John Hagan Power Control Theory Essay

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

In this case, the advantages of the crime control model would be that they would catch more guilty people. Which is a good thing because they may be getting the dangerous or hateful criminals off of the streets, increasing the safety of the public. Along with that they would actually be getting punished because in many cases criminals are let go. While the advantages of the due process model would be that the ones found innocent would be let go if there was no evidence. Sadly, many incarcerated are not guilty and in this case all of the strip searches and questioning would give them the ability to prove their innocence.

In the multi-faceted dynamics of gender, the declaration of gender neutral is often in fact male oriented and dominated sexism. Gender roles are perhaps reinforced more strongly in law enforcement than any other of our societal systems. Consequently, the hegemonic masculinity (HM) of our patriarchal society has kept men and women in their place (Goodey, 1997), this male dominance that negatively impacts a female’s ability to advance in society appears to play a dual role of discrimination within the criminal justice system. Informal control of keeping women within their gender increases [the perception] of the likelihood of their being law abiding citizens, which may be why we see women being arrested for more incidents of prostitution and

The United States criminal justice system, an outwardly fair organization of integrity and justice, is a perfect example of a seemingly equal situation, which turns out to be anything but for women. The policies imposed in the criminal justice system affect men and women in extremely dissimilar manners. I plan to examine how gender intersects with the understanding of crime and the criminal justice system. Gender plays a significant role in understanding who commits what types of crimes, why they do so, who is most often victimized, and how the criminal justice system responds to these victims and offenders. In order to understand the current state of women and the way in which gender relates to crime and criminal justice, it is first

There has long been a debate over which, if any, are the most effective methods of crime control. Governments from bottom to top in our nation have poured over the issue with mixed results for as long as there has been a nation. Until very recently deterrence was completely based on fear of punishment. However, recent years have provided us with a more complete understanding of crime and its roots among the more desirable parts of our society, specifically the mind of a criminal. Through the study of psychology, specifically free will, determinism and social identity, we may find that situational crime prevention is a better means to deter crime in our nation.

The UCR utilizes the hierarchy rule that implies that when multiple crimes are linked to one offender within the same reporting year, only the most serious crime is counted. The UCR also uses another category termed clearance rate, this category highlights number of cases solved based on arrests, usually some cases where there are suspects but cannot be cleared for one reason or another when suspect flees the country, commits suicide, dies, or is convicted in another jurisdiction.

It seems as if gender and society’s norms have an impact on the low crime rates of women. Femininity is, for the most part, consists of the way a woman behaves but also the way she sees herself and her relationships with others. A woman’s femininity is influenced not only by her body but also her mind and her interactions with society. A “normal” woman can be perceived as caring, nurturing, and being selfless when it comes to others. Women, who take on responsibilities of a family or the ability to not only establish, but also maintain relationships, are thought of in the highest regards. “Derivative identity constrains deviance on the part of a women involved with conventional males, but it also encourages the criminal involvements of those who become accomplices of husbands or boyfriends” (Blanchette, & Brown, 2006).

Female Criminality consists of several outdated statistics regarding the rise of female offending. However, in viewing the current research on the subject, it appears that the overall theme of this dissertation's discussion is still relevant despite changes in the accompanying statistics as seen in viewing the following topics: the rise in female offending; the continual rise that females are committing more crimes than men; and the types of crimes that women are committing. In viewing Bruce Gross's 2009 article, "Battle of the Sexes: The Nature of Female Delinquency," as well as Elizabeth Cauffman's 2008 article, "Understanding the Female Offender," one can begin to see where current statistics regarding the female criminal lie.

“Gender violence is one of the world’s most common human rights abuses. Women worldwide ages 15 through 44 are more likely to die or be maimed because of male violence than because of cancer, malaria, war, and traffic accidents combined… people can perceive violence against women as evil and tolerate it at the same time” (Belknap, page 288). This quote helps illustrate the many obstacles that women face globally and within the criminal justice (CJ) system. Candace Kruttschnitt explores the study of female victimization, male and female offending, neutrality of theories, and how the media plays into the gendering of crime. Kruttschnitt points out the question of gender disparities: are they are handled in a more neutral manner or do they need

According to Lilly, Cullen, and Ball (232) Feminist theory has been on the back burner of modern criminology until the late 19th century. As with the other criminology theories there are many thoughts and ideas on why females commit crimes. In the beginning the theories seem to revolve around the victimization of the female gender. Then criminologist took a look at female delinquency, prostitution, and gender inequality in the criminal justice system. Lilly (233) wrote that Lombroso used physiological traits to determine what type of women would commit crime. Lombroso also argued that the women that committed the most crime were more masculine then the women who did not commit crime. He used physiological immobility, and passivity to make the argument. Lilly (235) also wrote that Sigmund Freud believed the reason women committed crime was because they has “penis envy”. Since women were physical different than men, women would become more aggressive trying to act like the male counterpart in order to fit in with the status quo.

All feminist theorists share a common focus on gender inequality; however feminism can be described as a set of perspectives rather than a single viewpoint (Strider, N.d.). Therefore, challenging gender biasness in the criminal justice system from the feminist perspective can take many forms given the fact that there a lot of sources of gender inequality in the system. For example, the early theories of criminal behavior largely ignored gender all together and as a result the field has become largely male dominated and males have also been shown to commit more crimes than women on average.

I have come to the conclusion after reading this article that the intended audience is anyone involved in the criminal justice system. Police officers, lawyers, judges, probation officers and everyone in between can find use in the article and its comparing and contrasting of the crime control model and due process model.

American Criminal Justice System The criminal judicial system in America has two main models, the crime control model and the due process model. There has been several debates on which model is the most effective in combating crime in America. Crime control model emphasizes on crime reduction by increasing prosecution powers (Hung-En, 2006). On the other hand, the due process model of crime control aims at increasing the people’s rights and liberty and limiting governmental powers. Unlike the due process model, the crime control model believes in with an increase in governmental powers and reduction of individual freedom in order to mitigate crime in the society.

The Crime Control Model and the Due Process Model are very important parts of our criminal justice system. Without both of these models in our system it throws things off balance and causes a lot of problems. Over the past many years our Criminal Justice System has changed and with these changes we have found better ways of keeping our system balanced. In order for our system to continue to stay in balance then the Crime Control Model and Due Process Model need to be used together.

As the nineties began, the general theory of crime became the most prominent criminological theory ever proposed; furthermore, it is empirically recognized as the primary determinant in deviant and criminal behaviors. Known also as the self-control theory, the general theory of crime can most simply be defined as the absence or lack of self-control that an individual possesses, which in turn may lead them to commit unusual and or unlawful deeds. Authored by educator Michael R. Gottfredson and sociologist Travis Hirschi, A General Theory of Crime (1990) essentially “dumbed down” every theory of crime into two words, self-control. The widely accepted book holds that low self-control is the main reason that a person initiates all crimes, ranging from murder and rape to burglary and embezzlement. Gottfredson and Hirschi also highlighted, in A General Theory of Crime (1990), that low self-control correlates with personal impulsivity. This impulsive attitude leads individuals to become insensitive to deviant behaviors such as smoking, drinking, illicit sex, and gambling (p. 90). The extreme simplicity, yet accuracy, of Gottfredson’s and Hirschi’s general theory of crime (self-control theory), make it the most empirically supported theory of criminal conduct, as well as deviant acts.