Criminology Research Methods| Applied Sciences
Discussion 1-Criminology Research techniques (250 words)
The Practice of Social Research_ Earl Babbie- Chapter 2 talks a lot of about theory and how theory is linked to research. Use this discussion forum to brush up criminological theories, sharing the theory you think is the strongest for accounting for some type of crime (and defending your statement) as well as the theory you think does the poorest job accounting for that same type of crime (and again defending your statement). Suggest other theories for the crime types identified by your classmates—and defend your statements
· Reply to the following posts from classmates:
Discussion 2- Cameron’s Post (150-200words)
Classical and Positivist Theory are two different criminological theories. Classical theory has to do with the offense, and the positivist theory has to do with the “actor” of the crime. Regarding the classical theory, this theory states that people have free will and can make their own decisions. This means that they have a set and rational mindset. Due to this, the classical theorists believe that “punishment is capable of deterring crime, so long as it is carried out without delay and is appropriate and in proportion to the crime committed.” This means that the classical theorists believe that people should be held accountable for their wrongful acts.
The Positivist Theorists believe that crime is caused by social and psychological factors, which would mean that they do not believe that people know what they are doing. This would be the classical theory. To explain more about the positivist criminological theory, they believe that people are born well until something in the environment/background/family makes them change.
I trust in some cases, crime can be used in both the classical theory and the positivist theory. If murder were an example, I believe that someone will commit murder out of complete rationality and due to upbringing. A crime like this one can go both ways.
If I were to select a crime that has a strong positivity for one and a negativity for another, I would choose a crime like robbery, theft, or cannibalism. Regarding theft and robbery, I believe robbery and theft is done by rational decision. In some cases, robbery or theft is done to help the family with food, money, and staying alive. People do not deserve to become charged with an extensive crime, if they did not have the mentality to harm, or kill, another human being. This means that this crime belongs towards the classical theory and not positivist theory. The criminals in this case do not have a psychological problem, but are rational in every way. Regarding cannibalism, this is an illness. Classical theory focuses on rational people and the crimes that they commit, but a cannibal is not rational at all. A cannibal most likely became this way due to a social or psychological phenomenon.
A Comparison and Contrast of the Classical and the Positivist Schools of Criminology. (n.d.). Retrieved July 9, 2018, from http://criminology-articles.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-comparison-and-contrast-of-classical.html
Discussion 3- Ryan’s Post (150-words)
I do not believe there is not a “one size fits all” theory which can explain why people commit crimes, or why people become criminals. It has seemed to me, there is a time and place for various theories, and times when certain theories seem to blend, which can offer insight to specific examples of crime and criminality. One theory I believe can account for some types of crime is the strain theory. Under this theory, there are external social pressures which might pressure a person to commit a crime. While this theory primarily looks at social structures, I sometimes look at this theory and think in more micro terms, that pressures within a person’s social setting can put pressure on them to commit crime. While the social strain theory might not always be able to account for white collar crime, I believe if looking at one’s social setting, or socioeconomic status, white collar crime could be accounted for under this theory. For example, a CEO of a company who is trying to compete with other CEO’s at the golf club who have more than they do and, in an attempt to “keep of with the Jones’,” they resort to illegal activities. This could be the same more someone in a “lower class” who are trying to move up to the “next level” in society.
One theory that I believe least supports is the deterrence theory. While there are some people who do not commit crimes because they do not want to be punished, I believe a large portion of people either do what they want, out of selfishness or necessity, or because at the core they believe the act is wrong. These reasons can account for either not committing crime, or committing crime(s). This feeling of “wrong” could be because of society, the ways they were raised, etc. A simple example which can be true for bigger crimes, many people will speed at times because they want to, need to, or don’t care, and only slow down when they believe they might be caught and have to pay a fine. They still commit the act and only act appropriately when they believe they will get caught.
Reference:
ReviseSociology. (2016). Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance. Revisesociology. Retrieved from: https://revisesociology.com/2016/04/16/mertons-strain-theory-deviance/
Discussion 4- Justin’s Post (150- words)
In this day and age, there are many theories that try to explain why criminals are indeed criminals. Criminality is something that scientists, scholars, and psychologists have been trying to understand for quite some time. The idea behind trying to understand criminality is if you can understand it then you can potentially stop it. Thus, why there are numerous theories out there. Unfortunately, crime is something that has been rampant from the dawn of men/women. I truly think that education is the key to reducing crime in our country and the world. The more educated a society, the less likely that crimes will happen. Again, crimes will always happen but someone being educated on how to legally strive will be less likely to commit a crime.
I think that a theory that goes hand and hand with this idea is the strain theory. Most people in the world have the same goals and aspirations, to be well off and have a good income so they can live comfortably. But, and in this world not everyone is given the same set of cards to do well. Some people are given a stacked deck and are already sent in the right direction and on the other hand some people have to work harder at this notion then others. When this happens, a strain happens and people sometimes to the easier route of attaining wealth or goods, illegal, than the moral route, legal. This is where education would play a big part in letting these people know that if you work hard and you are educated that you can succeed.
Positivist theory I just cannot agree with. It is the notion that a criminal is born a criminal or a wealthy man is born a wealthy man. If this was the case then we should just lock up all the children of known criminals to prevent criminality from spreading. But this is not the case, a man or woman is born with a clean slate and they choose their own destiny. We are a product of our environment for the most part and education plays a pivotal role in the shaping of our youth. I will never agree with this idea that we are born what we are.
Network Forensics
Discussion 5- Network forensics (250 words)
How is digital evidence acquired in a network environment? Provide a brief example.
Reply to the classmates post’s to the question (2 replies)
Discussion 6- Cory’s Post (100-150 words)
Acquiring digitial evidence can be done either passively or physically as well as through active aquesition. Forensic investigators can passively acquire network traffic by intercepting it as it is transmitted across cables, through the air, or through network equipment such as hubs and switches. Once you gain physical access to network traffic, you need software to record it. In addition to capturing network traffic as it travels through wires and in the air, we may also choose to gather evidence from network devices, including firewalls, web proxies, logging servers, and more. In many cases, these devices cannot be removed from the production environment without causing serious damage to business operations. In other cases, the evidence stored is highly volatile and must be collected while the system is still running, perhaps even still on the network.
Wireshark is a network analysis tool that captures all incoming and outgoing packets to a machine on a specific network. Once the packet is captured it will be displayed within Wireshark, from there you are able to see its contents. Seeing where the packet originated from can help determine if you are connected to a malicious website or network. Allowing a Network Forensic Analysist to block all incoming and outgoing connections to the IP Address where the malicious packet originated from.
Discussion 7- Namrata’s Post (100-150 words)
Acquiring digital evidence or data can be done in a many number of ways depending on the situation and the type of evidence or information that is being collected. Information can be collected from web proxies, logs, wireless access points, log servers, etc (Davidoff & Ham, 2012). Information can also be intercepted when data is being transmitted across wires and analyze packets for information, etc.
To capture traffic, intercept data as it is being transmitted, etc, forensic examiners will utilize protocol analysis tools such as Wireshark and tshark (Davidoff & Ham, 2012). Wireshark includes built-in protocol dissectors that automatically analyze and display protocol information within individual packets (Davidoff & Ham, 2012). Tshark functionality is very similar and includes the same functionality to that of Wireshark because it uses the same protocol dissection code (Davidoff & Ham, 2012).
There are two types of methods to acquisition: live acquisition and dead or offline acquisition. Live acquisition is often done with information that can be damaged or altered if not handled carefully and also needs to be handled immediately. A live system is used to refer to a system or network that is running where information may be altered as information or data is continuously processed (Kolhe & Ahirao, 2017). Dead or offline acquisition is when and can be handled after handling more pertinent evidence. With offline acquisition, handling or moving the evidence will not alter any data (Kolhe & Ahirao, 2017). Also, volatile memory, or memory or storage that is only maintained while the device is on, should be handled immediately. Non-volatile, is used for secondary storage or long term persistent storage (Kolhe & Ahirao, 2017).
Resources
Davidoff, S., & Ham, J. (2012). Network Forensics: Tracking hackers through cyberspace. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kolhe, M., & Ahirao, P. (2017). Live Vs Dead Computer Forensic Image Acquisition. (IJCSIT) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technologies,8(3), 455-457. Retrieved July 11, 2018, from http://ijcsit.com/docs/Volume 8/vol8issue3/ijcsit2017080331.pdf
