Crime is something that impacts everyone whether directly as a victim or indirectly through societal and economical cost. By understanding the causes of criminal behavior it may be possible to change some of the factors and eliminate some criminal behavior. However, it is not simple, and understanding the behavior of the criminal does not necessarily eliminate criminal behavior. The roots of criminal behavior have been heavily debated. During the eighteenth century social philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham (1748-1833) began to embrace the human behavior was a result of rational thought process. People choose to act when, after weighing the cost and benefits will bring them an increase in pleasure and a reduction of pain. It stands to believe that criminal behavior could be eliminated or controlled if law violators could endure the pain of the punishment exceeding the benefit of the crime.
At the beginning of the twentieth century there have been efforts to link physiological factors such as skull size or skin color to criminal behavior. Age is often a large determinate of criminal behavior. Most initial offenders tend to be younger often in their teens or early twenties. Criminal activity then decreases as age increases. Not all crimes fit this pattern however, fraud and other crimes like white collar crimes, that require more thought and planning are often committed by older individuals.
When choosing a crime, the individual may not commit the crime the
In other words, a person may be tempted to commit a crime if there not a strong enough deterrent in place. Hence, Bentham’s solution to crime control was to address this pleasure/pain response by imposing strict penalties proportional to the seriousness of the crime committed to discourage people from offending (Von Hirsch, 1992). Although he did not support the death penalty, punishment for committing crime was considered by Bentham as the lesser of two evils, necessary for the health of society and the duty of the government to impose (Bull, 2010; Hudson, 2003). Punishment, for Bentham, was a way to ensure “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” (Rosen, 2003, p 221).
Understanding the criminal behavior system and crime typologies that the book demonstrates; it is kind of hard to distinguish what type of serial killer Robert Durst is. Judging from the book examples of different type of serial killers, I would have to say Robert Durst is a hybrid serial killer. While some of his actions from the video series, “The Jinx”, lead me to feel as if he was an expedience killer who wants to protect themselves from a perceived threat as the book states. Some of Durst’s actions also lead me to believe he was a mission killer, who had a vision for killing someone. None of his victims seemed as if they were some random act of murder. I feel as if he had a mission to kill all of them.; one reason making me suspect
It is unfortunate that crime exists in our daily lives. There really is no way to stopping crime completely, no matter how many laws or punishment are present, people will continue to keep breaking rules. There are many theories of why that may be the case, for example, Caesar Lombroso and his “atavistic” theory with the Positivist School theory and how people were “born criminals”, or the Rational Choice Theory, devised by Cornish and Clarke, described that people could think rationally and how people will naturally avoid pain and seek pleasure referred to as “hedonism” (Cartwright, 2017, lecture 4). Since it is apparent that crime will continue to exist, it is not only important to understand the study of crime and the feedbacks to it,
Lastly, the age issue could have to do with physical abilities. Generally, the younger you are, the better chance you have or getting away with your crime. If you are have speed and agility, your chances or not getting caught are increased. As you get older, your physicality slowly deteriorates, which could explain why majority of crimes are committed by young
Humans are complicated creatures. I proclaim that we are innately curious about everything. What, why, how, when are questions that constantly circulate in our minds. These questions then encourage us, naturally, to search for the answers. This is true in the area of crime and criminal behavior as well. Criminological theory attempts to describe why and how crime transpires by studying the countless social factors that influence someone to commit crimes. These theories are then supposed to explain both the understandings and roots of crime. Abstract outlooks offer an image of what something is and the best way of addressing that particular subject. In this section of the course we have explored different author’s sociological perspectives in the realm of theory. Each aim to explain why people engage in crime, but I will focus my attention on anomie/strain theories. First, I will provide a short summary of Merton’s anomie theory, Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional-anomie theory and Agnew’s general strain theory. Next, I will take some time to highlight the strength or usefulness of the theories, with some critique, but mostly focusing on the positive value. Lastly, I will use the biological example of William Freeman and explain how the strain theory is directly relational.
A number of criminological theories have been developed throughout the course of time for the purposes of attempting to understand and pinpoint what motivates individuals to demonstrate criminal behaviors by engaging in criminal acts. The focus of this work will be to apply theories of crime to the offense of burglary. Three criminological theories will be identified, discussed, and then related to the criminal behavior of burglary. The associations between the theories and the criminal behavior will be clearly explained. Additionally, the reliability and validity of each theory will be assessed. Lastly, this writer will offer an opinion as to which theory best explains a burglar’s behavior. This estimation will be supported by one practical example and relevant factors that are described in the most applicable theory.
Criminal behavior is something that affects everyone, even if you don’t particularly engage in the act itself. Every time a crime is committed, we often find ourselves wondering what led that person to do that crime. We wonder why they did it because it is something that we could never do, so therefor we cannot fathom the act of engaging in criminal activity. Some people feel that people only engage in it just because they lack the thing that they try to steal or because of their specific background and race. In actuality, there is a link between criminal behavior and the lack of education. However there is also a link between the attainment of education and criminal behavior.
Furthermore, Bentham also disagreed with Beccaria on the subject of torture. Instead, Bentham believed that on some occasions torture was an acceptable measurement as a means to gain information on criminal activity (Burke, 2014). Although Bentham agreed with the notion of free will, he also endorsed the notion that offending could be linked to learned behaviour. Nevertheless, both Beccaria and Bentham can take credit for the colossal influential changes to the justice system, that are still relied upon
Incarceration rates are extremely costly and the rates of incarceration are alarmingly high in the United States. Individuals engage in criminal behaviors for many reasons. Although the reasons are numerous and vary, the justice system has attempted to narrow down the causes of criminal behavior. The justice system has also put into place specialty courts that are designed to better address these particular causes of criminal behavior. The goal of these courts is to better address the individual’s reason that they engaged in criminal behavior in hopes that with the additional support, in the future the individual will become a productive member of society.
It is only appropriate to believe that the severity of penalties given to an individual whom committed a crime should be proportionate to the crime in which they engaged in, no more than what is necessary, but enough in order to deter the offender from participating in another crime. This approach is applied in such ways because it is believed that criminal activity is a rational choice, chosen because they perceive it to be in their best interest. “Criminals make a rational choice and choose to do criminal acts due to maximum pleasure and minimum pain” (Classical School of Criminology, 2012)
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point
In an age and crime relationship chart, we can see that some population involved in crimes tends to climax in age of adolescence or early stage of adulthood. Then, it declines at the same rate with age. I am really wonder is age plays a crucial role for people who committed crime? I want to focus on when a person in a certain age, what will be some reason for the person to commit crimes. Is this universal or can be said similar crimes regardless of location and historical context. What are some variations in this topic.
Chapter eight starts off with explaining the first group of social process theories that are rooted in their notion that criminal behavior is learned by a social context. There has been a learning perspective that assumed that there are law- breaking values, norms, and etc. The section goes on to explain the theories envision that a criminal’s behavior is a product of the same learning process of noncriminal behavior. Crime is known for being constructed as a normal behavior rather than pathological. The task of this learning theory is to detail the process through which pattern are cultivated. According to the 2005 presidential address that American Society of Criminology, which that Julie Horney proposed to the board version of the Skinnerian to be rooted for learning theories. These theories have the potential to organize much of our knowledge about criminal behaviors.
The influence that certain neighborhoods or environments have on crime has been observed and studied throughout the last two centuries. Many theories, such as the social disintegration theory, have been hypothesized to explain the effects of certain neighborhoods on crime. In addition, other theories have been presented, such as the collective efficacy theory, which serve to explain the reasons for reduced crime in other neighborhoods while presenting possible solutions to solve the problem of crime in society. This paper will explore these two theories and how they not only help explain but also, hopefully, solve the problems of crime and criminal behavior in both youth and our adults.
law is law that has been built up over the years by decisions of the