The Social Dimensions of Crime

1.Age and Crime 2.Class and Crime3.Gender and Crime4.Race and Crime

Age and Crime

Age is inversely related to criminality Younger people (regardless class, race, sex)

commit crime more often than their older peers

The peak age of onset of offending is between 8 and 14

Prevalence of offending peaks in the late teenage years (between 15 and 19)

The peak of desistance from offending is between 20 and 29

What do we know from criminological research about Age and Crime? (Farringdon, 2003)

Age-graded Theory

8-9 years 15-19 years 45-55 years

Age and Crime

How can this phenomenon be explained?

Early onset predicts a long career and many offences Small fraction of the population, “chronic offenders”

commit a large fraction of all crimes Most offences up to the late teenage years are

committed with others, whereas most offences from age 20 onwards are committed alone

Reasons given for offending up to late teenage years: utilitarian, excitement/joy, relive boredom, anger

Reasons for later offending are mostly utilitarian

Age and Crime

Several competing explanations

Maturation reform (hormones, burning out, aging causes desistance)

Life-course view (Sampson, Laub, 1993) – based on social bond theory, turning points in life

M. Warr “Number of friends and age” Moffitt’s typology (Adolescents-limited, life-course

persistent, risk factors: neuropsychological deficit, hyperactivity, impulsivity, low self-control)

Matza’s Drift Theory (Neutralization) Latent Trait theory (Gottfredson and Hirschi) - a

person’s level of self-control) Opportunity might change but self-control is stable

Age-Graded Life-Course Theory

Causal relationship between early delinquent offending and later adult deviant behavior is not solely a product of individual characteristics

Social events may change some individuals while others continue to offend

Informal social bonds to family and employment during adulthood explain changes in criminality

Age-Graded Life-Course Theory

Life-course model

Social bonds created by strong attachment to a spouse, military, job stability and commitment, and employee-employer interdependence reduce crime

The social ties embedded in adult transitions (i.e. marital attachment and job stability) explain variations in crime

Latent Trait Model

Low self-control is evident in early childhood through specific personality characteristics

Inability to postpone gratification, a low tolerance for frustration, high levels of risk-taking behavior, shamelessness

Latent Trait Model

Self-control develops through parental emotional investment in the child

Monitoring the child's behavior, recognizing deviance when it occurs, and punishing the child

Parental emotional investment is necessary in order to activate the self-control

Latent Trait Model

Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) defined self-control as the degree to which a person is “vulnerable to the temptations of the moment” (p. 87).

They viewed Low Self-Control as a behavior pattern arising from ineffective socialization early in life

This pattern was said to be quite stable, when established, and was cited as the primary individual-level factor explaining crime

People with low self-control have unstable marriages, jobs, and friends

Social Class System (Warner's model)

The American class structure, for all the social mobility (moving up) that's supposed to be going on, has really been fairly rigid and fixed

Class System

UPPER-UPPER is a class that we know little about ("Less than 2% of the population controls over 65% of the wealth“). They have low visibility, luxurious living, and a lot of inherited wealth (which they usually keep within their own social class).

LOWER-UPPER is a class of the new rich, consisting of lottery winners, self-made billionaires, savvy investors. They tend to seek out visibility and high-prestige occupations, often in politics or higher education (they like honorary degrees).

Class System

UPPER-MIDDLE class is living the American Dream, and they spend most of their time worrying about how "good" their possessions are; their house, their neighborhood, their city.

LOWER-MIDDLE is the class which is "getting by" or "living paycheck to paycheck“.

Class System

UPPER-LOWER or the Working Class is the largest class in America.

They make up the bulk of the labor force in both skilled, semi-skilled, and service professions. Apartment or mobile home dwellers, usually, this group is living in so much debt nowadays that it's almost like economic slavery

They have extremely strong pride and a lot of contact with the criminal justice system.

Class System

LOWER-LOWER or the Underclass is a fairly permanent class that is so dependent on government services, subsidies, and assistance that they might even starve if not for some kind of intervention that always seems to be needed

Poor health and lots of contact with the criminal justice system occur regularly with this class

System of Values

MIDDLE CLASS VALUES

Deferred gratificationVerbal skillsRationalityAsceticismAmbitionIndividual Responsibility & TalentCourtesy & Chivalry

LOWER CLASS VALUES Instant gratification

Motor skillsSpontaneity-ExpressivenessSociabilityGenerosityChildhood-like approach to ResponsibilitySensuality & Sexuality

Social Class and Crime

Official statistics indicate that crime rates in inner-city, high-poverty areas are higher than those in suburban areas

Self-reports of prison inmates show that prisoners are members of the lower class

Self reports of adolescents found little or no relationship between social class and crime

Possible Explanations

W. Chambliss’s study of “Saints and Roughnecks”

Less visible, public bias, better demeanor Who you are is more important than what you

do

Gender and Crime

Women commit a small share of all crimes Their crimes are fewer, less serious, more

rarely professional and less likely to be repeated

Females are less likely to be arrested if they cry, express concern for their children, or claim to be “led” by men (DeFleur, 1990)

In consequence, women formed a small proportion of prison populations

Gender and Crime

Most victims and perpetrators in homicides are male:

   Male offender/Male victim 65.1%  Male offender/Female victim 22.6%  Female offender/Male victim 9.9%  Female offender/Female victim 2.4%

The gender distribution of homicide victims and offenders differs by type of homicide

Women are particularly at risk for intimate killings, sex-related homicides, and murder by arson or poison.Women are more likely to commit murder as a result of an argument or murder by poison.

Gender and crime

How can we explain gender differences in criminal behavior?

Differential socialization Hagan’s power control theory (patriarchal

families vs egalitarian families) “liberation hypothesis” (competitiveness,

increased opportunities to offend, equal in everything)

Gender and crime

Racial differences exist, with blacks disproportionately represented among

homicide victims and offenders

Family StructureFamily Structure

Research on family structure has usually Research on family structure has usually examined the impact of broken homes examined the impact of broken homes on delinquency. on delinquency.

Smith(1978) found that in the majority of Smith(1978) found that in the majority of African American homes father absence African American homes father absence had no outcome or positive effects. had no outcome or positive effects.

Social and economic factors influence Social and economic factors influence the role of the father in the family. the role of the father in the family.

Future research should look at the Future research should look at the strength and nature of relationships strength and nature of relationships within the family.within the family.

Most murders are intraracial Arrest Rates per 100,000 by Race

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Homicide Rape Robbery AA

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Rate

African American White

Homicide victimization rates by age, gender, and race, 1976-2002

Arrests Rates Per 100,000 by Race

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Arson MVT Burglary Larceny

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est

Rate

African American White