Theories on Why Crime Occurs Essay

There are many theories and sub-theories on why white-collar crime occurs, just as there are many theories and sub-theories on why street crime occurs. However, as with any theory dealing with sociology, there are faults as human nature is hard to define generally. One of these failings, as explained by Benson and Moore in Reading 20, is addressed with Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime (also known as self-control theory) which, surprisingly, completely ignores sociological factors

Rational choice theory originates from the oldest criminological school of thought and criminological theorists, but the theory itself is new, only forming in the last five decades. Ronald Clarke and Derek Cornish, using the work of previous criminologists, put forth the rational choice perspective as a criminological theory (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2016). This theory has its roots in the classical school of thought in which individuals had the power to make decisions after weighing the consequence

criminological theories proposed over the years are theories of criminality rather than of crime and seek to understand and investigate the developmental and/or biological factors responsible for turning individuals into offenders. In the sexual offending empirical literature more specifically, the focus has largely been on the personal dimensions of the behavior.” (Deslauriers-Varin & Beauregard, 2010) The focus of current criminological theories has not shifted to situational theories and situational

Module six readings cover why certain groups of people may commit or not commit crime in comparison to other groups of individuals. Different theories this module covers to help explain different criminal patterns are labeling theories, conflict theories and developmental theories. Labeling theories also known as social reaction theory tries to explain how labeling a person can actually cause them to participate in more criminal behavior (Tibbetts, 2012, p. 173). They believe that by labeling someone

Comparing and Contrasting Routine Activities Theory and Lifestyle Theory The two theories I have chosen for my paper are Routine Activities Theory and Lifestyle Theory. Routine Activities Theory was created by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson in 1979 to draw connections between routine activities in certain areas and crime. The connections Cohen and Felson make are based around influences in the community an offender would be pressured by. In essence, this theory embodies the idea of being a product of

For centuries now, American researchers and researchers around the world have been developing theories or sets of ideas in order to explain crime. Although various theories are widely accepted today by criminologists, psychologists, and numerous researchers alike, it is difficult to decipher whether one theory is more superior than the others. Relatedly, several theories often vary significantly from one another in their explanations, components, and ideas. Many criminologists, depending on their

There are many definitions to theory. According to Akers (2009) “theories are tentative answers to the commonly asked questions about events and behavior” (Akers, (2009, p. 1). Theory is a set of interconnect statements that explain how two or more things are related in two casual fashions, based upon a confirmed hypotheses and established multiple times by disconnected groups of researchers. There are six elements that make a theory sound. These elements are scientific criteria that provide whether

Abstract Crime displacement and diffusion is a major concern in the United States. Crime neither seem to be increasing nor decrease throughout the years. Displacement brings more consequences and can occur when a harm is produced by displacement crime before the intervention. There are three theories that help explain why crime are committed, who are targeted and how to prevent from being a potential target. Being aware of your surroundings is extremely important. Analyzing offenders, victims and

maintenance crimes. These are mostly misdemeanor crimes such as drugs, public intoxication, vandalism, loitering, panhandling, and prostitution. These crimes cause disruptions in the community and usually involve the same individuals time after time. Most of the individuals are not from the communities where these violations are committed. What causes the number of order maintenance crimes to be much higher in the lower income and housing development areas? The social disorganization theory explains

There are three main points that are reinforced in rational choice theory (Cornish and Clarke, 1986). First, it may work better or worse for different types of crime, yet it is thought that there are rational choices in every type of crime even impulsive and pathologic crimes. Second, the theory should be applied on a crime-specific basis. Hence, burglaries can’t be grouped together in among residential and commercial categories. Rather, they must be broken into smaller facets such as public