Transcript Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 330 Race, Ethnicity and Criminal Justice Dr.

Department of Criminal Justice
California State University - Bakersfield
CRJU 330
Race, Ethnicity and Criminal Justice
Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali
Crime Control in America:
Nothing Succeeds Like Failure
Intro:
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Who is taking responsibility when crime rates
go up/down
We’ve tried different things in America, three
strikes and you’re out, capital punishment, get
tough on crime policy, etc…
Bill Clinton: Americans should not worry about
threats from abroad, fear is within our country
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Decline in crime: Clinton took credit in putting
more police officers on the streets, regulating
the sales of handguns
Is that true?
Truth: violent crime is highest in America
compared with other industrialized countries.
More money is being spent on prisons than
education.
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Also since September 11th we are more fearful
of international threat…hence the creation of
Homeland Security
Even though we were incarcerating more
people in the 1980s, crime was still on the rise.
More juveniles were recruited into the drug
trade because of less punitive punishments and
leniency
More drugs may mean more stability for those
dealing with drugs because they have it under
control
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Many contributed decline to community policing
Excuses: that we are too lenient. Urbanization
and therefore more crime. But so are other costs
of urbanization and modernity. Some blame it on
juveniles. Population of young people in 2000
was about what it was in 1960, yet crime rates
were higher in 2000.
KNOWN SOURCES OF CRIME
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1) Poverty: unemployed and underemployed.
They have no capital to start a business or
move on.
Poverty can create need to commit violence and
wealth creates more greed. Creating a larger
gap between the rich and poor.
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Difference Principle by Rawl A Theory of
Justice: economic inequalities are unjust
unless they work to maximize the share of the
worst-off group in society, say, by providing
incentives that increase production overall.
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In Justice and Fairness Rawls compares two
societies 1) property owning democracy
(capitalist society governed by difference
principle and other principles that guarantee
equal liberty, fair equality of opportunity) and 2)
welfare state capitalism (capitalist society
where equality is guaranteed in the law but little
is done to achieve it in society).
2) PRISON: creates more prisoners than
it cures. Some are non-violent
offenders that have been incarcerated.
Become tougher according to Robert
Johnson and Hans Toch in The Pains
of Imprisonment
 Prison rape. Recruitment from behind
prison bars. Stigma and bad record
from those released from prisons
especially minorities because
incarcerated at higher rates. Michael
Tonry Malign Neglect
3) GUNS: Bush in 2001 kids in America
more likely to die from a gunshot
1993
BRADY BILL signed by Bill
Clinton imposes 5 day waiting period
and try to get police to make a
“reasonable effort” to conduct
background checks . Went into effect
2003. But how many bought from
unregulated sources, and how many
officers made a reasonable effort.
4) DRUGS: drug abuse and
addiction problem. Relationship
between drugs and crime:
1.Pharmacological/psychological
consequences (PCP)
2.Economic/compulsive crimes
3.Systemic crimes: a way of doing
business
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WHAT WORKS TO REDUCE CRIME:
According to Currie: 4 priorities
seem especially critical:
Preventing child abuse and neglect
Enhancing children’s intellectual
and social development
Providing support and guidance to
vulnerable adolescents
Working with juveniles