Chapter 7: Subcultural Theories For Explaining Crime

The two theories I have chosen for my paper are Routine Activities Theory and Lifestyle Theory. Routine Activities Theory was created by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson in 1979 to draw connections between routine activities in certain areas and crime. The connections Cohen and Felson make are based around influences in the community an offender would be pressured by. In essence, this theory embodies the idea of being a product of one’s environment. The second theory I chose is Lifestyle Theory. Glenn Walters created the Lifestyle Theory in 1990 and in it theorizes that crime is a lifestyle and not just a behavior. This theory focuses heavily on the offender and

Each of these theories had led to many new theories used today, such as the Rational Choice theory, Biosocial and Psychological Theory, Critical Theory, Cultural Deviance Theory, Life Course Theory, and many more. The one thing in common with every theory is that they all explain at least one behavioral factor that leads to crime. Today, all these theories, and more, are researched and taken into account when trying to understand why a criminal does what they do.

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

1. Which theory discussed in the lesson do you think best explains why crime happens? Why do you think that this theory is best?

What Starts Criminal Behavior? History shows that through life violence is a cycle within itself. Criminology shows different views on how and why criminal behavior happens. By watching the movie “Boyz in The Hood” we see the crimes take place and show why these events happened. Based off the information from class and from past theories I formulate my own theories of why crime happens.

Sociological theories of crime contain a great deal of useful information in the understanding of criminal behavior. Sociological theories are very useful in the study of criminal behavior because unlike psychological and biological theories they are mostly macro level theories which attempt to explain rates of crime for a group or an area rather than explaining why an individual committed a crime. (Kubrin, 2012). There is however some micro level sociological theories of crime that attempts to explain the individual’s motivation for criminal behavior (Kubrin, 2012). Of the contemporary

There are many theories that attempt to explain crime; some focus on why people commit crime, others focus on why people do not commit crime. A major flaw with the existing criminological theories is the fact that every theory attempts to explain a large number of criminal acts. In fact, crime cannot be explained by one theory alone; it is the combination of several theories and ideas that explains why crime exists, and these theories cannot be applied to all crime as a whole; rather, they are best used when applied to certain crimes in combination with certain types of offenders. The idea that crime only exists because there is an excess of ideas that are more favorable toward law violation than not dates back to Sutherland’s differential association theory (Sutherland, 1947). Essentially, if ideas unfavorable toward law lead to crime, then the laws themselves are what causes crime; therefore, processing through the system and contact with law enforcement officials leads to more crime. One concept that criminological theories do not greatly expand upon is the idea that the criminal justice system and law enforcement not only perpetuate but directly cause crime, and that concept is a major contributor toward criminal activity. The idea of law, in regards to creation and enforcement, causes crime as well.

#2 Discuss three different social patterns regarding subculture and crime, i.e., who are more likely to be perpetrators? Victims? Who is most likely to be incarcerated? What crimes are females more likely to commit than males? What is the “gender contract”?

If a person has a bad relationship with his or her parents, they don't have a commitment to something positive, they think negative of authorities, and they are involved in negative activities, then the person will have a greater chance of becoming a criminal. Essentially what this theory is trying

1. The theories and perspectives in this unit focus on the environmental and social influence of crime. Do you think that environmental and social conditions influence crime? Why or why not? Between biological, psychological, and social factors, which one do you think plays the biggest role in crime? Why?

Labelling Theories' Contribution to the Sociological Understanding of Crime and Deviance Becker is the main sociologist studying labelling theory on deviance, he argues that 'social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance.' Meaning acts only become deviant when observers perceive it and define it as deviant. An example of this would be the act of nudity, it is accepted in the bedroom between husband and wife or on a nudist camp, but when a stranger was to enter the bedroom, or someone was to streak across a sporting event, others would usually see this as deviant, and this deviancy would become a label on the individual. Several factors affect what the

Theories of crime causation get to the fundamental characteristics of human nature. Theories of crime causation can be separated into trait theories and choice theories. Both types of theories make valid points about the causes of crime, yet they are have different implications for preventing the causes of crime. Thesis: Trait theories and choice theories both assume that humans are self-interested, but their conceptions of self-interest limit the applicability of each to certain types of crime. Trait theories appear more suited for explaining the causes of violent crime, whereas choice theories are more appropriate to property crimes or economic crimes.

The second theory I would like to discuss is the Strain theory. The strain theory basically states that crime breeds in the gap, imbalance, or disjunction between culturally induced aspirations for economic success and structurally distributed possibilities of achievement. The theory assumes fairly uniform economic success aspirations across social class and the theory attempts to explain why crime is concentrated among the lower classes that have the least legitimate opportunities for achievement. It is the combination of the cultural emphasis and the social structure which produces intense pressure for

When considering society's contributions to crime and criminality I draw support in part from the Marxist theory on crime. Based on Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto and work by Frederick Engels the Marxist theory of crime outlines that “laws” are tools of the ruling class, which criminalized “poverty” and promote class struggle. While I have nothing against a capitalist system, American society relies so much on it and it’s resulting class inequality defines the majority of social interaction and thus is a cause of crime. The effect this has is prevalent in the prosecution of white collar criminals who are 0.3% or inmate in federal prison, compared to those the 46.3% incarcerate for drug offense ("BOP Statistics: Inmate Offenses," 2016). Though there has

Over the past twenty years, gang related activity in the Caribbean has increased steadily. This increase in gang related activity has been a result of the formation and migration of new gangs in the Caribbean as well as, the extension of existing gangs. The recruitment of members for these gangs usually targets young persons as they are more susceptible to joining. Juvenile gang involvement is a growing problem in the region and especially in Trinidad and Tobago. This paper will look at the Cultural Deviance Theory of crime to explain this growing phenomenon. This theory will include Albert Cohen’s Delinquent Sub Cultural theory as well as Cloward and Ohlin’s Theory of Differential Opportunity. A plan to divert juveniles away from becoming involved in these gangs will also be given at the end of this paper along with the perceived problems of its operationalization.