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Summary CMY3701 The explanation of crime
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
Comprehensive summary for CMY3701 - The explanation of crime.
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Theme 1: rational actor model (classical school).Key concepts
• AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES are those circumstances that cause the offender to be
punished more severely than they would normally be for a specific crime. For example,
conviction for the rape of a child would warrant a more serious punishment than rape of an
adult, because society views a child as more vulnerable and helpless.
• CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY as an approach to studying crime emphasises the importance of
free will and views a criminal act as one that had been consciously carried out by its
perpetrator; the perpetrator has rationally weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of
undertaking the action. The main focus of classicist criminology is on the operation of the
criminal justice system. Classicists believe that, if this system operated in a consistent and
predictable fashion, it would eliminate crime (because those who committed crime knew
that they would not get away with it.
• CRIMINAL EVENT DECISIONS are shorter processes that use more limited information that
relates mainly to the immediate circumstances and situations.
• CRIMINAL INVOLVEMENT refers to the processes through which individuals initially choose
to become involved in particular forms of crime, to continue on this path, and then, later to
desist from crime.
• LIMITED OR BOUNDED RATIONALITY is a term used to indicate that even though individuals
may make poor decisions, often based on incomplete or simply inadequate information,
they are nonetheless rational actors.
, • MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES are those circumstances that would result in a more lenient
sentence that would normally be imposed for a similar crime. A first- time offender would
normally receive a lighter sentence than someone with a long criminal history.
• NEO-CLASSICAL SCHOOL is a body of theory that contends that scientific criminology
(positivism), with its belief in rehabilitation, is invalid. According to this school of thought,
society should return to the principles of classical criminology and should deal with crime by
concentrating on the administration of justice and the punishment of offenders.
• ROUTINE ACTIVITIES THEORY is theory (associated primarily with Marcus Felson) which
suggests that for crime to occur three factors must be present, namely a motivated
offender; a suitable victim; and the absence of capable guardians.
• RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY is a theory which emphasises the importance of rationality in
human action, even if this is limited (bounded). It emphasises the decision-making processes
involved in the choices made by offenders.
• SOCIAL CONTRACT is when an individual is bound to society only by his or her own consent,
and society is therefore responsible to him or her.
Assumptions of the classical school
Acronym - HICC
• Human Nature,
• Implications for Policy,
• Conception of society or social order,
• Causes of Crime
o Human Nature - According to the classical school, people are self-interested, rational creatures
(able to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of competing courses of action), who are
able to make and act in accordance with personal choices (often described as ``free will''). The
emphasis on the individual offender as being a person who is capable of calculating what he or
she wants to do is the most important feature of the classical school of thought. Those who fail
to make rational choices, therefore, and who commit crime, are sent to prison with a view to
reform. The idea is to encourage them to not commit crimes in future by developing their
rational thought processes. Conformity was associated with rewards and rebellion was
associated with sanctions (in the form of harsh prison conditions).
o Conception of society or social order - Left to their own devices, people will follow their own
selfish interests; since these will often conflict, this will result in chaos. However, because people
are rational creatures, they can see the advantages in giving up part of their freedom to do as
they please, accepting a set of laws in exchange for protection of life and property from a state.
Thus, comes into being what was called the social contract, a basis for social order. A violation of
law is a violation of this contract and justifies the state's right to punish the offender.
o Causes of crime - Since people are normally rational creatures, it seems to follow that either the
pleasure or gain from the crime outweighs the pain of punishment associated with it, or that
some people make irrational decisions for some reason (e.g. the institutions of law or education
may be sending out ``wrong'' or confusing messages, so that people do not have the appropriate
information to make rational decisions). Again, according to this school of thought, behaviour is
guided by hedonism; a pain-and-pleasure principle, by which potential offenders calculate the
risks and rewards involved in their actions. Thus, the decision to commit crime was viewed as
the consequence of a logical thought process.
,o Implications for policy - Criminal justice should be subject to a strict rule of law (due process)
and punishments should be known, fixed and just severe enough to deter. Judges' discretion
should be minimised as far as possible in sentencing. Classicists argued that the most
appropriate solution to crime was a clearly defined and consistently applied legal code and a
criminal justice system that was predictable (and also swift) in its operations. This would ensure
that potential offenders were aware of the inevitable personal cost of committing crime.
Limitations of classicism
• Social theorists discovered that aggravating or mitigating circumstances sometimes meant
that similar crimes differed in significant ways.
• Also, while the concept of free will was not abandoned, people recognised that there were
sometimes circumstances in which freedom of choice was limited.
• Likewise, under certain conditions, people did not always act rationally. Rationality might be
constrained by factors such as poverty, insanity or immaturity.
• In fact, the classical theorists had completely ignored differences between individuals.
• First offenders and repeat offenders were treated exactly alike, solely on the basis of the
particular act that had been committed.
• Children, the ``feeble-minded'' and the insane were all treated as if they were fully rational
and competent.
• This led to the development of neoclassical school of thought.
o According to neoclassicists, a person is still accountable for his or her actions, but
with certain minor reservations - it is acknowledged that the offender's past history
and present situation both influence the likelihood of reform.
o Ordinary sane adults were still considered fully responsible for their actions, and all
equally capable of either criminal or law-abiding behaviour.
o It was now recognised, however, that children (and in some circumstances the
elderly) were less capable of exercising free choice and were therefore less
responsible for their actions.
o The insane and ``feeble-minded'' might be even less responsible.
o It was these revisions to the penal code that admitted into the courts for the first
time non-legal ``experts'' including doctors, psychiatrists and, later, social workers.
They were gradually introduced into the criminal justice system in order to identify
the impact of individual biological, psychological and social differences.
o The purpose of this intervention was to determine the extent to which offenders
were responsible for their actions. The outcome was that sentences became more
individualised, depending on the perceived degree of responsibility on the part of
the offender and on whether there were mitigating circumstances .
• Burke identifies the following central attributes of the classical and neoclassical schools,
which laid down the foundations of the rational actor model:
o A fundamental concentration on the criminal law and the legal definition of
crime.
o The central concept that the punishment should fit the crime rather than the
offender.
o The doctrine of free will, according to which all people are free to choose their
actions. From this perspective, it is assumed that there is nothing ``different'' or
``special'' about offenders that differentiate them from other people.
o The use of non-scientific methodology coupled with a lack of empirical research.
, Therefore:
Classical theorists view criminal behaviour as deliberate activity resulting from rational decisions in
which offenders weigh the advantages and disadvantages and perform the acts that promise the
greatest potential gain. Those who commit serious crimes or continue to break the law deserve
punishment because they possess free will and know what they are doing. People are influenced by
their fear of punishment associated with being caught and convicted for law violations. The more
severe, certain and swift the punishment, the more likely it is to control crime.
The neoclassical school represented no major break with the basic premises of the classical school.
Neoclassicists continued to state that people have free will and that people are rational creatures
guided by reason. They also claimed that people are controlled by, and crime is deterred by, fear of
punishment. Hence, the pain of punishment must exceed the pleasure obtained from the act.
However, the neoclassical school made some modifications to the administration of law based on
the classical school. Neoclassicists modified the doctrine of free will by stating that the freedom to
choose could be influenced by incompetence (either of age or insanity). They also introduced the
concepts of premeditation and mitigating circumstances.
Routine activities theory
The elements that increase or decrease the likelihood that persons will be victims of personal (direct
contact) or property crime are:
o The availability of suitable targets in the form of a person or property, such as homes
containing easily saleable goods. Suitability of target is dependent on four criteria which
Felson summarises by using the acronym VIVA:
• Value: calculated from the subjective rational perspective of the offender, what is the
target worth?
• Inertia: the extent to which the article or target can be realistically removed, taken,
robbed or moved
• Visibility: how visible the target is to the offender?
• Accessibility: how easy it is to gain access to the target?
o The absence of capable guardians, such as police, homeowners, neighbours, friends, and
relatives.
o The presence of motivated offenders, such as young males, drug users and unemployed
adults.
Rational choice theory
Cornish and Clarke summarise the basis of their rational choice perspective in the following six basic
propositions:
i. Crimes are deliberate acts, committed with the intention of benefiting the offender.
ii. Offenders try to make the best decisions they can, given the risks and uncertainty involved.
iii. Offender decision-making varies considerably according to the nature of the crime.
iv. Decisions about becoming involved in particular kinds of crime (``involvement decisions'')
are quite different from those relating to the commission of a specific criminal act (``event
decisions'').
v. Involvement decisions comprise the following three stages:
o Initiation: whether the person is ready to begin committing crime in order to obtain
what he or she wants.
o Habituation: whether, having started offending, he or she should continue to do so.
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