Chapter Eight
Social Conflict, Critical
Criminology and
Restorative Justice
Objectives
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Be familiar with the concept of social conflict and how it shapes
behavior
Be able to discuss elements of conflict in the justice system
Be familiar with the idea of critical criminology
Be able to discuss the differences between structural and
instrumental Marxism
Know the various techniques of critical research
Be able to discuss the term “left realism”
Understand the concept of patriarchy
Know what is meant by feminist criminology
Be able to discuss peacemaking
Understand the concept of restorative justice
Contemporary Critical Criminology
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Critical criminology views crime as a function of social
conflict and economic rivalry
It seeks to identify economic structures in society that
control all humans
It rejects the notion that the law is designed to maintain a
tranquil, fair society and that criminals are malevolent
people who wish to trample on the rights of others
They consider the acts of racism, sexism, imperialism,
unsafe working conditions, inadequate child care,
substandard housing, pollution, and war-making as a tool
of foreign policy, to be “true crimes.”
Marxist Thought– Productive Forces
and Productive Relations
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Karl Marx focused his attention on the economic
conditions perpetrated by the capitalists
He identified the economic structures in society that
control all human relations
Production has two components:
1. productive forces
2. productive relations
He proposed the notion that unequal distribution of
power and wealth produce crime
Crime develops as a result of social conflict
Creating a Critical Criminology
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Social thinkers began to show how in our
postindustrial, capitalist society the economic
system invariably produces haves and havenots.
Because economic competitiveness is the
essence of capitalism, conflict increases and
eventually destabilizes both social institutions
and social groups.
How Critical Criminologists Define
Crime
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Crime is a political concept designed to protect the
power and position of the upper classes at the
expense of the poor
Criminals are products of the society and its
economic system
To control crime, a society must remove the social
conditions that promote crime
How Critical Criminologists View
The Cause of Crime
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The key crime-producing element of modern
corporate capitalism is the effort to increase surplus
value
To increase surplus value, workers can be made to
toil harder for less pay
As the rate of surplus value increases, more people
are displaced from productive relationships
Marginalization: as more people are placed outside
the economic mainstream, a larger population is
forced to live in areas conducive to crime
Globalization
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The process of creating a global economy through
transnational markets and political and legal
systems
It began when large companies decided to establish
themselves in foreign markets by adapting their
products or services to the local culture
Instrumental vs. Structural Theory
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Instrumental theorists view criminal law and the
criminal justice system as instruments for controlling
the poor, have-not members of society.
Structural theorists believe that the law is not the
exclusive domain of the rich; rather, it is used to
maintain the long-term interests of the capitalist
system and control members of any class who
threatens its existence.
Research on Critical Criminology
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Critical thinkers believe that the research conducted
by mainstream liberal and positivist criminologists is
often designed to unmask weak, powerless
members of society so they can be better dealt with
by the legal system
Rarely use standard social science methodologies
use to test their views, more likely to examine
historical trends and patterns rather than surveys
and numbers
Examples: racial profiling, police brutality,
prosecution and sentencing disparities.
Emerging Forms of Critical
Criminology
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Left realism
Critical Feminist Theory
Peacemaking criminology
Left Realism
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Approach that sees crime as a function of relative
deprivation under capitalism and favors pragmatic,
community-based crime prevention and control
Experiencing poverty in the midst of plenty creates
discontent and breeds crime
Discontent plus lack of political solution equal crime
Community based efforts seem to hold the greatest
promise of crime control
Critical Feminist Theory
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Critical feminism: view gender inequality as
stemming form the unequal power of men and
women in a capitalist society.
Patriarchy system developed in which men’s work
was valued and women’s work was devalued.
The dual exploitation of women within the household
and in the labor market means that women produce
far greater surplus value for capitalists than men.
Power-Control Theory
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The view that gender differences in crime are a
function of economic power and parental control
Girls are controlled more closely than boys in
traditional male-dominated households and there is
gender equity in contemporary egalitarian homes
Peacemaking Criminology
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Approach that considers punitive crime control
strategies to be counterproductive and favors the
use of humanistic conflict resolution and mediation
skills to prevent and control crime
Offers a new approach to control crime
Views the efforts of the state to punish and control
as crime-encouraging rather than crimediscouraging
Critical Theory and Public Policy
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Seek to reduce conflict and competition in society
If conflict and competition in society could somehow
be reduced, it is possible that crime rates would fall
Reduce harsh punishment of offenders
Peacemakers look for ways to bring law violators
back to the community
Has adopted nonviolent methods and applied them
to what is known as restorative justice
The Concept of Restorative Justice
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Using humanistic, non-punitive strategies to right
wrongs and restore social harmony
Encompasses a variety of programs and practice
Requires that society address victim’s harms, and
needs, holds offenders accountable to put right
those harms, and involves victims, offenders, and
communities in the process of healing
The Process of Restoration
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Crime is an offense against human
relationships
Victims and the community are central to
justice processes
The offender has personal responsibility to
the victims and to the community
The offender will develop improved
competency and understanding
Restoration Programs
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negotiation
mediation
consensus building
peacemaking
sentencing circles
Restorative Justice: Society and
Justice System
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Community
Schools
Police
Courts
Balanced and Restorative Justice
(BARJ)
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The justice system should give equal weight to:
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Hold offenders accountability to victims,
Provide competency development for offenders in the
system, and
Ensure community safety.
Concerns about Restorative Justice
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Is it a political movement or a treatment process?
Must be wary of cultural and social differences
No single definition
Difficult task to balance the needs of offenders with
those of the victims
Benefits may only work in the short term while
ignoring long term treatment needs