Criminology: A View of Social Structure Theories

Ted Bundy is known for charismatic personality, good looks, and charm; he is also known as the most organized murderer to have lived. Bundy would lure woman to his car using a number of excuses; he was handicap or else lost. Because he was so charming women would feel at ease around him and go where he asked. Once at his car, Bundy would grab and restrain the woman. He would then drive to a different location where he would beat and rape the woman until death. Finally he would drive to yet ANOTHER location to dispose of the body. In February 1978, Ted Bundy was finally captured and interviewed. As a child, raised by his grandparents, he showed no signs of previous abuse or neglect. He was raised well and sociable during high school where classmates report that he was well liked. After further analysis, Bundy was presumed to have low activity to his orbital frontal cortex; this is the part of the brain in charge of the conscious, and the “right or wrong” factor. This is not to say that Bundy had a deficiency that prevented him from knowing what he was doing. Just merely a common abnormality that should be noted. Bundy’s case supports the idea that an individual’s makeup can have an effect on their actions.

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.

By constructing theories or representations we can increase our understanding of criminal conduct. Through improving our understanding we can create effective, and operational strategies to handle crime issues. We must have a sufficient amount of accurate and documented research, and or experiments to prove the validity of our research. Research is attaining the information and data needed to generate a theory. We gather research by creating specific controlled experiments to reach a conclusion that will satisfy, or otherwise attest our theories.

Theodore “Ted” Bundy was born in Burlington, Vermont on November 24, 1946, and later executed by the electric chair on January 24, 1989, after being convicted of a serial murder, rapist, and necrophiliac. Bundy brutally murdered and sexually assaulted 30 women but many believe that number to be higher. He would use his charm to lure these women, before engaging in sexual assault and murdering them. Bundy would also revisit some of his victims to again engage in sexual actions until their bodies would decompose. This essay will look at how the impact of Bundy’s disturbed childhood has one of the key factors of his psychotic behavior using attachment theory.

We’ve all heard it hundreds of times from people that the news and media is overdramatic. That is one of the biggest complaints about the media, but is it true? Scholarly articles have found that the news is in fact over dramatic about crime which induces public fear and may produce many myths about how much crime is actually happening in our society. As a broadcasting major, it is easy for me to see why the news would cover stories in such a dramatic way. These types of stories capture the users attention which means more people will watch your station resulting in advertising spots being worth more which in the end benefits the stations because they will make more money. Popular examples such as the “knockout game” and the Central Park jogger case both show just how much the media has an effect on society, copycat criminals and other crimes. Is the media overdramatic? Does the media cause higher public fear? What myths does the media create?

This research paper will explore the life of a serial killer named Ted Bundy. We will look at the cause and effects of him becoming a serial killer. We will also discuss the different criminology theories behind Ted Bundy’s actions. Based on what was discovered in the research no one theory can explain the action of Ted Bundy as a serial killer. The remainder of the paper is laid out as follows: biography of Ted Bundy, introduction, discussion of crimes and theories, and the conclusion.

Criminology has emerged as a science in the recent years, and various theories and perspectives have been developed by the social scientists and criminologists in this regard. With the development of sociology as a new subject of study and defining the sociology by the August Comte in 1822, the way was paved for the development of criminology, as the new branch of study. This Branch deals with the study of crime and it gradually developed as academic discipline in Britain in 1950s. Cesare Lombroso became the founder of criminology which also founded the positivist movement in the criminology, thus giving this field a more scientific and modern approach (Anon., 2014). The main features of the positivist approach include the

While most theories in criminology focus on the reasons and factors why people commit deviance, the social control theory focuses on the reasons why people conform to what is excecpted from society. The social control theory tends to revolve around questions such as why isn’t everyone motivated to commit acts of deviance as well as why individuals conform. The basic premise of the social control theory is that criminality results when an individual’s bond to society is weakened or broken. There are four social bonds in the social control theory, which are attachment, committment, belief and involvement. Travis Hirschi agrued that humans are like animals, they can be controlled but can be governed by conditioned instincts. In other words,

The ideology ‘rendezvous discipline’ refers to the study being multidisciplinary, in which many fields and outlooks are used. This mean the study of criminology is micro in nature because behaviour can be analysed in depth form different angles of approach. According to Sellin, criminology can include the realms of politics (such as left and right realist approaches to criminal behaviour and prevention strategies), psychology (such as biological and social theories for the onset of criminal activity), law (such as drug laws and government strategies to overcome street crimes) and sociology (such as the deviance amplification model). The collaboration between various disciplines and experts within the field means the complexity of crime is valued highly. Jock Young, ‘In Praise of Dangerous Thoughts: a Review’ explains how criminology aids the ability to look at criminal behaviour in a micro sense as ‘an intricate understanding of crime initiates thorough conceptualisation of people and wider society in relation to crime.’

In the late sixties and seventies, a feared serial killer, Ted Bundy, disseminated terror throughout the United States. He was connected to at least thirty-six murders, although some believed he had committed more than one hundred murders. Bundy confessed to killing thirty women in seven states before his execution by electric chair on January 24, 1989. Ted Bundy appeared as a successful and an attractive gentleman, who seemed to have a lot going for him. Nevertheless, ingrained was the heart of a serial killer! Ted Bundy was a psychopath; proving that the lines between sanity and insanity are thin; however, in the case of Bundy, it was on the edge of non-existence.

There is no doubt, that Ted Bundy was one of the worst serial killers ever to have been discovered. After learning about his story, it seems possible that Bundy’s career as a serial killer began when he was only fifteen years old. Ann Marie, the little girl that took piano lessons from Bundy’s great uncle, and also lived along his paper route went missing. He was never investigat-ed for the crime. There were also other troubling indicators in his youth, such as shoplifting, and looking at women through their bedroom windows at night. The video showed us that Ted Bundy was raised in a very hostile environment, yet he himself exhibited little to no hostility. He was not physically aggressive, and isolated himself from his peers at school.

Have you ever heard of a notorious murderer who consistently commits a crime with no hesitation? Whether you have or not, you are in for a rude awakening. Ted Bundy is one of the most well-known serial killers in America. He is a rapist and a necrophile who assaulted several women during the 1970’s. His persona and deranged character made him fearful across the United States. He was born to a single mother who told him that she was his sister. His grandparents raised him and convinced him that they were his parents throughout his childhood years. People portrayed Bundy as a charming, intelligent, and an appealing person. How could Bundy be so violent if his peers thought otherwise of him? The question will forever remain anonymous. Because of his actions, Ted Bundy is a sadistic, unemotional, and insane criminal

Criminological theory and research can underpin criminal justice policy but this is not the soul influence as there are many other factors that can contribute to its formation. Within this essay I will discuss the relationship between the two and consider how criminological theory has been used to inform policy. This will be done by looking examples such as neighbourhood policing. I will then asses how and why evidence based policy is not always successful by highlighting its limitations. Finally, I will consider the multitude of other factors that must also be taken into deliberation when reviewing how criminal justice policy is formed, this includes; societal and cultural pressures, policy transfer and structure of government.

Expert have further suggested that there may be Criminological explanations for why people take part in terrorist activities. Generally criminological explanations state that terrorism is the same product of the socialisation process that causes people to commit criminal behaviour. Such processes explain why people become terrorists or criminals and why groups form terrorist or criminal syndicates. There are several criminological theories that argue that terrorism and crime are closely linked together and therefore can be explainable within a framework that explains criminal deviancy. One of the theories we can use to explain terrorism is the Differential Association Theory, this theory was penned by Edwin Sutherland in 1939.

Criminology is the study of crime, criminals, and the punishment of criminals. It consists of hundreds of theories, perspectives and arguments in the area of crime and criminal justice. Critical criminology is a significant part of criminology which helps the academics and societies to understand and improve their critical skills relevant to social issues of criminology (Groombridge, 2013). Critical criminology is a theoretical perspective in criminology, which focuses on disputing traditional understandings and exposing false beliefs in crime and criminal justice. Within critical criminology, there are conflicting perspectives, like Marxism, Feminism, political economy theories and of course critical theory. It is covering any criminological