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Occupy Wall Street Criminological Theories

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Criminological Theory Applied to “Occupy Wall Street”
-Introduction:
In this paper, I use strain theory, subcultural theory, and conflict theory to explain why criminal behavior occurred in the Occupy Wall Street movement. I employ “End to End Integration” to show how these theories can be integrated to more fully explain the criminal behavior than any one theory could do on its own. In the process, I provide the strengths and weaknesses of this type of integration.
-Current Event: Occupy Wall Street is a political movement that was created in 2011 to address income inequality in the United States. Protesters involved in this movement hoped to bring attention to the unfair distribution of power and influence that the wealthiest 1% of …show more content…

This theory is very broadly focused and examines a society as a whole rather than an individual’s motivation for crime. In lecture, Miriam Bohmert, Ph.D. explained that in conflict theory, the law “Emphasizes & preserves private property, which belongs to the ruling class…Appears to promote legal equality…But really just serves to pacify the powerless” (Bohmert, Ph.D.). In the Occupy Wall Street movement, the marginalization of the poor was made clear by the severity of economic distress in 2011. The “unemployment rate was above 9%,” (Jihong) which placed the United States into a vulnerable state, allowing citizens to question the intentions of those in power and attempt to force those in power to provide solutions to the problem or become subject to violence. Although one can discredit conflict theory’s influence on this movement, citing the fact that those in power remained in power, one can argue that the shift of power occurs naturally through the United States political process, and the movement simply affected future politicians stances on issues that are meant to reflect the desires of the citizens that they represent. Conflict theory explains the vulnerable state that the United States was in that led to the Occupy Wall Street movement, which influenced citizens to reconsider their stance on issues that would …show more content…

Subcultural theory assumes that criminal behavior is learned through participation in a group, like a family, that share “values and norms distinct from those of the majority” (Bohmert, Ph.D.). The Occupy Wall Street movement can be explained by subcultural theory by accepting that the connection that held the unity of those involved in the movement together was the similar frustration. Miriam Bohmert, Ph.D. cited Phil Cohen in lecture, stating, “Subcultures arise in response to special problems people face” (Bohmert, Ph.D.). An unsatisfactory amount of material wealth caused a subculture (the movement) to form. Due to the fact that protests are deviant gatherings, Anthony Giddens would describe the Occupy Wall Street movement’s following as a deviant subculture. Without the significant amount of citizens that were involved in the movement, participants would be less likely to become deviant because the movement would have less political influence and the potential for dangerous riots would be less threatening. Although Tibbetts claims that subcultures socialize their children to share their beliefs, and not all participants in the movement citizens who were socialized to be dissatisfied with those in power, subcultural theory is still represented because of the prevalence of a group that shared a similar frustration, thus creating a collective

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