Topic 3. The causes of crime

Vocabulary

to disprove	['ds'pru:v]	опровергать, доказывать ошибочность
to discard	[ds'ka:d]	отказаться
to provide the rationale	[prə'vad ðə ræ ʃə'na:l]	дать логическое обоснование
to meter out a punishment	['mi:təraut]	назначить наказание
to advance a theory	[əd'va:ns ə'Ɵər]	выдвинуть теорию
proclivity	[prə'klvt]	склонность, наклонность
to discredit a theory	[ds'kredt]	подвергнуть сомнению теорию
to abandon	[ə'bændən]	отказаться
hereditary traits	[h'redtərtrets]	наследственные черты
law-abiding	[lɔ:ə'badŋ]	законопослушный
innate disposition to smth	['net dspə'zʃən]	врождённая предрасположенность к чему-либо
incidence	['nsdəns]	сфера действия, охват
inclination	[͵nkl'neʃən]	склонность
influence	['nfluəns]	влияние
poverty	['povət]	бедность
slum	[slʌm]	трущоба
lack of privacy	[læk əv'pravəs]	отсутствие уединения
to place the blame on smth	[ples ðə blemən]	возложить вину на
overcrowding	[ouvə'kraudŋ]	перенаселённость
poor sanitation	[puə ͵sæn'teʃən]	плохие санитарные условия
to engender	[n'ʤendə]	порождать
deprivation	[͵depr'veʃən]	лишение
impact	['mpækt]	вклад
convict population	['kɔnvkt ͵pɔpju'leʃən]	заключённые
mentally deficient	[d'fʃənt]	слабоумный
prone to smth	[proun]	склонный к
multiple	['mltpl]	множественный
to determine	[d'tə:mn]	определить

No one knows why crime occurs. The oldest theory, based on theology and ethics, is that criminals are perverse persons who deliberately commit crimes or who do so at the instigation of the devil or other evil spirits. Although this idea has been discarded by modern criminologists, it persists among uninformed people and provides the rationale for the harsh punishments still meted out to criminals in many parts of the world.

Since the 18^th century, various scientific theories have been advanced to explain crime. One of the first efforts to explain crime on scientific, rather than theological grounds was made at the end of the 18^th century by the German physician and anatomist Franz Joseph Gall, who tried to establish relationships between scull structure and criminal proclivities. This theory, popular during the 19^th century, is now discredited and has been abandoned. A more sophisticated theory – a biological on – was developed late in the 19^th century by the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who asserted that crimes were committed by persons born with certain recognizable hereditary physical traits. Lombroso's theory was disproved early in the 20^th century by the British criminologist Charles Goring. Goring's comparative study of jailed criminals and law-abiding persons established that the so-called criminal types, with innate dispositions to crime, do not exist. Recent scientific studies have tended to confirm Goring's findings. Some investigators still hold, however, that specific abnormalities of the brain and of the endocrine system contribute to a person's inclination toward criminal activity.

Another approach to an explanation of crime was initiated by the French political philosopher Montesquieu, who attempted to relate criminal behavior to natural, or physical environment. His successors have gathered evidence tending to show that crimes against person, such as homicide, are relatively more numerous in warm climates, whereas crimes against property, such as theft, are more frequent in colder regions. Other studies seem to indicate that the incidence of crime declines in direct ratio to drops in barometric pressure, to increased humidity, and to higher temperature.

Many prominent criminologists of the 19^th century, particularly those associated with the socialist movement, attributed crime mainly to the influence of poverty. They pointed out that persons who are unable to provide adequately for themselves and their families through normal legal channels are frequently driven to theft, burglary, prostitution, and other offences. The incidence of crime especially tends to rise in times of widespread unemployment. Present-day criminologists take a broader and a deeper view; they place the blame for most crimes on the whole range of environmental conditions associated with poverty. The living conditions of the poor, particularly of those in slums, are characterized by overcrowding, lack of privacy, inadequate play space and recreational facilities, and poor sanitation. Such conditions engender feelings of deprivation and hopelessness and are conductive to crime as a means of escape. The feeling is encouraged by the example set by those who have escaped to what appears to be the better way of life made possible by crime.

Some theorists relate the incidence of crime to the general state of a culture, especially the impact of economic crises, wars, and revolutions and the general sense of insecurity and uprootedness to which these forces give rise. As a society becomes more unsettled and its people more restless and fearful of the future, the crime rate tends to rise. This is particularly true to juvenile crime, as the experience of the United States since World War II has made evident.

The final major group of theories are psychological and psychiatric. Studies by such 20^th century investigators as the American criminologist Bernard Glueck and the British psychiatrist William Healy have indicated that about one-fourth of a typical convict population is psychotic, neurotic, or emotionally unstable and another one-fourth is mentally deficient. These emotional and mental conditions do not automatically make people criminals, but do, it is believed, make them more prone to criminality. Recent studies of criminals have thrown further light on the kinds of emotional disturbances that may lead to criminal behavior.

Since the mid-20^th century, the notion that crime can be explained by any single theory has fallen into disfavour among investigators. Instead, experts incline to so-called multiple factor, or multiple causation theories. They reason that crime springs from a multiplicity of conflicting and converging influences – biological, psychological, cultural, economic and political. The multiple causation explanations seem more credible than the earlier, simpler theories. An understanding of the causes of crime is still elusive, however, because the interrelationship of causes is difficult to determine.

Ex. 1. Read the international words and guess their meaning:

theology	cultural	system
ethics	biological	general
devil	physical	climate
theory	political	psychological
structure	barometric	philosopher
person	legal	region
type	economic
temperature	condition

Ex. 2. Memorize the following pairs of derivatives:

theology – theological

biology – biology

information – informed

science – scientific

politics – political

physics – physical

economy – economic

psychiatry – psychiatric

emotion – emotional

culture – cultural.

Ex. 3. Match the words and the expressions with their Russian equivalents:

theft	a) заключённые преступники
burglary	b) кража, воровство
comparative study	c) преступления против личности
jailed criminals	d) кража со взломом
to relate criminal behavior to natural environment	e) преступления против собственности
crimes against person	f) сравнительный анализ
crimes against property	g) совершать преступления умышленно
to commit crimes deliberately	h) быть склонным к преступлению
certain recognizable hereditary features	i) выдающиеся учёные-криминологи
prominent criminologist	j) соотнести преступное поведение c факторами окружающей среды
a range of environmental conditions	k) ряд условий окружения
crime rate	l) некоторые узнаваемые наследуемые черты
to be prone to criminality	m) пролить свет на проблему
to throw light to the problem	n) теория многообразия факторов
multiple causation theory	o) уровень преступности
a credible/reliable theory	p) достоверная теория

Ex. 4. Fill in the blanks with the necessary words from the list:

a) climatic, b) place the blame, c) hereditary, d) theology, e) unemployment, f)deficient, g) relationship.

1. The oldest theory is based on …

2. Gall tried to establish … between skull structure and criminal proclivity.

3. Lombroso thought that criminals had certain … traits.

4. Montesquieu put forward a … theory.

5. The incidence of crime rises when there is much …

6. Present-day criminologists … for crime on poverty.

7. Mentally … people are more prone to criminality.

Ex. 5. Mark the following statements as true or false:

1.In old times people believed that criminals committed crimes at the instigation of the devil.

2.The theory about the devil's instigation helped to justify harsh punishments.

3. First scientific theories appeared in the 20^th century.

4. Goring proved that criminal types with an inclination toward crimes existed.

5. Goring only studied criminals.

6. People are driven to crime when they are poor.

7. Economic crises, wars and revolutions lead to the rise of crime.

8. Crime is caused by multiple factor.

9. It is very easy to determine the causes of crime.

Ex. 6. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following Russian expressions:

1. по подстрекательству дьявола;

2. давать логическое обоснование;

3. установить связи;

4. форма черепа;

5. определённые узнаваемые физические черты;

6. не могут обеспечить себя должным образом;

7. средство, способ исчезновения;

8. влияние экономического кризиса;

9. общее чувство незащищённости;

10. казаться более достоверным.

Ex. 7. Organize the plan in the logical order:

a) psychological and psychiatric theories;

b) biological theories;

c) multiple causation theory;

d) social environment theories;

e) theological and ethical theories;

f) climatic theory.

Ex. 8. Answer the following questions.

1. What concept formed the basis of the earliest criminological theories?

2. How did the biological theories develop?

3. What was Montesquieu's approach to causes of crime?

4. What views on crime predominated in the 19^th century?

5. How did criminological theories develop in the 20^th century?

6. What is the relation between the mental and emotional state of a person and his or her inclinations to crime?

7. What are the latest views on the causes of crime?

Ex. 9. Make a short summary of the text.