SOC212H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Situation Two
1. Crime and Deviance Lecture 9 Situational Theories
Application
Katz: The motivation of the persistent robber:
-Despite wide appeal robbery is not deeply appealing to many: typically peaks in teens
and early twenties, peak age declined from 19 in 1940- 17 in 1980
-Those that persist into thirties are “special set of criminal actors”
-Benefits are not that high and high risk crime
-Many persistent robbers engage in petty crimes as well such as assaults and non-violent
property crime: but many who do these other crimes often don't rob. People moving
away from crime as they get older.
-His central question is given how unappealing robbery what is it that leads someone
who knows better that they can choose something more rational? What is it that leads
persistent robbers into persistent robbery? Need to look at life histories and
biographies, looking at how they have defined their outlook towards life, work and then
robbery becomes sensible. He explains that Mertonian explanation is not relevant do
feel pushed into it but not because of economic situation.
Why rob?
-Materialistic and utilitarian ideas not super-convincing
-Street robbery offers little rewards
-Moreover, robbers often have links and experience with vice market, so why do small
and risky crimes
-Also get arrested very often
-Also gendered: males 90% of the arrests
-Leads Katz to think that there is something special about persistent robbery
Evidence suggest that as robbers age they regret that type of work yet persistent
robbers still exist.
Foreground of crime: individual biography meets situation
-1) situation
-2) relevant aspects of the offender’s biography
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-3) the attraction of the offense to the offender (is this attractive for me to do or not,
given my mood, my past)
Situational challenges and the rational robbers:
-Most robbers say they are rational but this occupation is not rationally selected. While
means for theft may be chosen rationally, persistent theft as a means requires “non-
rational commitment” while means for theft may be chosen rationally persistent theft
as a means requires “non-rational commitment”
-Discusses how victim often resist and how this adds to the complexity of robbery hence
making persistent robbery particularly unattractive for many.
In order to persist, robbers steel themselves against “attacks of reason”
-All of these negative implications of what they are doing, persistent robbers tend to
deliberately not think about potential consequences of their actions.
But why does robbery become attractive?
-Biographical approach reveals to themes:
-Illicit actions in other parts of life make persistent robbery a continuation (rejection of
status quo, living a kind of suicidal life)
-Like to impose a hard order on chaos (sensuality of crime, often individuals whose lives
have a lot of chaos, abusive parents
The embodiment of deviant motivation:
-Young robbers tend to do many other activities alongside robbing sex, drugs, etc.
mature robbers look down on this king of activity
-Persistent robbers tend to do the following independent of their stealing: assault,
substance abuse/ marketing, non violent theft and fraud (life is party rejection of the
status quo, robbing is one of the many things they do)
-These actions are the context in which robbing occur: looking at the offender in
question than aggregate causes
-PR’s think of their lives as more exciting and alive than “straight” lives
-See regular work as bounding “sensual involvements from work commitments”
-Consciousness into the foreground at any given time, criminal life style allows illicit
actions to dominate their experiences and surprise them. i.e. substance abuse and
intoxication during robbery very frequent.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Crime and deviance lecture 9 situational theories. Katz: the motivation of the persistent robber: Despite wide appeal robbery is not deeply appealing to many: typically peaks in teens and early twenties, peak age declined from 19 in 1940- 17 in 1980. Those that persist into thirties are special set of criminal actors . Benefits are not that high and high risk crime. Many persistent robbers engage in petty crimes as well such as assaults and non-violent property crime: but many who do these other crimes often don"t rob. People moving away from crime as they get older. Need to look at life histories and biographies, looking at how they have defined their outlook towards life, work and then robbery becomes sensible. He explains that mertonian explanation is not relevant do feel pushed into it but not because of economic situation. Moreover, robbers often have links and experience with vice market, so why do small and risky crimes.
