CRIM1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Crimes Act 1900, Moral Panic, Critical Criminology
25 May 2018
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W1:$Introduction$$
What$is$crime?$!
• Something!society!doesn't!deem!acceptable
• Social!construction,!a!label!put!on!behaviour!
• Goes!against!morals!and!ethics
• Depends!on!perspective.!E.g.!lawyer,!human!rights!activist,!police!officer!have!
different!
• Definition!is!constantly!changing
!!
Controversial$areas$of$crimes!
• Euthanasia
• Drug!use!(recreational!or!addict?)!psychological!issue?!
• Death!penalty!
• Japanese!whaling!for!research!purposes
• Pollution!
• E.g.!In!2004!France!banned!religious!symbols!and!apparel!in!public!schools!(find!
article)
!!
Consensus!or!contested?!
!!
What$shapes$views$on$crime?!
• Values
• Personal!experience,!a!victim,!perpetrator,!bystander?
• Social!context
• Information!sources..!E.g.!media
!!
IMPORTANT:$The$concept$of$deviance:!
• Deviance!is!the!behaviour!that!violated!the!normative!rules,!understandings!or!
expectations!of!social!systems!(Cohen!1968,!p.148)
• Deviance!exists!'wherever!people!hold!others!to!behavioural!standards",!(Goffman!
1983)
Criminology$vs.$the$sociology$of$deviance!
• The!breaking!of!formal!vs.!
!!
Examples$of$changes$over$time:!
• Rape!in!marriage
• Consenting!homosexual!activity
• Environmental!crimes
• Cyber!bullying
Older!crimes:!printing!book,!keeping!gold!in!house,!cheque!for!under!100!
!!
IMPORTANT:$Behaviours$that$are$criminalised!
• Vary!across!time!/!place
• May!be!highly!contested!
• May!or!may!not!be!considered!immoral
• May!be!normalised!if!commonplace
• Crime!is!socially!constructed
!!
Who$is$a$criminal?!
Why$do$we$need$a$criminal$label?!
• We!need!a!boundary!
• Adjudicating!between!competing!values!/!achieving!consensus!
• Protect!unequal!social!order!(radical!/!critical)
!!
"in!the!first!place!crime!is!normal!because!society!exempt!without..!"!Emile!Durkheim!!
!!
!!
4$approaches$to$what$is$crime:!
!!
1. Legal!approach!"crime!is!what!the!law!defines!as!crime"!-!Goldsmith.!Israel!and!Daly!
2006:5!!
• NSW!Crimes!Act!1900!
Critique?!
• Made!by!rich!and!powerful
!!
2. Social!harm!approach!
If!an!act!causes!harm!to!an!individual!or!group!then!it!should!be!regarded!as!crime!
Harm!is!universal,!everyone!can!relate!
!!
3. Human!rights!approach!
Anything!that!violates!the!UDHR!
!!
4. The!social!process!/!labelling!approach!!
It!is!not!the!act!that!is!inherently!criminal!but!the!way!it!is!perceived!by!others!which!
makes!it!a!'crime'!!
Read-!The!Elasticity!of!Evil'!
!!
What$is$criminology?!
The!term!'criminology'!was!coined!in!1885!-!modern!discipline!
Can!be!defined!as!the!systematic!study!of!the!nature,!extent,!cause!…!!
!!
Discipline$of$criminology:!
• Complexity!and!ambiguity
• Multi!-!disciplinary
• Sociological!input!(groups,!society)
• Psychological!input!(behaviour)
• Situational!input
!!
Shared!goals!
• Causes
• Formulation!of!criminal!law
• Enforcement
• Sentencing
• Penology!-!to!what!effect!to!punish
• Prevent!and!control!
• Victimology
• Media,!politics
!!
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W2:$Media$and$Crime$
!!
General!Notes:!!
• Sensational!view!of!crime!yet!protective!view!of!police!/!policing!practices
• Profit-driven!mechanism
• Not!always!faced!directly!with!criminal!situations,!we!rely!on!the!representations!on!
the!news!to!understand.!
• Media!has!a!crucial!role!in!shaping!public!perception.
• Media!are!seen!as!key!communications!of!information!about!crime,!and!influential!on!
public!opinion!and!policy!formation.
!!
Popular!images!of!crime:!(text)!
Offending!!
• Crime!tends!to!be!construed!primarily!as!'street!crime'!
• Notion!that!crime!and!deviancy!is!getting!worse
• Key!theme!that!the!criminal!or!deviant!is!distinctive!and!identifiable
• E.g.!Issues!hardly!covered:!white-collar,$domestic$violence,$environment.$
Crime!Control!
• Emphasise!on!CSI
• Crime!fighter!presented!as!a!hero
• Silence!of!police!brutality,!racism!and!corruption
• Police!can!break!the!law!to!enforce!the!law
• In!fictional!media!(video!games,!cartoons)!violence!is!a!primary!focus,!usually!because!
consumers!are!fascinated!to!it..!Mundane!aspects!such!as!interviewing,!file!material!
etc.!is!generally!absent.!
!!
Media!representations!of!policing!
• Stereotypes!of!cops
"The!Boy!Scout"!-!by!the!book,!honest,!friendly,!smiles!
"Superhero"!-!distinctive!special!qualities!E.g.!strength,!extraordinary!weapons!
"Sleuth"!-!uses!brains!to!outwit!criminal!mind,!more!educated!than!average!street!cop!
(The!Mentalist?)!
• Largely!masculine!occupation!and!violent
!!
!!
Media!representations!of!crime:!aspects!that!achieve!newsworthiness…!
!!
Chibinall$(1977)!
• Newsworthiness
• Immediacy
• Dramatization
• Personalisation
• Simplification
• Titillation
• Conventionalism
• Structured!access
• Novelty!
!!
Jewkes$(2004/$2010)$!(added!3!points)!
• Risk
• Proximity
