CMY3701_ESSAY_EXAM_PREPARARIONS_2021.

CMY3701_ESSAY_EXAM_PREPARARIONS_2021.1. QUESTION ONE SUTHERLANDS NINE PROPOSITIONS (30 MARKS) 2. QUESTION TWO SOCIAL DISORGANISATION CHICAGO SCHOOL (30 MARKS) 3. QUESTION THREE THE ASSUMPTION OF THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL (15 MARK) 4. QUESTION 4 According to Kohlberg, serious offenders may have a moral orientation that differs significantly from that of law-abiding citizens. Discuss the three stages in the development of moral thinking and decision making (15) 5. QUESTION 5 Explain the following statement. Cohen and Felson argue that certain changes in the modern world have provided motivated offenders with a far greater number of opportunities to commit crime (15) 6. QUESTION 5 Discuss Bandura's social learning theory of aggression and its importance to explain criminal behaviour (15) 7. Question 1 Critically discuss the two variations of the labelling theory (25) 8. Question 2 Evaluate the contribution of Hirschi's theory to criminology (25) 9. Question 3 Discuss how each of the five reactions to anomie is a way of coping with the imbalance between goals and means (15) 10. Question 4 The decision to offend (rational choice) is based on six propositions. Present a detailed discussion of the six propositions (15) 11. Question 5 Discuss the importance of criminal family studies to criminology (10) 12. Question 6 Describe the assumptions of the Positivist school (10) 13. Question 5 Discuss the importance of criminal family studies to criminology (10) 14. Question 1 Evidence to support the supposition that criminality is inherited in the same way as physical characteristics has been obtained from three sources. Discuss these three sources in detail (25) 15. Question 6 Indicate how criminal behaviour is explained according to Eysenck's biosocial theory (10) 16. Question 7 Conflict theory CMY3701 ESSAY EXAM PREPARARIONS October-November 2015 Exam SECTION A (Answer two questions) QUESTION 1 "Acquiring the disposition needed to commit crime is more important than learning the techniques used in committing crime" Analyse this statement in terms of Sutherland's nine propositions (30) Refer: CMY3701 Study Guide, pp. 98-102 Summary: •According to Sutherland the criminal behaviour was learned through social interactions , In order to describe this learning process , he developed the concept of differential association . There are 9 propositions which have been set in accordance to the fundamental principles association which explained the process whereby a person becomes involved in crime E.Joubert (2014:98-102). Proposition 1 : Criminal behaviour is learnt  The different association argument is that all forms of behaviour , criminal behaviour is learnt through interaction with other people , this eliminates the roles of heredity , human nature and innovation as a causation of deviant behaviour , these individuals may derive from well stable homes, whereby the social norms and values are accepted and also followed , but the behaviour that is learnt from deviant friends has an overall influence on the individual (Joubert 2014:98) . Proposition 2: The criminal behaviour is learned when the individual interact with the significant others through the process of communication . Proposition 3: The learning process occurs mainly within intimate personal groups .  In accordance to the proposition two and three its states that the criminal behaviour is learned through active involvement with the significant others in a process of communication ,the parents have influence in the process of education whereby the language, habits and customs are acquired is accepted as a given . When the child becomes older the behaviour is initially shaped by the parents comes increasingly under the influence of peers, and that is why the parents are usually concerned about their children’s choice of friends. According to Sutherland’s theory, the influence of media on the learning process is regarded as minimal. Proposition 4: During the process whereby the criminal behaviour is learnt it’s entails the following: • The learning the techniques which are required to commit a specific crimes (which may be simple or complex) • The availability of the necessary motives and the driving force, rationalisation and the attitude. Proposition 5: The specified direction which is behind the motives and drive is learnt from the definitions of the legal codes as favourable or unfavourable .The determinants are dominance of either the criminal or conventional influences in the person’s as whether that particular person will regard crime as an acceptable way of life . The definition that is favourable or unfavourable for instance towards breaking the law its makes provision of the key to different associations because this definition acts as an determinant of an individual’s values or mind set . Even within the parental home , children are able to learn definitions that favours breaking the law for instance are the parents continuously or regularly committing traffic violations and also returning from work with office supplies such as paper and pens or even discussing any possible means of evading tax . • The transfer of values, no matter how positive the intention, may lead to the development of a negative definition. • An otherwise law-abiding parent who says that it is acceptable to steal to feed your children probably regards it as an argument that will reinforce a sense of commitment to the family (``I will do anything for my children, even steal''). On the other hand, a parent who has violated the law and who has been to prison, for example, may make his or her children aware that theft is wrong. In both these instances, the child receives conflicting definitions or messages. Proposition 6- A person becomes involved in delinquency or crime when the preponderance of definitions is in favour of breaking the law. • When the influence of definitions favouring crime carries more weight than the influence of definitions that discourage breaking the law, this preponderance will encourage the learning of criminal behaviour. • A school pupil or student who associates regularly with friends who abuse drugs may also be influenced to learn to smoke dagga or use other drugs. Proposition 7-Differential association varies in respect of frequency, duration, priority and intensity. • Its not all the associations that carries the same weight and Sutherland theory provides for variations in frequency , duration, priority and intensity , frequency may be regarded as how often the person is exposed to favourable conditions of crime and duration is connected to the time which is spent in each exposure . Priority specifies the phase in which certain association commences for instance the definition which is learned or adopted during childhood which has a greater impact rather than definition which are learnt in a later in life . Intensity projects the extent degree of identification with certain associations. The more a child identifies with a person, admiring that Reflects the degree of identification with certain associations. The more a child identifies with a person that particular person the more the weight will be attached to the definitions which are provided by the person. Proposition 8- The process of learning criminal behaviour by means of association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all the mechanisms that apply in any learning process. • Cognition, conation and affectation, are the three mechanisms of learning. • Cognition forms the information control centre where all incoming stimuli are processed. Cognition stores our thoughts and experiences. • The function of conation within the learning process is the ``performance guiding factor.'' Conation establishes the pace at which we perform a learning task and the autonomy we exercise when learning. Some people will be slow to respond and first think a matter over and consider the options. Others respond more quickly. Conation also consists of our skills of fluidity, dexterity, mobility and coordination. • Affectation runs concurrently with the interaction of cognition and conation in the learning process. Affectation is made up of feelings, emotional responses and values. 9. Although criminal behaviour is an expression of general needs and values, the offence is not explained by such needs and values, because noncriminal behaviour is an expression of the same needs and values. • The last two propositions illustrate the link with general learning principles. Both propositions emphasise the fact that criminal behaviour is learnt in the same way as any other behaviour, and that both types of behaviour are the product of similar needs and values. • It is therefore meaningless, for example, to explain theft in terms of the desire for a high income, because many law-abiding people would also like a high income. QUESTION 2 Social disorganisation theory developed as a result of a study the University of Chicago undertook with regard to the structure of the city of Chicago Critically discuss the findings of the four theorists (30) Refer: CMY3701 Study Guide, pp. 69-70 Summary: Introduction • In its attempts to explain why crime seemed endemic to certain neighbourhoods or localities, the Chicago School of Sociology focused on the environment. • Starting from the assumption that the environment influences the way that the poor in society behave, the Chicago School focused on the urban situation. Content • Tierney (2006:90) highlights the assumptions of the Chicago School as follows: o Crime and crime rates were viewed as social phenomena and could not be explained in terms of the individual's biology or psychology. o Crime was linked to social disorganisation, by which they meant that family and communitybased bonds had been weakened. Low levels of social integration were associated with high levels of crime. o It was the social life of certain neighbourhoods that was seen as pathological, and not the people living in these neighbourhoods. Criminal behaviour was regarded as a normal response to an abnormal situation. o There should be government intervention to improve the basis of social organisation in the city's criminal neighbourhoods. • The starting point for the Chicago School was Robert Park's theory of human ecology. • Park argued that the development of urban areas was shaped by certain patterns of social process. Different kinds of human beings share the same environment and are dependent on each other. The urban environment can therefore be examined in a scientific way, through the careful and detailed observation of social life in different parts of the city. • Ernest Burgess (1928) produced a model of the city that provided a framework for understanding the social roots of crime. • He argued that, as cities expand in size, the development is patterned socially; cities grow in a series of concentric zones or rings. QUESTION 3 Present a detailed discussion on the assumptions of the classical school (15) Refer: CMY3701 Study Guide, pp. 6-7 Summary: Introduction • Classical criminology is the study of crime with emphasis on free will and that an offender consciously weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of a crime • The assumptions of classical school are human nature, concept of society or social order, cause of crime and implication of policy Content: Human nature • Burgess (in Burke, 2005:97) outlined five different zones and claimed that a competitive process decided how people were distributed spatially among these: o commercial enterprises were located in the central business district in close proximity to the transport systems; o the most expensive residential areas were in the outer zones, away from the bustle of the city centre, o the pollution of the factories and the homes of the poor. • It was the ``zone in transition'' ± containing rows of deteriorating houses and often built in the shadow of ageing factories - that was the particular focus of Burgess's study. • The outward expansion of the business district led to the constant displacement of residents. As the least desirable living area, this zone of transition was the focus for the influx of immigrants who were too poor to reside elsewhere. • Burgess (in Burke, 2005:97) observed that these social patterns weakened family and communal ties and resulted in social disorganisation. Social disorganisation was therefore presented as the primary explanation of criminal behaviour. • People are self-interested, rational creatures and are able to make a personal choice and act in accordance with their personal choices • In classical school of thought, emphasis is ion that people are able to calculate what he or she want to do. • Those who fail to make a rational choice – commit crime and are punished and sent to prison to develop rational thought in order to not commit crime • Conformity results in reward and rebellion results in sanctions • For example, if someone steals a car, they do it out of free will. They have rationally thought about the advantages and disadvantages of the crime. If they fail to make the rational choice, they will commit the crime. If they get caught they are punished and sent to prison to reform. Concept of society or social order • People are selfish being & following their own interest and if left to their own it will result in chaos and conflict. • A social contract is put in place for social order • As rational beings, people see the advantage of giving up part of their freedom by accepting a set of law to protect their life and property. • A violation of the law is a violation of the social contract and therefore justifies the state to punish the offender. • For example, people obey gun control laws because these laws are in place for their own wellbeing Cause of crime • People are rational creatures and make the decision to commit crime based on the pleasure of gain which outweighs the pain of punishment • According to classical school of thought, people’s behaviour is guided by Hedonism (the pain and pleasure principle) • This means an offender weighs up the risk and the reward of committing a crime and decides to commit a crime based on a logical thought process • For example, an offender decided to commit a robbery, he weights up the pleasure or gain of what stolen items may get with the punishment of being caught and going to prison. Implication of policy • Classical school of thought’s solution is well defined crime, consistent application of the law and the criminal justice system must be predictable. • The criminal Justice system should be subject to stick laws. • All punishment should be known, fixed and sever enough to deter potential offenders. • In sentencing the judge’s discretion should be limited. • For example, if two people commit the two separate house robberies both offenders should be punished the same way. Explain the following statement. Cohen and Felson argue that certain changes in the modern world have provided motivated offenders with a far greater number of opportunities to commit crime (15) Refer: CMY3701 Study Guide, pp. 12-14 Summary: • The routine activities theory was developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson. • Cohen and Felson (Vold et al, 2002:205) argue that certain changes in the modern world have provided motivated offenders with a far greater numberof opportunities to commit crime. These theorists contend that there has been a marked increase in the availability of crime targets (coupled with the absence of capable guardians) in the modern world as a result of an overall change in our ``routine activities'' - that is, how normal people live their lives in terms of work, home life, child rearing, education, and leisure. • When people are at home they function as guardians of their own property. But the routine activities of modern life have led to the dispersion of activities away from the family and household and homes are increasingly left unattended during the day. • This means that many households no longer have capable guardians for extended and fairly predictable periods of time; as a result, they have become ``candidates'' for burglary. In addition, there has been a large increase in portable goods, goods which are therefore attractive targets to thieves (e.g. electronic goods). • As people spent more time at large in society ± going to and from work, school and leisure activities - they were likely to come into contact with motivated offenders in circumstances where there was inadequate guardianship. • The opportunity for robbery and assault thus increased. • The focus on opportunity suggests a pragmatic approach to preventing crime: decrease opportunities for offending, and crime will be reduced. • Advice to reduce crime opportunities often leads to a focus on aspects of • the environment that are most easily altered, such as whether a house has a burglar alarm and whether a shop minimises the amount of money in its cash registers (Lilly et al, 2007:267). • Cohen and Felson (Vold et al, 2002:205) believe that most violent and property crimes involve direct contact between the offender and the target. • They propose that, for a personal or property crime to occur, there must be at the same time and place a perpetrator, a victim, and/or an object of property. • The crime event is also more likely to occur if there are other persons or circumstances in the locality that encourage it to happen. • Cohen and Felson (Burke, 2005:46) have taken these basic elements of time, place, objects and persons to develop a routine activity theory. • These elements that increase or decrease the likelihood that persons will be victims of personal (direct contact) or property crime are: o The availability of suitable targets in the form of a person or property, such as homes containing easily saleable goods. Suitability of target is dependent on four criteria which Felson (Newburn, 2007:289) summarises by using the acronym VIVA: Value: calculated from the subjective rational perspective of the offender, what is the target worth? Inertia: the extent to which the article or target can be realistically removed, taken, robbed or moved Visibility: how visible the target is to the offender? Accessibility: how easy it is to gain access to the target? o The absence of capable guardians, such as police, homeowners, neighbours, friends, and relatives. o The presence of motivated offenders, such as young males, drug users and unemployed adults. • Thus, the likelihood of a crime taking place increases when there is one or more persons who are motivated to commit a crime; a suitable target or potential victim; and an absence of formal or informal guardians who might deter the potential offender (Burke, 2005:46). • For example, young women who drink excessively in bars may elevate their risk of date rape because they are perceived as easy targets; furthermore, their attackers can rationalise the attack because they view intoxication as a sign of immorality. SECTION B (Answer one question) QUESTION 4 According to Kohlberg, serious offenders may have a moral orientation that differs significantly from that of law-abiding citizens. Discuss the three stages in the development of moral thinking and decision making (15) Refer: CMY3701 Study Guide, pp. 52-53 Summary: Kohlberg (Cassel & Bernstein, 2007:90) argued that there are three stages in the development of moral thinking and decision-making, namely: • Preconventional • Conventional • Postconventional 1. During the preconventional stage, decisions about right and wrong are based on the threat of punishment. For instance, a child may refrain from taking money from his or her mother's purse because if the child is caught, the behaviour will be punished. Similarly, an adult may resist the temptation to exceed the speed limit for fear of being caught or fined. 2. During the conventional stage, people see certain behaviours as right or wrong depending on whether prevailing conventions, in the form of laws, say they are right or wrong. 3. During the postconventional stage, People make moral decisions, not just on the basis of what the law says, but on higher principles; in other words, people make their moral decisions on the view of right and justice to which they personally subscribe. • Kohlberg and Siegel (2004:157) classified people according to the stage on this continuum at which their moral development ceases. Kohlberg and his associates conducted studies that showed criminals to be significantly lower in their moral development compared with non- criminals with the same social background. • The development of moral reasoning does not take place in a vacuum. It depends on what is learnt at home, from peers, and from society as a whole. To develop law-abiding tendencies, children need to see patterns of moral behaviour in parents and peers that is at least at the conventional stage. • Recent research indicates that the decision not to commit crimes may be influenced by one's stage of moral development. People at the lowest levels report that they are deterred from crime simply because of their fear of punishment. Those in the middle consider the reactions of family and friends. Those at the highest stages refrain from crime because they believe in the concept of a duty to others and universal rights (Siegel, 2004:160). • Moral development theory suggests that people who obey the law simply to avoid punishment or have outlooks mainly characterised by self-interest are more likely to commit crimes than those who view the law as something that benefits everybody. • Those at higher stages of moral reasoning tend to sympathise with the rights of others and are associated with conventional behaviours such as honesty, generosity, and nonviolence (Siegel, 2004:160). QUESTION 5 Discuss Bandura's social learning theory of aggression and its importance to explain criminal behaviour (15) Refer: CMY3701 Study Guide, pp. 48-51 Summary: • Social learning theory claims that behaviour is reinforced not only by rewards and punishments as in operant learning, but also by observing the behaviour of others - by using others as models (Jones, 2001:413). • Social learning theorists argue that people are not actually born with an inclination to act violently, but that they learn to be aggressive through their life experiences. People learn to act aggressively when, as children, they model their behaviour on the violent acts of adults. Later in life, these violent behaviour patterns persist in social relationships. For example, the boy who sees his father repeatedly strike his mother is likely to become a battering parent or husband (Siegel, 2004:136). • Social learning theorists view violence as something learnt through a process called behaviour modelling or imitation (Hunter & Dantzker, 2002:72). • In modern society, aggressive acts are usually modelled on three principle role models (Siegel, 2004:156; Hunter & Dantzker, 2002:72). • Family members: Studies of family life show that children who use aggressive tactics have parents who use similar behaviours when dealing with others. If children grow up in a home where violence is a way of life, they will learn to believe that such behaviour is acceptable and rewarding. • Social learning theorists say that the following three factors may contribute to violent and/or aggressive behaviour: o An event that heightens arousal: such as a person frustrating or provoking another through physical assault or verbal abuse. o Aggressive skills: learnt aggressive responses picked up from observing others, either in person or by watching TV or films. o Expected outcomes: the belief that aggression will somehow be rewarded. Rewards may include the reduction of tension or anger, financial gain, building self-esteem, or being praised by others. SECTION B. Answer THREE questions ONE 25-mark question; ONE 15 mark question, and ONE 10 mark question Question 1 Critically discuss the two variations of the labelling theory (25) Refer: CMY3701 Study Guide, pp. 122-125 Summary: There are two variations of labelling theory: • the interactionist approach, which focuses on self-identification and deals with the thoughts of the deviant • the social response approach, which focuses on the identity of individuals as attributed to them by others and that deals with the opinions of others, especially the social agents of control. Interactionist approach. • Lemert's theory can be described as the ``model'' of the interactionist approach. • The main assumptions of Lemert's theory are explained by Hunter and Dantzker (2002:111): o Individuals enter into a criminal career after they have been labelled, especially if the labelling is done by people important to the individual. o Labelling creates a stigma and influences an individual's self-image. o Labelled individuals see themselves as deviant and will increasingly commit criminal behaviour. • Lemert focused on the process that leads juveniles to describe themselves as delinquent. Lemert explained this phenomenon partly by referring to the juvenile's social class and interaction with the formal decision-making powers (e.g. the juvenile court). He was critical of rehabilitation - in his opinion, such attempts merely encourage recidivism.