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Social bonds consist of:
- –Attachment = emotional closeness to conventional family, peers, school
- –Commitment = investment in goals which would be damaged by criminal activity
- –Involvement = time spent in conventional activities
- –Belief = ideas which support conventional authority
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Critical Criminology
- •Humans behave for all the previously stated reasons
- •The real question is not what causes specific behavior but what causes certain behaviors to be designated as crimes.
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•Conflict Theories
Crime is defined by those in power; competing interest groups struggle to gain power.
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Marxist Theories
Crime is a product of the capitalistic political economy
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•Social Policy Implications
–the meaning of theories for real world practice.
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Supernatural Explanations of Crime
- –If crime is caused by supernatural forcesthen to prevent crime we must appeal to those supernatural forces or appease them somehow
- But it cannot be proved whether this is true or not – it is outside the realm of science.
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Victimology
The study of the relationship between victims and offenders and the criminal justice system. Von Hentig was the first to draw the victim’s role in criminal offending into the spotlight.
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The risks of victimization
- –Anyone can be a victim of crime, however, not everyone is at equal risk of becoming a victim.
- –Certain demographic groups, particularly young African-American males, are statistically more vulnerable than others.
- –There is a correlation between alcohol and victimization.
- –There is a relationship between gender and victimization.
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Protecting Victims’ Rights:
Historically, victims of crime have been absent from the criminal justice system.
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Today victims’ interests are protected in three ways:
- •The Victims’ Rights Movement
- •State Laws
- •Federal Laws
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