CRITICAL THEORIES

Can’t we all just get along?

CRITICAL THEORIES IN CONTEXT In 1950-1960s = strain

Policy = provide opportunity to those who lack means for achieving legitimate success.

Turmoil of 1960s criminologists become more skeptical Politicians and other interests groups lack will to

make real changesCloward and Ohlin storyMany groups actively oppose providing

opportunities

CONSENSUS VS. CONFLICT

Consensus Conflict

Law reflect shared belief about what is wrong

Law resolves conflicts and maintains order

The state is “neutral”

Bias is temporary and unintentional

Law is an end process in a conflict over values

Bias is built into the law (winners punish losers)

The state (CJS) responds to the needs of those in power (not neutral)

CRITICAL THEORY Central Themes

Emphasis on “inequality” and “power”Crime as “political” conceptCJS serves interests of powerfulSolution to crime is more equitable society

EXPLANATION OF LAW and CJ SYSTEM rather than crime

VARIATIONS OF CRITICAL THEORY Conflict Theory Marxist/Radical Theory Left Realism/Peacemaking Feminist Criminology/Gender and Crime

PLURALISTIC CONFLICT—EXPLANATION OF THE LAW AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

George Vold Group Conflict Multiple groups in society with varying

levels of power▪ Political interest groups ▪ Social movements ▪ Broad segments of society

▪ Political parties Those who win conflict get control over the

law and coercive power of the state

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE The formulation of law

Interest groups’ influence on law-makingResearch on consensus over laws

The operation of the CJSResearch on “extra-legal” variables

“Legal” = prior record, offense seriousness “extra” = RACE, CLASS, GENDER Demeanor?

RACE, CRIME, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE After controlling for legal factors, race-

CJS studies are all over the boardEspecially if one controls for demeanor

(Reiss, 1966 observed police) Research issues

The meaning of prior record and demeanorHow to isolate and study biasDifferent stages of the legal system

RACE AND JUSTICE IIRacial profiling

▪ Difficult to determine▪ Minorities more likely to live in high-

crime areas

▪ Alfred Blumstein▪ Racial disparity in incarceration due

largely to disparities in arrest rates▪ Blacks at a disadvantage in the criminal

justice system, especially for less serious crimes

WHERE THE EVIDENCE IS CLEAR Race and Capital Punishment

Victim x Race interactions Race and Drug Prosecutions

Long history of connecting drugs to “dangerous” populations Chinese Opium Mexicans Marijuana African Americans Crack Cocaine e

“Crack Multiplier” Enforcement patterns for drug offenses

CONFLICT: AN EXPLANATIONOF STREET CRIME Thorston Sellin (1938)

Cultural conflict theoryGist: violate laws of the majority simply by

following the norms of one’s own reference group

George Vold (1958) Group conflict theory (crime that results

from conflict) Labor strife, protest-related crime

KARL MARX Communist Manifesto Means of production determine the

structure of society Capitalism:

• Owners of the means of production (capitalists)

• Workers = proletariat, lumpen proletariat

CAPITALISM WILL SELF-DESTRUCT The laboring class produces goods that

exceed the value of their wages (profit) The owners invest the profit to reduce

the workforce (technology) The workers will no longer be able to

afford the goods produced by the owners

WILHELM ADRIAN BONGER

▪ Early attempt to tie Marx and Crime Together

▪ Altruism as a defining characteristic of society and human nature

▪ Egoism characterizes capitalist society▪ Capitalism builds social irresponsibility

and creates a climate of crime▪ Solution: socialism (which allows

altruism to flourish)

MARXIST/RADICAL CRIMINOLOGY

Instrumental Marxist PositionHard line position

Crime and the creation and enforcement of law the direct result of capitalism

Structural Marxist Position Softer Position

Governments are somewhat autonomous Over time, the direction of the law (creation and

enforcement) will lean towards the capitalists

INSTRUMENTAL MARXIST CRIMINOLOGY

Richard Quinney (1980)All Conflict is organized around capitalist versus

the poor Either you are an oppressed lackey or a capitalist Anyone who does not realize this (or identifies with

capitalism) has false class consciousness The real power and authority is exclusive to the ruling

class

QUINNEY (1980) CONT.

Primary goal of capitalists? Maintain Power!To do this, must trample rights of othersBut, also must portray an egalitarian societyAccomplished by controlling media, academics

IMPLICATIONS FOR LAW Capitalists control the definition of crime

Laws protect the capitalists (property, $)Laws ignore crimes of the capitalists

(profiteering)

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

CJS is the tool of the capitalists; used to oppress (not protect) the working populationCrimes of the rich treated with kid glovesProperty crimes strictly enforced

“Street crimes” are enforced only in poor neighborhoods

Incarceration to control surplus labor

IMPLICATIONS FOR CRIME? Crimes of the Capitalists (must control)

Economic DominationCrimes of the GovernmentCrimes of ControlSocial Injuries (should be crimes)

Crimes of the Lower Class“Rebellion”Crimes of “Accommodation”

POLICY IMPLICATION? The policy implication of Marxist

Criminology is clear.Dismantle the capitalist structure in favor of

a socialist structure.

CRITICISMS RADICAL/MARXIST CRIMINOLOGY An “underdog theory” with little basis

in fact Are “socialist societies” any different? Other capitalist countries have low

crime rates Most crime is poor against poor—

Marxists ignore the plight of the poor.

JEFFREY REIMAN▪The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison

▪ Key point = harmful acts of the rich are often ignored (unneccesary surgery, environmental harm, etc.)

White collar crime less serious and less likely to be enforced

▪ Pollution, Hazardous work conditions, Unsafe products, Insider trading, Embezzlement, Fraud

▪ Even wealthy people who engage in street crime are less likely to be formally charged and better able to avoid sanctioning

ELLIOT CURRIE—SLIGHTLY LESS RADICAL

▪ Only some forms of capitalism encourage crime

▪ Market economy (compassionate capitalism) Japan (Top down) Scandinavian (Bottom up)

▪ Market society (high levels of inequality and poverty)

▪ Solution: softer, gentler capitalist society

ELLIOT CURRIE▪ Mechanisms that link market

societies to high rates of violence▪ Destroys livelihoods▪ Tendency toward extremes of

inequality▪ Weakens public support▪ Erodes informal social support▪ Promotes a culture of competition and

consumption▪ Deregulates the technology of

violence▪ Weakens alternative political values

and institutions

GENDER AND CRIME Feminist Criminology Relationships between gender, crime,

and the criminal justice systemGender Ratio and Generalizability

FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY▪ Emphasizes equal opportunity and

importance of sex-role socializations

▪ Focus on “patriarchy”—male dominance exerted over females through financial and physical power

▪ Types▪ Liberal feminism ▪ Socialist feminism▪ Radical feminism

FEMINIST CRIMINOLOGY Good example of conflict theory in

actionFeminists responsible for shaping the law

and law enforcement Marital Rape Intimate Partner Violence

Feminists also largely responsible for the recent focus on gender/crime issues

GENDER-CRIME▪ Gender ratio (Gender Gap)

▪ Males account for the vast majority of delinquent and criminal offending

▪ UCR, NCVS, self-report▪ Gender gap shrinking?

Liberation hypothesis (Not supported by research)

WHY is gender ratio so large? Can traditional theories explain? (Social

bond, delinquent peers, etc.) Masculinity & sex roles

GENDER AND CRIME II Generaliziblity issue

Can “Male” theories explain female offending? Many theories blatantly sexist (See, Cohen) Many theories simply ignore females

Mainstream theories do explain male and female offending similarly Could we do better explaining female

criminality? Salience of sexual/physical abuse among

delinquent girls

DALY’S TYPOLOGY OF FEMALE OFFENDING

▪ Street women▪ Harmed-and-harming women▪ Battered women▪ Drug-connected women▪ Other women

GENDER AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM▪ Research findings

▪ When gender effects are found, females are treated more leniently

Chivalry Hypothesis Paternalism Hypothesis Seriousness of offense differs in ways that

most research doesn’t count Sort-of-legal-factors (“familied”)