SOCI-225 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Homicide, Socioeconomic Status, Structural Inequality
15 May 2018
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Class #4 – May 4, 2018 – Ch. 5
May 17th – Guest lecture, and cyber deviance.
May 18th – Final review.
Correlates of Criminal Behaviour:
Correlation vs. Causation:
- Correlation: Refers to a relationship between two phenomena that are related, or occur, or
vary together.
- Correlation between ice cream sales and crime. Why? Because people are less likely to
commit crimes in -50 temperatures. This is not the cause, but there is a relationship.
- A correlation simply means that a relationship exists between two or more variables.
Positive or negative.
- Causation: Indicates that one event is the direct effect of the other. Scientific. If you test the
theory and it doesn’t work, then it cannot be the cause.
Over-Simplification:
- As humans, we tend to simplify our perceptions about the world and society. As a result,
there is a tendency to be narrow minded and short sighted. This myopic thinking leads to
racism, bad policy making, etc.
Age:
- Age and gender are very strong correlates of crime.
- Youth, and young males rank the highest in terms of deviance and criminal behaviour.
- Most youth commit non-violent crimes. Less than 1% of youth crimes are homicide. Youth
are more likely to victimize strangers, and work in groups.
- Most common crime is theft under $5000. Assault (No physical harm) is the most common
violent offence for youth.
- Youth rack-up a lot of administrative charges. (ei. Breach of curfew) Rules of their
sentencing including curfew, not allowed to see certain people, or go to places.
- Youth also show high relation of crime to possession of marijuana.
Maturation Reform:
- Maturation reform is a way to explain the decline in crime as teenagers move into
adulthood and grow-up. Adolescence is a time of transition.
- Adolescents are marginalized – no money, no real social status, yet expected to conform to
the social norms and the culture of the western world.
- As we age we become more restricted to what crimes we can commit. Underage drinking,
graffiti. As we age we gave greater social bonds, and more things to lose if we commit
crimes.
Gender:
- Males are overrepresented when it comes to a) criminal offences committed b) charges laid
c) legal outcomes d) sentencing dispositions.
- 2012 – 81% of adult cases before the courts were male.
- Sexual Assault – 98% male
- Weapons offences – 91% male
- Males are more likely to commit violent crimes than females.
- Females are most commonly charged with property offences
- Theft – 35%
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Document Summary
Class #4 may 4, 2018 ch. May 17th guest lecture, and cyber deviance. Correlation: refers to a relationship between two phenomena that are related, or occur, or vary together. Correlation between ice cream sales and crime. Because people are less likely to commit crimes in -50 temperatures. This is not the cause, but there is a relationship. A correlation simply means that a relationship exists between two or more variables. Causation: indicates that one event is the direct effect of the other. Positive or negative. theory and it doesn"t work, then it cannot be the cause. As humans, we tend to simplify our perceptions about the world and society. As a result, there is a tendency to be narrow minded and short sighted. This myopic thinking leads to racism, bad policy making, etc. Age and gender are very strong correlates of crime. Youth, and young males rank the highest in terms of deviance and criminal behaviour.
