Introduction

Integrated Systems Theory (IST) has been referred to as ‘the most ambitious, comprehensive interdisciplinary attempt so far to move integration of criminological theory to new heights’ (Lanier and Henry, 2004, p 351). Yet, most people have never heard of it and the theory has received little attention in criminology, probably because of its complex, systems-based approach.

IST is based on the positivist systems perspectives of Whitehead (1925), Lewin (1935), Murray (1938) and especially Miller (1978). Miller (1978) characterised human behaviour as a product of factors interacting among seven different living systems. This systems approach was first applied to criminological theory by C. Ray Jeffery, in his book Criminology: an interdisciplinary approach (Jeffery, 1990), which he called the ‘integrated systems perspective’ (ISP). ISP is a perspective – a way of looking at or studying crime – that is interdisciplinary in nature, meaning it integrates findings from numerous academic disciplines in order to better understand human behaviour.

In response to the question ‘Why do people commit crime?’, IST asserts that there is no easy answer. This is because there is no single cause of crime, or any cause at all. Instead, lots of different things impact the likelihood of antisocial and criminal behaviour, and these things can be found at several levels of analysis.

A level of analysis (see Figure 3.1) refers simply to a living system that survives on its own and that can be studied independently of the others (eg biologists study cells, neurologists study organs, psychologists study individual organisms, sociologists study groups, etc). ISP assumes that there are things (factors, concepts or variables) at each of these levels of analysis that influence the likelihood of antisocial behaviour. Most criminologists examine one or two levels of analysis across the course of their careers and very few make efforts to cross disciplinary boundaries to develop a more complete understanding of criminal behaviour.

The levels are connected, meaning that each system above is part of the systems below it and each system below is made up of all the systems above it (eg cells make up organs, which make up organisms, which make up groups, etc).