Brown: Criminology, 8th Edition


Case Studies

8. Social Process Theories of Crime

Officer Jones and Officer Butler responded to a domestic dispute on Saturday evening. When they arrived at the residence of Mark and Amber Sutton, it was evident that Amber had been physically assaulted. Her lip was cut and bleeding, and she also had a cut below her left eye that was swollen and beginning to bruise. Officer Jones took Mark to the kitchen to get his version of events, while Officer Butler interviewed Amber in the living room.

According to Amber, after she and her husband returned from dinner with some of their friends, they started arguing about a disagreement they’d had earlier in the evening. She explained that Mark became enraged and began striking her in the face with his fists. Officer Jones heard a similar account of what had taken place that evening; however, Mark had an explanation for striking Amber. Mark told Officer Jones that Amber had humiliated him at dinner in front of their friends. When they got back home he needed to show her that she would not be allowed undermine him in public like she’d done. Mark explained that he didn’t want to hurt Amber and he loved her, but needed to teach her a lesson so he did what he had to do. He concluded by saying that none of this would have happened if his wife would have shown him the respect he deserved in the first place.

Questions

  1. Which techniques of neutralization could be applied to this situation?

    Correct Answer

    Denial of responsibility and denial of victim.

  2. How does denial of responsibility apply to Mark’s actions and statements?

    Correct Answer

    Mark asserted that he did not want to hit Amber, but he was forced to because of her actions.

  3. How does denial of victim apply to Mark’s actions and statements?

    Correct Answer

    Mark contended that Amber brought this upon herself by disrespecting him. He said that none of this would’ve happened if she had not done that.

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