emember that you will be evaluated on the extent to which you (a) answer the question(s), (b) draw upon relevant material from class, (c) organize your writing, and (d) write in sufficient but not excessive quantity.
As the semester draws to a close, you have been exposed to a variety of different theoretical frameworks that attempt to understand or explain criminal behavior. You have also been urged throughout the semester to be mindful about the myriad relationships between theory, research, and policy.
One might assert that our theories on the origins and correlates of crime can only be “true” or “valuable” in the context of both empirical evidence and actual policy environments. As we have read and discussed together, various theories support linkages between individual, group, and/or cultural factors and crime; other theories link crime to power, money, or status in whatever form.
With the totality of this exposure in mind, draft a coherent essay in which you discuss, in detail, your assessment of the following quote:
“Crime and bad lives are the measure of a State’s failure,
all crime in the end is the crime of the community.”
— H.G. Wells
Your answer should include commentary on the following points:
1. (Required) What is the meaning of Wells’ statement? How exactly is crime a measure of the State’s failure, and what is society’s role in that failure? Is it one of helplessness, complicity, neglect, or something more? Provide evidence for your assessment from theory-related material from class and the readings. Your response should incorporate a minimum of two different criminological theories of your choosing.
2. (Required) Regarding the second part of the statement, do you believe that Wells is suggesting that we ultimately get what we deserve? Or is he making the opposite point, that we are all victims? Explain both sides of this argument, using evidence from class and the readings.
3. (Optional) How would your assessment of Wells’ statement differ, if at all, if you were told that he wrote this comment in the late-1800s compared to in the modern era? In your view, has history largely borne out this statement, or refuted it?
Ensure that you justify your position using evidence from class and your readings in addition to your own logic and rationale. Reminder: generally speaking, this is not an opportunity to discuss personal opinions or history, except as they directly pertain to the questions. Evidence from the readings, as well as “famous” cases and/or hypotheticals, may help you to support your argument.
Good luck.
Module 5 – Ecological Theories: Places and Communities
Pratt, T. C., & Cullen, F. T. (2005). Assessing macro-level predictors and theories of crime:
A meta-analysis. Crime and Justice, 32, 373-450. https://doi.org/10.1086/655357
Brantingham, P. L., & Brantingham, P. J. (1993). Nodes, paths and edges: Considerations
on the complexity of crime and the physical environment.
Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13 (1), 3-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80212-9
Sherman, L. W., Gartin, P. R., & Buerger, M. E. (1989). Hot spots of predatory crime:Routine activities and the criminology of place.Criminology, 27(1), 27-56.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1989.tb00862.x
Louderback, E. R., & Sen Roy, S. (2018). Integrating social disorganization and routine activity theories and testing the effectiveness of neighbourhood crime watch programs: Case study of Miami-Dade County, 2007–15.
The British Journal of Criminology, 58
(4), 968-992. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azx062
Nobles, M. R., Ward, J. T., & Tillyer, R. (2016). The impact of neighborhood context on spatiotemporal patterns of burglary. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency,53(5), 711-740.https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427816647991
Module 6 – Macro Theories: Subcultures and Societies
Kennedy, L. W., & Baron, S. W. (1993). Routine activities and a subculture of violence: A study of violence on the street. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30(1),88-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427893030001006
Brezina, T., Agnew, R., Cullen, F. T., & Wright, J. P. (2004). The code of the street: A quantitative assessment of Elijah Anderson’s subculture of violence thesis and its contribution to youth violence research. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 2(4),303-328. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204004267780
McGloin, J. M., Schreck, C. J., Stewart, E. A., & Ousey, G. C. (2011). Predicting the violent offender: The discriminant validity of the subculture of violence.Criminology, 49(3),767-794. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00235.x
Cao, L., Zhao, R., Ren, L., & Zhao, J. S. (2010). Social support and anomie: A multilevel analysis of anomie in Europe and North America.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 54 (4), 625-639. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X09334218
