Single-Parent Households Increase Crime

For centuries, criminologists have attempted to explain the reasoning behind individuals committing criminal and delinquent acts. While the prevention of crime and delinquency is a continuous concern?as it has the capability of stopping and reducing the magnitude of the acts before they occur, criminologists have demonstrated that determining the causes of crime and delinquency is critical when developing the best practices for prevention programs. Because the magnitude of thinking on crime causation is so large, there are several criminological theories, both micro level and macro level, that attempt to explain the complex issue of ?why crime occurs.? For instance, Anderson?s novel Code of the Street, demonstrates the various

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 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

When it relates to violent crimes, specifically murder, the level of poverty in a city has been shown to be a contributing factor. According to (Horton, 2002), in his research comparing the rate of poverty to the rate of homicide, he found that there was a correlation between the two. In his article he talked about how those who fall under the poverty line tend

Criminology has evolved over history into becoming a discipline all its own, along the way it grew and developed from a multiple sources of disciplines to become an integration of various theories. Reasons that seek to explain crime and deviant behaviors has mirrored the time in which research was being conducted and as time continues to change it is to be expected more theories will arise to incorporate past theories to become ever more inclusive. It is important to understand this development from the formulation of theories, the evolution of, the determining factors in testing, particular process such as social learning that are upheld as strong empirically sound theories in order for scholars to continue to advance further studies. But

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

However, according to that same report from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report for 2011, the violent crime in Phoenix, AZ is at 5.51 and the property crime rate is at 43.98, that is a drastic difference. First of all, population is a key factor why crime is more prevalent in the Phoenix area. Given that, “Surprise is 160 % less densely populated than Phoenix” (Sperling, (2016). Another key point is marriage, the family structure that gives stability to children. “People are 19% more likely to be married in Surprise” (Sperling, (2016). Having a mother and father in the home is very influential for juveniles (potential offenders).

Theories of criminology were developed centuries ago so people can go in depth to seek what cause crime and why. In some cases these theories can eve go to the extent to prevent the crimes from happening again. Over the years more theories have been developed and the theories that have already been developed have been added to so they fit a larger spectrum. What cause a person to commit a crime and why would they commit a certain crime over another? These theories that have been developed give us an insight to the answer of these questions. These theories are used so Criminologist can have a better understanding of crime such as the Ferguson, Missouri riots that took place after the August of 2014.

There is no perfect formula to accurately predict crime or to understand the criminal elements of the human mind, but there have been many theories that have attempted to explain crime for better or for worse. The 5th edition Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences covers the both the most famous and infamous of criminal theories. Although some ideas are convincing at first they tend to fall flat when new evidence surfaces, so when reading, researching, or just watching the news in general it is important to remain vigilant and impartial as everybody else is entitled to their opinions. Unfortunately societies tend to spread false information quickly, but it is not like it is difficult to change someone’s opinions, however the amount of people with the wrong idea grows into quite a substantial number.

Criminology is a complex subject chock-full of theories that attempt to explain crime and criminal behavior. Each base theory has several branches of theory which expand upon and compliment their predecessors. Even some of the sub-theories have branches of theories.

There are times when correlation between variables appears to present an obvious causal relationship, however, it is irresponsible for both researchers and the news media to produce predictions without looking for alternate factors. A good example is decades of reporting on the relationship between single-mother households (independent variable) and rising crime rates (dependent variable). The preceding example was explored by Philip Cohen (2012) in his article on the single mom and murder rate relationship during the 1990s, in which he noted, “I think single mothers—especially those who were raising kids back in the 1990s—deserve an apology from the conventional-wisdom purveyors of that time” (para. 2). Beginning with an exploration of the media’s interpretation of this relationship, I will also further examine the correct interpretation, and the policy implications of Cohen’s finding.

In criminal justice research is the basis for maintaining an effective system. It helps to discern what methods of correction or deterrence are most impactful, what mannerisms, behaviors, and events drive criminality, and what crimes are most prominent in our society among a slew of other things (Maxfield, Babbie, 2015). Research is detrimental to the propulsion of our society as a whole, and within our criminal justice system, it can be the difference between the procurement of a functioning society and anomie.

Crime exists and occurs in societies worldwide; it takes place in both developed as well as in developing countries, therefore the occurring of crime is also true in the case of a great nation such as the United States. There exist several major factors that directly as well as indirectly foster the rise of crime in societies such as poverty, injustice, drug addiction, unemployment, psychological factors, family background, racism and volatile political scenario. While all of these factors foster acts of crime in society, poverty is undoubtedly the most powerful and most influential factor that leads to crime because it encompasses several other interrelated issues thus making poverty the prime contributor to crime in the United States; and

There are four top social risk factors believed for the involvement of crime. Parental behavior plays a large role in a child’s risk of involvement of crime because of the parent’s influence on a child’s development (“Social Risk Factors for Involvement of Crime”). Poor parenting in supervision, maltreatment of a child, or if the parent is a

There is a study devoted to finding the causes of crime and what makes people criminals. This study is appropriately