1 Psychology and human development1.10 Social psychology
1.10.4.7 Basic principles of criminology and penology
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Written by Resident Doctor Committee · Published
Crime and deviance
Criminology studies offending, victimisation and social responses to them, and penology studies punishment.
A crime breaks the criminal law, whereas deviance breaks a group's norms: a parking offence is criminal but not deviant.
The dark figure is unrecorded offending, because an offence must be recognised, reported, recorded, detected, prosecuted and proved before it appears in official figures.
Risk factors for offending
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (West and Farrington) followed boys first assessed at age 8 to 10. These characteristics at that age predicted later offending.
Domain | Predictor |
|---|---|
Behaviour | Disruptive and daring behaviour; hyperactivity and impulsivity |
Ability | Low intelligence and attainment |
Family | Family criminality; poverty with poor child-rearing |
Risks accumulate and interact, and none is necessary or sufficient on its own.
Moffitt distinguished adolescence-limited, peer-related offending from early-starting, life-course-persistent offending.
Aims of punishment
Aim | Rationale |
|---|---|
Retribution | Deserved punishment, proportionate to culpability and harm |
Deterrence | Discourages this offender and others; certainty matters more than severity |
Incapacitation | Restricts capacity to offend, chiefly by custody |
Rehabilitation | The offender changes and no longer wants to offend |
Restorative justice | Offender, victim and community address the harm together |
Desistance
Desistance is the gradual reduction and stopping of offending, often with lapses.
Laub and Sampson describe employment and close relationships as turning points towards desistance.