Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Criminological theories'

Using Taiwanese data this dissertation attempts to test five criminological theories against one another. Alternative models are derived from social control, strain, differential association, power-control, and conflict theories to obtain a critical test. Furthermore, social control, strain, differential association, and power-control theories assume the causes of official delinquency will be the same as the causes of self-reported delinquency. Conflict theory, focusing on judicial judgements, has been applied mainly to official delinquency. Various statistical techniques--crosstabulation, Pearson correlation, factor analyses, logit regression, ordinary least squares regression, and Chi-squares difference test computed from EQS--are used to identify the equations. These five theories are presumed to apply in the entire sample and in a male sample. The data show that social control theory and conflict theory are partly supported, but differential association, power control and strain theories are not. The best fitting model suggested in this analysis for an Asian society is comparable to prior models found in studies in the United States and Canada.

This thesis considers how ‘restorative justice’ has emerged as a legitimate response to crime. It presents the beginnings of a genealogical analysis of ‘restorative justice’ as it applies to criminal justice contexts. It comprises a ‘backwards-looking’ component, in which accepted historical accounts of ‘restorative justice’ are problematised, and a ‘forwards-looking’ component, in which a partial history of discourse of ‘restorative justice’ is presented. I conclude that these silenced discourses might be read as an incomplete and partial history of discourse of ‘restorative justice’. That is, ‘restorative justice’ ‘makes sense’ as an approach to criminal justice partly because of the credence of these discourses, upon which it relies, to some extent, for discursive legitimacy. These diverse and divergent discourses cast the ‘restorative justice’ project not as the unified and stable ‘movement’ as which it is usually portrayed, but as a fragmented and shifting phenomenon, comprised of a loose and heterogeneous assemblage of practices with variegated historical antecedents. Additionally, I conclude that some concerns raised by various scholars in the field – particularly in relation to the potential of ‘restorative practices’ to impact negatively on already marginalised and disadvantaged populations – are validated by this genealogy.

A história das teorias criminológicas foi marcada pela constante dicotomia natureza x cultura, oscilando o pêndulo ora para o lado da natureza, como foi o caso do positivismo, ora para o lado da cultura, como são as teorias sociológicas. Recentemente, no entanto, as ciências naturais vêm se deparando com o rápido desenvolvimento de algumas disciplinas, como as neurociências, a genética comportamental e a psicologia evolucionista, que podem eventualmente trazer novas luzes para a compreensão do fenômeno delitivo, pois procuram superar a dicotomia, abordando o ser humano não apenas como uma unidade biológica separada de sua dimensão social, mas buscam uma visão integradora. Assim, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar as eventuais contribuições de um desses novos saberes: a psicologia evolucionista. Para isso foi necessário fazer um estudo breve das diversas teorias criminológicas de cunho etiológico, uma sucinta apresentação dos pontos fundamentais da psicologia evolucionista e, finalmente, os contributos que os teóricos evolucionistas vêm realizando para a compreensão do fenômeno criminal. Diante das limitações inerentes ao trabalho e considerando a variedade dos assuntos, cuja apresentação ficaria muito extensa, serão escolhidos alguns tópicos em que se analisarão, de forma sucinta, algumas perspectivas dos teóricos evolucionistas acerca de temas relevantes para o estudo da criminalidade. Ao final do trabalho, concluiu-se que a psicologia evolucionista pode oferecer um novo olhar sobre a criminalidade, complementando as demais teorias já desenvolvidas.
The history of the criminology theories has been marked by the constant dichotomy into nature and culture as a pendulum oscillating either between nature , as seen in positivism, or culture as seen in sociological theories. Recently, however, the natural sciences sees a quickly development in some disciplines, as the neurosciences, behavior genetics and evolutionary psychology, that can eventually bring new lights to the comprehension of the criminal phenomenon. They intend not only to surpass the dichotomy, understanding the human being as a biological unit separate from its social dimension, but seeks for an integrated perception. So, the present work aims to analyze the eventual contribution of a new acquaintance, the evolutionary psychology. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to make a brief study of the etiological criminological theories, to display a brief presentation of the fundamental points of the evolutionary psychology and finally to present the contribution that the evolutionary theorists are carrying through for the understanding of the criminal phenomenon. Despite the inherent limitation of the work and considering the variety of subjects we will concentrate on the ones that present relevant contribution from the above mentioned theorists concerning pertinent new perspectives upon crime. It was concluded that the evolutionist psychology can offer a new look upon criminality, complementing such theories already developed.

Aquesta tesi es composa de quatre articles els quals analitzen diversos àmbits de la criminalitat relacionats amb la seguretat de les persones. Aquestes diferents manifestacions de comportaments delictius s’analitzen mitjançant el marc teòric que proporcionen les teories de l’oportunitat. Al primer article es fa un anàlisi quantitatiu de la evolució del delicte de robatori amb força en habitatge a Catalunya, prenent com a mostra quatre comarques catalanes amb una distribució geogràfica diferent entre elles i també amb uns sectors econòmics diversos. En el segon article es presenta un anàlisi qualitatiu d’una sèrie de quinze entrevistes realitzades al centre penitenciari de Ponent a individus condemnats per delictes de robatori a interior d’habitatge. El tercer article presenta els resultats d’una investigació realitzada a Ostrava, República Txeca, en la qual s’analitzà la facilitat amb la qual es podien aconseguir dades de menors a la xarxa. Finalment, el quart article fa un anàlisi de les noves metodologies utilitzades per les policies europees modernes, entre les quals també s’estudia la Policia de la Generalitat-Mossos d’Esquadra, a l’hora de prevenir alteracions de l’ordre públic i la comissió de delictes durant esdeveniments multitudinaris.
Esta tesis se compone de cuatro artículos los cuales analizan varios ámbitos criminológicos relacionados con la seguridad de las personas. Estas diferentes manifestaciones de comportamientos delictivos se analizan mediante el marco teórico que proporcionan las teorías de la oportunidad. En el primer artículo se hace un análisis cuantitativo de la evolución del delito de robo con fuerza en vivienda en Cataluña, tomando como muestra cuatro comarcas catalanas con una distribución geográfica diferente entre ellas y también con unos sectores económicos diversos. En el segundo artículo se presenta un análisis cualitativo de una serie de quince entrevistas realizadas en el centre penitenciari de Ponent a individuos condenados por delitos de robo a interior de vivienda.El tercer artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación realizada en Ostrava, República Checa, en la cual se analizó la facilidad con la cual se podían conseguir datos de menores en la red. Finalmente, el cuarto artículo muestra un análisis de las nuevas metodologías utilizadas por las policías europeas modernas, entre las cuales también se estudia la Policía de la Generalitat-Mossos d'Esquadra, a la hora de prevenir alteraciones del orden público y la comisión de delitos durante acontecimientos multitudinarios.
This thesis is composed of four articles which analyse different types of criminality related to personal security. These different manifestations of criminal behaviour have been analysed using a theoretical frame based on theories of opportunity. The first article presents a quantitative analysis of the evolution of the crime of burglary in Catalonia, based on a sample of four Catalan local districts with different geographic distributions and representing different economic sectors. The second article presents a qualitative analysis of a series of fifteen interviews carried out at the Lleida Prison with inmates convicted of burglary. The third article presents the results of research carried out in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and analyses the ease with which it is possible to obtain data from minors via the Internet through network and social media programmes. Finally, the fourth article presents an analysis of the new methodologies used by modern European police organisations, with specific reference to the Catalan Police force: the Mossos d’Esquadra. It examines strategies for preventing disturbances of public order and the committing of crimes during events involving large gatherings of people.

L’internationalisation des échanges économiques inscrit les économies nationales dans un ordre mondialisé. Ce contexte de la mondialisation intensifie les échanges commerciaux et la concurrence des entreprises. Celles-ci doivent perpétuellement lutter pour survivre sur le marché. Pour ne pas disparaître, elles doivent devenir plus fortes, et plus grandes. Elles sont dès lors contraintes à un développement externe. Ce mode de croissance externe se matérialise par des opérations de concentration : fusion, scission, apports partiels d’actifs, cession de contrôle, offres publiques. Il s’agit d’étudier les fusions-acquisitions. Depuis quelques années, ces opérations sont devenues une réalité de la vie des affaires. Relayées à chaque réalisation - du moins les plus significatives - par les médias, elles sont le plus souvent connues pour la synergie qu’elles réalisent et/ou les conséquences sociales qu’elles emportent. Traitées dans les manuels de sciences économiques et de sciences juridiques de manière générale, les fusions-acquisitions sont rarement envisagées sous l’angle exclusif du droit pénal. C’est précisément l’objet de cette étude. Néanmoins, seules les opérations de fusions, scissions, et offres publiques, en droit pénal sont envisagées. Les risques juridiques liés à ces opérations, en particulier les risques pénaux, se situent à tous les étages. Dans le cadre de ces opérations, le droit pénal a vocation à protéger les différents intérêts en jeu, c’est-à-dire les divers intérêts des acteurs, personnes physiques ou morales. Mais certains obstacles obligent à une application mesurée du droit pénal en la matière. Le premier est la notion de personnalité juridique, fondement de plusieurs principes de droit pénal ; le second est une conjugaison de plusieurs difficultés : La diversité et/ou la spécificité des réglementations applicables à ces opérations, le caractère souvent international de ces dernières et la portée limitée du droit pénal accessoire. Cette étude se propose de concilier ces obstacles avec la nécessité et les exigences d’une vraie, juste et meilleure répression lors de la réalisation de ces opérations de ces opérations de fusions-acquisitions. En ce sens, notre contribution insiste sur un renouvellement de l’application du droit pénal lors de la réalisation de ces opérations. Deux principales pistes sont envisagées : considérer le caractère économique de l’opération pour consacrer une pénalisation – entendue ici comme l’action de sanctionner et de renforcer la sanction - des fusions-acquisitions eu égard au droit pénal économique ; prendre appui sur la notion d’entreprise pour apporter une réponse pénale adaptée à la répression. C’est à cette double condition que le droit pénal aura un réel intérêt dans le cadre de ces opérations
The Internationalization of economical exchanges inscribes national’s economies in a globalized order. This globalized context intensifies the business’s trades and the competition between companies. These have to perpetually struggle to survive on the market. To avoid disappearance, they have to become stronger and bigger. Thenceforth, they are constrained to an external growth. This type of external growth materializes itself by concentrations: such as mergers, scissions, acquisitions, partial transfers of assets, transfers of control, takeovers. We talk about mergers and acquisitions. For some years now, these transactions had become a reality in a business’s life. Relay at each realization – at least the most significant ones – by the media, they are most known for the synergy they realized and/or social consequencies they cary. Generally studied in economics sciences and legal sciences manuals, mergers and acquisitions are rarely considered exclusively by criminal approach. This is precisely the purpose of this study. Nevertheless, only concentrations such as mergers scissions and takeovers will be considered in this study. Legal risks tied to such transactions, in particular criminal ones, are found at all stages. In the context of those concentrations, criminal Law is intended to protect all different interests in presence, meaning actors, natural persons as well as legal persons. But some certain obstacles call for a measured or moderated application of criminal Law. The first one is the legal personality, the basis of multiples criminal Law principles. The second is a combination of many or multiples difficulties: the diversity and/or the specificity of the applicable rules to those transactions, usually the international character of the latter ones and the limited scope of the Law on secondary penalties. This study is proposing to conciliate those obstacles with the necessity of and the requirements of a true, just and better criminal repression during these transactions realization. For this purpose, our contribution lay stress on renewal of the criminal Law application during the mergers and acquisitions. Two mains avenues will be considered: consider the economic character of the transactions to apply a penalization; intended here as the act of sanctioning and re-enforce the penalty of mergers and acquisitions in view of economic criminal Law; laying on the notion of enterprise to bring a penal answer adapted to the penalty. It will be at this double condition that the criminal Law will have a real interest in the frame, limit of those transactions

O presente trabalho propõe-se ao estudo da Justiça Restaurativa como novo modelo de administração dos conflitos em matéria penal, a partir do diálogo com a temática dos Direitos Humanos. Considerando os apontamentos da Teoria Crítica do Direito e da Criminologia crítica, situamos a Justiça Restaurativa junto ao Direito Penal mínimo, a partir da introdução de uma racionalidade ética à racionalidade jurídica. Como modelo comunitário, participativo e dialogal, a Justiça Restaurativa parece abrir novos caminhos no campo sinuoso da conflitualidade social e sustenta-se pela necessária tutela dos Direitos Humanos diante das prerrogativas do Estado Democrático de Direito.
This research aims to study Restorative Justice as a new administrative model for conflicts in criminal matters, coming from a dialogue with Human Rights. Considering the concepts brought by the Critical Theories of Law and Critic Criminology, we place the Restorative Justice model within the Minimum Criminal Law, with the introduction of an ethic rationality to the rationality of law. As a communitarian, participative and dialogical model, Restorative Justice seems to open new avenues in the sinuous field of social conflict and is sustained by the necessary protection of Human Rights as a prerogative of the Democratic Rule-of-Law State.

Criminologists have long since marginalized passivity as a variable of interest when studying the phenomenon of harm-doing. In this thesis, I explore the role of passivity in such instances and build a case for its centrality to deviance. I also undertake a number of other tasks. First, I review the extent to which research throughout the academy has connected passivity to violence. Second, I explore whether criminological theories have incorporated the variable of passivity and how they could. Lastly, I reflect on why more work on passivity has not been done given its manifest connection to harm, and I offer suggestions on how criminology can move forward in integrating bystander behavior in its theories of harm-doing.

碩士
國立臺北大學
犯罪學研究所
96
After the Macao government ended the monopoly system and agreed to liberalize the gaming industry in the early 21st century, the gaming industry in Macao has been prospering and therefore the economy in the region has developed vigorously. However, a great number of social problems have since arisen. Juvenile gambling is one of the major social problems that have attracted most public attention. This research is an empirical study on current juvenile gambling in Macao. In addition, the reasons why teenagers in Macao participate in gambling activities and the causes of pathological gambling will be analyzed through four criminological theories, namely: self control theory, social control theory, general strain theory and social learning theory. Purposive sampling is used in this research and 1,146 secondary school students in Macao participated in the survey. The major findings are as follows: 1. 51.8% of teenagers in Macao have participated in some kind of gambling activities in the last 12 months. On average, they spend MOP $ 189.91 on gambling each month. After the analysis of DSM-IV-MR-J criteria, it shows that 1.8% of teenagers are classified as pathological gamblers. 2. As far as the reasons why teenagers in Macao participate in gambling activities and the causes of pathological gambling are concerned, this research found that self control theory, social control theory, general strain theory and social learning theory are all applicable to help explain the degree of gambling participation of the teenagers and also to explain pathological gambling. Among the four criminological theories, social learning theory has the greatest capacity to help explaining the problems, while social control theory is least capable. In summary, this research suggests that the reasons why teenagers participate in or even become addicted to gambling are due to the following factors: school, family, peer and individual. By pushing and pulling each other, these factors interact and lead to the problems of gambling. If a teenager does not feel happy in school or at home and meets some friends who are in the habit of gambling, he will participating in the gambling activities with his friends, dependent on whether hi is a person who is against traditional values and has low self-control. By participating in the gambling activities, the teenager can forget about the unhappiness in his life and can seek instant gratification and also identify with his friends. The more he participates in gambling, the more addicted he becomes. In the end, pathological gambling may result. Based on the findings above, this research suggests the following prevention policies: 1. The government provides necessary resources, and establishes a school-centered preventive system which is based on a public health model. 2. The government provides necessary resources, and helps the school to provide the students with a friendlier environment which encourages interaction between teachers and students. It can help the students to have a happier campus life. 3. The government provides necessary resources, and guides parents how to teach their children and promote self control. This research has examined: the applicability of using criminological theories to explain specific behavior within this society, the overlap between the concept and measurement of criminological theories, generalizations from self control theory and the theoretical foundation of the juvenile gambling phenomenon.

Corruption from a criminological perspective forms the basis of this dissertation. The crime component of corruption the 'what', 'why' and 'how' is the dominant theme throughout the study and includes corruption in the South African public sector, highlighting police corruption in the Western Cape. Although this study is exploratory, certain qualitative interviewing techniques, including an interview guide, were used to maximise the information obtained from knowledgeable interviewees. Corruption was further elucidated by the employment of criminological theories to explain pertinent findings in the research, by highlighting risk factors that lead to corruption, by giving examples of corruption and by discussing anti-corruption agencies and the effectiveness of existing legislation. Corruption in the public sector has always been around and will be ad infinitum. The severity of the consequences of this phenomenon can be curtailed by the will of politicians, the involvement of civil society and an operational criminal justice system.
Criminology
MA (Criminology)

The aim of this thesis is to achieve a better understanding of Indigenous adolescent offending in Queensland. Although much has been written on this topic, there has been no research into patterns of Indigenous adolescent offending across urban, rural and remote areas in Queensland, or anywhere else in Australia. Similarly, no studies have compared a wide range of demographic, social, economic and cultural factors with rates of Indigenous adolescent offences. This study shows that there are discernible differences in rates and patterns of Indigenous adolescent offences across different geographical areas of Queensland. The similarities and differences are explained using a sociological perspective, with particular emphasis on the work of Jock Young. The study is based on offence data supplied by the Queensland Police Service for 110 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Queensland for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2007. The LGAs were further categorised according to geographical and social characteristics, resulting in 27 ‘urban’, 49 ‘rural’, 19 ‘Aboriginal’, and 15 ‘Island’ councils or LGAs. After an initial comparison of Indigenous and non-Indigenous adolescent offending to put the study in context, Indigenous adolescent offending in the four categories of LGA was analysed according to the sex of the offender, the age of the offender, the type of offence committed, and the type of police action taken against the offender. Following on from this examination of rates and patterns of offending, correlation and regression analyses were used to elucidate relationships between Indigenous adolescent offending and various social, economic and cultural variables. The study found that rates and patterns of Indigenous adolescent offences varied greatly among the four categories of LGA, with offending being most pronounced in Aboriginal councils and least in Island councils. This pattern persisted when offending was analysed according to age, sex, type of offence, and type of police action. Nevertheless, a sociological interpretation of the results suggests that particular forms of structural exclusion and relative deprivation associated with Indigeneity underlie the high rates of Indigenous adolescent offences in Queensland, although they manifest in different ways depending on the type of Indigenous community. Following on from this, it is argued that socioeconomic status alone cannot account for the high overrepresentation of Indigenous adolescents in the Queensland criminal justice system. Despite the importance of the underlying factors mentioned above, the differences between Indigenous communities and the variations in rates and patterns of offending mean that the approaches taken to address this problem must be tailored to suit each community.

This study explores the utilisation of spatial technologies as a tool to analyse and combat crime. The study deals specifically with remote sensing and its potential for being integrated with geographical information systems (GIS). The integrated spatial approach resulted in the understanding of land use class behaviour over time and its relationship to specific crime incidents per police precinct area. The incorporation of spatial technologies to test criminological theories in practice, such as the ecological theories of criminology, provides the science with strategic value. It proves the value of combining multi-disciplinary scientific fields to create a more advanced platform to understand land use behaviour and its relationship to crime. Crime in South Africa is a serious concern and it impacts negatively on so many lives. The fear of crime, the loss of life, the socio-economic impact of crime, etc. create the impression that the battle against crime has been lost. The limited knowledge base within the law enforcement agencies, limited logistical resources and low retention rate of critical staff all contribute to making the reduction of crime more difficult to achieve. A practical procedure of using remote sensing technology integrated with geographical information systems (GIS), overlaid with geo-coded crime data to provide a spatial technological basis to analyse and combat crime, is illustrated by a practical study of the Tshwane municipality area. The methodology applied in this study required multi-skilled resources incorporating GIS and the understanding of crime to integrate the diverse scientific fields into a consolidated process that can contribute to the combating of crime in general. The existence of informal settlement areas in South Africa stresses the socio-economic problems that need to be addressed as there is a clear correlation of land use data with serious crime incidents in these areas. The fact that no formal cadastre exists for these areas, combined with a great diversity in densification and growth of the periphery, makes analysis very difficult without remote sensing imagery. Revisits over time to assess changes in these areas in order to adapt policing strategies will create an improved information layer for responding to crime. Final computerised maps generated from remote sensing and GIS layers are not the only information that can be used to prevent and combat crime. An important recipe for ultimately successfully managing and controlling crime in South Africa is to strategically combine training of the law enforcement agencies in the use of spatial information with police science. The researcher concludes with the hope that this study will contribute to the improved utilisation of spatial technology to analyse and combat crime in South Africa. The ultimate vision is the expansion of the science of criminology by adding an advanced spatial technology module to its curriculum.
Criminology
D.Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)