Lesson 10

10.1 SOCIAL CONTEXT OF CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY

There is some confusion and debate that surrounds the term ‘critical’ criminology. What does it
mean and what concepts are fundamental to it? In actuality, the term describes a wide range of
theoretical and political positions but, broadly speaking, it tends to espouse an anti-capitalist
position. The demise of Stalinism in the 1980s led to a period of high volatility in politics on a
world-wide scale. Combine this with a world economy that was rapidly feeling the impact of
globalization and the universalization of production, consumption, finance, culture, employment,
debt, and sport. People felt the world, and their place in it, was increasingly uncertain and subject
to transformation. In addition, it was becoming increasingly evident that the world was also an
unequal place where some people had great access to opportunity and advancement, while others
had little or no opportunity. To put it bluntly, wealth and power were increasingly concentrated
into fewer hands on a global level.

During this time, new social movements developed in response to this recognition of differences
and included:

• Gay and lesbian rights

• Environmental and conservation rights
• Pro-choice rights
• Animal rights
• Third world solidarity action groups
• Human rights advocates
• Anti-racist groups

What was happening in the world during this time had an impact on criminology as a discipline
and new strands of thought began to emerge along with the established ones we have discussed
in earlier chapters. We are now going to turn our attention to some of these new strands.

I emphasize again at this point, that the following material may be new and uncomfortable for
some of you. Please ensure you read the text thoroughly and work your way through the
discussion questions provided in both the ‘Case in Point’ and “Crime in Context’ boxes and at
the end of the chapter as the exercise will assist you in developing a clear understanding of the
material.

Postmodernism
During this time, we see the emergence of the terms postmodern and postmodernism. In general,
postmodernism is concerned with meaning, social difference, and discourse analysis. There is
significant focus on both the deconstruction of language and the meaning of law.

Our textbook (p. 255) defines deconstruction as "The process of rigorously analyzing and
making apparent the assumptions, judgments, and values that underlie social arrangements and
intellectual ideas". For now, I just want you to understand the importance of the deconstruction
of language to a postmodernist and that the term ‘postmodernism’ is used in different ways. The
textbook provides examples that highlight the complexity and ambiguity of the term.

The following provides a succinct overview of the important concepts found within
postmodernism.

Definition of crime: not absolute continuous struggle over control of linguistic production
Focus of analysis: human subject conflicts over “existence” or “reality” as expressed in and
through language
Cause of crime: hegemony of dominant discourse suppression of alternatives
Nature of offender: discursively constituted through dominant discourses relationships of
resistance/power
Response to crime: replacement discourses no action
Crime prevention: conflicts over discursive frames new voices and listening no action
Operation of criminal justice system: localism, plurality deconstruction and critique
acknowledgement of diverse “discursive subject positions
The Risk Society
The ‘risk society’ describes a new form of risk related to technological change and globalization
of economic, political, and social relationships that result in:

• ‘ontological insecurity’ which describes the physical and psychological risk people
and groups feel due to rapid change that threatens traditional social structures
that provide the means of security and stability (here you can think of education,
employment, the family as examples)
• Individualization which is the process by which individuals are made more
responsible for their well-being and less reliant on state or collective support. One
is expected to manage one’s choices and actions.
Take a Moment
Can you think of ways in which individualization has developed? Think of the idea that people
are responsible for their health. What is missing from this picture? What about social or
economic impediments to good health? What things could stand in the way of someone living
with ‘good health’?

Within a risk society framework, pollution, global warming, and crime are considered as global
threats to life as they transcend national borders and have the potential to impact anyone and
everyone regardless of class, race, or sex.

These conceptions have spurred a great deal of interest in the discipline of criminology in the
area of crime and crime control. Attention has been directed at ways in which governments have
attempted to manage crime-related risk within a context of increased inequalities.

A way to think about the impact that globalization and individualization has on criminology is to
understand the various strands found within a critical perspective that reflect the uncertainties
and hope of the current age. The development of this perspective is closely aligned with radically
altered material circumstances and the rise of new and powerful social movements as political
forces within society.

So, to summarize,

Figure 10.1: Critical and Postmodern Criminology.

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Lesson 10
10.2 BASIC CONCEPTS
For our purpose here, we will consider two general trends within critical criminology literature
that focus on power and power structures within society: the structuralist approach and the
postmodern approach. We will begin with the structuralist approach.

Within this approach the focus tends be on power as ingrained within social structures and it
manifests itself in institutional action and activities of interest groups. Crime is defined in terms
of oppression and vulnerable groups include:

• Working class
• Women
• Ethnic minority groups
• Indigenous people
This approach sees its primary task as exposing the nature of power relations. The focus is on
crimes of the powerful in relation to ideology, political economy, and the state. When attention
turns to crimes of the less powerful, the focus is on experiences specific to a particular segment
of the population.

Take a Moment
A current example that should resonate with you, is the treatment of women in Hollywood in
relation to sexual harassment and assault. Please take a few minutes to read the article provided
for you.

So, how then, does a structuralist perspective understand the cause of crime? For the
structuralist, crime is linked to:

• Growing disparities between the rich and the poor

• For the powerful, crime is caused by pressures associated with securing and
maintaining state power
• For the less powerful, crime is caused by the marginalization in society and an
increase in criminalization (i.e. police response to crime)

The nature of the offender is related to social context, which is structurally determined. What this
really means is that there is a trend toward the most vulnerable in society as being the most
highly represented in the criminal justice system. Jeffrey Reiman’s 1979 book “the Rich get
Richer and the Poor get Prison, explores the idea that the criminal justice system is biased
against poor people from the definition of what constitutes a crime and/or criminal behavior
through the process of arrest, trial, sentencing and incarceration and provides a strong example of
a critical approach to the issue.

Structuralist responses to crime are based on social empowerment and include:

• An argument for the redistribution of social resources based on social need and
equity
• A call to engage in participatory democracy where people are involved in
decisions about their future
• The recommendations made in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report
are illustrative of a structuralist response to issues of crime and criminality
• Crime prevention measures focus on the need for anti-racist and anti-sexist
campaigns which would include re-education and re-training of state officials such
as police
• There is also an emphasis on protecting and extending basic human rights:
o Economic rights
 o Social rights
o Cultural rights
o Political rights

From this perspective, the operation of the criminal justice system would emphasize:

• Restorative justice practices rather than retribution and punishment

• A redistribution of community resources
• An open and accountable criminal justice system
• Self-determination at the community level

So, how does a postmodern perspective deal with these same issues? Let’s move on and discover
the differences.

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Lesson 10
10.2.1 BASIC CONCEPTS: POSTMODERNISM
Figure 10.2: Postmodern Criminology.

From a postmodern perspective, crime is defined in terms of linguistic production and

relationships of power. But what does this actually mean? This means that language structures
thought and that language and communication are tools of social control created by those in
power.

Take a Moment
Let me give you an example, have you ever tried to read a medical report? The terminology used
is often beyond the ability of the average person to decipher and we must rely on the doctor to
tell us what it actually means. This transfers the power away from you, the patient, and to the
physician who has knowledge to translate the words. This knowledge gives the physician power
over you the patient.

The focus of analysis is to:

• Expose the process by which certain groups and categories of people are socially
excluded
• Examine questions relating to the nature and exercise of state power
o Those who hold the means of expression hold the key to controlling
and exercising power over others
 • Identifying and analyzing micro-processes of power (how power is exercised)
which operate at the institutional level
o Police
o Courts
o Prison

Postmodern perspectives on causes of crime are also interesting to consider as they are
significantly different from traditional understandings and explanations and often take a bit of
time to consider and understand. Crime is caused by:

• Linguistic domination that criminalizes any speech, thought, or behavior that

resists or de-legitimates the dominant discourse
• Hegemony of the dominant discourse leads to suppression of those without
power
o Language and communication are tools of social control created by
those in power in create conformity
o Those who control the means of expression hold the key to power
and control over others
Take a Moment
Take a few minutes to read this news article and consider how the term squeegee kids is used to
criminalize a certain groups of young people and how the state responded to this group.

The nature of the offender, responses to crime, crime prevention, and the operation of the
criminal justice system from a postmodern perspective are based on discourse and power and
include the following points:

• The offender is discursively constituted through dominant relationships of power -

defined here as the ability to direct, influence, or force the behavior of others of
the course of events- and resistance to power
• Individuals and/or groups are silenced by those in control of the dominant modes
of expression

Responses to crime must include:

• The deconstruction of dominant discourses which are understood to be written or

spoken communication between people or groups of people.
• The development of replacement discourses to neutralize the power of those who
control the dominant mode of discourse
• Decentralized social control with an awareness that to replace one discourse with
another brings a new set of power struggles
 • Crime prevention must expose the ways in which the criminal justice system is
languaged (e.g. a judge is rational, a victim may not be rational)
• Offering a new voice to those without power
• The possibility of taking no action as any attempt to replace a discourse with a
new discourse is in itself a linguistic imposition
• The criminal justice system must work to deconstruct and critique everyday
discourse asit relates to crime and criminals
• It must also acknowledge the diversity in ‘discursive subject positions’ (i.e. the
way in which people speak and think based on their roles or position in society,
e.g. lawyer, doctor, police officer)

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Lesson 10
MICHEL FOUCAULT, POWER, AND THE DOCILE BODY
In this section, you will be introduced to the work of Michel Foucault (1926-1984) whose work
made, and continues to make, significant contributions to postmodern thought and research. It is
impossible with the time we have, to do more than provide you a very cursory overview of his
thoughts and ideas expressed in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975) as it
relates to his concepts of Bio-Power and the Docile Body.

The concept of power is central to Foucault’s work, as is the notion of resistance. Resistance is
fundamental as power cannot operate without it. Think of the law of physics that states ‘for every
action, there is an equal and opposite reaction’ as a starting point. From a critical perspective, a
reaction may not be equal and opposite, but there must be a reaction.

For Foucault:

• Power is knowledge, and knowledge is power

• Power does not exist solely in top-down relationships, but also from the bottom
up
• Social controls are aimed at creating what he refers to as the ‘docile body’
• A ‘docile body’ is one that can be transformed and improved and contribute to
the industrial economy and military structures

Foucault also explores the role of language and power, when he claims:

• ‘Languaging’ of reality serves to legitimize certain discursive subject positions (e.g.

doctor/patient, lawyer/client)
 • An analysis of social life requires the deconstruction of language to see how it is
used to the advantage of some and the disadvantage of others
• Discourse analysis therefore means the deconstruction of meaning to reveal
hidden and suppressed meaning embodied in social relationships (e.g. police
officer/offender)
Take a Moment
Take a moment to think about hidden meanings that may be found in the social relationship
between police and offenders. Can you identify any? I’ll start you off. Think about who has
power in the relationship between police and offenders. Also, think of the language police may
use when talking about an offender, the idea of the ‘bad guy’. Can you think of how offenders
may refer to police?

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Lesson 10
10.3 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Critical criminology is part of an important tradition of struggle and political conflict over social
and human rights within a society that is divided by race, gender, and class. Its developmental
roots may be traced to the emergence of labelling theories when critics argued the need to
expand the scope and examine relations of power within society. The goal is to identify the link
between dominant institutions and ruling-class interests.

A perspective known as Left Realism emerged as a direct response to new right criminology in
an attempt to focus criminological interest on class, gender, and race. It was concerned, in
particular, with marginalization and policing reform, specifically the development of consensus-
style policing in inner-city and working-class areas. More recently, the focus has been on what is
referred to as the ‘square of crime’ which is comprised of:

• Two dyads
o The criminal act which focuses on the relationship between the
victim and the offender
o Social control which focuses on the social action (police and
agencies) and social reaction (reaction of the public)
o There should be a focus on both dyads and the inter-relationship
between the two

From this perspective crime is caused by an amalgamation of three elements:

 1. Relative deprivation felt by those in working-class areas
• The rise of countercultures
2. Lack of access to the political sphere
• A sense of powerlessness
3. Dissent and police responses
• Antagonize local populations

Figure 10.3: Image Attribution:martybucella.com

In addition, critical criminology argued the need to keep a focus on the actions of the powerful.
The term “white collar crime’ was coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 who applied differential
association theory to crimes undertaken by individuals in positions of power and wealth in
society. Sutherland sought to address the inequalities of treatment of people who engage in
harmful behaviours between those with power and those without. Critical criminology continues
to focus on white collar crime, corporate criminality, and the lack of enforcement but shares a
closer theoretical alignment to Marxist perspectives than Sutherland’s differential association
theory.

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Lesson 10
10.4 CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES
Contemporary critical criminology raises a series of important issues for public discussion,
including ongoing critiques of the prison system and the privatization of punishment. It seeks to
illuminate a wide range of issues faced by less powerful groups and, unlike many perspectives,
continues to focus on racism, crime, and policing. Now is a good time to read and answer the
discussion questions located in the ‘Case in Point’ box in chapter ten.

We are going to take the next few minutes explore contemporary issues within critical
criminology through the use of infographics. Because of the sheer amount of material covered in
this chapter, I am presenting the material in a slightly different format that we used in the
previous chapters. The infographics are provided to give you an alternate way of remembering
the basic concepts. It is important that you read the textbook to develop a clear understanding of
each of the examples. It is also important to read the text as it provides additional contemporary
issues that criminologists focus on. We will review the following issues here: victimology,
convict criminology, critical race theory, postcolonial theory, and global terrorism.

Victimology
 Figure 10.4: Contemporary Examples.

Convict Criminology
Convict criminology is a new field led by ex-convicts and convicts who are academics who have
been, or are, incarcerated. They work to combine their life experiences with their academic
abilities to provide new insights into the operation of the criminal justice system and the
experiences of those involved. Convict criminologists draw attention to:

• The failure of prison to rehabilitate

• The dramatic increases in rates and lengths of incarceration
• Prisoners’ rights movements
Critical Race Theory

Figure 10.5: Critical Race Theory.

Postcolonial Theory

Figure 10.6: Postcolonial Theory.

Global Terrorism

Figure 10.7: Global Terrorism.

In recent years, critical criminologists have turned their attention to issues of global terrorism
and responses to it. According to James Lutz and Brenda Lutz (2013), there are six main
components to consider when defining terrorism. These are:

1. It involves political aims and motives

2. It is violent or threatens violence
3. It is designed to generate fear in a target audience that extends
past the immediate victims of the violence
4. The violence is conducted by an identifiable organization
5. The violence involves a non-state actor or actors as either the
perpetrator, the victim of the violence, or both
6. The acts of violence are designed to create power in situations in
which power had previously been lacking.

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 Lesson 10
10.5 CRITIQUES
As you have come to expect, this section presents an overview of critiques of critical
criminology and cover a variety of issues. The critiques include:

• Critiques that argue critical criminology shares similar challenges as those faced
by Marxist criminology
o Problem of defining crime too broadly
o Simplistic view of the nature of power
o A failure to spell out the precise nature of capitalism
o It is unclear as to whether all crime is ultimately economic-based
• There is also a problem with how differences in human rights abuse is conceived
o How do you distinguish the powerless and resistance of ethnic group
minorities and white supremacist groups without introducing a
values framework?
• There are challenges in determining whether social relationships are oppressive or
liberating
• There is a rejection of ‘grand narratives’ that make analysis or action difficult
• There is a problem with deconstructions issue of infinite regress – in other words,
there is no endpoint for the deconstructive analysis process
• There are methodological challenges inherent in convict criminology with a
possible overemphasis on personal experience.

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Lesson 10
10.6 CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that the emergence of critical criminology represents the cutting edge of
socially progressive criminology in the 21st century. It provides a critique of global capitalism
through in-depth investigations that view capitalism as hostile to the promotion and maintenance
of human rights and personal power. It espouses a ‘liberation’ philosophy aimed at allowing all
people to participate fully in society and continues to make significant contributions to the
discipline of criminology.

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