Goodbye to the Hedonistic Calculators and Hello to

Goodbye to the “Hedonistic Calculators” and Hello to “Born Criminals”

Saying Goodbye to RCT • WHY DOESN’T DETERRENCE/RCT RECEIVE MUCH EMPIRICAL SUPPORT? • POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Why little support for deterrence? • We can’t get certain, severe, swift enough • The theory is based on bad assumptions – How rational are we? – Equality of opportunity, pleasure, pain? • “Marginal” deterrence!

POLICY IMPLICATIONS • General Deterrence: certain, swift, and severe punishment reduces crime rates, or the probability that an individual will offend • Specific Deterrence: CS&S punishment reduces recidivism • Can’t/Won’t make sentences swift, certain, and severe enough? – Incapacitate (no opportunity) or Target Harden

Biology and Crime • Early Positivism: the legacy of the early 1900 s • Sociological Criticism and Dominance • New Directions in Biological research – Biosocial Interactions

Early Biological Positivism • Lombroso’s “born criminal” – Darwinistic theory of “atavism” • Various theories of the “feeble-minded” • Charles Goring, E. A. Hooten – body stature and weight • The XYY supermale • Commonality? 1 immutable factor directly causes crime

Biology from 1940 -1980 s • Any hint of “biological research” was ridiculed, ignored, treated as “taboo. ” – Akers: this criticism was warranted – The use of “knowledge destruction? ” • 1990 s-present: rebirth of biological research – Is modern biological research or theory any better?

Is Crime “inherited? ” • Twin Studies – Christianson (1977) – “Concordance” rates: MZ (36%), DZ (12%) – Criticism of twin studies? • Adoption studies – “cross fostering” analyses – criminal history of biological parents vs. adoptive parents

Cross Fostering Analysis

Assuming that something is inherited. . . • “Intelligence” (Monday’s Class) • “Physiological Arousal” – How our body processes stimuli – cortical arousal, CNS measures (heart rate, etc. ) • Personality/Temperament (Wednesday) – ADD, ADHD? ?

A “Biosocial” emphasis • No modern theory relies solely on biology – Interaction of biology and social factors • Example: Mednick’s biosocial theory 1. Children refrain from crime when consistently socialized to do so 2. Socialization = parental efficacy X child’s learning ability 3. Some children don’t feel “sting” of punishment

POLICY IMPLICATIONS • Early Positivism – Eugenics (quotes from Hooten, others) • Biosocial Criminology – Biology may identify “high risk” kids – Prevention can target “social” factors