HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT INTRO

Learning Objective: Understand a pre-classical theory of crime and evaluate conviction-focussed interrogation techniques

"The field of criminology includes a diverse range of viewpoints and perspectives and is informed by a wide array of research methods and theoretical approaches. This diversity can make it difficult for those coming to criminology for the first time to locate the theoretical underpinnings or disciplinary roots of particular criminological perspectives. " - Intro to Critical Criminology

IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO WALK BEFORE YOU RUN SO LETS MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND THE IDEA OF DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS AND PERSPECTIVES.

EACH OF THE DICSIPLINES LISTED IN THE DEFINITION -> MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT EXPLANATION FOR CRIMINALITY. THERE'S NO ONE-SHOE-FITS ALL THEORY WHEN IT COMES TO CRIMINOLOGY, DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS EACH HAVE THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.

"Criminology is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and social sciences, which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, biologists, social anthropologists, as well as scholars of law."

Criminology Wiki

classical - biological - sociological - psychological

Over the course of this unit, we'll look at four main areas or perspectives on crime / criminal behaviour; these are the classical, the biological, sociological and psychological.

BUT FIRST...

Before we dive into the classical school of thought, it's a good idea to understand the context in which these different approaches were developed and what perspectives were in play before.

How we view and deal with crime, like everything else, has developed over centuries. "Criminology truly began in Europe between the late 1700’s and the early 1800’s". Progressive thinking in this period wasn't restricted to criminology, in fact it was a time of discovery and research throughout the Western world we retrospectively call the 'AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT'.

"The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Enlightenment included a range of ideas based on reason and the evidence of the senses as the primary sources of knowledge and advanced ideals... basically it was the start of a scientific approach to our understanding of the work...

This begs the question, what did people think ABOUT CRIME / CRIMINALS before the enlightenment?

demonology

One pre-classical theory on criminology was that of demonology. Demonology is one of the earliest theories in criminology. "In the ancient times, people believed that evil spirits or demons entered the human soul and made people commit sins. This was the earliest explanation given regarding crime and criminal behaviour. Terms like demons, witches and windigo were used for people who had turned criminals under demonic influence. The society thought that it all happened due to evil spirits. Supernatural powers were considered the best explanation behind crime and sin then. It was believed that a person did not commit crimes of his own free will but because he was under the influence of evil" - Criminological Theories

Think about it...

This idea of FREE WILL is a crucial one which we'll see varying across the different approaches over time. For now, consider and note down your ideas on the following...

Is criminal activity the fault of the perpetrator?
Is crime caused by factors beyond our control and therefore, can individuals be blamed for committing crime?
Is crime caused by a failing of society?

This has significant implications; for example, if we say that crime is NOT the fault of the individual, then is it fair to punish people for committing crimes?

salem witch trials

The infamous Salem Witch Trials highlight some of the key failings of the demonological explanation of crime. One key 'problem' with this approach was the focus on drawing a confession from the accused with virtually no regard for EVIDENCE - remember, this was before the advent of a more scientific approach to investigating crime (e.g., Bertillon's anthropometric system and Locard's Principle of Exchange)

Another problem with invoking the supernatural to provide explanations of criminality is that it helps to dehumanise the accused. Of course a demon-possessed individual will deny any wrongdoing, that's the malicious nature of the demon and so agents of the judicial system would employ the use of torture or ‘trial by ordeal' to force the accused to speak the 'truth'... For the accused this was a 'catch 22', facing a presumption of guilt based on very little or no evidence at all, they could either confess and probably be executed or not confess and face continued torture (potentially leading to death anyway!)

These torture devices were devices used in the Middle Ages or early modern period to cause pain, injury, and sometimes death, usually to extract information or a confession from criminals or prisoners, also as punishment for crimes.

DUNKING

"This was a form of punishment that was mainly reserved for supposed witches. The victim was tied to a chair which was elevated by ropes above a pond or vat of water. The victim was then lowered into the water until completely submerged. The chair was raised if the victim was about to pass out, or to give the victim a chance to confess... If the victim confessed they would most likely be killed....
King James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England) claimed in his Daemonologie that water was so pure an element that it repelled the guilty."

THE RACK

"The torturer turned the handle causing the ropes to pull the victim's arms. Eventually, the victim's bones were dislocated with a loud crack, caused by snapping cartilage, ligaments or bones. If the torturer kept turning the handles the limbs would eventually be torn off...

This method was mostly used to extract confessions, not confessing meant that the torturer could stretch more. Sometimes, torturers forced their victim to watch other people be tortured with this device to implant psychological fear."

BOILING

"In England, statute 22 passed in 1532 by Henry VIII, made boiling a legal form of capital punishment. It began to be used for murderers who used poisons after the Bishop of Rochester's cook, Richard Rice, gave a number of people poisoned porridge, resulting in two deaths in February 1532... This was more frequently a way to execute a prisoner rather than to extract a confession."

CHAIR OF TORTURE

"This instrument's strength lies primarily in the psychological fear caused to the victims. They would often use the victim's fear to coerce them into confessing by forcing the victim to watch someone else be tortured with this instrument.

The time of death greatly varied ranging from a few hours to a day or more. No spikes penetrated any vital organ and the wounds were closed by the spikes themselves which delayed blood loss greatly"

ACTIVITY:

Answer the following questions and be prepared to discuss your answers in class

Why might the use of torture to extract confessions be considered a 'catch 22'?
Do you think torture is an effective way to ascertain guilt or innocence? Why or Why not?
Demonological explanations of crime remove responsibility from the individual (i.e., possession) - do you think people are responsible for their actions or not?

THESE BARBARIC METHODS WERE FOCUSED ON EXTRACTING A CONFESSION FROM THE ACCUSED RATHER THAN ESTABLISHING THEIR GUILT THROUGH ANY KIND OF REAL, EVIDENCE-BASED INVESTIGATION AND TRIAL... THANKFULLY, NOWADAYS WE'RE PROTECTED BY ETHICAL STANDARDS AND A PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE BEFORE GUILT... RIGHT?

FALSE CONFESSIONS AND THE REID TECHNQUE

At 16, Huwe Burton confessed to killing his mother. He was still in shock from discovering her body when New York City police began to interrogate him. After hours of being threatened and cajoled, he told the police what they wanted to hear. He soon recanted, knowing he was innocent and hoping the justice system would clear him.

Burton was convicted of second-degree murder in 1991 and received a sentence of 15 years to life.

After 20 years in prison, he was released on parole, but he never could shake the stigma of the conviction. Attorneys from several organizations worked for more than a decade to clear him. They produced facts that contradicted the confession and showed evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. But for the Bronx District Attorney's Office, Burton's confession outweighed all other evidence; after all, who would admit to a crime they did not commit?

For more details and other examples of false confessions check out this article:

False Confessions

To date, more than a quarter of the (over 365 at the time of writing) people exonerated in recent decades by the non-profit Innocence Project had confessed to their alleged crime

THE REID TECHNIQUE

Proper criminal investigations take time, effort and money. Even with an abundance of evidence, the burden is still on the prosecution to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt... on the other hand, if your suspect would just confess then that would everyone a whole lot of effort! Enter, the Reid technique.

While the Reid technique "should only occur when the investigator is reasonably certain of the suspect's involvement in the issue under investigation", in practice it's effectiveness in evoking confessions - either real or false - mean that in the past, less-than-scrupulous investigators used the technique to gain a confession, therefore rendering the actual legwork of an investigation irrelevant.

TLDR: Decide if your suspect is guilty based on less-than-scientific evidence (for example, non-verbal cues) then basically force / trick them to into confessing

In the UK, coercive practices such as the Reid technique are not permitted however it's still widely in use elsewhere. While we can't rightly compare the experience of medieval torture to the Reid technique, they both share the problem of producing false confessions.

READ IT...

*Efficient note-taking is in itself a skill, the template below employs the Cornell method which helps to keep your notes organised. There's lots in the article but take this as a practice run on note-taking

THIS ARTICLE LOOKS AT ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A FALSE CONFESSION BASED ON THE REID TECHNIQUE AND EXPLAINS HOW / WHY PEOPLE MIGHT GIVE FALSE CONFESSIONS WHEN FACED WITH SUCH COERCIVE METHODS

WHAT IS THE REID TECHNIQUE

Essential Question - what is the learning objective?

Question / Cues - as you're reading / watching materials, write down and questions that spring to mind and KEY words

Use the notes section to... take notes! These should be short sentences, lists & key phrases

Summary - once you've reviewed the materials, write up a summary of what you've found in your own words

For those interested, the Reid technique is one of many interrogation methods, details and critical analyses of the Reid technique and others can be found here:

Interrogation Techniques

activity

Rather than submit your work through Teams, we'll discuss our answers in class so notes should be adequate. Some of you will immediately be thinking 'LOL, good'un, I'll just not show up'. While that's your choice, I'd encourage you to get involved as skipping this will give you a headache later on when you're assessed on it.

These are reflective questions, they're not about being right or wrong, they're about getting you to think about the topic

What makes a crime a crime? Why do you think some things are against the law and others aren't?

2. Why do you think crime varies by country?

3. List down as many motivational factors for crime you can think of. Can these be grouped into categories?

4. Make sure you have your answers to the questions in the previous activity too as we'll discuss these too!

READ IT...

Theories on Criminology

Before next week's class, read and take notes on the above article. You should focus on the names of the theories and key individuals in their creation; a one-liner summary for each perspective would be good but isn't essential (yet). The below is a more more on-depth but might be interesting for some of you!

History of Criminology

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