The Seductive Nature of Autotelic Crime: How Neutralization Theory Serves as a Boundary Condition for Understanding Hardcore Street Offending

Abstract

In 1957 Sykes and Matza introduced Neutralization Theory as a response to the prevailing criminological wisdom that offenders engage in crime because they adhere to an oppositional subcultural rule set that values law breaking and violence. Sykes and Matza rejected this perspective arguing that, despite their involvement with offending, delinquents maintain a strong bond to conventional society and want to perceive themselves as "good." To resolve their contemplated law breaking with this desired self-identity, they employ neutralization techniques designed to assuage anticipated guilt. Subsequent research indicates that the original formulation of the theory is limited to explaining the behavior of conventionally attached individuals and fails to address the decision-making processes of nonconventionally oriented individuals such as criminally embedded street offenders. The current paper argues that, for a core group of such offenders, guilt is not an issue at all because their crimes are not only considered acceptable, but attractive and desirable. In-depth, semistructured interviews conducted with 191 active, noninstitutionalized "hardcore" street offenders indicate they discount guilt not through neutralizations but by attaching normative definitions to their crimes (as either mundane, inevitable, or enjoyable) that preclude them from eliciting guilt in the first place. In addition, these interviews detail the manner in which such outlooks develop among hardcore offenders and how they are maintained in a manner that supports further offending.

Techniques of Affirmation: Deviant Behavior, Moral Commitment, and Subcultural Identity

“…Recent research suggests that the assertion that all people are committed to the dominant culture is overstated. For example, many offenders are committed to their misdeeds and need not take effort to justify them (e.g., Copes 2003;Hindelang 1970Hindelang , 1974Regoli and Poole 1978;Schwendinger and Schwendinger 1967;Sheley 1980;Topalli 2005;. Even Matza (1964) agreed that a small proportion of people become highly committed to delinquent values.…”

Exploring the Positive Punishment Effect Among Incarcerated Adult Offenders

“…Drawing on ethnographic works cited above and concepts presented in Anderson's (1999) recent work, Topalli (2005Topalli ( , 2006 emphasizes this shift by focusing on a 'reverse neutralization" phenomena whereby street-wise "hardcore" offenders who are committed to a criminal lifestyle do not experience guilt and do not require neutralizations to engage in offending. Such habitual offenders are not constrained by a guilty conscience, and may be committed to a pattern of offending.…”

“…This process of learning through both social and non-social reinforcements and differential associations helps us to understand how and why offenders learn to define crime as enjoyable and how they become committed to a criminal lifestyle. Once offenders have experienced all that a criminal lifestyle has to offer-including easy access to drugs, sex, guilt-free violence and property crime, and the likely apprehension and punishment (imprisonment, alternative sanctions, or both) that goes along with such a lifestyle-and once they become committed to this way of life, it is highly unlikely that they can be turned away from these pursuits, particularly if they consort primarily with criminal peers both in and out of prison (Topalli 2006).…”

“…Reviewing interviews of hardcore street offenders, Topalli (2006) notes that a number of them took great pride in their criminal activities and abilities. Once offenders become attached and committed to a criminal lifestyle, they have chosen a value system that is oppositional to conventional society but that is symbolically very important to them.…”

Nötrleşti̇rme Tekni̇kleri̇ Ve Kentsel Mekanda İşlenen Hirsizlik Suçlari: Erzurum Alan Araştirmasi Örneği̇

“…: Martinez ve Karimi (2013). Topalli (2006;475), Skyes ve Matza'nın nötrleştirme teorisinin, geleneksel olarak topluma bağlı olan kişilerin davranış şekillerini ve geleneksel olarak toplumla bağları bulunmayan sokak suçlularının davranış şekillerini, özellikle de karar alma aşamasını açıklamada eksik/yetersiz olduğunu belirtmektedir. Bunun için, geleneksel olarak toplumla bağları bulunmayan 191 sokak suçlusuyla mülakat gerçekleştirilmiş ve çalışma sonucunda, sokak suçlularının işledikleri suçları nötrleştirme tekniklerini kullanarak vicdanlarını rahatlatmaktan ziyade, ilk etapta (karar alma aşamasında) suçun niteliğine göre, "suçun kaçınılmaz olduğu", "doğal olduğu" ve "zevkli olduğu" gibi hususları göz önüne alarak savunmada bulundukları gözlenmiştir.…”