Biological And Psychological Theories Of Reducing Violent Crime

Anomie, first developed by Emile Durkheim, is very evident in today's society. The concept of anomie, according to Durkheim, is a state of normlessness, where individuals are succumbed to deregulation in their lives and through out their society brought on by a social change. Robert K. Merton, following the ideas of Durkheim, developed his own notion of anomie, called Strain Theory. Merton argued that anomie was a day to day function in society, seen as a social structure that embraces the same goals to all of its members without giving them equal means to achieve them. In the name of progress, modern society has promised a better world, yet in modern society anomie has not become the exception but instead the norm.

Biological theories of crime claims that criminal behavior is a result of biological abnormalities. As stated in the lecture, these theories are good at explaining individual differences ,contrasted to the classical school of criminology, free will and deterrence is of little value to the biological perspective. However, though the biological theories are good at explaining individual differences , it has difficulty explaining why one city has more crime than another.

The psychological theories of criminal behavior focus on the lack of socialization, incomplete cognitive development, and bad childhood experiences. Those who study psychological theories believe that failures in cognitive development can be a major factor in malfunctioning behavior. These criminals have difficulty controlling anger and containing violence, which causes them to lash out. The results of these episodes are murder, rape, robbery, assault, and battery. Many more crimes can come about from such behavior, especially when the criminal falls into a negative cycle. Their behavior spirals out of their control, as they try to solve each of their crimes by committing another, to try and right the situation.

Within this field, there are three types of ideas of why crime is caused, biological, psychological, or sociological reasons. Among the types there are many sub-theories, and these form the basis of reasons for criminal activity. Most types of criminals and criminal activity can be placed in one of these groups, however as our society advances so do the theories so what is a reason one day, may be completely or partially disqualified based on new evidence or findings of what works and doesn’t work to reduce a relapse, which is one of the main functions of the

Psychological elements are the essential drivers of criminal behavior. Other than the psychological components, the social and biological factors additionally result in criminal behavior. The psychological causes are best clarified utilizing the behavioral, cognitive and trait speculations. Components like mental issue, knowledge, and identify factors and natural encounters are the primary drivers of the wrongdoing. It is imperative to decide the reasons for wrongdoing while deciding the treatment strategy connected to the wrongdoer. The psychological reasons for crimes are best clarified regarding the biological and sociological

Sociological theories of crime are quite different from the biological and psychological theories we previously learned about. Sociological theories attempt to account for the social forces that cause or result in criminal behavior. Macrosociological and microsociological theories are considered sociological theories, which means they tend to look at external factors for crime causation rather than internal factors. Macrosociological theories examine how society can create an environment that can be instrumental in crime causation. Microsociological theories examine how social institutions within that society such as your peers, family, and church can contribute to a person's susceptibility to criminal behavior. however, there are several differences

The biological theory explains criminal behavior as a result of any illnesses, heredity, trauma or improper development. It proposes several ways for crime control: psychosurgery and chemical methods (Helfgott, 2008). The biological methods of crime control are too expensive and because of that are not widely used.

There are many theories in Criminology that provide answers to the questions criminologists have asked over the years. There are three in particular that have to do with the individual or criminal. Classical theory, biological theory, and psychological theory all look at what would make an individual commit a crime. For this paper I have chosen to look at classical theory and how it is shown in the first episode of the TV crime drama Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad first aired on AMC on January 20th, 2008, and lasted five years; ending on September 29th, 2013. It shows the life of Walter White a high school chemistry teacher, who starts cooking crystal meth to pay for his treatments for his recently diagnosed lung cancer. Walt has a wife Skyler, a teenage son named Walter Jr., and a baby girl named Holly.

There is a widespread perception that biological factors should be used to predict criminal behavior. The idea that some people are more likely to commit a crime and that this increased likelihood remains relatively stable as these people grow older and as they move from situation to situation, suggests that these people have some personality characteristic that is associated with the crime that they carry with them through time and space.

Durkheim’s theory was supported by Merton who was a functionalist. As a functionalist he believes that all groups have a function within society, this can be directly related to what Durkheim said in relation to the organic society. Merton explained how he aimed to ‘discover how some social structures exert definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in non-conforming rather than conforming conduct. If we can locate groups particularly subject to such pressures then we should expect to find high rates of deviant conduct in these groups, not because the human beings comprising them are compounded of distinctive biological tendencies but because they are responding normally to the social situation in which they find themselves’. (1969: 225) This aim can directly describe why crime in committed and why it is the lower class that are more likely to engage in criminal activity as they are found to be in the least fortunate social situation. Merton relates this to anomie and the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea portrayed that anyone has the ability to achieve success and wealth if they are willing to put in the hard work. However as he lived through the Great Depression Merton found first hand that social legitimacy was the key factor in achieving this dream, and many people had social boundaries depriving them from the ability

The modern biosocial perspective of criminal behavior covers many different areas of studies. The aspects this paper will be focusing on are familial studies, brain injuries, and cytogenetic studies. It should be taken into consideration that every situation and person is different; therefore, the results from the studies will most likely vary significantly. This theory discusses the thinking that instead of a nature versus nurture point of view, criminology should be studied from a viewpoint of nature and nurture working in tandem. This is pointed out in many areas, but it most noticeable in the areas mentioned above. Not only is this theory looking into the genetics side of the argument, but it is also taking into account the

Durkheim imagined society as an organism, where each component plays an essential part in the solidity of society, but none of the components have the strength to function alone, and if one experiences a break down or a crisis, eventually the other parts will fail. According to Durkheim, society is built on people that have common values and a collective conscience. However, when there are periods of great social change or stress, our collective conscience eventually becomes weakened. People then begin to look after their own interests rather than obeying the values of society, and eventually people may begin to lose a sense of self, and feel like they don’t have a sense of belonging in society. Durkheim calls this situation anomie. When our collective conscience has collapsed, anomie occurs which increases the rates of crime.

The causes of crime in the United States of America can stem from the biology, sociology, or psychology of a person. This reasoning is because the underlying cause of crime is contingent upon the biological and psychological state of a person as well as the social group in which the individual decides to dwell. The fatal mixture of these forces have the capability to formulate an evil and wicked criminal. An individual’s psychological background, social impact and media influence can weigh heavy on an individual’s choice with crime. The spread of crime has a negative effect in our society, especially with our youth.

Violent crime is an important public health and social behavioral phenomena. Violent crime is referred to as offenses that include force or threat of force. Although many different offenses could fit under this classification, the National Crime Victimization Survey defines nonlethal violence, the current study’s focus, as being comprised of four main offenses -, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, and forcible rape (National Crime Victimization Survey [NCVS], 2012).

Emile Durkheim is usually seen as the father of sociological tradition of anomie theory. According to Durkheim, the idea of anomie means that there is a lack of social standards. In his book, The Division of Labor in Society, he describes that the two causes of anomie are division of labor and rapid social control (Bernburg, 2002; Zembroski, 2011). As a result, this leads unfulfilled and dissatisfied social relationships, and normlessness. In Durkheim’s other book, Suicide, he continues to explain that anomie arises when goals are unattainable (Bernburg, 2002).