Sociological Study Of Crime

One of the biggest challenges in estimating the cost of crimes is that so many crimes go unreported. Many times, a victim of rape will not report the crime. They feel ashamed or even scared of the perpetrator. It is unknown how much is spent on doctors and psychologist when an event like this takes place. Another crime that goes unreported is fraud. People do not want to know someone swindled them out of money. A very popular incidence of fraud is online perpetrators that prey on older lonely women and swindle them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This type of fraud, to me, is one of the worst because they take peoples entire retirement money and leave them broke and sometimes homeless which cost taxpayer 's money for them to

All of these theories explain crime in terms of social environment, including peer groups, family, school, workplace, community, and society. Yet these theories differ from one another. They offer different explanations why social environment causes crime. Some focus on individual differences in crime while others try to explain group differences. The strain theory suggest that people commit crimes because some type of stress or strain going on in their lives. They engage in crime to “let off steam” and to reduce the pressure of the problem they are facing. They may engage in crimes with illicit drugs because they are trying to change the way they feel. Usually when someone prevents you from attaining a goal or takes something of value to you may commit a crime out of revenge. Money seems to be the main cause of strain on people who commit crimes. When people are short on cash they may attempt to get money through illegal channels such as theft, robbery, or prostitution. After money comes status and respect. When someone feels they are not getting the respect they need they may commit crimes to prove their

Take marijuana for instance, once illegal everywhere. Now it is either legal or with get you a simple citation if you are caught with it and sent on your way. At one time drinking and driving was a simple misdemeanor and even though it is still classified as a misdemeanor, you are required to spend forty-eight hours in jail for first offenses. Not all people who are arrested are guilty. There is the variable criminal which has a major influence on the definition of the concept of criminal. A variable is a concept that has been operationalized or measures in a specific manner and that can vary or take on different values (Hagen, 2017). Crimes are defined as acts punishable by law so if a small child steals something without their parents knowledge it is stealing but is it a crime. It is said that ignorance of the law is not a legal defense against a criminal act but a child is too young to know right from wrong. It is important to study the deviants and the social structural contexts that define them. It is possible to make standard legal definitions. Alternatives define crime in terms like the type of victim and type of offender, object of the crime or the method of criminal activity. Definitions cover one or more of the standard legal definitions. Organized crime and criminal changes over time. Some crimes fall under one description such as organized crime that