Sociology of Crime

This article is about the search for a serial killer, the ‘Grim Sleeper,’ in Los Angeles. The serial killer is an unknown male who has killed 11 (known) people, 10 of them women, beginning in 1985. The victims were mostly black and many of them prostitutes, they were killed by strangulation or gunshot usually after some kid of “sexual contact”.

This article links the crimes with sexual violence/motives.  The victims were mostly black females whose bodies were found in “bad” areas of the city. It seems to be reported that the victims were easy “targets” because of their “jobs” and were somewhat associated with drugs.  It is unclear whether the murders were planned out or crimes of opportunity… “The first round of killings happened at a time parts of the city were suffering from extreme violence and many young women fell prey to newfound addictions of crack cocaine and other drugs.”

“Critics” blame the police department for not investigating throughly and in a timely fashion due to the victims race, and area where they were found. A lot about the perpetrator is still unknown. Although a woman who survived an attack gave a brief description of the man there are barely any clues about who the man is.  

I’m not even sure if the police/media can even link all of the crimes to one person. I also believe they are unsure of the number of people/women this person has killed.  All though matching DNA was found on 6 of the victims the other victims are only linked through their cause of death. The fact that the killings stopped for 14 years and started back up again with the past 2 years shows some inconsistencies, either with the police investigation or with the assailant.

Although there is “hope” that any witnesses will provide the police with information, I, personally, am doubtful that someone who hadn’t reported any information will suddenly arise and “break the case”. It’s unfortunate how so little is known about the killings and killer, and there is currently no “justice” for the victims. 

http://news.aol.com/article/grim-sleeper-serial-killer/357528

This article and video talked about the murder of a 13-year old girl, Alycia Nipp, by a homeless registered sex offender, Darrin Sanford. It was reported that the offender apparently “camped out” in a certain area in the woods near their home. Her body was found by her stepfather on Sunday, a day after her disappearance.

The lay-out of the article fit the typical news crime story model (Gilliam & Iyengar) in which we discussed in class. It started with the reported that a crime had occurred along with visuals of the suspect and crime scene. As you can see on article, the first sentence basically acts as the announcement of the crime and the video is used as a visual. It ended with the apprehension of the criminal who was linked to the murder in some form along with further police efforts. As mentioned in class, the police were presented as successful and promoting their efforts in this investigation. Also, in the article, the victim was described as responsible, innocent, and “knowing better” by her family and friends. Although there was sparse information given, by putting the victim in a positive light, the media is able to stir up the emotions of the readers/viewers. Lastly, also talked about in class (2/2/09), Best (1999) states that a major theme in news crime stories is that crime is random. This gives the reader/viewer a sense that anyone can be a victim at anytime. In the case of Alycia Nipp’s murder, the situation was unusual due to the fact that not many people have sex offenders nearby. Therefore, this article followed the script by avoiding stories that could potentially harm public welfare directly.

In addition to following the news script, the reporting of this particular crime story related to Stanko’s article, “Women, Crime, and Fear”. Media is one of the biggest contributors to the fear that women feel when walking down a street at night. I felt that this particular news story, along with many more, emphasized the concept of “Stranger Danger” and how women are in danger of being attacked by a sex offender who happened to be “camping out” near their backyard. As we learned from the article, “both officially recorded crime and the vast hidden violence against women suggest that women’s assailants are most likely to be men known to them” (Stanko, 50). Even though statistics show otherwise, the continuation of violence against women by random strangers still remain heavily emphasized in our media today.

Fox 12 Link: http://www.kptv.com/news/18771423/detail.html#-

This article was published in the New York Times on Feb. 13th 2009 on the page A22. The story was about two judges: “Judge Conahan 56, and Judge Ciavarella 58″ (NY Times), who were involved in a scheme that is tied to committing juveniles to detention and rehabilitation centers for extra money. Judge Conahan was the contract official for the detention centers and was the one who sealed the deals between the judges and the privately owned centers according to the Times. While Judge Ciavarella was the main sentencer and the actual one who kept the centers full and the money coming to the crooked judges. This story follows many of the predetermined layers that are always included in a news story that we’ve discussed in class. The story starts off with a brief and adequate description like we agreed. Next the story goes into deeper detail and reflection from victims and child court experts to make the situation seem extraordinary and also to emphasize the horrific consequences of these deceitful acts. Eventually goes on to conclude how law enforcement is processing and charging these criminals. Although the story fits the guidelines of how it should be told, this is a story that normally never the focus of the media. As talked about in class, we’ve discussed how law enforcement and the judicial systems are almost always shown in a protective and efficient light where in this story the media gives a detailed description of how corrupt a few officials have become. This crime is going to be a very hard crime to classify and provide accurate statistics for. In the article the juvenile court experts talk about how Judge Ciavarella has always had a reputation for unusually harsh punishments for first time offenders (Times). Due to this the actual number of acts of misconduct will be hard to prove. I feel that this crime will go severely unnoticed on the statistics for next year because of rules based on only the most severe crime been turned in and how often multiple victims are grouped into one which often doesn’t show the severity of each and distorts criminal statistics. I’m very disappointed that the police haven’t charged any officials that are on the detention center end of these contracts. I’m also very disappointed that these judges will only face up to 87months in prison when its for sure that they’ve ruined much more time than that in many different juveniles lives. In conclusion I feel that although this story isn’t normally whats focused on in the news, it still fits the cookie cutter mold for most crime stories and comes off as an average news story despite its exponential effects on the juvenile community in Pennsylvania.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/13judge.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

This article is focused on a prison break that occurred in one of Greece’s top security jails just outside of Athens. The break out included two previously convicted escape artists that were originally attained for burglary and kidnapping. The article was featured in the New York Times on Feb. 23, 2009 on page A11. This article is very interesting based on the way that the facts of the story are presented and the format of the news story. In class we learned how the basic three step approach is used and how the story normally focuses on a brief summary, turns to the scene and then asks an expert opinion. However in this story the normal format was completely avoided and a large focus was put on the crumbling of Greece’s economy because of a rise in “homegrown terrorism” (NY TIMES A11). The facts of this story are also very different from the common that it focuses on the event without making it seem dangerous. Most stories that are focused in the news, according to class discussion, show criminal events as a completely random and something that everyone should be afraid of. The nature of this story doesn’t allow this feeling of insecurity to be given due to its focus on a distant country and that its focused on a very uncommon event. This story was also very interesting because of its very extreme circumstances that capture the reader in. This also gives a little insight on how the media still tries to play up how the U.S. is much better at regulating criminals and prevention something this extreme from happening. Although it does seem to be such a random event and very extreme I’m very disappointed in the lack of details that are provided. In the article there is little detail about the first escape that the two were involved in and succeeded at. Also to my surprise there was no explanation why these two would again be at the same prison when before they had obviously figured out some chemistry together that was needed for escaping a prison. I feel that this scenario could have been avoided completely by simply splitting the two up so this would be much harder for them to find a partner that was as ambitious as them. I also feel that by not splitting the two escape artists up, this makes the scenario come off as the Greece government has even less control which seems to be a large problem in the country and they are trying to assert their power over the general population. To conclude, I feel that the article was intended for some relief and give some inspiration and pride back to the American prison systems that have received a lot of heat lately but by only trying to spice up American values the article leaves out many important details that would have been key to providing insight on how to prevent escapes.

www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/world/europe/23greece.html

“Simple comparisons between poor whites and poor blacks would be confounded with the fact that poor whites reside in areas which are ecologically and economically very different from poor blacks.”

One of the themes we will be discussing this week is the relationship between deprivation and crime.  There is a debate between deprivation theorists about the nature of the relationship between poverty and crime.  According to structural deprivation theories, crime is viewed as a response to structural conditions of that prevent individuals from participating in the mainstream American economy.  Individuals who live in poverty, particularly the underclass, have few legal options for improving their standards of living.  Therefore, deprivation theorists argue, people in poverty are more likely to turn to criminal activity.

By contrast, cultural deprivation theorists argue that people living in poverty for multiple generations adapt to their circumstances and develop a culture of values and attitudes that are distinct from mainstream culture and encourage deviant behavior (you may have also heard of this approach referred to as the “culture of poverty). The poor go on to teach their children to seek immediate gratification and selfish gains – attitudes conducive to criminal activity.

The Hannon and Defronzo (1998) reading builds on the structural deprivation thesis.  But they further argue the stress of poverty may be countered by providing welfare assistance.  They find that as welfare payments increase the crime rate in that community decreases.

The Tigges, Browne and Green (1998) reading also works from a structural deprivation thesis. This reading does not specifically address crime rates.  Instead, the authors of this article attempt to understand “social isolation” – and particularly how poverty produces social isolation for poor blacks but not for poor whites. 

Questions for you to think about as you are reading:

From these readings, what have you already learned about the structural deprivation approach?  The readings specifically mention William J. Wilson, Merton, and Messner & Rosenfeld.  What have you learned about the specific theories of these individuals?

What is the “underclass”?  How is this group distinct from the general poor?  Why, according to Tigges, et al., are African Americans more likely to be concentrated in the underclass?

What kinds of crime would you expect the poor – especially the underclass – to engage in?  Why?  What kinds of crime would you expect the underclass to be least likely to engage in?  Why?

Hannon and Defronzo argue that increased welfare payments reduce the stress associated with living in poverty.  Can you think of other explanations for why increased welfare payments are related to less crime?

Why do Tigges, et al. think that their measures of social ties (living with another adult, discussing important matters with an adult outside the household, and having a college-educated person in their network) are important indicators for social isolation?

#9028, Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data [United States]: 1975-1997 

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/NACJD/STUDY/09028.xml

Here are live links to the sites you should review before Monday:

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) – http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/NIBRS/

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) – http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm

United Nations International Homicide Statistics – http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/ihs.html

Here are links from class:

Volunteer EMT Shot 

Cab Driver Dies After Being Shot

Update on the Caylee Anthony case