Criminology-Review
Criminal Justice Research Review
Ricciardelli, R., Bell, J., & Clow, K. (2009). Student attitudes toward wrongful conviction, Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 51(3), 411-427.
There has been considerable research addressing the underlying factors regarding wrongful conviction; however, minimal research has been completed that investigates attitudes toward wrongful conviction. First and third year Canadian undergraduate students in criminal and non-criminal justice majors were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward various facets of wrongful conviction, the need to educate criminal justice personnel regarding contributing factors to wrongful conviction, the Blackstone ratio ("better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer), and the question as to whether wrongful conviction causes individuals to lose faith in the criminal justice system.
The problem was sufficiently narrowed down into a researchable problem, and is certainly formidable enough to warrant formal research efforts. The authors complete a significant comparison to the most recent and relevant research and identify the problem in relation to it. The literature is logically and clearly organized and provides a relevant review and critique of pertinent studies. In a prior study by the same researchers, they determined that criminal justice students were at times more keenly aware of the underlying factors that can lead to wrongful conviction than non-criminal justice students; specifically with regard to the fallibility of hard evidence such as confessions, misinterpretation of DNA evidence, eye witness testimony, etc. In this current study the researchers build upon the prior research by investigating whether these differences in knowledge correspond to differing attitudes as well. The researchers hypothesis are: (1) Criminal justice students differ in their attitudes toward wrongful conviction in comparison to other students; (2)...
Criminology What was the "rational choice theory" of crime causation? The "rational choice theory" of crime causation holds that crime is consciously committed out of an intellectual desire to improve one's situation. Accordingly, the theory does not believe that delinquents are motivated through unconscious urges, but instead contends that people are goal-oriented. Another implication of the theory is that everyone, regardless of their neurological profile, has the ability to act in a
This is a form of punishment that is incremental in application, and establishes what the public perceives as unbreakable pattern of individual criminal recidivism (Siegel, p. 110). However, there is no evidence to support incarceration itself as a deterrent to crime (pp. 110-111). Many criminologists disagree with public opinion on the topic of three strikes incarceration (p. 110), which is, in brief, when a person commits a felony, that
All students would be responsible for monitoring the halls at all times and for telling their fellow students when they were violating one of the rules. To give them an incentive to engage in such monitoring, students would be responsible for certain duties, such as picking up litter, removing graffiti, and straightening the lunchroom when students violated school rules. A violation of the rules of the school would be
Though the Positivist thinking does not contradict the beliefs toward human nature, it does argue that the majority of crimes that are of a serious degree are attributed to people whom have failed to the civilized norms of modern society (PSC, 2004). In sum, the beliefs that invoked by criminal behavior have differed throughout time as much as the varying degree of crimes that we have seen through history. Sociologically
Criminology Theories Biological Theory of Crime The biological or bio-physiological theory of crime regards human behavior in general and of deviance and criminality in particular as mainly the result of internal states of mind (Schmalleger, 2009). More specifically, the biological perspective, as it was originally detailed in the 19th century by Cesare Lombroso, emphasized the role of heredity in conjunction with the (then) new concept of Darwinian Evolution also in conjunction with
That is, in understanding an issue or phenomenon, it is vital for the observer or the sociologist to put it into context in order to create the right "picture" of what is happening. For example, the structural functionalist perspective of criminology posits that crime occurs because of deviant behavior, and that deviance is but an inevitable part of the society. From this perspective, crime is the counterpart of society's
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now