Criminological Theory
Criminological Theory A Genetic Social Approach Tim Owen Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
Tim Owen 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-0-230-27850-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-32629-7 ISBN 978-1-137-31695-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137316950 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Transferred to Digital Printing in 2014
To the memory of my paternal grandparents, Charles William Owen and Gertrude Owen
Contents Preface Acknowledgements viii ix 1 Introduction 1 2 Transitions in Criminological and Social Theory 10 3 Constructing a Genetic Social Framework 63 4 An Application of the Genetic Social Framework to the Study of Crime and Criminal Behaviour 116 Bibliography 174 Index 200 vii
Preface The book is intended as a contribution towards metatheoretical development as part of the post-postmodern return to sociological theory associated with Roger Sibeon (1996, 1999, 2004, 2007), Derek Layder (1997, 2004, 2007), Nicos Mouzelis (1991, 1993a, 1995, 2007), Margaret Archer (1995, 1998) and Owen (2006a, 2006b, 2007a, 2007b, 2009a, 2012a, 2012b), in tandem with an attempt to build bridges between criminological theory and insights from evolutionary psychology and behavioural genetics. The framework employed in the book relies upon methodological generalisations as opposed to substantive ones. It is contented that we require a way forward beyond postmodern relativism, harshly environmentalist oversocialised accounts and genetic fatalism (the equation of genetic predisposition with inevitability), in the form of a modification of Roger Sibeon s ontologically flexible antireductionism. It is suggested that this modification would entail focusing upon the biological variable (evidence from behavioural genetics and evolutionary psychology for a, at least in part, genetic basis for some human behaviour). The mutuality between genes and environment is acknowledged in the book, and Matt Ridley s (1999, 2003) model of nature via nurture is favoured. The explanatory potential of the framework is demonstrated by applying the meta-concepts to the study of the areas of interest. The focus here is upon crime, criminal behaviour and approaches to criminology. It is contended that the metatheoretical framework can usefully contribute to a study of the subject area, and also towards preparing the ground for further theoretical and empirical investigation, drawing upon large-scale synthesis. viii
Acknowledgements I would like to record my great debts of gratitude to the following people for their help, support, advice and inspiration in the completion of the book: Professor Jason L. Powell (Manchester Metropolitan University), Professor Keith Faulks (Uclan), Dr Terry Hopton (Uclan), Jessica Marshall (Uclan), Jennah Evans (Uclan), Dr David Scott (Uclan), Dr Roger Sibeon (University of Liverpool), Professor Derek Layder (University of Leicester), Susan Jones, Russell Leavitt, Wayne Noble, Ian Conolly, Mark Owen of SPCS (Preston) for his computer brilliance, Elizabeth Connard and Charlotte Nicklin of Lilibets of Paris (Southport) for their sublime entremets, my sister Wendy Steeple and brother-in-law David, my sister-in-law Louise Ridley, nephew Joseph Ridley and niece Grace Ridley, Harriet Barker and Julia Willan of Palgrave Macmillan and Rajeswari Balasubramanian of Integra. Special thanks are due to my wife Julie. ix