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Anomie Theory Of Crime

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Crime can be dated back to many centuries ago in the history of the United States. Although types and definitions of crime have evolved over time, the crime itself has and continues to be viewed negatively by society. In addition, crime rates are never the same and have varied throughout history. So what factors deter or increase crime? This question has also been asked and studied by several throughout time. For instance, to determine crime rates, the four school of thoughts (the Chicago School, Differential Association/Social Learning, Anomie, and Strain theories) have studied crime rate and factors that surround crime. There are multiple studies conducted on crime but recently this large city that has made dramatic changes to its crime statistic …show more content…

To have a better understanding of crime rate “social disorganization” was utilized. The social disorganization theory consisted of poverty, rapid population growth, heterogeneity, and physical issues. Shaw and McKay determined that neighborhoods with the highest crime rate usually faced poverty and heterogeneity. Overall, The Chicago School determined that economic and environmental factors were probably reasons for juvenile delinquency in urban …show more content…

Cullen, Agnew, and Wilcox (2014) state that when society fails to provide legitimate and legal means for individuals to obtain the goal of monetary success, individuals then turn to other means to achieve such goals. When individuals come across these stressors and strains, they turn to crime to reduce such stressors and strains. Baron (2011) conducted a study that examined the relationship between monetary goals and the amount of commitment to legal/legitimate factors that impact crime. Unreachable opportunities, monetary unhappiness, society support, risks taken, and other factors were considered in this study when examining the relationship between monetary goals and the actual commitment that impact crime. This study took place in Toronto, Canada and three hundred homeless youths living in the streets were interviewed. Results indicate that the relationship between the ability to engage in crimes, monetary goals, and a low ability to commit legitimate/legal means is a result of legal and legitimate opportunities that are available to reach monetary goals and the amount that unhappiness individuals feel towards these monetary goals. In conclusion, Anomie theory focuses on individuals reason to commit criminal offenses but not all individuals in the same society turn to crime to reach monetary

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Crime itself is an innate part of society, some may view it as a necessary component in one's society. New York city has had a history of high crime rates at one time. In the article, “How New York won the War on Crime” by Steve Chapman, the author discuss how New York City during the 1960s to the 1980s was viewed as “chaotic”, and mentioned that in 1984 there were at least “5 murders a day”. However, New York City now is not the same one it was during that time. The NYPD website provides a graph describing the crime rates and population growth in New York City between 1990s to to 2014.

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In “The Code of the Streets”, Elijah Anderson go in details and shows us on how teens are getting killed on a daily basis. Dr. Anderson discuss some social intuitions that influence crime in the urban neighborhoods. The first one I would discuss is the “Decent and Street Families”. The Decent and Street Families represent two poles of value orientation, two contrasting conceptual categories Dr. Anderson stated. Decent residents judge themselves as for judging others in the streets as for streets families express themselves as a decent their not.

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Those members of society, who find themselves in a position of financial strain yet wish to achieve material success, resort to crime in order to achieve socially desirable goals. Material success is commonly perceived

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1206 Words | 5 Pages

Within the past couple of decades, criminologists have developed different criminological theories that apply to the social behaviors and decisions of criminals. One of the earliest theories developed regarding criminality is the rational choice theory, in which describes the rationalization of determining if the rewards from committing the crime outweigh the consequences. In Scarver’s case, his decision to engage in criminal activities outweighed the potential consequences, or the other alternatives if he did not engage in such criminal activities. In addition to the rational choice theory, Scarver’s criminality can be related to the social disorganization theory, which describes the influence of one’s social and physical environment on one’s decision to commit a crime. Lastly, the strain theory can be related to Scarver’s criminality as well, as it is used to describe an individual who lacks the means to obtain such goals, and aspirations, so therefore, he or she engages in criminal activities to acquire the goals.

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To expand my research to attain the goal of understanding specification of both explanations, The southern subculture of violence theory blames higher crime rates in the South on “cultural values that evolved from that region’s unique history” (Ousey, 2000:268). All cultural explanations are based on the social learning approach, which holds that criminality is learned through intimate interactions with others. Another example is that capital punishment is highest in the South. The economic deprivation explanation to differences of crime rates within regions of the country is synonymous with strain theories.

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823 Words | 4 Pages

One problem with sociology is it can often disregard its relation to psychology. In respect to crime, sociology explains that when communities become economically disadvantaged, rising crime rates are likely to follow. Other characteristics that

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678 Words | 3 Pages

Ford focuses on the idea that adult crime rates are greatly influenced by the cohort’s living environment and his or her post-secondary education. However, through various studies it was found that there is a greater correlation between juvenile delinquents and post-secondary education. Ford goes on to state that this is the product of “emerging adulthood” and a new found sense of accomplishment maintained through education. I expect this article to be valuable when investigating the links between post-secondary education and the effects it has on young offenders, emerging adults, and adults.

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1445 Words | 6 Pages

Families that are poor or have a low income are more likely to commit crimes for the purpose of their own needs to survive. “It is a fact that neighborhoods where the poor are concentrated are more prone to high crime rates, and poor residents are the most common victims of crimes” (1). The best explanation for this is that poorer people have the same needs as a regular middle-class citizen. The poor citizens need certain things to help him or her live a healthy life, such as healthcare, food stamps, and more employment options. One may argue that healthcare is too expensive and that food stamps have been taken away from many people.

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

While this is a growing epidemic in the United States, what does this have to do with juveniles that join gangs? This development and migration of gangs allows an ample amount of opportunities for youth to join these gangs. Typically, youth will not go to the gangs, rather the gangs will come to them. Many see this issue of juveniles joining gangs as a very severe issue that needs to be addressed especially because of the malleability of youths’ minds (McShane & Williams,

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1075 Words | 5 Pages

People are often in desperate need of many things and this is a major cause of crime all over the world. Society often, misguides individuals with commercial values and making them want more and more things, to a certain point where to individual will do almost anything to get(including criminal behavior). Unemployment is also another factor of crimes being committed. All human beings need money to survive and get through this life because almost nothing is free in this world. Studies show that unemployment is by far the number one cause leading to increasing crime rates.

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1078 Words | 5 Pages

Predicting Crime With the Uniform Crime Reporting System The Uniform Crime Reporting System States that there are four types of crime in the United States such as United States Crime, National Incident-based Reporting System, Law Enforcement Personnel Killed and Assaulted, and Hate Crime Statistics. (FBI, May 09, 2012) Crime in the United States is classified in three parts such as; Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions. Each classification is determined by how high or low the crime is that was committed and what punishment is for the person who convicted the crime.(Montaldo, August 28th, 2016) National Incident-Based Reporting System this is crimes known to the police personnel the data includes types of offenses in an incident such as;

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912 Words | 4 Pages

There are numerous theories that have evolved over time to explain why crimes are committed. These theories include anomie, strained, social control, and rational choice theory. In this research paper I will be focusing on rational choice theory. Majority of these theories focus on a macro-level, which is the largest, meanwhile some focus on a micro-level, the smaller level, depending on the circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize how rational choice theory is integrate with different crimes.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

They seek to gain answers to what really happens on the streets, police stations, behind prison bars and courtrooms, They collect much of their information by analyzing data sets and statistical studies mainly on topics relating to drug use and homicide rates. Not only does it attempt to explain crimes within a societal background and the variations between our society, but this brings me to the three distinct theories as stated in the book on page 67, that attempt to explain why criminals behave in a certain

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2749 Words | 11 Pages

Researchers have invested decades worth of time and data, attempting to answer the question of what causes crime. The study of criminological theory contains a great number of explanations, focused on discovering why exactly, crime occurs. Whether causations are biological, psychological, or sociological in nature, theory has lead us closer to answering the question of why crime happens. Perhaps causations are best explained using hybrid explanations that include a little bit of everything.

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832 Words | 4 Pages

Crime offers a way in which poor people can obtain material goods they cannot attain through legal means. Often, threat or force helps them acquire even more goods, encouraging them to commit more violent acts such as robbery and rape. Thus, poverty increases crime

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