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Chapter 3
Explaining Crime
Introduction to Criminological
Theory
Several theories attempt to explain criminal
behavior. Some theories assume:
Crime is part of human nature.
Crime is based on biological,
psychological, sociological, and/or
economic aspects.
Classical Theory
One of the earliest approaches to explaining
the causes of crime was classical theory.
classical theory
A product of the Enlightenment, based on the
assumption that people exercise free will and are thus
completely responsible for their actions. In classical
theory, human behavior, including criminal behavior,
is motivated by a hedonistic rationality, in which
actors weigh the potential pleasure of an action
against the possible pain associated with it.
Classical Theory
In 1764, criminologist Cesare Beccaria wrote
An Essay on Crimes and Punishments, which
set forth classical criminological theory.
He argued that the only justified rationale for
laws and punishments was the principle of
utility.
utility
The principle that a policy should provide “the
greatest happiness shared by the greatest number.”
Classical Theory
Beccaria believed the basis of society, as well
as the origin of punishments and the right to
punish, is the social contract.
The only legitimate purpose of punishment is
special deterrence and general deterrence.
social contract
An imaginary agreement to sacrifice the minimum
amount of liberty to prevent anarchy and chaos.
special deterrence
The prevention of individuals from committing crime
again by punishing them.
continued…
general deterrence
The prevention of people in general or society at
large from engaging in crime by punishing specific
individuals and making examples of them.
Neoclassical Theory
Classical theory was difficult to apply in
practice. It was modified in the early 1800s
and became known as neoclassical theory.
Neoclassical theory introduced the idea of:
Premeditation as a measure of the degree of
free will.
Mitigating circumstances as legitimate
grounds for diminished responsibility.
neoclassical theory
A modification of classical theory in which it was
conceded that certain factors, such as insanity, might
inhibit the exercise of free will.
Positivist Approaches to Explaining
Crime
The theory of the positivist school of
criminology grew out of positive philosophy
and the logic and methodology of
experimental science.
The Positivist School of Thought
The key assumptions of the positivist school
of thought were:
1. Human behavior is determined and not a matter of free
will.
2. Criminals are fundamentally different from noncriminals.
3. Social scientists can be objective in their work.
4. Crime is frequently caused by multiple factors.
Biological Theories
Biological theories of crime causation
(biological positivism) are based on the belief
that criminals are physiologically different
from non-criminals. The cause of crime is
biological inferiority.
biological inferiority
According to biological theories, a criminal’s innate
physiological makeup produces certain physical or
genetic characteristics that distinguish criminals from
noncriminals.
Heredity Studies
Several studies have attempted to determine if
criminality is hereditary by studying:
family trees
statistics
identical and fraternal twins
adopted children
All of these methods fail to prove that criminality is
hereditary, because they cannot separate hereditary
influences from environmental influences.
Modern Biocriminology
Ongoing research has revealed numerous
biological factors associated either directly or
indirectly with criminal or delinquent
behavior:
• chemical, mineral, and vitamin deficiencies in the diet
• diets high in sugar and carbohydrates
• hypoglycemia
continued…
Modern Biocriminology
• ingestion of food dyes and lead
• exposure to radiation
• brain dysfunctions
• Hormones (abnormalities) Administering estrogen
to male sex offenders has been found to reduce
their sexual drives.
Positivist Approaches
Today, most criminologists believe that
criminal behavior is the product of a complex
interaction between biology and
environmental or social conditions.
Positivist Approaches
Biology or genetics gives an individual a
predisposition to behave in a certain way.
Whether a person actually behaves in that way
and whether that behavior is defined as a
crime depend on environmental or social
conditions.
Psychological Theories
There are many theories regarding
psychological causes of crime, including:
Intelligence and crime – no correlation between low
intelligence and criminal activity
Psychoanalytic theories
Psychoanalytic Theories
Psychoanalytic theories of crime causation are
associated with the work of Sigmund Freud
who believed that people who had unresolved
deep-seated problems were psychopaths.
psychopaths
Persons characterized by no sense of guilt, no
subjective conscience, and no sense of right and
wrong. They have difficulty in forming relationships
with other people; they cannot empathize with other
people. They are also called sociopaths or antisocial
personalities.
Sociological Theories
Sociologists emphasize that human beings
live in social groups and that those groups and
the social structure they create influence
behavior.
Most sociological theories of crime causation assume that a
criminal’s behavior is determined by his or her social
environment and reject the notion of the born criminal.
Sociological Theories
Chicago School attempted to uncover the
relationship between a neighborhood’s crime
rate and the characteristics of the
neighborhood.
Anomie or Strain Theory
Robert Merton in 1938 wrote about a major
contradiction in the U.S. between cultural
goals and social structure. He called the
contradiction anomie.
anomie
For Merton, the contradiction between the cultural
goal of achieving wealth and the social structure’s
inability to provide legitimate institutional means for
achieving the goal.
Anomie or Strain Theory
Merton argued that the limited availability of
legitimate institutionalized means to wealth
puts a strain on people. People adapt through:
1. Conformity—playing the game.
2. Innovation—pursuing wealth by illegitimate
means.
continued…
Learning Theories
Edwin H. Sutherland—in his theory of
differential association—was the first 20thcentury criminologist to argue that criminal
behavior was learned.
This theory, modified, remains one of the
most influential theories of crime causation.
differential association
Sutherland’s theory that persons who become
criminal do so because of contacts with criminal
patterns and isolation from anticriminal patterns.
Social Control Theories
Hirschi wrote with Michael Gottfredson that
the principal cause of deviant behaviors is
ineffective child rearing, which produces
people with low self-control.
Labeling Theory
The labeling theory argues that once a person
commits a first criminal act and gets
processed in the system, they are labeled
negatively as a criminal.
The label becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theory focuses on the conflict in
society between rich and poor, management
and labor, whites and minorities.
conflict theory
A theory that assumes that society is based primarily
on conflict between competing interest groups and
that criminal law and the criminal justice system are
used to control subordinate groups. Crime is caused
by relative powerlessness.