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Dimensions of Crime
as a Social Problem
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Dimensions of Crime
as a Social Problem
Edited by
Robert Hartmann McNamara
and
Keith J. Bell
Carolina Academic Press
Durham, North Carolina
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Copyright © 2012
Robert Harmann McNamara and Keith J. Bell
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dimensions of crime as a social problem / [edited by] Robert Hartmann McNamara and Keith Bell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61163-082-4 (alk. paper)
1. Crime--Sociological aspects. I. McNamara, Robert Hartmann. II. Bell,
Keith J.
HV6025.D55 2012
364--dc23
2012015401
Carolina Academic Press
700 Kent Street
Durham, North Carolina 27701
Telephone (919) 489-7486
Fax (919) 493-5668
www.cap-press.com
Printed in the United States of America
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To the extraordinary students at Furman University who enrolled in my classes— you remain some of the finest people
I know.
RHM
To my wife, Jessica, without whom I would accomplish very
little; my son, Jackson, who keeps me motivated to succeed
in order to make him proud; and to my family who has sacrificed so much to get me to where I am in life. To my wonderful students over the years; and finally, this is dedicated
to all those people who were told they “never could.”
KJB
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Contents
Acknowledgments
xv
Introduction: The Study of Sociology and Social Problems— A First Look
Robert Hartmann McNamara
The Sociologist
The Sociological Perspective
Social Problems
3
4
4
6
I. Crime
Chapter 1 • Crime Prevention — What Works?
Keith J. Bell
Program Overview
Is Crime a Problem?
Evaluation of What Works
What Works! versus What Works?
Lighting
Street Design
Educational and Awareness Programs
Community Approaches
Discussion
Conclusion
11
12
13
15
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22
25
Chapter 2 • Juvenile Fire Starters
Carrie Coward Bucher and Robert Hartmann McNamara
The Nature of the Problem
Sociological Factors to Explain Fire Starting
Psychological Factors to Explain Fire Starting
A Profile of Fire Setters
Curiosity Fire Setters
Crisis Fire Setters
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CONTENTS
Delinquent Fire Setters
Intervention and Treatment Programs
Community-Based Treatment and Education Programs
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment
Residential Treatment
Conclusion
Chapter 3 • The Police in Society
Ronald G. Burns and Katherine Polzer
Drugs and Crime
The Drugs-Crime Relationships
Extent of Drug Use
Drug Laws and Drug Control Policy
The Effects of Drugs and the Drug War
Police Tools in the War on Drugs
Source Control
Interdiction
Prosecution and Legislation
Street-Level Law Enforcement
Drug Task Forces
Modern Goals of Drug Use Prevention
Drug Use Prevention Programs
Drug Use Prevention and the Police
Deterring Drug Use
Harms Reduction
Summary
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II. Poverty and Inequalities
Chapter 4 • The Criminalization of Welfare: A Historical and
Contemporary Analysis of Social Control for the
Crime of Poverty
Michael D. Gillespie
Modern Social Welfare in the United States
Welfare Reform: Ending Welfare as We Know It
TANF and Criminal Justice: Declaring War on the Poor
Patterns in the Criminalization of Welfare
Blurring the Line between Welfare and Crime
Summary
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CONTENTS
Chapter 5 • Single Parent Families, Poverty, and Delinquency
Lisa T. Briggs
A Historical Perspective on Single Parenthood
Challenges of Single Parenthood
Consequences of Single Parenthood
The Divorced Parent
The Step-Parent Family
The Cohabitating Family
The Never Married Parent
Crime, Deviance, and Single Parenthood
Teenage Parents
Why Teens Have Babies
Summary
Chapter 6 • First American Rip-Off: The Price of Fringe
Banking Convenience
Erin Lyttle Do
Society’s Poor
Bank Deregulation and the Rise of Fringe Banking
The Secondary Labor Market
Does Minimum Wage Meet Minimum Needs?
Title Loans
Check Cashing Outlets
Electronic Banking: Equal Opportunity or Digital Divide?
Rent-to-Own
Discussion
ix
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III. Racial Inequalities
Chapter 7 • African Americans and the Criminal Justice System
Charles Crawford
African Americans and Crime
Explaining Race, Crime, and Victimization
African Americans and the Police
Excessive Stopping and Racial Profiling
Excessive and Deadly Force
The Courts, Sentencing, and Punishment
Presentencing
Sentencing
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CONTENTS
The War on Drugs
Capital Punishment
Summary
124
126
129
Chapter 8 • Criminalization and Controversy: Arizona’s
New Immigration Law
Jacquelynn A. Doyon
Immigration as “Historical”
Immigration as “Problematic”
The “Criminal” Immigrant
Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070: A Case Study
Key Sections of SB 1070
State and Federal Positions on SB 1070
Criminalization and SB 1070
Public Opinion and SB 1070
Conclusion
131
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146
Chapter 9 • Racial Profiling: Good Police Work or Racism?
John Van Swearingen and Robert H. McNamara
Defining Profiling
The History of Racial Profiling in Policing
Organizational and Cultural Influences to Profiling
The Evidence about Racial Profiling by Police
Explaining Profiling Sociologically
Theory to Practice
Recruitment and Selection as Solutions to Racial Profiling
The “New” Police Officer
Education, Policing and Profiling
Conclusion
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IV. Education
Chapter 10 • The Relationship between Dropping Out of School
and Incarceration
Mary Lou Yeatts and R. Kent Murray
Defining the Dropout Rate
School Dropout Statistics
Why Are They Dropping Out?
The Consequences of Dropping Out
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CONTENTS
School Dropouts and Incarceration
Other Factors Affect the School Dropout Crisis
Potential Solutions for the Dropout Crisis
Summary
Chapter 11 • Bullying and Ostracism in School-Aged Youth
Conway Saylor, Melissa-Miles Dunn, and James Carpenter
Defining Bullying
Traditional Types of Bullying
Roles Students Play in Bullying
Prevalence and Impact of Traditional Bullying
Impact of Bullying
Cyberbullying
Prevalence of Cyberbullying
Sexting
Prevalence of Sexting
Ostracism: A Step beyond Bullying
Impact of Ostracism
Risk Factors Associated with Bullying and Ostracism
Disabilities and Special Needs
Chronic Medical Conditions
Sexual Orientation
Bullying, Ostracism and the Legal System
The Challenge of Intervention
Conclusion
Chapter 12 • Higher Education and Crime in South Carolina
Robert Hartmann McNamara and Maria Shelley
Employment, Education, and Crime
South Carolina and Higher Education
Increase the Number of High School Graduates Who Are
Well-Prepared for College
Strengthen the Transition from High School to College
Increase Higher Education Graduation Rates
Increase Adult Participation in Higher Education
Attract and Retain More Graduates
Summary
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CONTENTS
V. Gender and Crime
Chapter 13 • Have Nice Girls Gone Bad? Social Constructionist
Approach to the Rise in Female Violent Offenders
Gregory A. Lukasik
Women, Crime, and the Media
Trends in Female Crime
Theoretical Explanations
Normative Approach
Constructionist Approach
The Social Construction of Female Violence
Institutional Change and the Rise of Violent Female Offender
Domestic Violence: From Victim to Offender
Gender and Violent Offending
Gender and Robbery
Female Gangs
Conclusion
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Chapter 14 • Intimate Partner Violence: Gender and Violence
Keith J. Bell and Paul M. Klenowski
Gender Literature Debate
Trends in Traditional Domestic Violence
Traditional Theories of Domestic Violence
Power Control Theory
Social Learning Theory
Male Victimization
Gender, Attributes, and Statistics
Recent Literature: A Look at Gender and Violence
Physical Violence
Psychological Perpetration
Discussion
Implications for Practice, Policy, and Research
225
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Chapter 15 • Female Gangs
Robert Hartmann McNamara and Lesleigh Patton
Defining Gang
The Public’s Definition
The Law Enforcement Definition
The Research Community’s Definition
The Social Distortion of Gangs
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CONTENTS
Female Gangs
Reasons for Joining Gangs
Risk Factors and Female Gangs
Child Maltreatment
Poor Academic Performance
Substance Abuse
Peer Groups as Risk Factors
Structural Factors
Deindustrialization and the Job Market
The Housing Crunch
Public Education
Poverty
Criminal Activities of Female Gangs
Conclusion
xiii
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VI. Sexuality and Crime
Chapter 16 • An Overview of Hate Crimes
Gina Carreno
Overview of Hate Crimes
Definition
How Hate Crimes Differ from Non-Bias Crimes
Statistics
Uniform Crime Reports
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
Self-Report Surveys and Needs Assessments
Causes of Hate Crimes
Individual Characteristics
Heterosexist Culture
Experiences of Hate Crimes
Who Is at Risk?
Gender
Location
How Do Victims Determine if the Incident Was Motivated
by Hate?
Why Do Many Victims Not Report the Incident to
Law Enforcement Authorities?
Victim-Blame
Secondary Victimization
How Do Hate Crimes Affect Victims?
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CONTENTS
How Do Hate Crimes Affect Society?
Conclusion
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273
Chapter 17 • Human Trafficking
Michael Bachmann and Brittany A. Smith
Scope and Scale of the Problem
Global Extent, Awareness and Response
Sex Trafficking
Child Labor, Forced Labor and Bonded Labor
What Can Be Done?
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285
286
Chapter 18 • Registry Laws and Sex Offenders: A Review
of the Literature
Amanda Gibbs Wagner
Defining a Sex Offender
Extent of Sex Offending in the United States
Profile of Sex Offenders
Addressing Sex Offenders through Legislation
Consequences for Registered Sex Offenders
Community Violence
Incorrect Labeling
Housing
Commission of Additional Crimes
Do Registry Laws Really Work?
Discussion
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295
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295
About the Authors
297
Notes
305
Index
359
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Acknowledgments
As with any project, there are many people to thank for their efforts in bringing this manuscript to publication. Specifically we would like to thank Rhonda
Stefanini, a former student at Western Carolina University for her help with collecting literature for the domestic violence project. Additionally, Lesleigh Patton deserves mention for her help in organizing the project and keeping track
of deadlines and participants. We would also like to thank each contributor
for their insightful and thoughtful articles that comprise this reader. Finally, thanks
goes to Beth Hall and the staff at Carolina Academic Press for their encouragement, support, and expertise.
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