Follow-Up Points to "Crime Types'" Reports

Below are my follow-up points to the families' reports on Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, & 7. By bringing these points out, please note that I am not implying that the families did not cover some of them. They did. I just wanted to give further emphasis to some points. And these few points obviously do not cover everything in these chapters. Finally, please copy these points or print them out. I may make up some final exam questions based on them.

CHAPTER 2: HOMICIDE AND ASSAULT

A. Most homicides start out as an assault (or heated argument) which escalates to a homicide due to the intensity of the argument, encouragement of a crowd, or especially the availablity of a weapon (usually a gun). In general, there is also a significant involvement of alcohol and/or drugs in violent incidents.

B. Sykes and Matza's "techniques of neutralization" comes up in a couple articles -- how professional hitmen employ "denial of victim," "denial of injury," and "denial of responisbility" in rationalizing their killing as a job. Also, an interesting application is how women who are battered rationalize the behavior of their abusers, in a sense neutralizing the responsibility of their spouses.

C. An interesting, although minor point, appears in the article on gang violence when a gang member was asked what he believes needs to be done to eliminate gangs. He responded that the only way to do that would be to kill them, which I do not believe is a morally viable option. But it reveals that all these young people know is violence, so for them it makes sense that they would see violence as the only solution to gangs.

D. A final point that comes through loud and clear is the role of guns, especially in assaults which escalate to homicides. This would seem to suggest that gun control might help to reduce the incidence of homicides.


CHAPTER 3: VIOLENT SEX CRIMES

A. Important to note that rape is often committed not for the purpose of sexual gratification but out of a desire to dominate and control -- it is as much a violent act as it is a sexual act.

B. There are many categories or types of rape: stranger rape, gang rape, but also some relatively new ones such as acquaintance (or date) rape and wife rape.

C. Dabney outlines some theories of rape in the introduction: (1) gender inequality, (2) pornography, (3) social disorganization, (4) legitimation of violence theory (pp. 82-3). They all make some sense, although I would question the correlations on which gender inequality and pornography theories are based. For example, gender inequality predicts that rape would be higher in patriarchal (male-dominant) societies. But Japan is very patriarchal, yet has a very low rape rate.

D. "Riding the Bull at Gilley's" article strongly challenges the "psychopathology" view -- that "rape is the result of idiosyncratic mental disease and that it often includes an uncontrollable sexual impulse." (p. 91)That is, there are not just some sick men out there. Rather, there is a cultural dimension -- how rape is rationalized as male perogative and women are stereotyped as sex objects mainly.

E. This cultural or social dimension also comes through in the gang rape on campus article. To combat this problem, it is suggested that men need an attitude adjustment. And in the article on wife rape, it is suggested that men need to be taught not to treat women as sex objects, even if they happen to be their wives and feel entitled to treat them that way.


CHAPTER 4: ROBBERY

A. There is much in this chapter that challenges the rational choice theory. Robbery is an opportunistic crime which often does not involve much planning.

B. In the "Stick-up, Street Culture,..." article, the authors talk about the cultural dimension in which robbers operate. That these individuals are driven by the need to spend to fit in; seek pleasure in a largely pleasureless world. This notion of "life as a party" is sustained by fast cash. Much in this article also lends itself to "anomie/strain" theory.

1. The carjackers interviewed also had this need for fast cash, to keep up their "life as a party."

C. Techniques of neutralization seem to be employed by robbers.

D. Robbers tend to have long criminal careers and high rates of recidivism (70%).


CHAPTER 5: BURGLARY

A. Should note that there has been a pretty steady decline in burglary rates since the early 1970s (at least through the 1990s). Also, many other developed countries have higher rates of burglary than the U.S. does.

B. In the section on the "Cognitive Aspects of Burglary" several points are made to suggest that burglars are not the most rationally oriented criminals. In addition to not planning, drugs and alcohol are involved in the majority of cases: "...56% of incacerated burglars were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of their most recent offense."

C. Some support for "differential association" theory in that burglars often work in groups and even have "apprentices" who learn the ropes. Women are more likely to work in groups than men. Also, the article on female burglars confirms my criticism of the feminist perspective -- that women burglars tend to get more lenient treatment in the criminal justice system rather than harsher treatment, as some feminist criminologists claim.

D. In the article on the stolen property system, the authors make a very good point: that we need to look beyond the individual criminal and recognize the broader context of burglary, which includes the stolen property system which clearly facilitates this criminal act. *See p. 194.


CHAPTER 7: PUBLIC ORDER CRIME

A. Important to note that these crimes are categorized as "malum prohibitum" offenses -- that is, offenses defined by law but not necessarily recognized as inherently evil (as are "malum in se" offenses). Also, they are classified as "victimless" crimes in the sense that there is a willing exchange of desired goods (drugs or sex) between individuals.

1. The consensual nature of these crimes makes them prone to underreporting and it complicates the job of law enforcement, which often has to resort to undercover operations to apprehend the criminals.

B. The economic and social costs of the drug war have been tremendous.

C. There definitely is a SUBCULTURAL aspect to public order crime -- that drug dealers, addicts, pimps, prostitutes, etc. inhabit a world where these illegal activities are seen as acceptable, which of course lends itself to "differential association" theory. Dabney also mentioned the role of "normative neutralizations" in rationaliszing the behavior.

D. The "Drugs-Crime" article basically concludes that the causal relation between drugs and crime is a two-way street: drugs cause crime and crime causes drugs.

E. Finally, in the article on hard-core heroin addicts, a typology is brought out which I believe contains at least one crucial point. The authors make an important point about the effects of heroin and when it is most destructive:

"In sum, contrary to popular belief, heroin use does not inevitably lead to a deterioration of lifestyle. Rather, the physiological dynamics of narcotics use tend to be the most destabalizing under conditions where life structure is already weak and incapable of accommodating the physiological demands imposed by increased tolerance." (p. 274) -- that is, in regard to the effects of any drug, one must consider the larger social circumstances in which the drug is taken and not just the chemical properties of the drug itself.
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That's it. Remember to incorporate the above points in your notes. And check out the previous blog post for the details of the family activity in connection with reading "Gang Leader for a Day."