Criminological Theory Essay

A theory is a set of statements or principles developed to explain a group of facts or phenomena. It has been repeatedly tested and used to make predictions. Theories in this category attempt to explain why an individual commits a crime or delinquent behaviors. The primary goal of criminological theory is to help one gain an understating of why and how certain things are related to criminal behavior (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). Theories dissect the making and the breaking of the law, criminal different behavior, as well as patterns of criminal activity. Theories can be used to guide policy making and can be weighed on a number of criteria including biological things, psychological things, sociological things, economic things or a combination of

Philosophical assumptions are often referred to as background or domain assumption (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). These theories are constructed of three types of philosophical assumptions. The first philosophical assumptions are the ethical assumption. It defines what is good and bad, right or wrong for an individual (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). The nature and obligations of an ethical assumption are to attack crime by using existing social institutions (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). These institutions define how conservative, liberal, or radical political views are linked to policy implications. The second assumption is the epistemological assumption. It takes on a different approach by investigating the origins, structure, methods, and validity of knowledge (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). The epistemological assumption address the theory that a single, objective reality does not exist (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). It is the assumption that most crime theory is based on through science. The third assumption is metaphysical. It addresses the question and issue of what is the nature of reality in relation to ontology and cosmology (Bohm and Vogel,