Why is crime such a large part of our everyday society? Since the beginning of time, crime has been a large part of history, which gradually increased throughout the years, and continues today in everyday life. Crime is something that people do out of either force, impulse, fun, by accident, or their environment. Some people have been raised since childhood in areas where crime rates were at an high and maybe that caused them to follow what they learned while growing up and pursuing crimes as well. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Power of Context: Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime, mentions how these key concepts shape the way in which crimes are performed through their involvement with their environment and communities.
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.
They are disadvantaged, live in higher rates of poverty, which often leads them to strain and commit crimes for survival. Statistically, they face higher jail time for the same crimes, which keeps them in that cycle. An African American or any underprivileged minority child most likely will not be able to achieve as much a white child from a high class family. The tension between the goals and the institutionalize means will cause unsatisfied aspiration, which has a higher chance to lead to crime. The reasons that there are higher rates of crime in lower social classes are easily explained by this theory.
No economic opportunities in a community can factor into high crime rates. Drug use and gangs can also factor into this. Other factors may include a lack of family support and a poor education system. 4. Location can be a factor of crime even if key factors are biological and psychological.
Another theory related to criminal activity would be the social control theory. This theory explains that people can see the advantages of crimes and are capable of doing crimes but does not do the crimes for fear of the consequences
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.
Politicians, interest groups, journalists and individual researchers have tried to find the cause of crime and the solution to this problem. Several explanations for crime such as social deprivation, genes, greed, bad family experiences have been accompanied by suggested
Violent crimes can be explained through social disorganization theory and strain theory. Social disorganization theory states that crime occurs when the mechanisms of socialism control are weakened. Crime is more likely to be in communities that are economically deprived, large in size, high in multiunit housing, high in residential mobility, and high in family disruption. Residents in these communities often lack skills and resources to effectively assist others, they are poor, and many are single parents. These communities exist primarily in the inner city due to discrimination.
The Theory of Anomie and the Social Disorganization Theory are reasons as to why race and social class influence criminal activity. The Theory of Anomie suggests that criminal activity results from an offender’s inability to provide their desired needs by socially acceptable or legal means; therefore, the individual turns to socially unacceptable or illegal means to fulfill those desires. The Social Disorganization Theory proposes that poor neighborhoods with weak social institutions have higher rates of
According to Siegel (2015), trait theory is the view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits which can be subdivided into two major categories: those that stress biological makeup and those that stress psychological functioning (p. 109). Biological trait theories includes four different conditions: biochemical, neurophysiological, genetic, and evolutionary. Biochemical factors will include diet, hypoglycemia, hormonal influences, premenstrual syndrome, lead exposure, and environmental contaminants. Neurophysiological factors will include brain structure, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, brain chemistry, and arousal theory. Genetic causes could stem from parental deviance, adoption studies, and
Social structure theories look at the formal and informal economic and social arrangements of society that cause crime and deviance. The negative aspects of social structure such as disorganization within a family, poverty, and disadvantages because of lack of success in educational areas are looked upon as the producers of criminal behavior (Schmalleger, 2012). The three major types of social structure theories are Social Disorganization, Strain, and Culture Conflict (Schmalleger, 2012). Social disorganization theory is based on the idea that changes, conflict, and the lack of social consensus in society are the reasons for criminal behavior. This theory views society as a living organism and that criminal behavior is compared to a disease.
Crime: The Relationship between Poverty and Crime The drastic increase in Crimes witness in the recent years has the roots. Both in social as well as material conditions. Crime is undeniably a vast issue in any society. Crime today is very rampant and is at an ultimate high which the world is slowly falling apart.
There has always been a curiosity of what causes an individual to become a criminal. Determining what the cause of criminality is, is still not clear. There is still a debate if crime is caused biologically, socially, or environmentally. I would like to start my argument with that criminal behavior is not biologically determined. For criminal behavior to be biologically determined the person would have to have a mental illness that causes them to commit violent crimes.
Society within the boundary unites against those outside the boundary, therefore strengthening the solidarity of the society. According to sociologists, crime is a function of inequality. The more inequality seen in a society, the more crime
Poverty’s effects on crime can be explained through a variety of reasons. There is a higher rate of mental illness among the poor than the rich. Poverty can lead to high levels of stress, which in turn drive individuals to commit theft, robbery or other violent acts. Moreover, poverty may lead to actual or perceived inferior education. Youth with less access to quality schools, jobs, and role models and opportunities end up spending time on the streets associating with gangs.
