(Hallam et al. 2005: 56) Some crimes however are not reported because the victim may be intimidated by the person responsible for the crime, or they may not have faith in the police to pursue the crime if they do report it. Other victims of crime may not report it as they feel that the crime is too minor, or that the police will think it is too minor to pursue. A large amount of sexual crime goes unreported because the victim is either too shocked, afraid or embarrassed. Police can use their discretion as to whether or not an incident is worth reporting, they have to decide if the incident is serious
Cesare Lombroso (CL) was a Psychiatrist that believed that criminals had common facial characteristics and that they were “born criminals” which he also referred to as “atavisms”. His theory was that genetic factors or abnormalities that are inherited influence individuals to commit crime and that it was the individuals destiny to become a criminal`. This can be identified through the shape of their skulls, large ears and lips, long arms and a flattened nose. He also believed that men were more likely to commit crime than woman as they were more narrow-minded of their interests. CL theory has been largely criticised as it is very much descriptive based rather than experimental.
They are trying to use different approaches to explain crime by different category of theory, such as psychology, biology and sociology. I am going to introduce four major approaches in criminology that criminologists use to explain crime. There is positivist criminology, classical perspective, sociological criminology, environmental criminology. Positivist criminology was founded in the late 19th century by Italian academic who called Cesare Lombroso. He believes that the positivist scientific method could be applied to the study of crime so as to find out its causes and prevent it.
3. Biological- theories that claim that your biological inheritance or genes may have an influence on your criminal behaviour. Biological theory; William Sheldon Body Shape Theory (1897-1998) William Sheldon’s work originated from Cesare Lombrosso’s work. Lombrosso looked at a large amount of prisoners and concluded that a person’s character could be determined by the shape of their skull and other physical characteristics; he believed that criminals were less evolved than normal people. This is no longer a satisfactory explanation of crime, this is because William Sheldon didn’t think this was a valid theory and wanted to get more in depth and produce a valid theory.
5a Describe the biological theories used to offer explanations of criminal behaviour. Physical type and body shape: Lombroso 1876, an Italian doctor and a criminal anthropologist first views were based on genetics. He argued that criminals were different then the rest of the population. He suggested that their look and behaviour was more primitive and that they did not evolve as well as the rest of us. He suggested that the primitive genetic form would have large jaws, high cheek bones, large ears, extra nipples, toes and fingers and were insensitive to pain.
The Theories as to why Crimes Happen There are many reasons behind an individual wanting to commit a crime. It could have something to do with, what happened in their past. They may also be in some type of financial turmoil or they want to do it just so they can get a high from it. Whatever the reason may be, we need to understand why these crimes happen. Many people believe that crimes are committed because people have mental issues, however that is not the case.
This is because most teens tend to offend by committing non-violent crimes, only once or a few times, and only during adolescence. It is when adolescents offend repeatedly or violently that their offending is likely to continue beyond adolescence, and become increasingly violent. It is also likely that if this is the case, they began offending, and displaying antisocial behaviour, even before reaching adolescence[4]. Contents [hide] 1 The development of juvenile delinquency 2 Types of juvenile delinquency 2.1 Sex differences 2.2 Racial differences 3 Risk factors 3.1 Individual risk factors 3.2 Family environment and peer influence 4 Crime Theories Applicable to Juvenile Delinquency 4.1 Rational choice 4.2 Social disorganization 4.3 Strain 4.4 Differential association 4.5 Labeling 4.6 Social
Criminologists have long since tried to determine the causes of crime and though many theories have been implemented; no one theory can determine all crime. However, the theories determined do complement each other [ (Siegel & Worrall, 2012) ]. Who are these criminals committing these crimes and why do they commit crime? One theory is that crime is genetically inherited [ (Siegel, 2011) ]. If crime can be scientifically proven to say that crime can be, or is inherited, then what about the children who have criminals as parents?
Blackmon 1 Leah Blackmon Sociology 201 Deborah Robinson 15 September 2010 Crime and Social Order There are many reasons why an individual may or may not become involved in crime. In his essay, Robert K. Merton writes on the causes of crime. Merton focuses on a pint that society's cultural goals may not be easily attained by everyone. Those who do not have the means to reach these goals, such as family support and a good education, may come up with their own means to reach society's material goals. That usually means reverting to street crimes.
Are criminals made from their environment? Are they made from the combination of both nature and nurture? Do their peers influence them? “Research indicates that genetics is responsible for about fifty percent of criminal behavior and that environment accounts for the rest” (Beller). The causes of criminal behavior in juveniles are failure in school, substance abuse, gang membership and gun possession, their environment, and family problems.