Mod 10: chapter 10: The Future of Crime Theory
Reading: There does not seem to be a unifying theory of crime in sight. Longitudinal studies seem to provide the best data considering the ethical and practical limitations, but are expensive. Classical experimental design provides for excellent data, but provide serious ethical issues. Natural experiments present the danger of taint by the researcher or the researched. Quasi-experimental design attempts to replicate complete control experiments (classical experiments) but the effectiveness is reduced by practical and ethical considerations that require modifications.
It may be that new theories are needed to help explain crime and criminality, or it may be that the old theories will provide the insight when viewed from new perspectives. It is also possible that new techniques and technologies will inform old or new theories so that they provide more information.
Integrated theories may also help to explain crime and criminology. Integrating theories, or parts of theories, into new, or different theories may in the future provide insight. This idea also helps to connect old and new theories. It also may help researchers to look beyond their own discipline to other areas, such as genetics, economics, or physics to help develop theories and understand society.
Website: One site I visited was the Critcrim.org site, and then I clicked on the peacemaking and crime area, and then the prison rape article, among others. I was glad to see an article about prison rape, even if it was critical and suspicious of the recently passed legislation directed at addressing the issue. However, I was disappointed at the author's lack of insight into the issue as men's right's issue.
The authors provided statistics from prisons as well as information on the presentation of prison rape in our culture to show that the issue has been ignored or relegated to jokes and ridicule. The authors pointed to a 7-UP ad that ran nationally that made fun of the potential for rape of a prisoner, and other similar jokes on national tv. Addressing the issue of violence in prisons certainly should aid in peacemaking, but the authors fail to see the issue clearly.
So what: The Rape article authors have good intentions, but are biased. The authors failed to note that such an cavalier attitude about rape prevails only to male rape victims, never to female rape victims; you will never see a joke on national tv about females being raped. You will never see a national ad that jokes about female rape, be they prisoners or not. That kind of derogatory humor is only for male victims of rape. Not addressing that aspect of the issue is similar to trying to learn how to stop breast cancer by focusing solely on the 5% of breast cancer victims that are male--you are bound to fail because you have not defined the issue accurately as being primarily a disease affecting one gender.
Reading: There does not seem to be a unifying theory of crime in sight. Longitudinal studies seem to provide the best data considering the ethical and practical limitations, but are expensive. Classical experimental design provides for excellent data, but provide serious ethical issues. Natural experiments present the danger of taint by the researcher or the researched. Quasi-experimental design attempts to replicate complete control experiments (classical experiments) but the effectiveness is reduced by practical and ethical considerations that require modifications.
It may be that new theories are needed to help explain crime and criminality, or it may be that the old theories will provide the insight when viewed from new perspectives. It is also possible that new techniques and technologies will inform old or new theories so that they provide more information.
Integrated theories may also help to explain crime and criminology. Integrating theories, or parts of theories, into new, or different theories may in the future provide insight. This idea also helps to connect old and new theories. It also may help researchers to look beyond their own discipline to other areas, such as genetics, economics, or physics to help develop theories and understand society.
Website: One site I visited was the Critcrim.org site, and then I clicked on the peacemaking and crime area, and then the prison rape article, among others. I was glad to see an article about prison rape, even if it was critical and suspicious of the recently passed legislation directed at addressing the issue. However, I was disappointed at the author's lack of insight into the issue as men's right's issue.
The authors provided statistics from prisons as well as information on the presentation of prison rape in our culture to show that the issue has been ignored or relegated to jokes and ridicule. The authors pointed to a 7-UP ad that ran nationally that made fun of the potential for rape of a prisoner, and other similar jokes on national tv. Addressing the issue of violence in prisons certainly should aid in peacemaking, but the authors fail to see the issue clearly.
So what: The Rape article authors have good intentions, but are biased. The authors failed to note that such an cavalier attitude about rape prevails only to male rape victims, never to female rape victims; you will never see a joke on national tv about females being raped. You will never see a national ad that jokes about female rape, be they prisoners or not. That kind of derogatory humor is only for male victims of rape. Not addressing that aspect of the issue is similar to trying to learn how to stop breast cancer by focusing solely on the 5% of breast cancer victims that are male--you are bound to fail because you have not defined the issue accurately as being primarily a disease affecting one gender.
