Once crime or a criminal problem is significant to be an issue, then action to alleviate the issue becomes important (Marion & Oliver, 2012). The criminal justice policy process also begins at that point. The steps in the criminal justice policy process include problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation (Marion & Oliver, 2012). The criminal justice policy process depends on the participants such as the executive branch and legislative branch of the government, interest groups, voters, and the media (Marion & Oliver, 2012). The criminal justice policy process determines the shift of
There are different theories on how crime and deviance are viewed. Functionalist theorists see crime and deviance as necessary due to society being dependent on each group of society to perform actions necessary for survival (Burke.H.R 2009:346). Interactionism theorists believe crime and deviance are judged by society and the severity of the crime and deviant behaviour is judged by how civilization reacts to it (S.Cook 2012). Following on from the Interactionalists theory crime and deviance are relative concepts as they change through time and in different countries. For example women voting used to be illegal, now it is legal in most countries.
In this essay we will assess the usefulness of these functionalist theories, and look at how it helps us explain crime. One functionalist who tried to explain crime is Merton and his strain theory, the strain theory argues that people engage in the deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Merton explanation combines 2 elements; structural factors- society’s unequal opportunity structure, cultural factors- strong emphasis to achieve goals and weak emphasis on using legit means. Merton uses the strain theory to explain some patterns of crime in society, he argues a person’s positioning in society affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie. Merton gives 5 different types of adaption; Conformity- the individual accepts socially acceptable goal and achieves it through legitimate means, Innovation- Individual accepts the role of success and wealth but uses illegitimate means to achieve them, Ritualism- Individual give up on legitimate goals but still follow strictly to the rules, Retreatism- Individuals reject legitimate goals and means of achieving them e.g drug addicts, the final type is Rebellion- Individuals reject existing goals and means but replace them with new one in desire to bring about revolutionary change.
Principles of Crime Causation: Biological and Psychological Basic Principles- Biological Perspectives of crime causation: • The brain is the organ of the mind and the locus of personality. In the words of the well-known bio-criminologist Clarence Ray Jeffery, "The brain is the organ of behavior; no theory of behavior can ignore neurology and neurochemistry. "(1) • The basic determinants of human behavior, including criminal tendencies, are, to a considerable degree, constitutionally or genetically based. • Observed gender and racial differences in rates and types of criminality may be at least partially the result of biological differences between the sexes and/or between racially distinct groups. • The basic determinants of human behavior, including criminality, may be passed on from generation to generation.
Models of Organized Crime Joann Harris CJA/384 February 19, 2012 Models of Organized Crime This paper will include a comparison of the distinctions between the bureaucratic organization and the patron-client organization. There will also be included the similarities and the differences between the two main models of organized crime and why the models are very important for understanding organized crime. A discussion of the research and citation of the crime organizations that are examples of each type of organization will follow. Finally a discussion of which type of organization fulfills its goals a greater percentage of the time as opposed to the other type of organization. Comparison between bureaucratic and patron-client organizations Efficiency is the key factor in bureaucratic organizations in these large operations or the activities, which are occurring.
Social Organized Crime Perspective Shannon Santiago University of Phoenix CJA 384 Leroy Hendrix June 03, 2012 Social Organized Crime Perspective Social institutions are an important part of everyday life. Social institutions are what make up the world. Social institutions not only help to define society but also help to determine the type of person an individual will become. Social institutions help to mold an individual; teaching him or her different traits, rituals, and behaviors to possess. Social institutions are an important part of organized crime as well.
Crime and disorder legislation The crime and disorder act was established in 1998 it focuses on an introduction of anti social behavioural orders, sex offender orders, parenting orders and also racially aggravated offences. Since, it focuses on some very serious areas it means that the local authorities all have to work together to make sure that the strategies are implemented correctly like the police authority, probation authority, health authority and other agencies. The act also gave the local authorities more responsibilities, as the strategies which it introduces have to reflect local needs and priorities. Due to this reason different areas have different focuses, for example, in Manchester their main focus would be robbery as this is the worst place for robbery crimes, in Bradford they would focus on gun crimes and in Nottingham they would focus on murder crimes as they had the highest rate of murder with 5.21 crimes for every 100,000 population. The act is ordered to develop and implement the strategies in three year cycles, such as, 1999-2002, 2002-2005, so the next one will be this year in 2008.
According to Marion & Oliver, the key participants in the criminal justice policy process are the executive branch, legislative branch, judicial branch, bureaucracies, media, interest groups, and the voters. The key actors in the criminal justice policy process are an important part of the process and instrumental in establishing, enforcing, and shaping the future of the policy process. The criminal justice policy process replicates the best solutions for crime control. The crime control and criminal justice issues are an expansion of policy making. As a result of policy implementation decisions and made that establish the government’s procedure for addressing criminal justice issues.
Throughout history society’s perception of crime and deviance has adapted to fit within the societal model of control. The continual advancement of both medical understanding and technology has also played a major role in how the legal system identifies individuals considered to be criminals. Just as society’s perception and understanding of criminal activities has changed, so too has the criminological theories that attempt to explain it. Today all theories (old and new) are studied in order to assist in the creation of new theories and help determine possibly why criminal behavior is taking place. This paper will compare criminological sub theories such as Anomie, Subculture, Biological, Social Disorganization/Chicago school, Learning, Labeling,
Differential associations do however provide an excellent basis and starting point to work from when doing individualistic case studies and work even better as an aid for police, detectives, and other government officials in their search to pinpoint future crimes with suspicion to a specific individual. Criminal acts occur for a wide variety of reasons, most of them spontaneous and unplanned and if social learning theory is to be applied, that would assume a discernible type of sociological algorithm, which cancels out the inartistic nature of everyday crime. In the case of gang crime though, it is clear the social learning theory is applicable, but perhaps not to individualistic, spontaneous crime. Social learning theory and differential association have proven to be empirically supported and are further emerging as one of the most efficient ways of determining new and better ways to approach contemporary crime over generations. More widely used by criminologists every day, social learning theories can be used to bring forth proven methods of rehabilitation and correctional treatments now that criminology myths and misrepresentative data is beginning to be disproven.