Theories Of Crime : Robbery

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.

This breakdown of organization and culture within a community leads to a lack of informal social control which in turn leads to higher crime rates especially in the juvenile population (Simons, Simons, Burt, Brody, & Cutrona, 2005). Social disorganization theory asserts that strong levels of connection within a community along with a sense of civic pride motivate individuals to take a more active role in the community therefore acting as a deterrent to crime.

Robert Agnew’s General Strain theory expands prior theorist’s concepts which emphasizes that the obstruction of an individual goal or the inability of an individual to achieve conventional goals through appropriate means causes unlawful innovations, such as crime (Brezina, 2010). More so, Agnew’s expanded the concept of stressors in an effort to make stressors classless. In addition, Agnew states that the strains that generate strong pressure which tend to lead to criminal behaviors are chronic strains, strains that are rationalized to unjust or severe, and strains that can be resolved by crime (Agnew, 2001). Lastly, Agnew believes that criminal response is most likely to occur when normal coping strategies are absent.

So far, both theories are able to explain the crime inequality observed insides neighbourhoods; however, when it comes to explaining the difference in crime rates between neighbourhoods with similarly low levels of poverty, social disorganization theory is not able to fully explain why such difference may occur, as it places a greater focus on the internal dynamics of the neighbourhoods than on the external contingencies (Peterson & Krivo, 2010, p. 92). Based on Table 4.5 of Divergent Social Worlds: Neighborhood Crime and the Racial-Spatial DivideI, minority low-poverty areas have roughly two and a half times more violence than their white counterparts (Peterson & Krivo, 2010, p. 88). Social disorganization theory insists that residential instability (percent of those who owns and percent of those who rent) , population heterogeneity (internal differences, including ethno-racial differences), poverty (percent of those who live in poverty), income, deteriorating neighbourhood, and population loss (percent of those who leave due to deterioration) are mechanisms that leads to the absence of informal social control and increases social disorganization, causing the loss of control over youths who then hang out at spontaneous playgrounds and form gangs with delinquent traditions that get passed down through cultural transmission. If such was the case, then one would expect neighbourhoods with similar and comparable local conditions to have similar average rates of crimes. However,

The social disorganization theory is directed towards social conditions. This theory argues that crime is due to social conflicts, change, and lack of consensus in the group.

It allows theorists to not only know the category of the strain, but how individuals cope with them. Most individuals use crime a back-up when they lack some skills and resources to cope with the strain. The strain arises from negative emotions from negative relationships with others. Individual characteristics helps them to cope poorly or well with strain. Now, the theory reminds us that strain is multifaceted and how we cope is more important than the strain’s existence. But, it fails to elaborate on structural origins of strain. It is extremely broad to the point that researchers have little direction as to the exact types of strain to examine. There are many different types of strain that fall underneath the categories of major strains. Agnew treated theses strains equal in terms of their impact on crime. According to the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, the broadness makes it hard to falsify. “If strain can be defined in so many ways, then the strain theory is virtually unfalsifiable. There is always a new measure that might salvage the theory” (Jensen, 1995). It is critical that general strain theory is clearer on the types of strain that most likely leads to crime and delinquency. The power control theory helps us understand that through the upraising of child it correlates to the children’s deviant behavior. It allows us to understand that they are different types of families and each one are based off a different set of morals and values. According to Ball et al., (2011) Hagan’s theory did not evaluate other situations besides power balance in the household that might influence delinquency. An example of this would be a single mother living in a depleted neighborhood. Ball et al., also points out that the theory only explained general delinquent behavior. The gender differences within delinquent behavior have little to do with

One example of a non-digital crime that could be caused by the strain theory is bank robbery. There are several reasons why a person would commit a bank robbery. One would be because of financial strain. Another could be a sense of entitlement. The bank may be viewed as a representation of corporate American greed by the bank robber. For the most part, bank robbers rob banks for financial gain without any thought to the faceless account holders.

Why do people commit crimes? Also, why does crime exist in our societies? The concern of these questions is heavily weighed on the criminal justice system and criminologists. In actuality, a question like these are very tough to answer. In this paper, the aim is to explore the weaknesses and strength of theories surrounding crime. Also, I shall evaluate the explanations given by using numerous psychological factors in addition to social learning theories and the general aggression model in relation to aggressive and violent behavior, and also the personality theories such as the 'big five' model and personality dimensions theory, in relation to antisocial, impulsive and criminal behavior. Then I shall draw a conclusion. By focussing on these

The general strain theory is most commonly referred to as GST. Rather than explaining how social class impacts crime rates, Agnew explains why those who feel strain commit crimes (“Merton and Agnew”). Criminals commit crimes for many reasons: parental rejection, child abuse, unemployment, bullying, and feeling as if one has failed in life. Growing up in a bad community and home life has been highly related to criminal activity later in life. For instance, most strain is brought on by parents, teachers, peers, spouses, and employers. Now, why does strain increase the likelihood of crime? All of the reasons listed above and many more cause very negative emotions such as, anger, depression, and

The environment of poverty prone neighborhoods is also a social condition that affects the school-to-prison-pipeline. According to the social learning theory, developed by Albert Bandura, children affected by the school-to-prison pipeline engage in criminal behavior considering their association with others who engage in crime (Learning-Theories 2016). Once children become suspended or expelled from school, they begin to spend a great majority of their time in their own communities. In communities of poverty, gangs on an everyday basis, expose children to criminal behavior since these individuals do not have the resources that they need in order to survive. As a result, children view crime as a desirable means for justification. There are three

In particular, a community that has unraveling communal buildings is more likely to have elevated crime rates. Such a neighborhood may have deprived schools, unused and destroyed structures, excessive unemployment, and a mix of commercial and suburban property. One; social groups, social institutions, the arrangements of society, and social roles all provide the proper focus for criminological study. Two; group dynamics, group organization, and subgroup relationships form the casual nexus out of which crimes develop. Three; the structure of society and its relative degree of organization or disorganization are important factors contributing to the criminal behavior.

These routines influence offenders to commit robbery since it bring together targets at their locations or separate targets from their locations, for example, special events, holidays and annual routines. Offenders know during the holidays individuals are carrying large sums of cash for shopping. People can become victims at special events where there is alcohol and become less aware of surroundings. There are commuting patterns of robbery where victims may have to take detours on other routes and may get lost and become a victim. Offenders’ ideal locations when committing robbery are areas where there is no guardianship. These areas lack people that can aid robbery victims, but can cause these guardians to become secondary robbery victims or lead to other crimes like murder. Offenders also like areas that provide quick escape routes from the crime scene or areas of familiarity since the offender will be aware of the routines of the victims and whether guardians or police patrol the area. The occurrence of robberies can cause a major problem of fear mainly for the victim, but also within the community the crime took place. Robbery victims feel vulnerable, not able to carry out daily routines without the fear of being robbed again, a feeling of guilt that it was their fault the crime occurred. Robbery victims feel they don’t have control and fear to lose their

This essay will discuss the question of why individuals commit crime, exploring three theories of crime; social disorganisation theory, rational choice theory, and biological theories.

The study first focused on basic information of bank robberies, by using records that the FBI kept when investing bank robbery scenes. This information was very helpful in determining the trends of bank robbers; the investigators gave suggestions to institutions on how to create better security measures. The investigator took all the FBI reports and placed them into a database for future reference (Carrol & Loch, (1997).

Strain theory is an occurrence within society where pressure to the juvenile to commit crimes, the juvenile is compelled remains in a specific settings like family and school. Therefore if said juvenile is experiencing pain or aversive it is hard for them to escape the situation. So to alleviate this discomfort they turn to crime, this mainly seen within the subculture of gangs (Agnew, 2012).