Unit 3

• Social Institutions: Any sort of human group that supports social practices or behaviours that a society has generally agreed to promote and obey.
• The Five Major Social Institutions:

  1. Religion
  2. Education
  3. Family
  4. Law
  5. Media
• All Social Institutions...

  1. Have existed for a long period of time
  2. Have well-established patterns of behaviour and relationships (structure)
  3. Change usually occurs slowly within them
  4. Have a specific purpose
• Purposes of Social Institutions:

  1. To act as agents of socialization (teach "appropriate" behaviour)
  2. To maintain order and security
• The Four Stages of Becoming a Violent Criminal:

  1. Brutalization
  2. Belligerence
  3. Violent Performances
  4. Virulence
• Stage 1 - Brutalization: The individual endured violence at the hands of members of their primary group (family or gang) to get them to obey or in retaliation for disobedience, or they witnessed others being brutalized, or they were coached to be violent ("fight back, don't be a wimp").
• Stage 2 - Belligerence: The individual resolves mentally that they will fight back -- violently if need be -- against perceived tormentors if they feel they can win.
• Stage 3 - Violent Performances: The individual follows through on the resolve to use violence to settle a conflict and is somehow "rewarded" for this (i.e. gets a reputation as "tough," solves the problem, people fear them, nobody "messes with them anymore," etc.).
• Stage 4 - Virulence: The individual resorts to extreme violence to resolve any and all conflicts or problems -- also might provoke conflicts to preserve their image.
• The Irony:

  • The individual has now become what they have despised in the past -- a brutal aggressor
  • The vast majority of violent offenders were at one time victims -- this process shows how they went from the victim (who we probably felt sorry for) to the offender (who we try to stop)
• China:

  • "Strike hard"
  • Last year, the United States executed 66 people; China executed at least 3,000
• United States:

  • Currently has 2 million prisoners, the world's largest jailer
  • California:
  • "3 Strikes, You're Out" Law: If you commit 3 felonies or fairly serious crimes, you're in jail forever.
  • Arizona:
  • Humiliate the criminals
  • Tent Cities: Places in the desert where criminals are placed. The conditions are extremely harsh to encourage them to avoid ending up there again. They are given crappy food and humiliating clothing, and they are forced to listen to the Sherriff's favourite music 24/7.
  • No differences in the recidivism rates or crime rates between here and the U.S.
• Canada:

  • Influenced more by U.S. than European justice
  • Tough on youth; 24,000 in detention, most for murder
  • Experts say this is the second-highest rate in the world
  • Most criminologists believe tough justice doesn't reduce crime, however, it can make victims and citizens feel better
• Finland:

  • World leader in keeping people out of jail
  • Half of all offences punished by fines based on income
  • Rich people usually get speeding tickets worth around $50,000, while poor people get tickets worth around $100
  • Average jail sentence for murder is 4 years
  • No bars, paid jobs, men, women and children together, massages, very relaxed
  • Believes tough justice makes tough criminals, not a safer society
• Japan:

  • Everything centred on community life
  • If you break the law, you are given a chance to apologize or show remorse and receive a more lenient punishment
  • But if you do it again, you go to prison
  • Prisons specialize in humiliation and control
  • Conformity rules
  • "Mr. Walking Around Man" type police, visit everyone's house semi-regularly to catch up on local news and gossip, interactions are very friendly
  • Over 99% of crime charges plead guilty
• Criminology:

  • Study of the nature, extent, cause and control of criminal behaviour
  • Body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon
  • Includes the process of making laws, breaking laws and reacting to broken laws
  • Looks at the nature, extent and cause of the crime
  • Interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour
  • Examines behavioural patterns of possible criminals
  • Conducts research and investigations, develops theories and analyzes empirical patterns
  • Grew substantially as a discipline in the first quarter of the 20th Century
• Criminology Theories:

  1. Rational Choice Theory
  2. Routine Activities Theory
  3. General Deterrence
  4. Social Disorganization Theory
  5. Crime Displacement
  6. Social Learning Theory
  7. Labelling Theory
  8. Neutralization Theory
• Rational Choice Theory (1):

  Delinquent behaviour is a rational choice made by a motivated offender who perceives the chances of gain as outweighing any perceived punishment or loss. Crime is the function of a decision-making process. The people likely to commit crimes lack inhibition against misconduct, value the excitement of breaking the law, have a low stake in conformity, and are willing to take greater chances than the average person. If convinced that there will be severe punishment, only irrational people will commit crimes in this view.
• Rational Choice Theory (2):

  Rational offenders are induced to commit crime if they perceive that crime pays more than they could earn from a legitimate job. Law-violating behaviour occurs after the offender considers personal factors (need for money, revenge, thrills and entertainment) and situational factors (how well the target is protected, efficiency of the local police force, etc.). Decision to forgo a crime because the economic benefits are no longer there or the risk of apprehension is too great.
• Rational Choice Theory (3):

  While criminals may know that is it likely that they will be caught eventually, they are overly optimistic about getting away with crime, and think about their crimes in a short-term manner (ex: each crime individually is worth the risk).
• Routine Activities Theory:

  Crime is a function of routine activities of modern living. Role models often set this behavioural pattern. Offences occur when a suitable target is not protected by capable guardians. Presence of capable guardians deters crime because criminals tend to shy away from victims who are perceived to be armed and potentially dangerous. Guardianship can also include security systems or fences. Crime occurs when 3 conditions are met:

  1. Accessible target
  2. Absence of capable guardians
  3. Motivated offender is present
• Routine Activities Theory - General Deterrence: A crime control policy which depends on the fear of criminal penalties, such as long prison sentences for violent crimes, aimed at convincing the potential law violator that the pains outweigh the benefits.
• Social Disorganization Theory:

  Focus on conditions in the urban environment. Disorganized area is one in which institutions of social control, such as the family, commercial establishments and schools can no longer carry out their functions. In these neighbourhoods, there is culture conflict and lack of cohesiveness. Constant resident turnover weakens communication and blocks attempts at solving neighbourhood problems and establishing common goals. Lack of supports leave crime as one of the only options for success. Gangs can be created in environments such as these.
• Social Disorganization Theory - Crime Displacement: A phenomenon that occurs when police increase their presence in one area and crime begins to happen in the surrounding areas. Problematic because the scope of crime becomes bigger.
• Social Learning Theory:

  Behaviour is modelled through observation of human interactions, either directly through observing others or indirectly through the media. Rewarded interactions are copied, punished interactions are avoided. Criminal peers and family (socialization).
• Labelling Theory:

  People often take on the labels given to them in society. Some labels are positive, while others are negative. Turn to others with a similar stigma for companionship.
• Neutralization Theory:

  Criminals find ways to justify their actions:

  1. Deny Responsibility: Illegality was not their fault due to forces beyond their control
  2. Deny Injury: The harm is neutralized by denying the wrongfulness of an act
  3. Deny the Victim: The victim of a crime had it coming, so they don't deserve sympathy
  4. Condemn the Condemners: The world is corrupt, so it is unfair to condemn misconduct
  5. Appeal to Higher Loyalties: Justify illegality as due to being loyal to their own peers
• Serial Killer:

  • Unlawful homicide of at least two people carried out by the same person(s) in separate events occurring at different times
  • Serial killing is different from mass murder, in which several victims are murdered at the same time and place
  • Different from classic serial murder, which usually involves stalking and is often sexually motivated, and spree murder, which is usually motivated by thrill-seeking
  • Most lack an obvious, rational motive although power seems to be a common theme
• The Tripod Symptoms:

  The idea that there are three signs that can indicate whether someone will grow up to be a serial killer or other kind of violent criminal:

  1. Being cruel or abusive to animals, especially pets
  2. Setting fire to objects or otherwise committing minor acts of arson
  3. Regularly wetting the bed (normal, but in combination with the previous two, can be part of the triad)
• Dr. Harold Shipman:

  • "Doctor Death"
  • Identified 218 victims and estimated his total victim count at 250, about 80% of whom were women
  • Youngest confirmed victim was a 41-year-old man, although "significant suspicion" arose concerning patients as young as 4
  • Forged death records and cited "old age"
  • Forged the will of his last victim which generated significant suspicion and led to his arrest
• Lucy Letby:

  • Former neonatal nurse who attacked at least 13 infants in her care between June 2015 and June 2016, killing 7 of them
  • Methods included injecting victims with air or insulin, overfeeding them and physically assaulting them
  • Cheshire Police stated after her convictions that they believed she may have claimed more victims, including at Liverpool Women's Hospital where two babies died when she was training
  • Since she stopped working at the hospital there has been comparatively only one death in 7 years
  • No clear motive
  • Sentenced to life in prison in August 2023
• Israel Keyes:

  • Confessed to killing 3 people, but it is believed to be as many as 11
  • Hid "kill kits" around the country and used them years later for his crimes
  • No victim profile, chose victims at random
  • Flew from Alaska to New Orleans for a two week cruise with his family the day after killing his last victim, Samantha Tessla Koenig
  • Studied serial killers and had a lot of admiration for them
  • Idolized Ted Bundy but thought Dennis Rader (BTK Killer) was a coward because he apologized in court and showed remorse
• Ted Bundy:

  • American serial killer and rapist, one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th Century
  • Sexually assaulted and killed several young women despite his apparent stability
  • All victims had dark hair parted down the middle like his mom
  • Confessed to 28 murders, but estimated by some to be responsible for hundreds of deaths
  • Executed in Florida's electric chair in 1989
• Russell Williams:

  • Canadian serial rapist, murderer and former colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force
  • Currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 25 years for 2 murders
  • Pedophiliac tendencies, stole underwear of girls as young as 9 years old, made 82 fetish-related home invasions and attempted break-ins between September 2007 and November 2009
• Robert Pickton:

  • "Pig Farmer Killer," "The Butcher"
  • Canadian serial killer, serial rapist and former pig farmer
  • Arrested in 2002, convicted in 2007 of the second-degree murders of 6 women and was also the subject of a lengthy investigation that yielded evidence of numerous other murders
  • Charged with the deaths of an additional 20 women
  • Victims tended to be sex workers who were often Indigenous, making them a lower priority for police when they went missing
• Serial Killers Sociological Explanations:

  1. Psychopath/Sociopath
  2. Media Violence and Pornography
  3. Elliot Leyton Quote
  4. Nature Plus Nurture
  5. Copycat Theory
• Psychopath/Sociopath:

  • Don't feel guilt

  Problem: All serial killers are psychopaths, but not all psychopaths are serial killers.
• Media Violence and Pornography:

  • Ted Bundy quote

  Problem: Millions have seen this, but serial killers are rare.
• Elliot Leyton Quote:

  • "These people are social outcasts whose career or class ambitions haven't been fulfilled. They blame this on a particular group."
  • First have violent fantasies about the group, then in a tiny portion of cases they act out these fantasies
  • The reason there are more serial killers today than ever before may be because society is changing so fast and leaving more people behind

  Problem: Most social outcasts don't kill -- only a partial explanation.
• Nature Plus Nurture:

  • Abuse as a child plus deficient nature ("chemical imbalance"? damage to the amygdala?)

  Problem: No specific "violence" gene has ever been discovered.