physical injury results2. Property crimes: acts that threaten property3. Public-order crimes: acts that threaten general well-being of society

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OCCUPATIONAL CRIME

• Offenses committed through opportunities created in legal or business occupation

• Crimes that result in huge costs to society

• Never discovered if “done right”

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ORGANIZED CRIME

• A framework for the perpetration of criminal acts—usually in fields such as gambling, drugs, and prostitution—providing illegal services that are in great demand.

• Highly organized, servicing millions

• Transnational and “borderless”

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TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

• Crimes that involve planning or execution across country borders; enforcement depends on cross-country cooperation

• Amounts to more than $870 billion annually

• Three categories:• Provision of illicit goods

• Drug trafficking, moving stolen property• Provision of illegal services

• Human trafficking, child pornography• Infiltration of business of government

• Bribery, extortion, money laundering

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VICTIMLESS CRIME

• Involves willing and private exchange of goods or services

• Offenses against morality, society “as a whole”• Prostitution, gambling, drug sales and use

• “War on Drugs” is an example of policies against a victimless crime

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POLITICAL CRIME

• Criminal acts by the government or against the government for ideological purposes.

• Examples:• Murder of abortion doctors• Bombing of abortion clinics• Bombing of federal building in Oklahoma City• Release of classified documents

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CYBER CRIME

• Use of computers and the internet to commit crimes

• Internet Crime Complaint Center received 269,422 complaints about cybercrime losses in 2014

• "new ways to do old tricks"

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IMPACT OF CRIME

• Fear of crime• Fear limits freedom

• Costs of crime• Economic costs

• Lost property, lower productivity, medical expenses• Psychological and emotional costs

• Pain, trauma, diminished quality of life• Costs of operating the criminal justice system

• Court services, law enforcement• $8.9 million per homicide

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CAUSES OF CRIME

• Classical and Positivist theories

• Biological explanations

• Psychological explanations

• Sociological explanations

• Life Course theories

• Integrated theories

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CLASSICAL AND POSITIVIST THEORIES

• Classical School• Developed by Cesare Beccaria• Views behavior as stemming from free will• People are responsible and should be held accountable for

actions• Stresses the need for punishment severe enough to deter

others

• Positivist School• Behavior stems from social, biological, and psychological

factors• Punishment should be tailored to individual needs of

offender

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BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS

• Emphasizes physiological and neurological factors that predispose a person to commit a crime

• Early work of Cesare Lombroso• Physical traits distinguish criminals from law-abiding citizens.• Some people are in a more primitive state of evolution and are

born criminal.• Later work of James Q. Wilson

• Biological factors predispose some individuals to commit crimes.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS

• Emphasizes mental processes and behavior• Psychoanalytic theory• Psychiatrists have linked criminal behavior to innate impulses,

psychic conflict, and repression of personality

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SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS (slide 1 of 3)

• Social Structure Theories - criminal behavior is related to social class• Anomie Theory

• Deviant behavior is the result of weakened rules and norms.

• Strain Theory• Negative relationships can lead to negative emotions.• Negative emotions are expressed through crime and

delinquency.• Strain is produced by the failure to achieve valued goals.• Those who cannot cope with negative emotions may be

predisposed to crime.

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SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS (slide 2 of 3)

• Social Process Theories - assumes that any person has potential to become a criminal• Learning theories

• Criminal activity is learned behavior.• Includes theory of differential association

• Control theories• Social links keep people in line with accepted norms.

• Labeling theories• Stress social process through which certain acts and

people are labeled deviant• Justice system creates criminals by labeling people.

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SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS (slide 3 of 3)

• Critical criminology – assumes that criminal law and the justice system are designed by those in power, whose purpose is to oppress those who are not• Social conflict theories

• Crime is the result of conflict within societies.• Class structure causes certain groups to be labeled as

deviant.• Feminist theories

• Based on the idea that traditional theory centers on male criminality and ignores female offending

• Underscores the need to integrate race and class with gender

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LIFE COURSE THEORIES

• Seek to identify factors that explain when, why, and to what extent offenders begin to commit crime, and what factors lead them to stop participating in crime

• The focus is the path from childhood to adulthood

• Emphasizes turning points in life that move people from criminal behavior