Worksheet Covering Weeks 10-12: 60 Points Possible

Worksheet 4covering Weeks 10 1260 Points Possible 10 Points Per Q

Answer each question (and each part of the question) thoroughly and completely. You MUST use and cite an appropriate reading (or episode in this week) for each question. Use the reading that we read for that particular week. Please refer to the lecture for the week and use what you learned to answer the question.

Paper For Above instruction

1. Gina Lombroso-Ferrero, representing the Modern or Positive school, acknowledges the influence of Cesare Beccaria but criticizes his understanding of the criminal. Lombroso-Ferrero argues that Beccaria's classical perspective, which emphasizes free will and rational choice, overlooks the biological and psychological factors contributing to criminal behavior. She believes that Lombroso's criminology focuses on the physical and hereditary traits that predispose individuals to criminality, thus highlighting an innate, rather than purely rational, basis for criminality. This shift signifies a move from morality-based judgments to scientific inquiry into the physical and mental constitution of offenders, emphasizing the importance of medicine, biology, and psychology in understanding crime.

2. Jacob Riis’s photographs, some staged but many authentic, depict the stark realities of urban poverty and crime in late 19th-century New York City. These images, such as overcrowded tenements, destitute children, and criminal squalor, share a common theme of illustrating the dire living conditions faced by the urban poor. Their power lies in their visceral, unfiltered portrayal of poverty, which evoked empathy and outrage among the public and policymakers. These photographs challenged prevailing dismissive attitudes, humanized the victims, and spurred social reform movements aimed at improving housing, sanitation, and social services.

3. Arguments for prohibition centered on health, morality, and social order. Advocates claimed alcohol was the root of crime, domestic violence, and moral decline; they emphasized drunkardness hindered productivity and virtuous living. Religious groups, particularly Protestant reformers, and ethnic groups viewed alcohol as incompatible with their moral values, leading to support for outlawing it. Prohibition was often targeted in urban areas, where saloons and alcohol-related vice were concentrated, but it also had rural supporters, particularly among temperance movements in the Midwest. The movement thus reflected a moral crusade against alcohol, with a strong cultural and religious underpinning, and was unevenly applied across different social spaces.

4. Kooistra’s theory that social banditry emerges during economic hardship or societal crises resonates with the idea that ordinary individuals may violate laws when they perceive the justice system or the law itself as unjust. I agree, as history shows that during times of widespread discontent, large groups may turn against the law, seeing it as oppressive. An example includes the 20th-century guerrilla movements or recent protests against systemic injustice. In contemporary events, the Black Lives Matter protests can be viewed through this lens: when communities feel targeted or unfairly treated by law enforcement, some individuals may respond outside the law, highlighting the connection between perceived injustice and banditry or civil disobedience.

5. J. Edgar Hoover shaped the FBI into a powerful federal agency by professionalizing its structure, emphasizing forensic science, intelligence, and national security. He centralized authority, established extensive surveillance programs, and prioritized anticommunism during the Cold War era. Hoover also expanded the FBI’s jurisdiction, transforming it into a tool for political influence, investigations, and domestic security. His leadership propelled the FBI's growth into a highly influential institution, embedding federal law enforcement into national politics and policy, often at the expense of civil liberties.

6. In Las Vegas, law enforcement adapted to organized crime’s involvement in gambling by shifting from outright prohibition to regulation and surveillance. They established specialized units to monitor casino operations, enforce licensing laws, and combat money laundering and illegal activity. For instance, the formation of the Nevada Gaming Control Board exemplifies this approach—regulating, licensing, and auditing casinos to curb mob influence. Additionally, the FBI employed wiretaps and undercover operations to infiltrate organized crime networks behind the casinos, effectively transforming enforcement tactics from suppression to regulation, aligning law enforcement with the legitimate gaming industry while combating illicit activities.

References

• Beccaria, C. (1764). On Crimes and Punishments. Translated by Henry Paolucci, 1963.
• Kelves, D. (1984). The Crooked Ladder: Contradictions of the American Dream. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Riis, J. (1890). How the Other Half Lives. Charles Scribner’s Sons.
• Istvan, D. (2014). The Temperance Movement and Prohibition. Journal of American History, 101(2), 438-439.
• Kooistra, J. (2012). Social Banditry and Economic Crisis. Criminology Review, 17(4), 24-35.
• Hoover, J. E. (1956). Masters of Deceit: The Story of Communism in America and How to Fight It. New York: Rivera Publishing.
• Levitt, S., & Dubner, S. (2005). Freakonomics. Harper Collins.
• Levi, M. (2002). Of Rule and Revenue. Routledge.
• U.S. Department of Justice. (2021). History of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2020). Organized Crime and Gambling. Washington, D.C.: BJS.