Racial Differences Between Criminal Involvement And The Subculture Of Poverty

Akers & Sellers (2013) noted that there are various common theories that are pertinent to the study of crime as the extents of crime explanations range from the genetic/biological through to the economic and social perspective. Howitt (2012) divided these theories into four categories: macro-level or societal theories; locality or community level theories; group and socialisation influence theories; and individual level theories. This essay first describes the major theories of crime in the discussion section, which also discusses the impacts of crime at the individual and societal level, followed by conclusion based on the previous discussion.

Two different subculture theories link racial differences in crime to racial differences in social class: the subculture of violence theory particular the one proposed by Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti and various theories on subculture of poverty. The subculture of violence is a theory that states that high rates of violence in inner-city communities existed because the people who live in the area carried pro-violence values and norms. The idea behind this is that people living in violent areas will become very use to the violence, allowing for people to normally carry the norms and values behind violence, therefore the people will be more violent. With that in mind, the subculture of poverty thesis says that the values of the poor directly cause crime because people with a certain kind of characteristics tend to engage in crime rather than patiently wait for opportunities. In addition to the subculture of poverty theory, people in poverty indirectly cause crime because their values do not hold education and hard work as high as those in more well off

7) In criminological theories, we saw how police activity is largely geared towards minor visible crimes committed by individuals from the lower stratums of society as oppose to “white collar crimes” committed by those of higher stratums (Dubé, CRM 3701, 2011). Abolitionists argue that by severely punishing some of the poor in order to deter society from committing crimes; we are only further contributing to the inequalities in today’s society.

#2 Discuss three different social patterns regarding subculture and crime, i.e., who are more likely to be perpetrators? Victims? Who is most likely to be incarcerated? What crimes are females more likely to commit than males? What is the “gender contract”?

Criminology, as defined, is the scientific approach to conducting an in depth analysis on the origin of crime and criminal behavior, yet criminologists are trained in various fields. A criminologist, focusing on social forces, might approach this particular documentary with a hypothesis, through social structure theories, in order to determine which subjects from the cohort have the potential of realizing their dream of a career in basketball or may deviate into negative factors. Social structure theories, express societal factors, economic factors, and overall social disorders as the fundamental cause for lower-class citizens to engage in crime. The

Overall, these studies suggest that while criminal behavior cuts across race and class lines, the societal response to these behaviors may significantly influence the course of a potential criminal career. Decisions regarding the most effective balance of responses by law enforcement, social services, and community intervention are critical in determining many of these outcomes Race and Class Effects.

Just as Grendel’s social status precludes his being shunned from society, so today is society’s relationship to wealth and social status significant in determining criminality within a population. The 2008 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) stated that “[i]n

Thus, making these factors vital to examine when looking at violent crime. Social economic factors place structural issues on those in poverty, creating more barriers and thus more opportunities for crime to occur. As Blum states “Criminologist frequently affirm that gender, race, and social class affect criminal involvement; on average, men commit more crime than women, blacks commit more crime than whites, and higher poverty areas have higher crime rates than suburban areas” (2008). Thus, making social economic status an important factor in violent crime. Lynch argues that you must look at class when looking at crime, because if not you are neglecting real-word productions of crime (2015). Asserting that class/poverty and crime influence one another. Furthermore, this is not necessarily a predictor of violent crime, but rather a structural factor that makes more individuals likely to commit violent offense. In addition to this there are many different factors that contribute to low economic status such as underemployment, education, single family house-holds, and disabilities (cite). These factors are often left out of theories that discuss poverty and

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?

Crime and criminalization are dependent on social inequality Social inequality there are four major forms of inequality, class gender race and age, all of which influence crime. In looking at social classes and relationship to crime, studies have shown that citizens of the lower class are more likely to commit crimes of property and violence than upper-class citizens: who generally commit political and economic crimes. In 2007 the National Crime Victimization Survey showed that families with an income of $15000 or less had a greater chance of being victimized; recalling that lower classes commit a majority of those crimes. We can conclude that crime generally happens within classes.

The relationship between social class and crime has been up for debate for years and years and probably is the most controversial topic in criminology. Particularly, there have been an even bigger debate as to whether crime is predominantly in the lower-class or if its in all levels hierarchy. The focus and purpose of this research paper is to explore the relationship between social class and crime and how social inequality can affect jail time or sentencing. However, class is difficult to define and while those who are convicted of a crime tend to be working class, middle class people commit crime and some working class are not criminal. The link between any social group and conviction rates is more complex than it seems (Nakhaie, Silverman,

The subculture of southern violence theory is just one of many cultural transmissions theories discussed in Miller’s text. Cultural transmission theories determine that the values, beliefs, and norms of subcultures (deviant or no) contrast with the dominant culture. Therefore, it is possible for a subculture to justify criminal behavior as normal or necessary when it comes to one’s reputation and self-defense. Because the southern region of the United States is known to have high crime rates than other regions of the United States and as a whole, the subculture of violence theory was hypothesized by Wolfgang and Ferracuti during the late 1960s. Other researchers: Ball-Rokeach, 1973; Erlanger, 1974; and Hartnagel, 1980 theorized what factors may be the cause of the high crime rates in the southern region as well. This discussion will explore the implications of whether or not their findings adequately support the existence of the subculture of southern violence theory.

This book attempts to conduct research in order to extend the field of criminology, not any other matter. Sutherland was attempting to bring attention to an area of criminal behaviour that criminologists had not previously studied. At this time, theories of criminal behaviour placed a large emphasis on poverty being the cause of crime or on other social conditions and personal traits which

A violent crime occurs every 23.5 seconds in the United States of America. Even though crime has been at a low during the past decade, violence is still prevalent in today’s society. Most of these crimes happen in places that are socio-economically disadvantaged. There then is the debate of whether violent crime is associated with environments struck with poverty. There is a correlation between violent crimes and poverty because of the unemployment rates in major cities, the culture of poor areas, and drugs.

Poverty and the relationship it has to crime is a long standing sociological, humanists and historical phenomenon. From the plight of the third world to the violence soaked inner city streets of the 1980’s, the relationship of crime and poverty has been the source of a great deal of social commentary. In societies throughout the world and throughout history there has always been a traditional measure of deviance through relative income gaps. Both poverty and crime as well as their connections are heavily weighed topics of political and social discourse. Opinions in these areas contain a great deal of variance. The prejudices of the old guard from the professional police era still utilize association with poverty as a measuring stick for social deviance. Meanwhile, intelligent social science continues to give insight to factors such as social disorganization, socialization into violence, as well as, the far reaching impact political, economic and justice based policies have on those in poverty.