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Title: A General Theory of Crime by Michael R. Gottfredson, Travis Hirschi, Michael R. Gottfred ISBN: 0-8047-1774-5 Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr Pub. Date: May, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Perfect For What It Is
Comment: This book is the best presentation of control theory in criminology. If you are prone to Marxist criminology, this book will drive you nuts. The problem that G&H run into a lot, however, is what makes a crime a crime. If a man saved a baby from being inside a locked car by breaking the front window, how exactly is that different (in terms of property damage) from a gang member getting his kicks -- breaking a car window at random? Why is one act right, but the other act wrong? The consequences are the same. So is crime all about intention and not consequences? G&H could have clarified this point more.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Best Book On Crime and Criminals in the 20th Century
Comment: "A general theory of crime" represents a paradigm shift in the way we think about crime and criminals. Like any other scientific paradigm shift, there has been great resistance to the theory by sociologists who continue to blame crime on social deprivation, poverty and other social causes. The book discredits old sociological theories and illustrates that the cause of crime is poor parenting and the failure of parents to teach their children to delay gratification. Since the book's publication, it has been the most widely tested theory in criminology with substantial empirical support. If you want to understand the mind of a criminal offender and the nature of criminality, this is the book for you. The book also describes the necessary conditions for individual crimes to occur, a section that is valuable for readers who want to prevent their own victimization. In addition, the book demonstrates that offenders do not specialize in crime types like murder and sex crimes; instead, offenders tend to commit a wide variety of crimes and engage in a variety of self-destructive behaviors like drinking, drugging, speeding, traffic accidents, and promiscuous sex. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the general theory is the data presented that links age and crime, with peak arrest rates occurring between the ages of 17 and 19 and precipitously dropping off after the teenage years. The implications of the book for preventing crime are that we need to spend more money on early childhood programs that teach parents how to love their children and instill in them the self-control they need to delay gratification (such staying in school) and generally engage in long-term rather than short-term thinking.
Rating: 1
Summary: An effect of panopticism
Comment: The general theory of crime is part of neo-liberal discourse that finds its roots in panopticism. Panopticism is a method of social control that functions by having people watch themselves, so that no one else, such as the police, intervenes. In other words, people produce a self that, in turn, polices itself via self-control. In essence, people are their own police and, for this reason, they become extremely individualized.
As much as Gottfredson and Hirschi would like to think they have provided an "original" contribution to the literature in sociology/criminology, their thesis is nothing more than a reworked version of both panopticism and the christian religion. For instance, low self-control is the frail human who is sinful, opportunity is temptation, and guardianship (physical, self, or perceived) is god. High self-control, of course, is panopticism. Furthermore, their thesis completely dismisses class, culture, and power as explanations for why people "deviate." My suggestion is to read Foucault, and then read a general theory of crime as a way to situate it within a framework of panopticism. Gaining self-control only ensures that people will remain docile, obedient, and less resistant.
Finally, Gottfredson and Hirschi offer absolutely no critical analysis of how their theory discursively INVENTS people as subjects of themselves. In other words, their "theory" is not about "discovering" the "causes" of crime; instead, it is an attempt to map out a technique of power that can be used to confine, correct, discipline, and subtly punish people who "deviate" from "high self-control" and mainstream society. In other words, it is about maintaining control over people so they become better workers who fit in nicely with a capitalist society that is based on production. My recommendation is to read Discipline and Punish and move on to more informed and critical analyses of deviance and crime. Forget Gottfredson and Hirschi!
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Title: Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life by Robert J. Sampson, John H. Laub ISBN: 0674176057 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: Causes of Delinquency by Travis Hirschi ISBN: 0765809001 Publisher: Transaction Pub Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Crime, Shame and Reintegration by John Braithwaite ISBN: 0521356687 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 23 March, 1989 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: Crime and the American Dream by Steven F. Messner, Richard Rosenfeid, Richard Rosenfeld ISBN: 0534562779 Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Pub. Date: 05 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $35.95 |
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Title: Seductions of Crime by Jack Katz ISBN: 0465076165 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: September, 1990 List Price(USD): $23.50 |
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