Dr. Raymond A. Eve
Office: 442 UH
Hours: TuTh
and by appt.
Phone: 817-272-3764 or
817-272-2661 (Main Soci. #)
Email:
eve@uta.edu
Sociology 3313-001
Criminology
Spring Semester, 2009
TuTh
Room
002 UH
INTRODUCTION
Probably no subject (with the possible exception of sexual behavior) receives more emotionally charged treatment by civic and religious organizations, and radio-television-motion picture and printing press industries, and "the public" (or "publics"), than "criminal behavior" including its causes, its meaning, and how it should be dealt with and by whom. However, these emotional responses to the subject of crime and delinquency can be shown (and will be shown in this course) to have in many respects created crime and criminals (i.e., "over-criminalization") and (b) by correctional policies, practices, and institutions (prisons, for example which often vastly increase the probability that a "client" will commit further crimes.
If we are truly interested in reducing crime, treating criminals in a morally responsible fashion, actually "rehabilitating" offenders who are apprehended and allowing both criminals and those individuals who compose the non-criminal public to develop their full legitimate human potentials (in so far as this development is prevented by criminal behavior), we can no longer afford the luxury of a highly emotional response to crime. What is needed is a calm, rational, scientific approach to the study of crime and delinquency. Even within these limits there are several ways we can study crime and delinquency; we can adopt not only a sociological viewpoint, but also a psychological viewpoint (as in law schools), a city-management point of view, and so on. In this course, we will, of course, be primarily concerned with a sociological perspective rather than with the other various possibilities, and during the course we will try to discover just what is distinctive about a sociological approach that separates it from other possible approaches.
WHAT IS DISTINCTIVE ABOUT A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO CRIME AND DELINQUENCY?
As pointed out
above, there are several scientific approaches to the study of crime and
delinquency and the sociological perspective is only one of these. How then do we recognize the sociological
aspects of crime and delinquency? First
of all, sociology is primarily concerned with how groups or categories or
aggregates as a whole or even total societies are involved in crime and
delinquency rather than how individuals and individual mental states are
involved (this latter being the psychological approach). Thus, sociology asks questions such as what
categories of people, or groups, or societies are most likely to commit the
various types of crimes? Are there
different crime rates for (a) different types of societies?,
(b) social classes within a given society?, (c) different regions within a
nation?, (d) different areas within a city?, and (e) are there different crime
rates for males and females as a whole?
Also, we want to ask not only are there different crime rates for
comparisons similar to those above, but also we want to ask if different types
of crime are committed by the groups being compared above. For example, do Southerners in the
Sociological inquiry might also ask "What group or groups 'create' the law?" Do these laws serve the interest of everyone in the society, or do they sever primarily the interests of certain segments of society?
We might also wish to ask questions about the responses of categories of people within a society or of different societies to criminal or delinquent acts. How can they respond with courts of law, prisons, rehabilitative programs,...what else? What purposes do these responses have for different societies? for different categories within these societies?
WHY STUDY CRIME
AND DELINQUENCY FROM A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE?
One primary reason is so that we can obtain an accurate picture of the distribution and cost of crime. While most of us have what we might call an "emotional" picture of crime, how closely does this emotional picture correspond to reality? We must answer this question before we can design responses to crime (including police programs, judicial techniques, and punishment and/or rehabilitative programs) which will have beneficial effects. If our perceptions of crime and delinquency are not accurate, any program we design as a response to these problems, will, of course, not "fit" reality and, hence, will be largely or completely ineffective. This is an inefficiency which we can ill afford both morally and economically. Morally, we may punish certain segments of society seriously out of proportion to the true seriousness of their crimes - while letting other segments off lightly for much more serious crimes (one example which we will discuss in class is the issues of "white-collar crime"). Or we may, if we are not careful, end up punishing people simply for "being different" rather than for any clear-cut infraction of the law where an easily identifiable victim can be found (for example, many would question the wisdom of passing laws against marijuana use, homosexuality, prostitution, etc. -- these are so-called "victimless crimes" which we will discuss under the topic of "overcriminalization" or the possible tendency to pass too many laws). In summary, there are serious moral consequences for not obtaining a scientific, rational understanding of the cause, distribution, and consequences of crime and delinquency.
There are also
serious economic consequences for an inaccurate picture of crime and
delinquency. It is safe to say that the
economic costs of crime and delinquency are enormous when we consider the fact
that the scope of such cost
covers petty theft, auto theft, organized crime -- including
narcotics sale, gambling, prostitution, and white-collar crime -- including
false advertising, price-fixing, product fraud, cost "overruns" on
government projects, etc. Secondly,
there are many thousands of Americans in prisons, and prison is probably the
most expensive "treatment" possible for an offender, running about
By studying crime and delinquency from a sociological perspective, we may be able to begin to move towards a society free of crime and criminals. But before we do this, be sure you think you know the answer to the question, "Are there any undesirable effects which would be created by the elimination of all crime and criminals?" Think deeply before you try to answer this question. What would be the impact of eliminating the need for many police, detectives, and social work agencies? What would the effect on banks and insurance companies be like? Where would innovation, both technical and in terms of new adaptive life-styles come from? We will seek an answer to these questions in the course, but you should be aware at the outset that crime is big business for both criminals and the legitimate occupational sphere, and its complete elimination might have major disruptive effects.
2. PREREQUISITES
There are no specific prerequisites for this course; however, it is strongly recommended that the student has taken either Introductory Sociology (Sociology 1311) or Social Problems (Sociology 1312) or has obtained permission of the instructor before taking juvenile delinquency.
3. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will have as its goals inquiry into the following questions: (1) what are the social and political processes through which certain behaviors and persons (and not others) come to be considered "criminal" or "delinquent?" (2) what are the social sources of different degrees of involvement in crime and delinquency? and (3) what are the formal and informal societal or social reactors to crime and delinquency (e.g., prisons, juvenile corrections programs), and how successful have these various responses been in eliminating offenses? What other alternatives are possible and/or desirable?
In addition to the above goals, we will also try to establish certain basic skills of methods and interpretation in each student, e.g., simply analysis of data and statistics related to criminal activity, ability to read and interpret tables of data, ability to avoid making errors in inferences concerning the sources of crime, and so forth.
4. ATTENDANCE
Attendance will not be taken in the course. However, students who attend regularly and otherwise reveal sincere motivation will receive more sympathy in course evaluation than students who attend rarely.
5. GRADING PRACTICES
Your grade will be based on two non-comprehensive objective exams during the term and on an objective non-comprehensive final examination. In this case,
each exam counts one-third of your course grade.
Optionally, you may choose to count a term project, see below, as 25 percent of your total grade.
6. SCHEDULE
IMPORTANT: Reasons for excusal from the
exams or quizzes must be very
serious! Please contact your Professor ahead of time if
possible if you
know you are going to miss an exam.
IMPORTANT: Students arriving at an exam
more than 10 minutes late will be
required to take a
makeup exam at a future date.
Schedule for course events:
Jan. 20th - first day of regularly scheduled class
March 3rd = Exam 1
March 16th - 22nd = spring break
April 3rd = Last day to drop a course
April 23rd = Due date for optional term paper (see explanation below)
Final exam = May 12th, 11 - 1:30
In some cases, a student may do a term paper to count as one-fourth of
the course grade. This is usually only arranged when the student
either has a strong interest in a special topic, or when the student
has a demonstrated problems with multiple-choice style assessment. If
you believe one of these situations applies to you, please contact
your Professor as soon as possible.
7. LATE ASSIGNMENTS OR EXAMS
Important!!! Any assignments or exams that are turned in late will have their scores reduced by 5% each day they are late unless the student has a valid, verifiable excuse of a serious nature.
8. TEXTBOOK
9. Disability Policy
If
a student requires special arrangements for a disability,
the student
should inform the professor at the earliest time possible.
10. Honesty Policy
Students
are required to conform to the University’s policy
regarding
academic honesty.
11. Dropping the Course
The Professor will not automatically drop
students from the course.
It is the student’s responsibility to be
aware of deadlines and
University policies in this regard, and
to take whatever action
necessary if
they wish to drop the course.
12. Student Success Programs
The
student success programs to help you connect with the
University
and achieve academic success. They include learning assistance,
developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission
and
transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring
assistance academically, personally, or socially should
contact
the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for
more
information and appropriate referrals.