Perspectives of Social Problems and Social Responsibility Within criminology there has been multiple theories suggested to explain the numerous motives behind why crime exists in our world. The two most central arguments surrounding criminal activity is whether the crime is the individuals fault, or if it is the fault of the society that they grew up in. These views are termed social responsibility and social problems, and will be discussed in this paper along with their respected perspectives that withhold why their view on criminology is the paramount reason on why criminals commit crimes. The view of social responsibilities approach to crime termed by Schmalleger essentially states that crime is an individual responsibility, and in terms of the criminal, victim, and justice system we all play a role within the social aspect of criminal behavior. Although he feels that this way of looking at crime is not fair to the victim or the justice system, but that the media over the years has influenced this way of thinking, giving the conception that certain conditions surrounding when, where, or how the crime took place may be the factor in why it happened in the first place.
Social Structure Theory Sue Benitez CJA/314 April 1, 2013 Renee Grengs Social Structure Theory Social Structure Theory is “a theory that explains crime by reference to the economic and social arrangements in society. This type of theory emphasizes relationships among social institutions and describes the types of behavior that tend to characterize groups of people rather than individuals” (Schmalleger, p. 151). Julio Rivera’s murder in the video “Senseless Hate Crime” can be acknowledged and studied using a social structure theoretical application. The following will explain how the video supports the theory, will explain what social issues were raised, and will show what some of the possible ramifications will be for social policy change. There are three major types of Social Structure Theory; Social Disorganization, Strain Theory, and Culture Conflict Theory.
These theories are different in determining factors that cause criminal behavior. The theories have played a role in different policies we have in place in the criminal justice system. I will explain the three theories of social structure before going into how they play a role in pelican bay state prison; war zone. Social disorganization theory which depicts social change, social conflict, and lack of social consensus as the root causes of crime and deviance (Schmalleger, 2012). This theory focuses on the lack of social control, gang activity, disadvantaged neighborhoods and the many conflicting social values as factors that cause people to commit crime.
The first explorations of deviance and crime was done by Durkheim who identified two different sides of crime for the functioning of society: positive and negative. According to Durkheim, crime was necessary for society. He argued that the basis of society was a set of shared values that guide our actions, which he named the collective conscience. The collective conscience provides boundarie which distinguishes between actions that are acceptable and those that are not. The problem for any society is that these boundaries are unclear and change over time.
Final Writing Assignment The relationship between Social Bond Theory, General Strain Theory, and Criminal Behavior By: Criminology M, W, F 1:00pm Abstract Criminal behavior has been talked about in many different ways, and there are many different theories on why it caused. I am going to talk about the social bond theory and the general strain theory. These two theories really focus on environment and surroundings of the individual. I will look at research articles for each of the theories and also talk about a person who engaged in criminal behavior and what I think caused their criminal behavior based on general strain theory and social bond theory. General Strain Theory “Strain theories state that certain strains or stressors increase the likelihood of crime.
Organized Crime Prevention and Control As one author put it, “organized crime has been defined in the relative absence of Knowledge” about its true dimensions (Castle, 2008, p. 139). Albanese (1996) explains crime and possible organized crime in terms of the typologies of positivism, classicism, structural, and ethical explanations. The positive approach explains organized crime as caused by social and economic factors that include: poor neighborhoods and role models, lack of opportunity to achieve the “American Dream,” dysfunctional families, and even genetics. The positivist sees change in the conditions as a means to prevent criminal behavior. Walter Miller’s classic article “Ideology and Criminal Justice Policy” concluded with the observation, “when assertions are made about what measures best serve the purposes of securing order, justice, and the public welfare, one should ask, ‘How do we know this?’” (1973, p. 150).
Anomic theory is considered a sociological theory that tries to explain the pattern of crimes through macro level of analysis. Criminals commit crime on the basics that abnormal conditions and their surroundings cause them to have to act on it. There have been assumptions that poor commit more crimes than others. Based on several analysis crime are generally committed based on needs rather than wants. Anomie theory provides an explanation of the concentration of crime.
The lines of evidence relating to the psychology of criminal behaviors research correspond closely to the paternal and family risk factors that a criminal has experienced during their development stages in life from childhood to adulthood. The most supporting evidence of the risk factors could be found in single parent household, parental styles, parental monitoring, and the influence of the siblings. There are many other reasons as to why a person becomes a criminal, however is hard to determine the real reason that sparingly transpire and individual to commit crimes. There are more studies needed to be conducted to determine the mental status of a criminal. Is rationale to assume that parental and family risk factors played a vital part in the life of a criminal, because they are a product of their surroundings.
One way to try and understand why this whole family is involved in crime, is to apply ideas from learning theories, such as Sutherland’s Differential Association theory, where it is thought that criminal behaviour is learned through social interactions (Lilly, Ball & Cullen, 2015, p .44). Differential Association theory is a social-psychology theory that
Social Process and Social Development Theory Paper CJA/314 – Criminology Damian Thomason University of Phoenix May 14, 2012 Judy Mazzucca Social Process and Social Development Theory There are several components of social process theory. Social process theories view criminal and deviant behavior as mechanisms which have evolved and have been learned through societal interaction. The three primary classes of social process theory include: social control theory, social learning theory and social reaction theory. The “Tent City, Arizona” video represents the element of criminal behavior which is learned societal interaction. An explanation of how the video represents the element of criminal behavior which is learned through societal interaction is to follow.