Week 4: Classical Thought: Beccaria and Bentham

Overview

This week we will start discussing the early theories in criminology. Classical criminology refers primarily to the 18th -century writings of Cesare Beccaria in Italy and Jeremy Bentham in England. While they were both utilitarian social philosophers and wrote primarily about legal and penal reform, their theory of crime remains relevant to criminology today.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this week, you will be able to:

• Review the role of theory in criminology.
• Explain the pleasure principle in understanding criminal behavior.
• Identify the role of free will and rationality in explaining crime, according to the Classical Theory
• Describe how Cesare Beccaria’s work influenced criminal justice systems throughout the world, and discuss the concepts and propositions recommended in his book.
• Identify the connection between early criminological theories and crime policy.

---

Workflow

Reading:

Chapter 10 in The Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Criminology, edited by Ruth Ann Triplett, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bmcc/reader.action?docID=5144712&ppg=223

You can print this chapter using this link.

The_Handbook_of_the_History_and_Philosophy_of_Crim…_-_Part_I_Key_Ideas_Thinkers_and_Moments-5

Videos:

Podcast

Discussion Forum 4:

Discussion Forum 4: Are we inside of the modern Panopticum?

PowerPoint

Week 3: Studying Crime and Crime Trends

Overview

This week we will discuss how we know about the crime. Official police statistics have been created to measure crime in the population. Uniform Crime Reports were used to determine crime rates. Although valuable, weaknesses arise with the UCR data resulting in the development of the NIBRS system. We will also learn about victimization surveys such as National Crime Victimization Survey, as a supplement to the official crime data. Alternative data gathering strategies including self-report surveys are also discussed in detail.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how official crime statistics are collected.
2. Describe how crime data for NIBRS are collected and organized.
3. Describe the method of data collection of the National Crime Victimization Survey.
4. Discuss alternative methods of learning about crime.

Workflow

To Read:

FBI. National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS): https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/nibrs

Bureau of Justice Statistics (2021): Criminal Victimization, 2020: https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/cv20.pdf

*Pew Research Center (2020). What the data says (and doesn’t say) about crime in the United States: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/20/facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/

To Watch:

1. The transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) will improve the accuracy and timeliness of our nation’s crime statistics, help identify crime patterns and trends, and aid in crime prevention. More at https://www.fbi.gov/nibrs

2.  When she became the attorney general of New Jersey in 2007, Anne Milgram quickly discovered a few startling facts: not only did her team not really know who they were putting in jail, but they had no way of understanding if their decisions were actually making the public safer. And so began her ongoing, inspirational quest to bring data analytics and statistical analysis to the US criminal justice system.

3. What’s behind the sharp rise in murders across the U.S.? PBS News Hour. Murders across the U.S. have skyrocketed in 2020, while nonviolent offenses have largely dropped, according to publicly available crime data. But efforts to curb homicides come at a time when police departments are facing both staffing shortages because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lingering distrust in communities of color following months of nationwide protests. John Yang reports.

To Study

PowerPoint:

Discussion Forum 3

Discussion Forum 3: Myths and Realities of Crime Trends

In this first week, we will take our time to go over some fundamental information. This will be a great time to organize your schedule so you devote regular time to the course. Stop by my first office hours on ZOOM oe in person so we can chat.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Learn about the course and its requirements.
2. Learn about successful strategies in an online course.
3. Learn about OpenLab environment.
4. Meet me and your classmates online.

Workflow: