Crime and Society
Seminar 1 – Introduction to Crime, Society, and the Criminal Justice System.
Textbook Reading
T Newburn, Criminology, chapter one, chapter five (just skim read section on politics of crime in
the USA) and chapter twenty-f our OR
Case, Johnson, Manlow et al, Criminology, chapter two (There is no need to read the ‘studying criminology’ section or beyond), chapter three and chapter twenty-One.
Essential Reading
N. Christie, A Suitable Amount of Crime (London: Routledge) 2004, pp. 10-12
C Ashford, M Morris and A Powell, ‘Bareback Sex in the Age of PrEP and Tasp: Rethinking the
“Harms” of HIV Transmission’ (2020) 84:6 Journal of Criminal Law 596.
Recommended Additional Reading (and viewing)
Tim Newburn, Key Readings in Criminology, chapter one and chapter twenty-three
H Packer, The Limits of Criminal Sanction (Stanford: Stanford University Press) 1968, 149-173.
Seminar Questions:
Section A – What is a crime?
Consider the people listed below. List them in order of how ‘wrong’ you believe their actions to be. Top of the list should be the person whose action you consider to be the most wrong, and at the bottom of the list should be the person whose action you consider to be the least wrong. If you consider two or more people’s actions to be equally wrong, you should note this on your list.
The term ‘wrong’ has been deliberately used in preference to the term ‘criminal’. The purpose of this exercise is not to test your knowledge of what is or is not classed as criminal, but rather to try to determine whether there is agreement as to what is ‘wrong’. If you feel it is necessary, you should decide upon your own definition of ‘wrong’.
A kills her terminally ill husband because she cannot bear his suffering and he has repeatedly asked her to put him out of his misery.
B drives a car having just drunk three pints of beer.
C has sexual intercourse with his wife against her wishes.
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Timewatch: Judgement in Jerusalem (This is a 1987 documentary regarding the trial of Adolf Eichmann and includes reflections from the philosopher Hannah Arendt, it complements the Nils Christie article) Available (Also available via Moodle): https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/RT413552?bcast=119863011
D has sexual intercourse with her husband against his wishes.
E makes a series of applications in false names for shares in a utility that is about to be privatised. As
a result, he makes a profit of £5000.
F steals £25 from their employer. They are starving and need the money to feed their children.
G claims £100 in expenses from their employer when in fact his expenses were only £75.
H attacks his wife giving her a black eye when she tells him that she has been unfaithful with his best friend.
I Transmits the HIV virus during a consensual one-night stand. They were aware of their HIV status but did not inform their partner or attempt to mitigate the risk of transmission.
J inflicts serious, but consensual, bruising on their partner. They are both willing participants in the experience.
K Infects the person behind her in the supermarket queue with a deadly virus. K had caught the virus by breaching rules on social mixing and was not adhering to public safety measures—such as wearing a mask—In the queue.
Points to consider:
Did you agree with the rest of your seminar group as to which behaviour was most serious? If not, why not? Did anyone change their mind? If so, on what grounds?
Are crimes of dishonesty less or more serious than crimes of violence?
In cases involving theft or fraud, does the amount stolen make a difference?
Does the suffering caused to the victim make any difference?
What about social stigma, to what extent do you think you may have been motivated by your
intuitive or emotional dislike of certain activities?
What role do the characteristics of the parties play? For example, is a man harming a woman
more wrong than a woman harming a man?
Does the judgement that something is wrong relate to the idea that it is not normal?
The purpose of this exercise is to encourage you to reflect on your attitude as to what should and what should not be labelled criminal. It is also designed to encourage you to realise that what is labelled ‘criminal’ can change over time and can differ from country to country.
Section B – The Criminal Justice System
1. 2. 3.
In what ways can it be said that our criminal justice system is a ‘system’?
Why does having a criminal justice system matter?
What is the difference between the inquisitorial and adversarial system of justice?
Seminar 2 – Measuring Crime and Crime in Culture and media
Textbook Reading
T Newburn, Criminology, chapter three (not section on Data on offenders), and chapter four OR
Case, Johnson, Manlow et al, Criminology, chapter five and chapter seven
Essential Reading
S. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics, 3rd edn (London: Taylor and Francis) 2002, pp. 161-171
M Valverde, ‘Questions of Security: A Framework for Research’ (2011) 15 Theoretical Criminology
– This is a very difficult reading. The point of the seminar is to explore difficult ideas, however, so please come along ready to discuss it.
R. Reiner, Law and Order: An Honest Citizens Guide to Crime and Control (Cambridge Polity Press) 2007, pp. 61-70
Recommended Additional Reading
Tim Newburn, Key Readings in Criminology, Chapter Three and Chapter Four Questions to think about:
Section A – Crime and the Media
Do media representations of crime correlate with our knowledge of the reality of crime gauged from statistics?
What impact do these representations have on our perceptions of crime?
What impact do these representations have on rates of criminal behaviour?
Is it easy to assess this impact?
Why is the general public interested in stories about crime and criminals?
What is meant by the term ‘folk devil’ and ‘moral panic’?
What is meant by the term ‘deviancy amplification’?
Do newspapers cherry-pick the ‘victims’ they feel are worthwhile writing about?
Do media representations of crime contribute to a view that some groups are more likely to be the victims or perpetrators of crime?
Section B – Measuring Crime
1. Why do we measure crime?
What are the two sources of statistics for crime?
What are the main disadvantages of crime statistics?
In what ways are crime statistics useful?
What are the recent trends in crime (UK)?
What has been controversial about crime trends since the mid-1990s?
Coursework Style Bonus Question:
Crime statistics are useful source of information regarding the level of crime within a given society.
Discuss this quote with regard to the work of Valverde.
Seminar 3 – Theorising Criminal Behaviour:
Part One Textbook Reading
T Newburn, Criminology, chapter six and chapter seven (not section on Chromosomal anomalies, p. 149; Section on Biochemical Factors on pp. 150-155: only read sections on testosterone and nutrition) and chapter eight (omit following sections on: Bowlby and maternal deprivation; Operant learning; Routine and activity theory; Yochelson and Samenow; Eysenck’s biosocial theory; and Intelligence and Offending).
OR
Case, Johnson, Manlow et al, Criminology, chapter thirteen and chapter fourteen.
Essential Reading
Enrico Ferri, The Positive School of Criminology (Chicago: H.Kerr and Co), 1913, pp. 49-94
A. Raine, ‘Biosocial studies of antisocial and violent behaviour in children and adults’, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, (2002), 30(4): 311-326
E. Sutherland and D. Cressey, ‘Differential association’ in Principles of Criminology 5th edn. (Chicago: J.P. Lippincott and Company) 1955, pp. 75-81
Recommended Additional Reading
Tim Newburn, Key Readings in Criminology, Chapters five, six and seven
Questions to think about:
Section A – Classicism and Positivism
What is positivism?
What is classicism?
What are the main differences between the two?
To what extent do you agree with the idea that criminal behaviour is ‘chosen’?
Section B – Biological positivism
What is biological positivism?
What does it share with the ideas propounded by Lombroso?
What is the relationship between biological positivism and more sociological approaches to understanding crime? Are the two compatible?
What is the danger in attributing criminality to biological characteristics?
5. What are the potential policy implications of biological positivism?
Section C – Psychological positivism
What is psychological positivism? What does it share with positivism or biological positivism?
How do childhood experiences affect behaviour later on in life?
In what way are thinking processes important to the study of crime?
What might be the problem with suggesting that there is a big difference between criminals and the rest of us?
Coursework Style Question:
To what extent are positivist theories helpful in explaining criminal behaviour and how useful they are in informing criminal justice policy?
After the Seminar in Week 3, you will have all the information you need to answer Part A) The 1,000 word essay question
The module examines how crime is defined and measured, as well as exploring the different theories
regarding how and why crime occurs.
