Criminology: fundamental concepts and research

Criminology

The purpose of this study was for the author to examine the rates of juvenile delinquents in different time periods. The rates for delinquency during these times and the zones where the highest rates occurred were particularly important.

The question that was to be answered was whether variations in the rates of delinquency corresponded to changes in social and/or physical characteristics of the local areas that were included.

Several different time periods were addressed as a comparison, and maps were provided of the areas that were studied to clarify who and what was being examined. Records from the Juvenile Court were also examined to look for fluctuations in arrest rates and other problems during certain time periods.

Inferences: Inferences indicated that there were areas on the maps that had higher concentrations of 10 to 16-year-old males, and in these areas, the concentrations of juvenile delinquents were much higher than in other areas.

Concept: In order to understand the author's reasoning, it is important to know that the highest levels of juvenile delinquency were in the male gender and the 10 to 16-year-old age group.

Assumptions: The author takes for granted that more males will commit crimes, and that they are delinquent because of their age and gender, instead of trying to figure out the reasons behind the delinquency.

Implications: In accepting the author's reasoning, we would have to be suspicious of all of the boys that were between 10 and 16 years old, because many of them appear to be delinquents.

Point-of-View: I think that the author is basically right, that males do commit more crimes. However, the data was from a long time ago, and society changes. In order to feel the author was right, I would have to see a replicated study using more current data with the same results.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to show that delinquency is higher in specific areas of the country, and in specific areas of cities, as well, and that this is generally seen to be true in areas where there is less affluence.

Question: The question is whether the affluence, diversity, and values of a community have an effect on the rates of juvenile delinquency in that community, and why.

Information: The data that was used by the authors involved maps that showed the areas with the highest delinquency. They then used these to look at the conditions in those areas, in order to determine if there was a pattern.

Inferences: The main conclusions that can be gained from the data are that there are areas where delinquency rates are much higher, and there are specific conditions that arise in those areas which affect those delinquency rates. Lower income, higher crime, ethnic/racial makeup, and other factors all contribute to the delinquency rates.

Concept: In order to understand the authors' reasoning, it is necessary to understand that there are many areas of the country where delinquency rates are much higher. It is also important to understand that specific groups of individuals have specific rates of crime as a generalization, which can affect the information presented here.

Assumptions: Taken for granted by the authors is the idea that lower-income individuals are going to commit more crime. It is possible that is not income, but other factors affecting this.

Implications: If we accept the authors' reasoning, this would indicate that having what is believed to be a 'better' home life - money, parental love, nice home, etc. - would help stop delinquency.

Point-of-View: I think that the authors are basically right in their belief that higher-income individuals in 'better' neighborhoods commit less crime overall.

Purpose: The purpose for this study is to show that individuals that commit crimes in juvenile gangs do so because they are modeling their behavior after others that are accepted in the community. By so doing, they hope to gain acceptance within that community as well.

Question: The question addressed here is whether cultural and community forces are causing individuals to commit delinquent acts as a way to be accepted and feel as though they belong.

Information: Information that was important to this study was a chart detailing the concerns for individuals in what was deemed the 'lower class culture.' In addition, each one of these concerns was addressed from the point-of-view of what they meant to the individuals within that culture.

Inferences: The main inference in this study is that individuals that come from lower-income and disadvantaged homes and communities often join gangs at a higher rate. When they do this, they work to be accepted by other gang members, and crime and delinquency are often ways to gain this acceptance.

Concept: In order to understand the reasoning of the author, it is important to know that they studied individuals in a particular geographic area, and that other geographic areas might be different in whether individuals join gangs at the same rate and what kinds of 'initiation' these gangs have.

Assumptions: The author takes for granted that individuals who join gangs are underprivileged, and that they join these gangs to gain acceptance, instead of other potential reasons.

Implications: Accepting the author's reasoning would indicate that 'lower class' people join gangs because they cannot get acceptance elsewhere, and that 'higher class' people already have that acceptance - or seek it in healthier ways.

Point-of-View: I think that the author has a point, but that money does not buy class.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to look at a program that was designed to keep individuals 'in line' in a specific neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. These people were not violent criminals, but were derelicts, homeless people, drunks, prostitutes and others that many people simply see as a 'bother' instead of a real danger.

Question: The question was whether an officer spending a lot of time in the neighborhood and getting to know the regulars would help to reduce the rate of crime and the problems that were seen there, by getting the 'regular troublemakers' to follow some very simple rules, such as drinking in side streets instead of main intersections.