On the other hand, it is dysfunctional to the society as it erodes moral values and breaks connecting social norms. It destroys and destabilizes the society as it creates conflicts that may extend to both communities of the assailant and defendant. Assault impacts negatively on social cohesion and interpersonal relationships (Nisbet, 1974). In conclusion, assault is a dreadful social deviance whose dysfunctional features of society far outweigh the functional. Therefore, in order to create a stable and cohesive society, the deviance needs to be controlled or eliminated by postulating and devising tough consequences for
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.
They are failure to achieve positively valued goals, removal of positively valued stimuli, and confrontation with negative stimuli (Agnew, 1992). The major assumptions of General Strain Theory place emphasis on these types of strains and stressors and how they cause deviant behavior. The connection between the strains and deviant behavior are the negative emotions that are produced by the strains such as anger and anxiety. The causes of deviant behavior can be linked to those emotions and the personal resources available to handle the emotions. This helps to define why some individuals with similar strains commit crimes and why others chose legal manners in which they deal with their strains and emotions.
Conflicting social values contribute to the gangs and gang violence we see in society. Social strain theory is conflict between goals and means. This conflict has to do with unequal distribution of wealth and power, frustration, and choosing
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.
First I am going to talk about the supporters. They believe that all youth should be responsible for their actions. Their key arguments are: Stiffer charges will make the youths think twice before they do the crimes; this will lead to lower crime rates in future. Youths who commit crimes are sent to rehabilitation, while sometimes their victims are left to suffer forever. The youth’s age shouldn’t be a bias factor for receiving punishments.
Racial Disparity in Sentencing Racial disparity in sentencing can cause problems within a community. Public outcry can stir tension between the police and the community, people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and can even cause riots, like in the case of Rodney King vs. the L.A. police department. This is why it is important for the justice system to be aware of the disparities in sentencing, and make an effort to fix the problem. Before the problem can be fixed the problem needs to be identified. The idea behind this research is to try and point out some of the disparities in sentencing, and possibly offer some potential ways to reduce the problem.
The Conflict Model is used to determine the content of criminal law. The constant power struggle is between the ones who hold political, economic, and social power within the community and they determine the content of the
While studying the causes of crime one will come across countless theories as to why people decide to commit crimes; a common criminology theory is Labeling Theory. One must first grasp the concept of what Labeling Theory really is. Through this it will become apparent that there are different levels of deviance, and in order for one to fully comprehend Labeling Theory it is imperative they understand what roles different levels of deviant behavior plays in the development of future deviant behavior. Labeling Theory – also referred to as Social Reaction Theory – is essentially the notion that people take part in criminal activity when they are labeled in a negative way. Such labels carry a stigma with them, often resulting in these individuals to accept the “label” as their personal identity and never moving away from that criminal lifestyle.
The law, though, is complex and steeped in nuances that discriminate among criminal acts and criminals. Who does what to whom and why are taken into consideration when a case is tried or a punishment is given. The courts take into consideration many variables and the more variables involved, the more complex the decision making process gets. What complicate the issue are