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.
The criminal profiler creates a psychological profile or picture of a suspect based on what he/she knows about motivation, mental illness, and also human behavior. The best place to begin getting an idea of a criminal's mind is often at the scene of a crime. Investigators pay particular attention to the things done at the scene or to the victim and also to the things not done. These observations can lead to a behavioral profile of the yet unknown suspect. Once the behavioral profile is done, the profiler can then compare this to other criminals or mental patients with the same basic characteristics.
Emma Yates UNIT 39: From Crime Scene to Court It is the job of the FSI to find and collect evidence left behind by offenders on the crime scene. Using the latest forensic techniques they look for all sorts of evidence. The FSIs follow several procedures. To stop potential evidence being destroyed, lost or contaminated they preserve and protect the crime scene. FSIs then start to work with the investigating officers.
Victimology: A Study of Crime Victims 1 Victimology is an important element in the process of learning about crime victims, the needs of the victims, and even about the perpetrator of the crime. It identifies the victims, reveals their physical and mental state before and after the crime, their social interactions, and ideas as to why they were a victim. Victimology does not give the reasons why a particular person is chosen by an offender, however it will give general overview of victim selection (Petherick, “Victimology” 2010) The definitions of victimology vary in the use of words within the definition, such as victim, crime victim or behavior of crime victim. Victimology as an academic term containing two elements; the Latin word “victima” which translate into victim and the Greek word “logos” which means a system of knowledge (Dussich “Victimology ‘Past, Present and Future’”2000). In it’s simplest definition, victimology is the study of the victim or victims of a particular offender (Wallace & Roberson 2011: 3).
Typology for crime uses defined characteristics, such as motivation, situation, behavior-both victim and offender-, and aspects unique to the offense. 2. What are the key issues to be considered in explaining patterns of homicide? * When trying to explain homicide, socio-demographics need to be examined. Using cultural norms, weapons availability, gang activity, geographic region, victim-offender relationship, as well as individual characteristics as considerations can give a much greater idea of statistics and causes.
Role of Victimology Victimology in its most simple form is the study of the victim or victims of a particular offender. It is defined as "the thorough study and analysis of victim characteristics" (Turvey, 1999) and may also be called "victim profiling" (Holmes, 1996). In essence criminal profilers are studying the harm the victim endured during the crime, plus its physical and emotional aspects. Victimologists are people who are in essence investigators, researchers, and observers of the victimized persons and their connection to the crime (Karmen, 2007). Holmes & Holmes (2009, p290) stated “To appraise a crime without some knowledge of the victim is certainly remiss.” The victim constitutes half of the crime therefore victimology should be heavily looked at in order to connect them to the offender (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess, & Ressler, 1992).Victimology is important to an investigation process in that, it is not just learning about the victim’s personal history and personality, but it also why the victim was chosen (Petherick, 2010).
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.
The crime scene technician must interview the first officer at the scene or the victim to ascertain the "theory" of the case. Basically what allegedly happened, what crime took place, and how was the crime committed. This information may not be factual information but it will give the crime scene technician a base from which to start. Examine the crime scene as the second step in the protocol. Examine the scene for what?
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. His particular approach was described as criminal anthropology. He compared the known offenders and a control group of soldiers by the post-mortem measurement and examination. After studying the resulting, Lombroso think that there a correlation between certain physical features, such as an asymmetrical face, large jaws and long arms, and criminality. In his opinion, these physical traits were characteristic of an earlier period of human evolution.
Definition of Key Concepts 2.1 Criminal Profiling ( Hard evidence profiling) According to Turvey 1999, the process of inferring distinctive personality characteristics of individuals responsible for committing criminal acts has been commonly referred to as ‘criminal profiling.’ These include biographic details of the perpetrator, crime-scene analysis, and so on. 2.2 Criminological Profiling (Soft evidence profiling) According to Joubert, Hesselink & Marais 2003, criminological profiling is the assessment of criminal behaviour which includes assessing the victims’ credibility, motives & causes of the crime, modi operandi, personal & family background, post offence behaviour & appearances. 2.3 Risk Assessment The assessment of risk involves predicting how likely it is that the individual will in the future commit crime, or reoffend. 3. Main Views The main purpose of the profile is to investigate a crime in order to successfully apprehend the perpetrator, provide investigators with relevant leads & strategies & to help gain insight into the offenders state of mind before, during & after the commission of the crime, whereas the main objective of prediction is to identify the risk factors that are involved in reoffending &