Ethnography of Crime and Punishment

Ethnography

The study of crime has been conducted principally in two ways. The first way to study crime is characteristic of sociological and criminological studies whose purpose is to identify crime patterns using cross-sectional and/or longitudinal numeric data. Cross-sectional data describe a behavior as it occurred at a particular time within a population or portion of a population. The homicide rate in the United States in 1998 is an example of a cross-sectional crime pattern. The homicide rate in the United States from 1990 to 1999 is an example of a longitudinal crime pattern, that is, a behavior as it occurred over a span of years. Such longitudinal data may show increases, decreases, or no change in the rate of homicide. Given that pattern of homicide, researchers might gather additional data as well, on the income, race, ethnicity, education, or employment of the perpetrators. Such data would assist researchers in correlating, or matching, increases and decreases in the homicide pattern to patterns in other data. Researchers may also conduct interviews with criminals, asking them for their motives and purposes in committing crime. The research methods for conducting cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of crime are those most commonly used in criminology.

The second way to study crime and punishment is to conduct studies of criminals' activities and forms of punishment, such as daily life inside correctional institutions, by participating in and observing the behavior of criminals and those with whom they interact. To conduct such research requires ethnographers to learn as much as possible about crime, criminals, and punishment by experiencing firsthand the world of criminals. Once a research plan is formulated, a crime ethnographer proceeds to where criminals “hang out.” That may mean sharing a street corner with sellers of cocaine, or spending months participating in the daily activities inside a penitentiary, or observing police officers as they interact with suspected offenders on the street. Such a research process requires the ability to blend in with the social setting and from that vantage point, to ask questions, make observations, listen to conversations, and observe the behaviors of criminals. [Page 638]These activities are central to the ethnography of crime and punishment.

The first challenge facing a crime and punishment ethnographer is learning what questions to ask. If a crime ethnographer had personal experiences as a criminal, he or she would have a good idea of what questions to ask and how to ask them; however, most crime ethnographers have not been criminals. Asking the most insightful questions requires learning enough about crime and criminals to generate the best questions—something that takes time, patience, and skill. As an ethnographer learns more about criminals and crime, questioning becomes more insightful and detailed. Improved interviewing allows an ethnographer to write a more insightful narrative analysis portraying a criminal lifestyle, culture, and worldview.

...