Culture And Crime

"The Uniform Crime Report statistics state that blacks are more frequently arrested than whites. While this may mean that blacks actually commit more crime, what are some other factors that may be driving the statistics?"

Most theories of crime tend to be ‘ahistorical.’ “They do not treat the question of how the material conditions of society and crime evolve together as relevant to the study of crime” (Chambliss, 1974, page 25). For Marxists this is a problem because ahistorical theories fail to link the phenomenon under investigation – in this case, crime. Ahistorical theories attempt to reason that crime occurs outside of social systems and is something that develops on its own. Two important elements develop

Chapter 7 discusses a variety of "Subcultural" theories for explaining crime. Choose one of these theories and discuss its strengths and weaknesses. Which subcultural theory do you believe explains criminal behavior most accurately and why?

A pervasive theme in sociology and criminology has always been that law violation is linked to the individual’s position in the social structure. (Tittle, 1983) Poverty and crime have had a long-term relationship because of the perception and stereotyping of poor people and the crime. The society is classified into three social classes; the high, the middle, and the low class. The high class is for the rich

In 2014 it was reported that approximately 318.9 million people reside within the United States. With the many people living together it would be inevitable to consider that criminal acts will prevail in the U.S. This is without saying that, without rules, guidelines, and the police officers that are needed to enforce the rules, which would leave individuals who would then seek to take the law into their own hands, which we do not want. However, when you think about the many different criminal acts that are being committed throughout the U.S. do you ever think about what actually influences them to the carry through with these criminal acts.

Assess the contribution of the Marxist theory to the sociological understanding of crime and deviance.

Many Americans view the criminal justice system as a beneficial resource our country provides to ensure safety and general welfare of the people. While this notion may have been the initial intent, the United States justice system is extraordinarily biased and is failing at lowering crime rates. Criminal punishment in America is not based by intensity of the crime committed, but instead is determined by social status. The higher the class of the individual, the easier said individual will be punished. Being found guilty of a crime is mostly a threat to the poor, a class which not only is persecuted more frequently, but often receives grander punishments compared to those of a higher economic standing. Since most of the power is held by the

Crime and delinquency subculture reflects on culture patterns surrounding crime and juvenile delinquency. It is created not only by individuals, but as one culture, the American culture. Subculture is derivative of, but different from some larger referential cultures. This term is used to share systems of norms, values, individual, groups and the cultural system itself. Criminal or delinquent subcultures indicate systems of norms, values, or interest that support criminal or delinquent behavior. That's why many juveniles are linked to the same criminal acts as youngsters. They tend to follow a pattern that is expected in their age group, like stealing. Young people experience their opportunity as being blocked out. They engage in

The general idea of the Criminal Justice system in the United States is that everyone be treated equal despite race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class. However, social class must be taken in consideration when examining criminology and criminal justice. It is often viewed as a crucial factor that influences individuals to commit a crime. A person’s social status structures “social interactions”, as every role has a specific behavior that is associated with it as well as power. Within the “hierarchical organization of social statuses” people have access to certain resources, wealth, and education that sometimes controls the outcomes that it occurs. The class you are born in usually determines what crimes are committed though everyone is capable of doing the same crimes, some crimes are more accepted. Those who are in a lower class are more likely to do a blue collar crime while someone in a higher class commits a white

Background: Most research shows that the public believes that law enforcement's major goal in many urban and suburban areas is to prevent gang activity. Gang activity is certainly not a new phenomenon, but has been part of human history since Ancient Times (Rome, Greece, the Middle Ages, etc.). In most countries, gang violence patterns the sociological development of society and the evolution of criminal activity - as criminal activity becomes more sophisticated, so do gang activities. While most sociological theories tie gang behavior to youth violence, one can trace a number of changes in gang violence to the way organized crime has evolved in the United States (Franzese, et al., 2006). At the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, gangs were often based around ethnic boundaries and confined within ethnic neighborhoods. These early gangs tended to focus on non-violent or human weakness crime (e.g. prostitution, gambling, nontaxable cigarettes and alcohol). Once gambling because legal in Nevada, much of the organized crime dealing with gambling moved to Las Vegas, while still retaining some ties to the major metropolitan areas. As tastes changed, so did the criminological focus of gangs; from liquor to drugs, from drugs to social and political control back focusing on ethnic boundaries (e.g. Asian, Latino, etc.) (Jackson and McBridge, 2000).

a. Imagine asking 100 strangers to describe a criminal. Predict whether those descriptions would be likely to focus on street criminals, or the variety of topics covered in this video.

Class cultures, like national cultures may break down. A more general subculture explanation of crime, not necessarily in disagreement with the notion of class

Why are some "ethnic minorities", but not others, over-represented in patterns of arrest and imprisonment in the UK? To what extent is this attributed to discrimination?

Marxist Theories of crime believe that individuals who are poor are more likely to be punished for criminal behavior (Tibbetts, 2012, p. 176). This theory proposes that crime and laws are a way for a capitalist society to keep running properly. They believe that economic power can be related to legal power

Crime is considered to be some breech or violation of behaviors which stand in opposition of rules or norms instituted by some governing body. Some actions are considered to be crimes throughout most societies in history; murder or physical abuse can serve as an example as an example. However, the majorities of things that are considered crimes are more of a subjective nature and vary widely in different societies. In many societies it is a crime to be an atheist or to be homosexual for example, while in other societies these items are tolerated and in some cases are considered social norms. Furthermore, when an individual is considered to have committed a crime, the punishments for these crimes also can vary widely depending on the culture, the social norms, the position of the authority figure, as well as a plethora of other factors. This paper will analyze some of the different forms of crime and they develop and how they are treated in different societies.