SS21-CJ-801-731 - Crime Cause Prevent & Control Final Exam (MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY)

Question 1

Define the following terms

Theory:

• Set of reasoned ideas intended to explain facts or events
• Principles on which a subject is based
• Ideas or suppositions in general (Oxford

Crime prevention: is any organized activity designed to prevent crime or to limit it to minimum levels

• Measures that include all deliberate actions and campaigns, either proactive or reactive policing to oppose crime and to prevent its occurrence by addressing precipitating crime causation factors.
• Anticipation, recognition and appraisal of crime risk and the initiation of some action to remove or reduce it.

Cluster: Criminology Crime

• in community policing terms refers to the grouping of neighbourhoods in a given geographical area for purposes of effective policing.
• is the scientific study of crime, criminal behavior, victims, punishment and the prevention and control of crime
• is the scientific study of crime, criminal bahavior, including their form, cause, legal aspect and control of crime
• is the scientific study of crime, criminal bahavior, the
• prevention and control of crime and the adminstration of the Criminal Justice System
• any act or failure to act that breaks the law of the land
• any act or omission (failure) to act that breaks the law of the land.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

• refers to the movement of the alleged offender from the reporting of crime, investigation by the police, arrest, prosecution, and finally punishment

Question Two

Before an act or omission may be defined as a crime, criminal law must regard it as such and a suitable punishment has to be in place. List the juridical elements of crime

a) The act itself

b) The wrongfulness of the act c) The element of guilt

d) The element of Punishment

Question Three

Under the Non-Juridical definition of crime, a number of social definitions have been identified and all imply that certain forms of behavior that harm society may be reckoned as crime. List the main definitions of social crime;

a) Crime as a violation of behavioral norms b) Crime as social harm

c) Crime as a violation of human rights d) Crime as a form of social deviance

Question four

Crime can be studied from two points of view, the juridical (legal) and non- juridical (social) definitions. Discuss the following approaches

1) juridical

2) non- juridical definitions of crime

Juridical definition of crime

Before an act or omission may be defined as a crime, criminal law must regard it as such and a suitable punishment has to be in place.

The act itself

To qualify as a crime, an act has to be a human act under the control of a human will. It must furthermore be a voluntary act in the sense that the perpetrator is not forced or driven to commit it by factors beyond his or her control.

Use this guide to work through criminology, crime, offenders and criminal behaviour at your own pace.

The wrongfulness of the act

A wrongful act may be defined as an act that conflicts with the legal norm in the form of a prescription or prohibition.

The element of guilt

Guilt according to the juridical definition of crime is the culpable frame of mind in which a person commits a wrongful act. Two forms of guilt may be distinguished; deliberate intent (dolus) and negligence (culpa). These forms of guilt may be ascribed to human actions provided the perpetrator is accountable.

The element of Punishment

Only those acts that are punishable by the state are reckoned as crime. If the accused is found guilty, he or she is sentenced by the court in accordance with the relevant norm. The punishment may comprise a prison sentence, fine, correctional supervision, a suspended or deferred sentence or a combination of any of these.

The Non-Juridical definition of crime

A number of social definitions have been identified and all imply that certain forms of behavior that harm society may be reckoned as crime. Here are the main definitions of social crime;

Crime as a violation of behavioral norms

Modern society, apart from being multi-cultural, consists of a variety of groups, each of which subscribes to certain norms. Social values are standards, set by particular groups which can disadvantage others.

Crime as social harm

Some of the Scholars especially, Sutherland, argue that Criminologists should study all illegal behavior, that is, criminal and civil offences which bring harm to society.

Crime as a violation of human rights

Any behavior which violates an individual’s human rights should be regarded as crime. This would imply that the restriction of people’s freedom of movement or speech, denial of education should be regarded as crime.

Crime as a form of social deviance

Social deviations may be defined as behavior which deviates from the commonly accepted norms and standards of society and for which appropriate punishment

exists. Deviance is defined by religion, political beliefs, culture etc and may vary from time to time and from one community to another.

Question Five

From your understanding, distinguish between crime and deviance

• Devianceinvolves the violation of recognized cultural norms (e.g a lady wearing skirts at kgotla meetings, man eating putting on a hat, etc) whilst
• crimeis the violation of norms a society formally enacts into criminal law (e.g Assaulting another/ Stealing/raping)
• Crime then can be regarded as a form of deviance, “Not all deviances are crimes but all crimes are deviances”.
• Social deviations may be defined as behavior which deviates from the commonly accepted norms and standards of society and for which appropriate punishment exists whilst crime is an act/attempt/omission to act that is punishable by law.
• Deviance is defined by religion, political beliefs, culture etc and may vary from time to time and from one community to another whilst crime is determined by statutes.

Question six

1) Discus the following theories

2) Strain

3) Social disorganization

4) Social learning

5) Labeling

STRAIN/ ANOMIE THEORY (Robert Merton)

Strain theories support the view that disorganized communities are the source of misconduct and crime in society. Societal structure exerts pressure on the lower class; therefore, they explain crime as a lower class phenomenon. According to these Theorists, misconduct and crime are the consequences of the frustration and anger that people experience as a result of their inability to achieve social and financial success by legal means.

Stress, frustration or strain caused by unfulfilled aspirations increase the likelihood that norms will be contravened. Crime is therefore, committed to relieve the strain associated with failure.

The summary of this theory is thus, in lower-class communities, strain occurs because young people do not have access to the legal channels to success, as a result of these obstacles, they resort to deviant/illegal means to achieve their goals. The key argument of the strain theory is that most people share similar values and aspirations, (to live in a good residential area, to own a car and to have a steady job), however relatively few people have the ability or means to achieve economic and social success. These disproportional opportunities for success give rise to feelings of resentment and anger which can lead to crime.

SOCIAL DISORGANISATION THEORY

Social disorganization theory regards factors such as poverty, poor housing and disruptive family life that occur in poor urban areas as the key in causation of misconduct and crime. This theory attempts to explain why crime rates are high in such areas characterized by urban decay. In such environments there is high number of people, large scale unemployment, broken and troubled families who frequently depend on welfare services.

This socially disorganized environment does not provide the essential services such as proper education, health care and housing; therefore the key social control agents in society can no longer function properly. There is lack of social support which is necessary to integrate and involve the community in conventional social institutions such as school, church and family. Instead of a sense of community, a feeling of alienation arises which means that residents have become psychologically distanced from the surrounding community. They experience a sense of anonymity which makes them more susceptible to deviant behavior.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

People learn to engage in crime, primarily through their association with others. They are reinforced for crime, they learn beliefs that are favourable to crime, and they are exposed to criminal models. Consequently, they come to view crime as something that is desirable or justifiable in certain situations.

According to social learning theory, juveniles learn to engage in crime in the same way they learn to engage in conforming behavior: through association with or exposure to others. Primary or intimate groups like the family and peer group have a large impact on what we learn. In fact, association with delinquent friends is the best predictor of delinquency other than prior delinquency. However, one does not have to be in direct contact with others to learn from them; for example, one may learn to engage in violence from observation of others in the media.

Most of social learning theory involves a description of the three mechanisms by which individuals learn to engage in crime: differential reinforcement, beliefs, and modeling.

2.4.1 Differential reinforcement of crime

Individuals may teach others to engage in crime through the reinforcements and punishments they provide for behavior. Crime is more likely to occur when it’s frequently reinforced and infrequently punished; results in large amounts of reinforcement (e.g., a lot of money, social approval, or pleasure) and little punishment; and is more likely to be reinforced than alternative behaviors. Reinforcements may be positive or negative. In positive reinforcement, the behavior results in something good (some positive consequence).

This consequence may involve such things as money, the pleasurable feelings associated with drug use, attention from parents, approval from friends, or an increase in social status.

For example, suppose one's friends have been calling her/him a coward because she refuses to use drugs with them. The individual eventually joins them. The individual's drug use has been negatively reinforced.

2.4.2 Beliefs favourable to crime

Other individuals may not only reinforce crime, they may also teach beliefs favorable to crime. Most individuals, of course, are taught that crime is bad or wrong. They eventually accept or "internalize" this belief, and they are less likely to engage in crime as a result. Some people, however, learn beliefs that are favourable to crime and as a result they are more likely to engage in crime.

2.4.3 The imitation of criminal models

Behaviour is not only a function of beliefs, the reinforcements and punishments individuals receive, but also of the behavior of those around them. In particular, individuals often imitate or model the behavior of others, especially when they like or respect them and have reasons to believe that imitating their behavior will result in reinforcement. For example, individuals are more likely to imitate others' behavior if they observe them receive reinforcement for their acts.

Research indicates that the people that one associates with, have a large impact on whether or not one engages in crime, and that this impact is partly explained by the effect these people have on one's beliefs regarding crime, the reinforcements and punishments one receives, and the models one is exposed to. Therefore, Social Learning Theory has much support and is perhaps the most dominant theory of crime today.

LABELLING THEORY

Labelling refers to the focus on the informal and formal stigmatisation and labelling of certain individuals by society. According to labelling theorists, the agents of control who act on behalf of those with power in society force such labels on those less powerful. Those with power in society decide which behavior will be labelled as deviant or unlawful. The labelling of an individual as a criminal is not

decided directly by the fact that the person has violated the law. For the same law- violating behavior, individuals from less powerful groups will be subjected to more official labelling and punishment than those with more power. The likelihood that a person will be arrested, convicted and imprisoned is determined by such a person’s race, gender, age, social class and his membership of the more or less powerful groups. Labelling theory asserts that social control leads to deviant behaviour and crime.

The Labelling Theory says official efforts to control crime often have the effect of increasing crime. Individuals who are arrested, prosecuted, and punished are labelled as criminals. Labelled individuals may have trouble obtaining legitimate employment, which increases their level of strain and reduces their stake in conformity.  Labelled individuals may find that conformists are reluctant to associate with them, and they may associate with other criminals as a result. This reduces their bond with conventional others and fosters the social learning of crime. Finally, labelled individuals may eventually come to view themselves as criminals and act in accordance with this self-concept.

Question seven

Distinguish between direct and indirect methods of crime prevention

Direct method: also known as Pro-active

Officers’ act before the offence occurs

Directly prevent crime occurrences e.g, police visibility

Indirect method: also known as Re-active method, where the Criminal Justice

System is administered.

Officers’ act after the offence has been committed e.g attending a report

Indirectly prevent crime by preventing reoffending, e.g courts, and Correctional Services rehabilitate offenders.

Question eight

The ‘situational’ approach to crime prevention seeks to change the environment in two ways in order to prevent future offending, discuss the following approaches

1. Reducing opportunity and

2. Increasing risk of detection

Opportunity reduction simply deals with actions taken to hinder or reduce the opportunities of criminals to commit crime. Thus by;

a. Hardening the target e.g installation of burglar bars, the use of human guards and electronic security devices.

b. Removing the means to commit crime e.g the community to be educated to keep house breaking implements out of vicinity of intruders.

c. Reducing the pay-off e.g not providing market for stolen goods and property marking.

Increasing the risk of detection, this situational approach to crime prevention seeks to change the environment in order to prevent future offending.

These measures operate at community level. They are achieved through the following means:

a) Formal Surveillance

The main function of this type of situational crime prevention is to deter any potential troublemakers with the presence of police, security personnel, or electronic surveillance equipment.

Some examples of this technique are informant hotlines, red light cameras and curfew decals.

b) Natural Surveillance

Natural surveillance involves designing an area that allows legitimate users to observe the daily activities of both friends and strangers.

The idea is that residents should be able to observe criminal activities within their neighborhoods or surroundings

Question nine

State factors that may determine the formation of clusters

1. Common crimes

2. The community with common interests

3. Social issues

4. Economic issues

5. Population density

Question ten

List places where clusters can be formed

1. Villages

2. Towns