Social Institutions

Deterrence is founded on the assumption that people make rational choices about rather or not they wish to engage in criminal behavior. Thus, it is believed that one would weigh the gain they expect to achieve from a particular crime, to the expected cost of punishment. Punishment encompasses the likelihood of being caught and punished as well as the expected severity of the punishment. Therefore, in order to effectively deter, planner and criminal justice professionals must look into three factors: the severity of the punishment, the certainty of punishment, and the celerity with which the punishment is imposed. However, the severity of the punishment must be proportional to the benefit the criminal expects to realize from the

My paper will cover the topic of how to how control organized crime and not just in the United States of America but also abroad. This is a country and others are wrought with opportunities, but many would seek to use those opportunities improperly to illegal ends. The consequences of these criminals and their actions can be detrimental to the overall well-being of the general populace by introducing negative elements into the greater whole of society. For that reason, and many others, numerous agencies were created to police these crimes and the people who perpetrate them. Varying jurisdictions from local to federal are normally involved in the investigation and apprehension of these individuals. But before one can discuss the topic of

Many could argue that organized crime takes place in our society because of the circumstances in which our society has chosen to exist. It could have been started because of rules, regulations, and laws that we have placed upon ourselves that not every person agrees with. It could be a problem because several of the people within our society choose to live differently because they feel they can. Whatever the logic behind the choice organized crime does exist in our society and has for quite some time. In this paper will take a look at the perspective of social organized crime. We will discuss and explain the term social institution and how it applies to organized crime. We will discuss empirical

Organized crime is found in the United States of America today and the law enforcement agencies are trying to find a way to curb its existence. Even though there are illegal businesses associated with organized crime, they are mixed in with legal businesses to portray a legal front. It also can be called a social institution because it is led by a boss and follows a chain of command much like a pyramid. Empirical and speculative theories have been developed through the years in order for the law enforcement agencies to better understand organized crime and how to deal with it. This paper will examine a social institution as it applies to

The view that the experience of prison in itself acts as a deterrent is rooted in the simple specific deterrence theory which predicts that individuals experiencing a more severe sanction are more likely to reduce their criminal

Since the 1990’s, organized crime has become a problem among U.S. citizens. The Mafia was the earliest group to show its strengths of power and manipulation among citizens and business of New York City. From the time of the Mafia’s rise, other criminal organizations have surfaced using their power to corrupt personal within business for the gain of finance and political strength. In today society, one of the main question when it comes to these groups is how can criminal organizations be controlled? This paper will identify the problems presented and the various relationships established by organized crime. It will describe the legal limitations associated with combating

Law, crime, and the concept of deterrence have existed simultaneously for thousands of years. Since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden crime has been a prevalent aspect of society and always will be. Ever since there has been crime and as long as crime exists there will be efforts to deter people from committing crimes. Deterrence relies on fear and doubt to dissuade a person from committing a crime. However, does deterrence work? Many people think that deterrence does not work and tend to follow the logic of the rational choice theory. The rational choice theory says that everyone makes calculated choices based on the risk and the potential reward (Siegel, 2011).

According to the journal article, the concept of deterrence is simple; it is the omission of a criminal act because of the fear of sanctions or punishments. Deterrence is an important foundation of the criminal justice system. Law enforcement is there to apprehend those that break the law, and to convince the public that there is a risk of apprehension and punishment if they commit a crime. Laws provide a host of different sanctions for the commission of offenses such as: fines, probation, imprisonment, mandatory minimum sentences, the “three strikes” law, and others are all enacted with the expatiation that sanction threats can deter crime is at the heart of the criminal Justice system. According to the journal article, there is an abundance of research about specific police, judicial, and correctional policies, as well as a more general theoretical work about deterrence mechanism, with the evidence to date, it is still flimsy.

Therefore, the overall assumption is that the greater the severity of punishment, the greater chance of deterrence for both an individual as well as society at large. However, there is plenty of evidence to support that severity of punishment does not reduce criminal behavior. For example, there are various factors that can contribute to criminal activity such as poverty, personal morals, upbringing, and education. Melanie Reid argues that, individuals undoubtedly react differently to the threat of punishment depending upon such factors as their social class, age, intelligence and moral training. There are indeed other methods of deterring crime.

Severe punishments, such as long stints in prison and the death penalty, are designed to pose as threats or warnings to those who consider committing a crime. It also seems that, theoretically, more severe punishments, such as longer prison sentences, would help deter crime at least by keeping the offender locked away, thus “deterring” them from committing more crime. Certainty of punishment would serve to deter potential offenders with the threat of a definite, undesirable penalty, should they be caught and convicted. Certainty and severity of punishment both play on an offender’s sense of self-preservation, in hopes that potential offenders may not commit crimes to protect themselves from undesirable consequences. Promptness of punishment theoretically serves to deter crime by playing on not only the potential offender’s self-interest, but on the idea that public attitudes against the offender will be more severe soon after the crime is committed.

According to the journal article, How Much Do We Really Know about Criminal Deterrence? The concept of deterrence is simple: “it is the omission of a criminal act because of the fear of sanctions or punishments. Deterrence is an important foundation of the criminal justice system. Law enforcement is there to apprehend those that break the law, and to convince the public that there is a risk of apprehension and punishment if they commit a crime.” “Laws provide a host of different sanctions for the commission of offenses such as: fines, probation, imprisonment, mandatory minimum sentences, the (three strikes) law, and others are all enacted with the expatiation that sanction threats can deter crime is at the heart of the criminal Justice system.” According to the journal article How Much Do We Really Know about Criminal Deterrence? “There is an abundance of research about specific police, judicial, and correctional policies, as well as a more general theoretical work about deterrence mechanism, with the evidence to date, it is still flimsy.”

The second theory I would like to discuss is the Strain theory. The strain theory basically states that crime breeds in the gap, imbalance, or disjunction between culturally induced aspirations for economic success and structurally distributed possibilities of achievement. The theory assumes fairly uniform economic success aspirations across social class and the theory attempts to explain why crime is concentrated among the lower classes that have the least legitimate opportunities for achievement. It is the combination of the cultural emphasis and the social structure which produces intense pressure for

The economic impact of organized crime is staggering. “… a look at the economic impact alone gives a glimpse of the importance of this issue. The

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.

Deterrence is a further purpose that needs to be highlighted. The aim of punishment is also to warn people from crime committing under the fear of being punished and it might be reached through the well-developed criminal justice system, one of the main aim of which is to ensure that every wrongdoer will be punished for the criminal acts. There are two kinds of deterrence. They are general and specific deterrence. Ferris defines specific deterrence as deterrence which attempts to persuade the individual before the court not to commit further offences, while general deterrence is defined as the process of persuading others who might be inclined to offend not to do so. Deterrence has its own pros and cons as well. One of the main deterrence benefits is that it may reduce crime rate significantly and sharply. For instance, there is a three strikes policy in most states of USA, which means that if an individual has already been in jail two times and if this person commits a third crime, she would be automatically sentenced for 25 years regardless of crime seriousness. On the other hand, the main drawback is that criminals usually think that they will not be caught, so they continue committing crimes.