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1. What are two undesirable consequences of the failure to understand the theoretical basis of criminal justice policies? 1.

If criminal justice policy makers do not understand the theories on which proposed policies are based, they will be unaware of the research related to these theories. This research will reveal the conclusions that will probably be reached by following these policies. Future problems can be avoided by understanding what kind of success rates and possible problems are likely. 2. Criminal justice policies invariably intrude on peoples lives by arresting and imprisoning them. Therefore, the theories that influence policies must be sound in order to justify this disruption. 3. Who was arguably the best known and most influential of the classical criminologists, and how did his ideas become known? The most influential classical criminologist was Cesare Beccaria, who anonymously published An Essay on Crimes and Punishments in 1764. He is still well known for this contribution, which was the foundation of what is now called classical criminological theory. 5. What are five problems with positivist theories? 1 Overprediction. Positivists who state that poverty causes crime do not take into account or explain the many poor people who do not commit crime. 2 Taking the legal definition of crime for granted. Positivists do not examine the question of why certain behaviors are defined criminal while others are not. 3 Consensual worldview. Positivism assumes that most people agree about most things most of the time. Problems with this assumption are apparent when one considers the death penalty, which is legal in some countries, illegal in others, and hotly debated worldwide (including in the United States, where different states may have completely different approaches toward the death penalty). 4 Determinism. Central to positivism is the belief that individuals do not have choice over their actions, but only adapt and react to circumstances outside their control. This belief ignores the fact that humans also create new circumstances or ways of thinking. 5 Problems with objectivity. Positivism assumes that social science is objective, but the description and evaluation of criminal behavior is fundamentally moral and therefore subject to bias. 7. What does research indicate about the relationship between intelligence and both juvenile delinquency and adult criminality? In the mid-1970s, two studies confirmed that delinquents had average IQs that were eight points lower than non-delinquents. However, this difference is not substantial. Low intelligence levels cannot account for increases and decreases in crime, nor can it account for crimes that require at least average intelligence, such as white-collar crimes and political crimes.

9. In what ways did Durkheim believe that crime was functional for society? Crime marks the boundaries of morality. You will want to note to students that this changes significantly over time and from culture to culture. For instance, rape used to be a capital offense in the United States, but is no longer. On the other hand, in Pakistan and Afghanistan, thousands of women are currently imprisoned for being rape victims. This is because of strict laws in those countries against fornication, whether consensual or non-consensual. 11. What is a criticism of most anomie theories? One large problem is that anomie theories tend to rely on official statistics (i.e., police and court records) as measures of crime. In turn, these theories focus disproportionately on lower-class crime and delinquency, but essentially ignore white-collar and political crimes. 13. What is arguably the major problem with social control theory? Social control theory assumes that delinquency will occur if social controls are not strong enough to prevent it. In other words, juveniles are assumed to become delinquent if the proper social controls do not stop them from doing so. In addition, social control theory does not explain how some juveniles become attached to criminal patterns, while others do not. It also does not explain delinquency by juveniles who are properly socialized, or non-delinquency by juveniles who are not properly socialized. 15. What are major criticisms of conflict theory? Radical theory? Conflict theory generally fails to specify the sources of power in society; it ignores the fact that power in society does not necessarily come from being smarter or better educated, but from the ownership of private property. Radical theory is basically reformist. That is, it generally assumes that crime and other social problems can be corrected by existing social institutions. This may or may not be true.

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