What are the major approaches that criminologists use to explain crime? Explain each of them. Which approach or approaches would be of greatest practical use to the security manager? Since ancient times, criminologists study various theories of crime in order to place measures that may reduce or eliminate specific crime risks. They are trying to use different approaches to explain crime by different category of theory, such as psychology, biology and sociology.
In addition to these theories there are as many as 10 other theories includig an array of approaches to the understanding of criminology through classical and strain theory as well as biological, psychological, feminist and labeling perspectives to name a few. Sociologists seek to explain the cause and effect of criminal activity and law-violation within society. As a result sociologists have made lot of sociological propositions and collected a lot of research evidence about criminality to form conclusions pertaining t specific theories they seek to explain. Criminology draws heavily upon a range of disciplines and perspectives including sociology, history, and geography. Social policy and politics should also be indentified due to the inter-related and multi-faceted nature of society diversity.
There are many theories relating to deviance and crime with each theory illustrating a different aspect of the procedure by which people break rules and are classed as deviants or criminals. (New texts pg 138) which highlights the problems in defining crime or deviance. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CRIME AND DEVIANCE Many believe crime and deviance has developed on separate tracks over the years as criminologist serve only for legality, crime and crime-related phenomena. The study of deviance however serves for a wider range of behaviours that are not necessarily illegal for example suicide, alcoholism, homosexuality, mentally disordered behaviours. (Bader et al) The main difference between crime and deviance is deviant behaviour is when a social norm has been broken whereas a crime is where a formal and social norm is broken.
Word count : 1700 Criminal victimization and rational theories The classical approach to explain crime has always revolved around examining the personal motivations of offenders for committing crime. However, in the recent past decades researchers have focused not only on offender incentive, but also on the lifestyles and activities of those at risk of being victimized. The following article explores different risk determinants, rational choice and social control theories in an attempt to establish both victim and offender's crime circumstances. Cohen, Kluegel and Land present the opportunity model of predatory victimization perspective as a basic explanatory model for criminal victimization. In order to comprehend why race, age and income have the potential to affect criminal victimization, the authors portray five main risk factors which are: exposure, guardianship, proximity to potential offenders, attractiveness of targets and definitional properties of specific crimes.
Differential Association Theory Edwin Sutherland first projected his theory of differential association in 1939 in his book "The Principles of Criminology" to clarify why some people in society’s communities become criminals and some don’t (Scarpitti, 2009). The theory uses a sociological methodology to explain how criminals learn the practices and reasoning of criminal behavior, however it is entrenched in the Chicago School of criminology. Before this theory was created, crime was almost always explained by multiple factors, such as social class, race, location and age (Gomme, 2007). Differential association was one of the first theories to steer away from earlier classical theories that fixated on the individual and believe that that the criminal was born and not influenced. Sutherland believed the propensity for criminality is neither genetic nor fated.
Such evidence is given primary status in many, if not all, criminal trials today ranging from crimes of murder to mere vandalism. Yet, despite the ‘heavyweight’ support given to the idea that forensic evidence is irrefutable it is argued by some that forensic science evidence alone should not convict. Arguably the Twentieth Century saw the explosion of science, not only in the area of forensic evidence but generally. Methods and techniques deployed in the gathering of evidence for conviction or acquittal changed at a dramatic pace and as each and every scientific discovery was made an application in Forensic Science was close behind. The gathering of forensic evidence at a crime scene is now paramount.
FEBRUARY 3, 2013 INVESTIGATIVES METHODOLOGY IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE A crime laboratory - often shortened to crime lab - is a scientific laboratory, using primarily forensic science for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal cases. These labs generally use forensic science to examine evidences. After examination, they provide reports and opinion testimony. The testimony and reports are presented before a court of law. In the U.S., crime laboratories are operated both at public and private levels.
Assess the usefulness of official statistics to our understanding of social problems. Illustrate your response with sociological arguments and evidence. To assess the usefulness of official statistics to our understanding of social problems, I will first look at what official statistics are, I will then look at crime and suicide as two examples of social problems. I will look at how both Positivists and Interpretativists use these statistics and how useful each of these sociological approaches find them. Official statistics is the name given to the numbers of crimes reported to or unveiled by the police themselves, which lead to a conviction, caution or are dealt with in some formal way by the law.
In assessing the question “Are official statistics a reliable source of information about crime in Britain?” several factors will be considered: including how the statistics are collected, the divide between males and females in crime statistics, the over representation of ethnic minorities and any problems in looking at the true extent of crime using statistics as an indicator for this. In the United Kingdom statistics are produced by the Home Office, the first crime statistics were published in 1976, and contained crimes recorded by the police. Today these statistics are published annually. These statistics make up the British Crime Survey, which measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. The British Crime Survey also includes crimes which are not reported to the police, therefore is an important alternative to police records and provides criminologists, the police, the courts, the media and anyone else who has an interest with the statistics, two different types of data: Firstly trends on crime over time chartered, Details are compiled from offenders who are eventually found guilty or cautioned; details gathered include sex and the age of the offender.
The Psychology of Criminal Behavior: Theories from Past to Present Arista B. Dechant Fort Hays State University, Kansas Table of Contents Personal Relevance Preface………………………………………………………………………….page 3 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….………………….page 4 History of Criminal Behavior…………………………………………………………………..…….page 5 Rational Choice Theory……………………………………..………………………………………….page 6 Eysenck’s Theory of Personality and Crime……………………………………………..…..page 6 Trait Theory………………………………………………………………………………………………….page 9 Psychodynamic Trait Theory…………………………………………………………………………page 10 Social Structure Theory…………………………………………………………………………………page 11 Social Process Theory……………………………………………………………………………………page 12 Social Conflict Theory……………………………………………………………………………………page 13 Conclusion………………………..………………………………………………………………………….page 13 References……………………………………………………………………………………………….…..page 15 Personal Relevance Preface I have been involved in extensive research since undergraduate school surrounding criminals and how they operate. There are many ideas surrounding the cause of antisocial behavior and criminality. Through this independent study class for Fort Hays State University’s Justice Studies (Graduate) Program, I felt I would have the perfect opportunity to explore many of theories which have developed, over time, to explain criminal behavior. It is my hope that this research paper will provide an extensive and educational look at how the psychology of a criminal impacts the activity which is produced. It seems that every year brings new ideas, but I feel that the following is a conclusive look of research compiled from the beginning of criminality to the present.