Criminological Theories

How can theories help us to understand criminal behavior and to design strategies intended to control such behavior?

The scientific study of the causes of delinquency and crime has been factually guided by theories thus far. A good theory is said to provide an initial view through which one can construe and comprehend the exhibition of any behavior(s). In the field of criminology, theoretical views have been primarily guided by ideas associated with the fields of psychology, sociology, and biology. The behavior(s) to be explained are stereotypical behavior(s) that violate the social norms of today’s society. According to Regis University some secluded theories have provided pragmatic understanding into the importance of factors apparent and they are likely to explain delinquency and crime, no single theory can fully explain all types of crime and delinquency or all the variations in crime and delinquency which is why there are multiple ones.

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.

A number of factors take place regarding incidents of crimes and why they may have been committed that might explain the difference between the two. In determining these factors, theories of crime must be considered since there is more than one factor present when one commits a crime. These theories include learning theory, labeling theory, social disorganization, trait theory, social conflict, choice theory, and life course theory.

The biological theories are essential to the criminal justice profession so that they won't assume that a person's genetic characteristics cause a person to commit a crime. However, there are born criminals and “these types of criminals are the most dangerous, and can be identified through his or her stigmata or identifying characteristics” (Akers, Sellers, See, & Kieser, 2013, p. 10). Biological theories are the bases for severe criminal behavior mostly found among people who are born with an innate impulse to commit a

This explains how a criminal can be made, by no particular person but by a society and a series of actions. This theory does not explain all criminal activity but it gives an insight into how criminals are formed, more specifically in the lower socio-economic groups of society who most likely have had the observational learning of criminal behaviour shown in the Social Learning Theory.

There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behaviour, these include:

When looking at criminal activity and the direct connection to the criminal behavior we see that there have been many research trials that have taken place over the history of humankind (Mishra & Lalumiere, 2008). Two of these research areas that have been developed to attempt to understand the causes of criminal behavior are known as biological and psychological perspectives of crime causation. These two sectors have their principles that are held in their theories as a standard scientific understanding of the basics that each evaluation of criminal behavior is built on (Dretske, 2004).

There has always been a fascination with trying to determine what causes an individual to become a criminal? Of course a large part of that fascination has to do with the want to reduce crime, and to determine if there is a way to detect and prevent individuals from committing crime. Determining what causes criminality is still not perfectly clear and likewise, there is still debate as to whether crime is caused biologically, environmentally, or socially. Furthermore, the debate is directly correlated to the notion of 'nurture vs nature'. Over time many researchers have presented various theories pertaining to what causes criminal behavior. There are many theories that either support or oppose the concept of crime being biological rather

20). This illustrates that not only is persons' genetics contributing to criminal behaviour 'but' also the environment in which the they are socialised can initiate deviancy.

Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment. There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behavior, these include: genetic theory, hereditary theory,.

Criminal behavior has been a difficult term to define over the years due to the many variables that must be taken into account in order to present an accurate definition. However, the definition provided by Bartol is as follows, “Behavior in violation of the criminal code that is intentional and without justification or excuse” (Bartol, 2014). A vital variable that is represented in criminal behavior is crime. The fundamental purpose of theory is to explain things that can be observed. When discussing crime, it is essential to provide theories to grasp a conceptual understanding. There are many theories that have been conducted to better understand the cause of criminal behavior and crime. Some examples of these theories are Classical Theory, Deterrence Theory, Positivist Theory, Strain Theory, and Social Learning Theory.

It is known that people commit crimes for various reasons, such as social factors, economic and cultural reasons. All these factors have negative impact on the individuals and trigger them to be involved in criminal activities. For example, social factors are focused on the role of society in the life of an individual. The reasons of many crimes are concluded in peer pressure, school failure, prejudices and stereotyping, etc. Economic reasons are focused on unemployment, poverty, lack of financial support, etc. Cultural reasons are based on hatred between different cultural groups, lack of mutual understanding, poor education, etc. In most cases, the combination of different factors leads to sever crimes (Young, 1996, p.35). The major goal of this paper is to discuss the major reasons of crimes and the types of people who commit crimes.

With such theories, it was said the criminal is not however responsible for their behavior directly. It is however blamed on nonconforming personality traits which include aggression, spontaneity, and dissonance. However, this is often hard to measure, and these theories have had little impact recidivism or deterring criminal actions (Akers & Sellers, 2004).

For decades, criminological theories have been dominated by sociological and political perspectives to explain crime than biological and genetic factors. Not to state that all sociological and political perspectives are flawed, but these perspectives within traditional criminology are not complete and do not offer a full assessment of all the contributions of criminal behavior. This paper aims to offer why traditional Criminology avoids biological explanations, what traditional Criminology attempts to explain criminal behavior, and how Criminology has traditionally overlooked biology and genetics and what the potential consequences may be.