Criminological Theories

Strain theories of criminal behaviour have been amongst the most important and influential in the field of criminology. Taking a societal approach, strain theories have sought to explain deficiencies in social structure that lead individuals to commit crime (Williams and McShane 2010). Strain theories operate under the premise that there is a societal consensus of values, beliefs, and goals with legitimate methods for achieving success. When individuals are denied access to legitimate methods for achieving success, the result is anomie or social strain. This often leads an individual to resort to deviant or criminal means to obtain the level of success that they are socialized to pursue. This is the basic premise of strain theory. This

Criminology is a field that has been researched prolong. Most of the information explaining crime and delinquency is based on facts about crime (Vold, Bernard, & Daly 2002, p.1). The aim of this paper is to describe the theories of crime and punishment according to the positivists Emile Durkheim and Cesare Lombroso, and the classical criminologist Marcese de Beccaria. The theories were developed as a response to the industrialisation and the modernisation of the societies in the 18th and 19th centuries and were aiming to create a rational society and re-establish social solidarity (Vold et al 2002, p.101). The criminological perspectives of crime and punishment will be discussed in a form of dialogue between the three theorists exploring

There are many criminological theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior or crime patterns. For instance, Agnew’s General Strain Theory can be applied to explain why the criminal John Dillinger committed various crimes. Agnew’s General Strain Theory assumes that all individuals experience strain, which, in turn, causes negative emotions that can result in legitimate or illegitimate coping, depending on an individual’s constraints or dispositions. Thus, the continuous criminal behavior throughout John Dillinger’s life can be explained using Agnew’s General Strain Theory in relation to strain, negative emotions, and dispositions.

For instance, as part of an extensive multivariate analysis, Stephen W. Baron’s 2004 inquiry into youth homelessness through the lens of general strain theory, taken from a sample of street youths, discovered homelessness to have a significant positive correlation with future criminal behaviour. The sample generally consisted of unemployed youths, more than half of which were male, that were not enrolled in school, and had been living without a fixed address in the lasts 12 months. The results revealed that homelessness was associated with property, violent, and total crime (Baron, 2004). This is supportive of Agnew’s theory, as general strain theory asserts that crime happens in reaction to strain as a means to achieve revenge against whom they

Robert Agnew’s General Strain theory expands prior theorist’s concepts which emphasizes that the obstruction of an individual goal or the inability of an individual to achieve conventional goals through appropriate means causes unlawful innovations, such as crime (Brezina, 2010). More so, Agnew’s expanded the concept of stressors in an effort to make stressors classless. In addition, Agnew states that the strains that generate strong pressure which tend to lead to criminal behaviors are chronic strains, strains that are rationalized to unjust or severe, and strains that can be resolved by crime (Agnew, 2001). Lastly, Agnew believes that criminal response is most likely to occur when normal coping strategies are absent.

In the 1980’s, Criminologist, Robert Agnew, presented his theory of general strain, in which he covers a range of negative behaviors, especially how adolescents deal with stresses of strain. General strain theory focuses on the source, such as anything that changes in the individual’s life that causes strain. His theory provides a different outlook on social control and social learning theory for two reasons: the type of social relationship that leads to delinquency and the motivation for the delinquency (Agnew, 1992). He states that certain strains and stresses increase the likelihood for crime such as economic deprivation, child abuse, and discrimination. These factors can cause an increase of crime through a range of negative emotions. For some people it can take a lot of willpower to take a corrective action and try to deter away from committing crime in a way that they can relieve these negative emotions. When people cannot cope with the stresses of the strain, they turn to crime as a coping mechanism. Agnew also states, that not all people that experience the stresses of strain will go forward to committing crime and live a deviant life.

Criminologists hold various roles. For example, they examine the causes for and origins of crime. To fulfill this role, criminologists try to explain criminal behavior by studying factors that may have contributed to the practice of criminal behavior. Explanations are “drawn from all of the social and behavioral sciences, including biology, psychology, anthropology, economics, and sociology” (Wellford, 2009, p. 13). Peer-reviewed scholarly articles stemming from the disciplines mentioned above may thus build the basis and prove highly valuable for criminologists who focus on the etiology of crime.

Over the course of time crime rates have fluctuated heavily throughout the United States, raising concerns for the general public. With that in mind many Criminologists have come together attempting to explain why, as well as how crime occurs. Dr. Robert Agnew has lead the charge in this field in regards to his affiliation with something called: The Strain Theory. The word, “Strain” in this instance can be defined simply as, “anger or frustration that results from negative relationships or experiences” (Hackworth 3). Now when making the correlation between criminology and this particular theory one must consider all aspects of a criminal’s life. Agnew explains this ideal further in his article, “Building on the Foundation of General Strain

Explain the strengths and weaknesses of one or more criminological theories for explaining crime in contemporary Britain

Social disorganization theory in part manages to evaluate why youth crime occurs; however, this theory has its limitations, and requires additional insight from another theory; General Strain Theory to provide a strong evaluation methodology. In evaluating these theories, several academic sources such as articles and books will be consulted.

Across the nation, social scientists and criminologists have researched and hypothesized the main contributing factors that promote juvenile delinquency. The Strain/ Anomie theory introduced by Robert Merton and later revised by several other theorists, attempts to explain why juvenile subculture tend to behave certain ways when confronted with pressures from everyday life. Revised by other theorists, the Strain theory attempts to provide the framework of juvenile delinquency and its sources in order to analyze the effectiveness of this assumption, as well as to implement certain crime prevention policies and programs to curb this problem. This paper is going to analyze how the Strain theory contributes it’s principles of delinquency

As the text says, a criminologist is an individual who studies crime and criminals, while a criminalist is someone who collects and examines evidence in actual crimes. In other words, criminologists use theory and behavioral psychology to understand crimes and criminals, while criminalists are involved with the actual crime scenes and physical evidence of the crimes. These professions depend on each other, as well as other criminal justice professions. Criminologists depend on the data and information collected by criminalists to determine their theories about certain crimes or criminals, and criminalists depend on criminologists on where to look for evidence, and what evidence to collect. Other criminal justice professions use data from both

The phrase popular criminology is derived from academic criminology and popular culture. Academic criminology is based on data, research and observations on why people commit crime while popular culture is based on movies and cultural imagination.  Popular culture shapes how people understand the causes and consequences of crime. Some violent movies exaggerate crime to an extreme and give viewers altered versions of criminal acts while other movies will give a background on the criminal by using criminology theories. I will talk about how the movie Shottas does both, while social learning theory describes why characters commit crimes and their different criminal behaviors. Criminological theories, like social learning theory, are demonstrated

The strain theory can prove many ways on why individuals feel the need to commit a crime because of stress. The strain theory was developed by Robert K. Merton with the help from other theorists branching off from the theory. The one theorist that had a great impact was Robert Agnew. David Polizzi proclaimed that “ Robert Agnew with his general strain theory has sought to introduce a variety of other factors relative to the experience of strain and the capacity they represent concerning subsequent criminal activity” (_______, 1051). Each theorist, like Agnew, has their own way of explaining the strain theory. The first conclusion of the strain theory is the removal of positively, the addition of negatively valued stimulus within the individual

Criminology itself is the systematic study of the nature, extent, etiology and control of lawbreaking behavior. The core components revealed in this course are definitions of crime in nature as harm causing behavior, the descriptions and classifications of criminals, the analysis of crime, profiles of everyday victims and offenses, and the origin of crime. The field of probation relies heavily on these components in order to understand and properly categorize offenders, stay aware of offender’s mental and emotional status, and attempt to predict the future of criminal offenders. The various theories presented in Criminology 262 help shape the Dallas County Adult Probation Department and serve as model types used to minimize the risks associated with sentencing alternatives. The agency assesses the same theoretical categories provided by Criminology 262 such as sociological, biological, and psychological explanations of crime in an attempt to better deal with offenders. The internship experience has supported the previous notion installed through Criminology 262 that one single theory cannot explain crime. The combination of each theory and perspective enabled an opinion of individuality to form. In opposition to the core components embedded in the course, the personally constructed opinion that criminal offenders cannot be categorized and must exist on individual levels was formed from the internship experience. The Dallas County Adult Probation