Difference Between Reactive And Reactive Approach

The investigation of crime, society’s reaction to it and approaches to prevent it are all areas that have interested me from my adolescent years. I have an interest and passion for Criminology studies for the strict purpose of wanting to fulfill a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of crime and exploring how crimes affect our society. This shady interest in the criminal world has encouraged me to pursue the subject at degree level and to seriously consider a career in a related field. At the beginning of the course my understanding on crime and criminology was mostly derived from the internet or media. These tools became very useful for me to learn different subjects of crime.

Reactive policing is the response of the police to individual or group aid throughout the community. It is usually referred to as an immediate response to calls as well as follow-up investigations. Proactive policing involves the action of police to obtain information about crime in a community and develop strategies to combat it. The suppression of crime rather than the response to crime is what separates reactive policing from proactive policing.

What is crime? What makes people commit crimes and how can we stop it? These, and many other questions similar to these, are asked by criminologists everyday. Criminology is an ever growing field, mainly because there is more and more research occurring and new theories linking people and crime coming out everyday. Below the main field of criminology there are many subfields that have different theories and philosophies on what they believe link criminal behavior. Two of the main criminology perspectives are Classical Criminology and Positivist Criminology. Although these two are both studied in the criminology field, their views are distinctly contradictory from each other. These two theories and many

Crime and violence is rampant throughout the world. Laws exist to maintain order and peace and provide for the safety and well-being of all members of society. Acts that disrupt and threaten this system of order are deemed criminal in nature and are punishable by law. It is believed that criminal types operate from a self-centered framework that shows little, if any regard, for the safety and well-being of others (Merton, 2006).

In the 1980s, the City of New York was a City polluted with waste and graffiti, where people would always get away with committing a crime. In Malcolm Gladwell’s essay “The Power of Context: Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime” gives us a probable explanation of how a change like this can happen. The essay is an environmental argument, with varying kinds of a seemingly endless amount of verification, which suggests that crimes can be prohibited depending on what the environment is like. Malcolm Gladwell, provides evidence throughout his entire essay that explains The Power of Context. The Power of Context indicates that the situation people are in has an effect on how they act wherever they are at.

This paper summarizes four theories of criminology. Rational choice theory states that criminals act based on a thought process that weighs the pros and cons of criminality. Criminologists who believe in this theory feel that most criminals are people capable of having rational thoughts before committing a crime. Trait theory is the view of criminology that suggests criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits. Criminologists who believe in this theory feel that criminals choose to commit crime because of a brain anomaly or chemical imbalance. Social structure theory is “a view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime” (Seigel 139). Those who follow this theory often believe social forces can have a great effect on whether or not a person commits a crime. An example would be those who are poor are more being more prone to commit crime. Social process theory is a view that criminality depends on how a person interacts with different organizations and institutions and processes in society. For example, a family would be considered

Criminology is the definition of our crime today, it defines many aspects and elements that challenge our common sense understanding of crime. The term ‘Criminology’ was first introduced into the English language in Garland 1988 by a criminologist Havelock Ellis (jones, 2013, pp. 2-3). However criminology was present in the 1860’s as Henry Maudsley a medic that worked in the prison systems to study insane and feeble - minded criminals (jones, 2013, pp. 2.) Criminology gives an understanding to those that seek justice although some victims may prevent crime or encourage it to gain the same significance. The reasoning of crime has changed considerably over the past 40 years, some say it was the change of the criminal justice system abolishing Capital punishment in 1965, or just the development in different legislations. Making punishment more psychological rather than physical punishment may have increased the velocity of the crime rate today as some may argue it is less harsh. Criminology is one to justify these changes to prevent criminal offences. Criminology is enforced to understand and analyse the extent of offences and how legislation is formed and put into practice. Development in crime in our

Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection Database

The social positivism emphasizes the social factors as cause of crime and the basic theory followed in this regard is Chicago school of thought which focuses on human ecology as the main cause of the crime and is considered to be a driving factor for the criminal behavior. It considers the criminals as product of their society and proposes that the environment, urbanization, and social environment in which the criminal lives determines his attributes and criminal behavior (Cullen, 2010). Therefore, the Chicago school of criminology emphasizes that the criminals are not born they are made by the society and the environment in which they

Environmental criminology examines how geographical location and features in that location affect crime. It argues that some environments are more prone to crime that others.

1). Criminology arose from the social scientific community over the year and has since come into its own discipline, it examines the entire process of lawmaking, law breaking, and law enforcing” (as cited in Akers, & Sellers, 2013). Criminology seeks to discover the depth of crime at both the micro and macro levels, from the individual’s natural biological and psychological characteristics, the nurturing of social and structural institutions, to policy, prevention and control.

Criminology is a study of crime, criminals and criminal justice. Ideas about criminal justice and crime arose in the 18th century during the enlightenment, but criminology as we know it today developed in the late 19th century. Criminology has been shaped by many different academic disciplines and has many different approaches. It explores the implications of criminal laws; how they emerge and work, then how they are violated and what happens to those violators. Laws are relative and historically shaped; they vary from time to time and from place to place (Carrabine et al, 2009).

Crime has adverse consequences in the society. Multiple factors conspire to make it inevitable and difficult to eradicate. Crime control policies and strategies are linked to the efforts to understand the underlying causes of crime (Kelimeler, 2011). Perhaps, this explains why crime causation theories have gained dominance in the criminal justice system. Among these theories, Routine Activity Theory (RAT) stands out. The RAT affirms that for crime to occur their criteria must be fulfilled. The criteria includes a motivated offender, absence of a guardian, and presence of a suitable target. The theory explicitly refutes claims that crime occurs due to macroeconomic issues, such as unemployment issues.

• Lilly, J. Cullen, F & Ball, R. (2000) Criminological Theory Context and Consequences Sage Publications.

Crime has existed in societies across the world for centuries, and is defined as any offense harmful against the public. However, the true nature of crime is more complex as there are many different motives and causes behind a criminal act, which cannot be contributed to a single factor (Barlow & Decker, 2010). Within the field of criminology, a number of theories exist that attempt to explain why some individuals commit crime, while others abstain from it. Some theories attribute crime to the specific environment; they believe that an individual commits crime when certain ecological conditions are met (Felson, 2001). Others argue that crime is caused by the individual themselves; that criminals are the result of unrestrained thoughts and low self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 2001). This paper will analyze aspects of a real world scenario using both routine activity theory and low self-control theory, for the purpose of better understanding and evaluating certain criminal behavior.