In 2014, the number of people incarcerated daily for crime in the United States was estimated at 1.5 million. Arrests are made to deter people from committing crimes, although criminals always think that they may not get caught. Studies have thus indicated that criminal behavior in adults and adolescent delinquency springs from early childhood problems, such as the lack of basic elements critical for human development.
Further, such children do not have access to basic healthcare, adequate food, and safe shelter thereby leading to abnormal development, getting socially and economically marginalized, which may give rise to criminal behavior later in life. Consequently, children whose parents were criminals have a high likelihood of developing delinquent behavior. In this light, sociologists have come up with perspective views regarding the issue of the roots of crime.
Sociological Perspective Views
There are three sociological viewpoints on crime that explain the problem but in different ways.
Functionalism Perspective
This sociological standpoint assumes that social stability, provided by the social institutions, is required for a strong society. However, a rapid social change is
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As such, reduction of crime to zero levels would trigger massive job losses. Another widely-held view of the root of crime is the breakdown of the family institution, inadequacies in the political, educational, and economic institutions as well as weakening religious beliefs. Crime is thus likely to occur in a society with weak social ties and absence of social control since people who grow up in places characterized with drug use, violence, and deprived parenting are more likely to take to criminal activities later in life than those that enjoy good schooling system and family life. Therefore, no one is born a criminal, but adopts the behavior as they grow up depending on their broader social