For All We Think We Know About Crime There Is Still Much

Sociological theories of crime contain a great deal of useful information in the understanding of criminal behavior. Sociological theories are very useful in the study of criminal behavior because unlike psychological and biological theories they are mostly macro level theories which attempt to explain rates of crime for a group or an area rather than explaining why an individual committed a crime. (Kubrin, 2012). There is however some micro level sociological theories of crime that attempts to explain the individual’s motivation for criminal behavior (Kubrin, 2012). Of the contemporary

This is highly evident in the city of Chicago and its suburbs because in the inner city in some places the homicide rate is 116/100,000 but in suburbs like Naperville the homicide rate is 1/100,000. So there must be something about the ecological differences in which people live that shapes their choices in the first place. One reason there is a great difference in the rates of crime in places that are so proximal to each other is the norms and beliefs that are upheld in that community. For example, in the inner city many people commit crimes due to the “street culture” that in a way provides an incentive to commit the crime if they want to have the lavish styles that their peers are part of. So in reality, it is difficult to determine a single force that drives a criminal to commit a certain crime. Hence, it has been difficult for the criminal justice system to implement programs and control methods in order to control crime. For example, if the criminal did act on rationality than implementing harsher punishments would deter the criminal from committing the crime. However, this control method has provided mix results and in some cases crime has even gone up more when harsher penalties were implemented. This is partially because some criminals don’t act on just rationality but on uncontrollable forces as well. Finally, there is some criminals that don’t even care about the consequences of committing the crime and only think about the

This final theory is an extension of Hirschi 's (1979) original idea of micro and macro dimensions which are called cross-level or multilevel integrations (Barak, 2002). The general strain theory is also known as cross-level or multilevel integrations including the reintegrative shaming theory, power control theory, control balance theory and general integrated theory (Barak, 2002). These theories combine theories like social bonding and social learning theories with structural theories such as social disorganization and strain theories but does not address macro level factors that influence crime, and instead focus solely on criminal behavior at the micro level. So far, very little theories suggested have encompassed all levels of explaining criminology (Barak, 2002). This is a social structure- macro model which states that differential opportunities are not only crime class specific, but also are accompanied by motivations for both crime and punishment.

In his article, Crime as Social Control, Christian Parenti discusses crime’s impact on society. Crime acts as a deterrent and an incentive, in both cases adding to the concept of social control. As a deterrent, crime produces anticrime movements in neighborhoods throughout the states. However, fear of crime and the repercussions of combating crime block further mobilization. The result is an incentive towards increased criminal activity due to the incapability of society to get involved or focus on the actual issue. As social control, crime dwells into the fear of people, beckons society to stay away from the issues, and leaves minorities in the hands of government intervention. This leads to the fragmentation of neighborhood ties resulting in mistrust and broken family ties, especially when dealing

There are numerous perspectives that explain the sociological criminology theories and social process criminology theories that have essential roles with individuals who choose to commit crime. Social process criminology theory have social forces that affect individuals when it comes to committing crime. Whether the cause of behavior is learned through alcohol abuse, domestic violence or group affiliations, social process theory has an adversarial effect on criminal behavior. Social process theory stresses the importance of group involvement and socializing with non-criminal peers within the groups. Social process theorists believe that criminality is determined by a person’s participation within different individual group affiliations.

Crime consists of behavior patterns, the environment, and the economy of the world. Researchers tend to use theories to answers questions concerning these behaviors. For example such questions involve why people commit crimes, what type of people commit crimes, and a host of other questions. The topic of this paper consists of two types of theories. The topics discussed and compared involve the conflict theory and the social control theory. In addition, the comparison will display the theory that does a better job of addressing the occurrence

As asserted by Bohm & Vogel, Conflict Criminology assumes that society is based on a conflict between competing interest groups which may not always be equal in resources and power and where one group is dominate and the other subordinate. Examples of such groups are women vs. men, corporations vs. labor groups, whites vs. minorities and children vs. authority figures (2011). Here the assertion is that one’s behavior is based on their position in society, and as the stigma associated with crime and criminal behavior is the result of the dominant groups' ability to do so. As the dominant group uses crime as a means of diverting the attention away from their actions, it redirects the focus of the subordinate groups on one another thereby allowing

What different Criminological theories are out there about what causes crime? The three theories that are being discussed in this paper are the biological, sociological and the psychology theories. There are many reasons a person may commit a crime in their life, it could be because that’s what they have been taught and have seen their parents do, it may be because they want to be cool and fit in with their new friends. These theories all have their own beliefs and thoughts as to why.

From a sociological perspective, explanation for criminality is found in two levels which are the subculture and the structural explanations. The sociological explanations emphasize aspects of societal arrangements that are external to the actor and compelling. A sociological explanation is concerned with how the structure of a society, institutional practices or its persisting cultural themes affect the conduct of its members. Individual differences are denied or ignored, and the explanation of the overall collective behavior is sought in the patterning of social arrangements that is considered to be both outside the actor and prior to him (Sampson, 1985).

Social control crime is one of the three sociological viewpoints of contemporary criminology. Sociologists believe that an abiding social rule is generated and maintained by relationships with people and institutions - family members, friends, schools and work. In short, crime and bad behavior can occur when personal and social relationships are flimsy or easy to break. As social security increases, the cost of individual’s crime also rises a lot. In the book of The New Jim Crow mentions that poor black people is easier to get to be violence, drugs and criminal because they are usually living in the gutters (Alexander, Michelle. 2012).

Crime is one of the most important, yet least understood social problems in society. The public’s knowledge about crime is often based on a host of myths and misperceptions. Crime is often treated as an individualistic phenomenon. (Esposito, 2013) The social roots of crime are often ignored; this is why a sociological approach to criminology is important. Crime is an action/behavior that is considered particularly harmful and thus formally banned by a criminal law.

Throughout history we have seen many theories being implemented in the criminal justice system. People come in and try to set in something new that they think will improve the overall performance of the criminal justice system. To fully understand how theories work, it is critical to first be fully aware of what theories actually are. A theory is a set of interrelated variables formed into hypothesis, that specify a relationship among variables. Criminal justice is the main umbrella that all the other perspectives come under. “The theory of criminal justice involves four main philosophies that drive the policies that determine how a government handles its problems with crime. The first two, punishment theory and retributive theory focused on the satisfaction of the victim for such punishment. The other two primary theories of criminal justice, deterrent theory and reformation theory, are aimed at preventing future crimes. They seek to achieve this aim either by discouraging others to commit the same crimes or transforming the individual criminal into a productive member of society.” (Wikipedia. Theories of criminal law) That is the criminal justice theory in a nut shell, but when you look deeper you find other fascinating perspectives that have been implemented in the criminal justice system. One of these key perspectives is the social control perspective. Social control theory lets us understand and lower levels of criminal activity. The idea is that an individual’s basic

The nature of sociological theorizing is the focused interest in the power relationships that exist between social groups and in the social phenomena that influence the characteristic behavior of particular groups of people. Sociological theorizing attempts to identify and predict the behavior of group members, rather than the behavior of individuals. The following assumptions support the sociological perspective of crime causation:

What makes a criminal a criminal? Can anyone become a criminal? Answering and understanding these questions is the core work of criminologists as most criminologists attempt to make sense of why people do certain things (Garland, Sparks 2000). This essay will consider the notion that any person could become a criminal and in so doing consider the initial question. This essay will outline a range of theories that attempt to describe human behavior in relation to criminal behavior given the complexities of behaviour. Several theories will be considered as no single theory of behavior can account fully for the complexities and range in criminal behaviour. The theories range from social-control, to classical, to biological, to personality

Many people have different theories as to why crime exists. Some believe crime happens because of the individual’s culture, education (or lack there of), or even their race. Others believe crime is associated with whom we surround ourselves with. There are three sociological theories that suggest why crime happens in society; they are social learning theory, social control theory, and social reaction (labeling) theory. These theories suggest it is our relationships and social interactions that influence our behavior.