Prompt 1: What is Criminology?
- 1.5-2 pages
- Draw on what we’ve read and what we’ve discussed
- Include at least 2 concepts/ideas from the reading. The goal is for you to demonstrate engagement and understanding.
Criminology is defined as, “The study of the processes of making laws, breaking laws, and reacting towards the breaking of laws” (Brown and Geis 2013 8). Criminology is a social science; it purpose is to analyze why people commit crime with the hope of finding trends and information to prevent or reduce criminal activity. As a social science, criminology employs the scientific method, using theories and observations based on data. Criminology may also be studied through a humanistic lens, in which criminologists examine how the social, legal, and financial structure impact specific groups of people either having a disadvantage or an advantage within the system.
Like with all sciences, maintaining objectivity is an important factor when studying criminology, as all humans embrace different ideologies, whether they be politics, religion, etc. Therefore, criminologists must be vigilant for their own biases when conducted their research. This particularly comes to mind when thinking about the class assignment, “Image of Criminal Deviance”. I noticed that for myself, when asked to draw a criminal, a floodgate of cultural, ideological, and socio-economic biases emerged, many of these biases being subtle. This was a simple exercise: I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for criminologists to identify their own biases and ensure that those biases are not reflected in their research.
The study of criminology is complex, specifically due to the broad definition of the term “crime”. Crime is defined in numerous methods, yet there are four main approaches criminologists use for defining crime: the legalistic, in which crime is “judicially determined as a violation of criminal law”, the modified legalistic, in which crime is “socially harmful act with provision for penalty by the state”, the normative, a “violation of conduct norms”, and finally the new, “political and economic production of deviance” (Brown and Geis 2013 17). Along with confirming a definition for crime that corresponds to their study parameters, criminologists must also acknowledge that crime is relative across time and space. For example, in the mid 1800s in the United States it was legal for a husband to beat his wife. In 1920, this accepted practice became illegal. Over time, as society’s ideologies shift, so do policies and laws. However, something that is considered criminal in the United States as of 2024, may be totally legal in other countries; there are still numerous countries that do not deem spousal abuse as a crime (Sen 2019).
Criminology should not be confused with the field of criminal justice. Criminology differentiates itself as it primarily focuses on sociological and psychological behaviors of criminals, evaluates how law interacts with societies, and extends information for research and policy development. In contrast, criminal justice evaluates the systems of law enforcement and is influenced by the existing procedures and policies.
References
Brown, S. E., and G Geis. (2013). Criminology (8th Edition). Waltham, MA; Elsevier.
Sen, Swagata. 2019. “Domestic Violence Against Women Across the World-Where Are We?” RightsofEquality.com. Retrieved May 28, 2024 (https://www.rightsofequality.com/domestic-violence-against-women-across-the-world-where-are-we-now/).
Image Credit: International Career Institute. “8 Skills Needed for Criminology”. Retrieved May 28, 2024 (https://icieducation.co.uk/blog/8-skills-needed-for-criminology/).
Prompt 2: Does the law represent a consensus or conflict perspective? Discuss your perspective with reference to the documentary Crack.
- 1.5-2 pages
- Draw on the documentary, Crack, as well as what we’ve read and what we’ve discussed
- Include at least 2 concepts/ideas from the reading.
- The goal is for you to demonstrate engagement and understanding
Criminologists use two different perspectives of the causes of crime when conducting their studies: consensus and conflict. Following the consensus concept, “…criminal law develops and operates in the interest of society at large” (Brown 2013 36) and is seen as a beneficial system, very clearly outlining what actions are deviant or non-deviant. The conflict concept is an idea that laws are specifically created to establish a “two-tiered justice system”, where privileged groups in society are not held accountable to crimes, yet powerless and vulnerable groups are criminalized and incarcerated for the same or similar offenses (Brown 2013 36). I will examine both of these concepts within the Netflix documentary, Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy (2021).
The documentary starts by outlining some events leading to the United States’ “War on Drugs. America suffered a recession in the 1970s and energy related cost-of-living increases plagued the country (Yaner 2018 156). Once Ronald Reagan became president, people had hope for an uptick in the economy. As described by Nelson George, “In the ‘80s, you began seeing money flow…and it was a lifestyle of celebration, and coke was part of that lifestyle” (Crack 2021 ). “Coke” or cocaine, an expensive, illegal drug, became a luxury item that dominated upper class culture. Cocaine’s high price tag kept it out of reach for many, since as of 1982, millions of people started to slip into extreme poverty as unemployment rose and welfare programs were slashed (Crack 2021 ). Crack, a derivative of cocaine, became popular because it was inexpensive in small amounts and became an “escape” for some of the vulnerable population.
Crack was not initially controlled by the mafia, offering a distinct advantage for drug dealers over other drugs. Suddenly dealers were able to make extensive amounts of money in short amounts of time. White, Latino, and Black people all used it-Ruben Castaneda, news reporter and former addict asserted that, “…this addiction crosses all kinds of socioeconomic lines (Crack 2021)”. As business became more competitive, Black drug dealers turned to gun violence to maintain control over their territories, causing a shockwave through Black communities. The media started creating a narrative with racial stereotypes, insinuating that the crack addiction problem was primarily a Black issue, from crack addict mothers to “crack kids”. A campaign of misinformation prevailed and introduced, “a new level of criminalization in the lives of Black women living in communities that are already being targeted” (Crack 2021). The reality, though, was that two thirds of crack users were white (Crack 2021). However the misinformation and propaganda were powerful tools, leading to a drug scare, which is, “ ‘a form of moral panic ideologically constructed’ to assign blame for other societal problems” (Brown 2013 40). Black communities, inundated with these false narratives, demanded protection from the drug dealers and pushed for more policing by law enforcement. Butts explained, “When you’re surrounded by that much violence, that much ugliness, they [the Black community} resort to what they think will stop the madness” (Crack 2021). Through this scare, the Black community became in favor of criminalizing and incarcerating many of their own people.
In October of 1986, an election year, both major political parties and the Black community were in favor or rapidly drafting and approving an anti-drug bill targeting traffickers (Crack 2021). At this point, the events had led up to a consensus, where a majority of society saw crack dealing as a deviant crime and developed laws in to hold offenders accountable. Unfortunately a conflict scenario would emerge as events unfolded. Once the law was approved, people stated to recognize that the anti-drug legislation was actually extremely biased; the sentence for dealing crack was much higher than dealing powder cocaine-both illegal substances. The reasoning for this was that politicians deemed that compared to crack, cocaine use was not as deviant and did not cause social issues or harm. This concept, relativity of crime, where society determined that one illegal drug was less harmful than the other, happened to be racially motivated. Typically, rich, white, privileged people used cocaine and it was widely viewed that only poor, Black, people used crack.
In an additional piece of legislation in 1988, possession of crack became criminalized, so addicts that needed help for recovery were now seen as deviants that should be arrested (Crack 2021). When George H. Bush became president, he knew that a majority of the country was concerned about illegal drugs, so he was determined to seek out and prosecute offenders. The police starting targeting communities of color in drug sweeps and over the next several years, there was a 707% increase in Black prisoners for drug offenses (Crack 2021). Later in the 1990s it was found that the CIA and other government leaders had been involved with allowing an influx of cocaine to permeate into poorer communities of color in order to raise money for the Reagan administration to illegally support foreign wars (Crack 2021).
This shocking information showing that the government had deliberately allowed all of these events to happen disclosed a larger, more disturbing conflict theme. White, powerful politicians or government workers committed crimes by intentionally and illegally funneling drugs into specific communities. Propaganda was orchestrated to stereotype people of color as drug dealers and abusers. Drug laws were then created by white, politicians in high positions, who gained power and control from the widespread public while a large portion of the Black community were punished. Black families were destroyed, Black men and women were wrongfully incarcerated, and their futures damaged forever (Crack 2021).
References:
Brown, S. E., and G Geis. (2013). Criminology (8th Edition). Waltham, MA; Elsevier.
Lim, Yaner. (2018). “Understanding the War on Drugs in America through the Lens
of Critical Race Theory.” Bristol Law Review 156-170.
Nelson, Stanley. 2021. Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy.
Prompt 3: Questions
Part One
- List your favorite shows, movies, podcasts, documentaries related to crime/deviance.
Knives Out, Agatha Christie-The Hercules Poirot series, Only Murders in the Building, Tiger King, Miami Vice, Murder Mystery.
2. What ideas about crime are portrayed in these popular depictions?
I don’t watch a lot of crime movies or shows-most of them actually are murder mysteries. This is probably why a majority of the listed shows above highlight white collar crime, where the detectives/law enforcement officers “follow the money” to find the perpetrator. Miami Vice narrations revolve around organized drug rings with different tiers of criminals in terms of race and success, but they are usually all controlled by a rich white man. In addition, the law enforcement/detectives are usually the heroes of the story, and rarely show corruption within law enforcement (with the exception of Miami Vice). Revenge as a motive for criminal acts is also a big theme- in Tiger King, Joe Exotic’s feud with Carole Baskin led him to hire a hit man, which brought him under further scrutiny and ultimately, to additional jail time. Much of these shows showcase the criminal and the detectives in a glamourous light.
3. How do they inform your perceptions about crime?
Money and revenge seem to be the biggest motivators to commit crimes. Law enforcement/detectives are inherently good, and are saviors for victims.
4. List 5 ‘facts’ that seem real from your collective favorites!
Law enforcement and detectives drive expensive cars.
Law enforcement are the good guys.
For a motive, just follow the money to see who would most likely gain from the murder.
The suspect that seems the most guilty is not the actual perpretrator.
Cases are conveniently solved within a certain time frame and the criminal always is caught and receives proper justice.
Part Two
- What is the Uniform Crime Report (UCR)?
The UCR is a crime reporting tool used by local law enforcement agencies to report citizens’ complaints and was developed in 1930. Once the data is gathered, the FBI processes the data and provides annual/quarterly reports. It consists of two elements: part 1 (Index) and part 2 (non-Index).
2. What are Index crimes and non-Index crimes?
Index crimes are crimes committed that are considered to be serious, and they occur with significant frequency, and provide a basis for comparison. They are listed in level of “seriousness”:
1. Criminal homicide
2. Forcible rape
3. Robbery
4. Aggravated assault
5. Burglary
6. Larceny-theft
7. Motor vehicle theft
8. Arson
Non-Index crimes are crimes not listed above. Some view this list as a “catch all” list. Drunkenness in public, vandalism, sex offenses, etc.
3. What crimes are excluded from Index offenses?
Serious crimes like kidnapping, embezzling, corporate fraud, and other white collar crimes.
4. What is the ‘dark figure’ of crime?
The dark figure of crime relates to the claim that law enforcement is only discovering a small percentage of criminal acts that are actually occurring. Therefore, the crime statistics reported by the UCR may be misleading.
5. What do SRD and NCVS stand for, and how do these approaches address the ‘dark figure’?
SRD stands for Self-Reported Delinquency and NCVS stands for National Crime Victimization Survey. The SRD surveyed young people about delinquency in high-risk neighborhoods. This additional information provides law enforcement with a more complete picture of crime in those areas, rather than just relying on only the crime that is reported. The NCVS surveys people that were victims of a violent crime on a city and national level. The NCVS provides data that can be cross checked with the UCR, allows for financial estimates of losses, and can be used to analyze psychosocial issues regarding the crimes. Both tools provide additional information to fill in data gaps left by the UCR.
What are some examples of major trends that are observed in UCR, SRD, NCVS data?
The UCR, SRD and NCVS may be used to track the increase or decrease of crime in the US over time. Since they are considered three different measures, sometimes different results emerge.
