This then lead for official statistics and the law enforcement to show a bias towards working class boys. This research shows how deviance only exists because people have decided to attach a label, thus the labelling theory is useful in explain how a deviant and criminal behaviour is classed as this. However, it fails to explain why some people certain crime and deviance in the first place before they are labelled. Also, as said in Item a ‘’deviant individuals are labelled when their actions are discovered and provoke reactions from society. However, this reaction will take differing forms, depending on how the nature of the action is perceived.’’ But as well as this, labelling theorists look at the effects and reaction it causes the individual to take.
‘Outline and explain ways in which data about crime is collected’ Crime can be defined as deviant activities that break the law in any particular society. Finding out how much crime takes place isn’t easy, and attempts to measure crime can prove misleading. This doesn’t mean that crime statistics aren’t affective, but it does mean that no single measure can be fully relied upon. Many sociologists see crime statistics as a social construction, as collecting crime data is a result of the cultural expectations of society, and by understanding who commits crime and what sorts of crimes are committed, we can get a clearer picture of why people commit crime in the first place. Different sociologists have presented different theories and concepts to explain what drives a person to commit a crime, and research and statistics give us an idea of the type of crimes committed and the places that they’re most likely to occur.
As he is unable to achieve these luxuries through work, he may turn to criminal activity because he wants to be like his peers as he feels pushed out. Sociologists believe that to some extent, relative deprivation is the key cause of crime in society however there are some other aspects that affect this. Sub-cultural theories are a belief of some sociologists where crime is explained by saying that criminals learn how to commit these crimes from their peer groups or subculture. Cohen in 1955 completed a study on working class boys in North America and found that they were easily involved in gangs. One aspect that was said to have pushed them away from the education system and towards these gangs was because they had middle class standards and values and these boys were unable to live up to the high expectations of these teachers.
In other cases some criminals are born with the lack of humility, which is the ability to put yourself in the situation of the person who you are doing harm to. These people are considered sociopaths. Another theory called the rational choice theory states that everyone has their own thoughts and emotions for which they commit their crimes weather to improve their living standards or to avoid hardships. Intelligence can play a huge role in the mind of a criminal; this is considered the nature theory. A person who does not know any better is much more likely to commit a crime then a well educated person, although this
The origin of social disorganization theory can be traced to the work of Shaw and McKay, who concluded that disorganized areas marked by divergent values and transitional populations produce criminality. Strain theories view crime as resulting from the anger people experience over their inability to achieve legitimate social and economic success. These theories hold that most people share common values and beliefs but the ability to achieve them is differentiated throughout the social structure. The best known strain theory is Merton's, which describes what happens when people have inadequate means to satisfy their needs. Cultural deviance theories hold that a unique value system develops in lower class areas.
I want to bring up specific deterrence. Specific deterrence is where a young offender is punished severely, the experience will convince them not to repeat their illegal actions. In today’s society we focus more so on reforming the youthful offender. If we were to aim the focus at disciplining the offender perhaps they would learn from their crimes. Offenders in this society know or at least thinks that they will only get a smack on the wrist if they were to commit a crime.
Describe Using Evidence any two influences that explain why a person turns to crime. (15) There are various influences which may explain why a person tunes to crime, these influences may vary between a person’s upbringing, cognitive and biological make up. A study that supports this theory may be Farringdon et al. He suggest that social factors experienced during a child life and upbringing are clearly associated with criminal behaviour. Within the study he was able to identify patterns of particular behaviour and social factors which later lead to participants becoming’ chronic offenders’, examples of this situation were, poor parenting, harsh discipline, family members who were currently or previously offenders, and the child’s poor performance
Some of those theories include: Social learning, rational choice, and labeling theory. Using the above theories an explanation as to the occurrence of crime and why people commit crime will be given.\ Why do people commit crime? An age old question that has yet to be definitively answered is, “Why do people commit crimes?” If this question was asked to criminals some of the responses one may receive are: “I was at the wrong place at the wrong time”, “It was self-defense”, or even “I needed to feed my family.” What makes one reason more wrong than the other, nothing. If you look at crime statistics in local areas a picture can be painted to show in site that provides answers to reasons why crimes are committed. Population and demographics also provide in site to why crimes are committed.
Do you agree with Loeber's multiple pathways model? Do you know people who have traveled down those paths? I think Leober's pathways model as I understand it, is just a way to group individuals and then claim that these individuals are more predisposed to commit crime. Look hard enough, and it's easy to say "All of these boys show similar qualities, they are an authority conflict pathway, and these boys are a little different, so we'll says they are a different pathway, the covert pathway, and so on. I agree that disruptive behavior should not be dismissed as mere adolescence or a "this will pass, they're just been a teenager" attitude, but his model to me suggests labeling.
Edwards and Shillingford (2008) state that “the central premise of choice theory is that people are motivated by five basic needs; survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun. A criminal is able to consider both personal and situational factors, situational factors being efficiency of police force or the level of security; this is the rational choice theory McCormick & Siegel, 2006). Social processes and social structures can all be big factors in this rational choice that criminals make before committing a crime. Crime trends seem to be determined by the presence of targets, motivated criminals, and absence of guardians. All these determinates are examples of how social and economic factors influence the general crime rates.