Criminological Theories Of Crime

Criminological Theories Of Crime
This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological
theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two
particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and
White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes
is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually
diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.
Assault defines it self as the direct infliction of force, injury or violence upon a person, including attempts or threats. According to the Australian
Institute of Criminology, there were 176,427 recorded assaults in Australia in 2007 (AIC, 2015). The Australian Institute of Criminology states that
assault is the most common form of violent crime and that assault rates have been on a steady incline over the last 10 years with aggravated assault
being more prominent that non–aggravated assault (AIC, 2015). There are several characteristics behind an assault offender, some being that there has
been a history of abuse, low Socio–Economic
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Essay on Criminological Theories
Student Study Guide for Ronald L. Akers and Christine S. Sellers'
Criminological Theories:
Introduction, Evaluation, and Applications
Fourth Edition
Prepared by
Eric See
Youngstown State University
Roxbury Publishing Company
Los Angeles, California
1
Student Study Guide by Eric See for Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application , 4th Edition by Ronald L. Akers and Christine
S. Sellers Copyright © 2004 Roxbury Publishing Company, Los Angeles, California. All rights reserved under International and Pan–American
Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying,...show more content...
Testability. To be valid and ultimately useful, a theory must be able to be subjected to scientific research. Theories may be untestable if they are
tautological, propose causes that are not measurable, or are so open–ended that empirical findings can always be re–interpreted to support the theory.
Theory. In simple terms, theory is an explanation of something. Theories of Criminal and Deviant Behavior. Theories in this category attempt to
explain why an individual commits criminal or delinquent acts. Theories of Law and Criminal Justice. Theories in this category attempt to explain
how laws are made, and how the criminal justice system operates as a whole. Usefulness. This refers to the real world applications that the theory
proposes or suggests, and the ability to implement those applications. Key Concepts 1. Theories are useful tools that help us to understand and explain

the world around us. In criminology, they help us to understand the workings of the criminal justice system and the actors in the system. 2. Theories
suggest the way things are, not the way things ought to be. They are not inherently good or bad; however, they can be used for good or bad
purposes. 3. A theory can try to explain crime for a large social unit or area (macro), or it can attempt to explain crime at the individual or smaller unit
level (micro). 4. Because we are dealing with human behavior, the social sciences will never be like the hard sciences. In the hard sciences, the

Criminology Theories
"Criminology" is the study of crime from a social perspective by researching the nature and management of crime and the social impact of crime on
society involving the causes and consequences behind the matter. This is a generalised explanation of what "Criminology" involves as it is too
difficult to create an exact definition because the topic is so complex from continuous growing historical roots and evolving theories which will be
explored within the main body of this essay. It is said by Sutherland (1939), that Criminology is made up by "three great tributaries: The study of crime,
the study of those who commit crime and the study of the criminal justice and penal systems". Criminologists study this topic in an attempt to gain a
...show more content...
The main idea behind their work was that punishment would only work efficiently if it's severity was proportionate to the offence committed. Beccaria
and Bentham kept the interest of society in mind in the regard that whatever was introduced as a restraint towards criminal behaviour should have a
clear aim of emitting the greatest happiness to the largest possible number of people in terms of solace and serenity.
The second school of thought "Positivist Criminology" became apparent after the ideas about criminals and punishment were created from the first.
Like "Classical", the positivist idea had a theory of utilitarianism but instead philosophers within this school applied a scientific method to study
criminal behaviour based upon external factors. The primary idea behind positivism is that criminals are born into their category due to their nature
and are not made into criminals. The theory is split into three segments that cover a substantial body of verified principles of knowledge such as:
biological, psychological and social positivism in an attempt to understand criminal behaviour and "Criminology's" purpose. All three express the same
outcome on how rehabilitation for the offender should fit for their needs individually instead of as a whole.
"Ceasare Lombroso", an Italian

Essay about Criminological Theories
There are many different aspects of criminal justice policy. One in particular is the different theories of crime and how they affect the criminal justice
system. The Classical School of criminology is a theory about evolving from a capital punishment type of view to more humane ways of punishing
people. Positivist criminology is maintaining the control of human behavior and criminal behavior. They did this through three different categories of
Biological studies, which are five methodologies of crime that were mainly focused on biological theories, Psychological theories, which contains four
separate theories, and the Sociological theories, which also includes four different methods of explaining why crime exists. The last theory is...show
more content...
Prisons for example, are a dominant sense of making the country feel safer because the criminals are being locked up. Also, the death penalty can be a
form of deterrence towards other criminals because they are able to see what is happening to other criminals that commit the same types of crimes.
Whether or not this does deter criminals from committing crimes is another story.
The Positivist School of criminology began in the late 19th century and is still a part of society today. The Positivist School suggests that in order to
control crime, you have to use scientific methods to look for the causes of crime. Some important developments the theory included were controlling
human behavior, controlling criminal behavior, industrial revolutions, the emergence of modern science, and finally Darwin's theory of evolution.
Many assumptions had been made, but a few in particular stood out to be the most important. Theorists said that human nature is determined before
you are even born. Also that it is differentiated which means that criminals are different from non–criminals. The five methodologies are based on
biological characteristics that may cause the criminals to commit the crimes they based on certain characteristics. The first method is physiognomy.
This judges character by facial features as well as physical features. It can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome. The second is

Criminological Theories Of Crime And Delinquency
An initial consideration in writing this chapter was to present theories of crime and delinquency in such a way as to render them both functional and
informative. Given that there are dozens – if not hundreds – of theories of criminology, this fact alone made these goals not only more essential but also
much more complicated. With these goals in mind, however, the authors set about this task with three basic concerns: 1.To present a broad
conceptualization of criminological theories that would make sense to students; 2.To separate out criminological theories that had the most relevance
for juveniles from those that seemed to be primarily aimed at understanding adult criminal causation; 3.To focus, for the most part, on criminological
theories

Theoretical Criminology
A theory from a perspective of theoretical criminology is best defined as "A major interdisciplinary and international journal for the advancement of the
theoretical aspects of criminological knowledge. The journal is committed to renewing general theoretical debate, exploring the interrelation of theory
and data in empirical research and advancing the links between criminological analysis and general social and political theory." (Gorelick 2011). The
development and understanding of theories from different perspectives/fields of specialization are essential for finding a deeper meaning to everyday
life, they give us statements which can be tested for in terms of the theories accuracy and validity. For one researcher to address all perspectives

Criminological Theory Essay
Criminological Theory is the analysis of criminal behavior from a social and individual perspective. Crime is treated a choice as one of a range of
behavioral. Criminologists, sociologists, psychologists always use it to explain or prevent the different crime. In this part, the case of Lam Kor Wan
can be explained and applied by a important theory, Rational choice theory. Rational choice theory Rational choice theory means the person make a
decision or action because the benefit from the action will higher than the cost. This theory can explain different social phenomenon on both criminal
and non–criminal behavior. The economist Gary Becker (1988) state that there are three basic of Rational choice theory. First, human act base on
rational.

Criminological Theories
Why do people commit crimes? Some people learn after committing one crime, however others become repeat offenders. Criminology, the scientific
study of crime, gives an understanding of why a person commits a crime, and aids in establishing ways to control and prevent crime. There are three
primary groups of theories within criminology, which attempted to explain crime causation; psychological, social, and biological.
According to Sigmund Freud, the Psychodynamic Theory personality consists of the id (responsible for instincts and pleasure–seeking), the superego
(which attempts to obey the rules of parents and society), and the ego (which mediates between them according to the demands of reality). The
Rational Choice originated in the 18th century by Cesare Beccaria. Rational Choice Theory insinuates that criminals act in a logical, premeditated way,
and make the logical decision about whether to commit the crime. Hedonistic calculus, an influential element of this theory, measures the pleasure
versus pain that will result from committing the crime by using seven factors: intensity of pleasure, duration of pleasure, certainty of pleasure,
propinquity of pleasure,...show more content...
The evolution of sociological theories of crime was created in the 19th century and continues to develop today. Strain, social learning, and control
theories are the three major sociological theories. The Strain Theory states there are pressure to achieve socially and culturally set goals. Though
without the means to achieve these goals creates a burden which pressures individuals to committing crime. Social Structure Theory considers that
society affects individuals to choose to commit crimes. According to Social Learning Theory, juveniles learn to engage in crime in the same way they
learn to engage in conforming behavior: through association with or exposure to

Criminological Theories
What different Criminological theories are out there about what causes crime? The three theories that are being discussed in this paper are the
biological, sociological and the psychology theories. There are many reasons a person may commit a crime in their life, it could be because that's
what they have been taught and have seen their parents do, it may be because they want to be cool and fit in with their new friends. These theories all
have their own beliefs and thoughts as to why.
The biological theory states that a person can inherit genetic factors that can make them prone to commit crimes (Marsh & Melvilles, 2006). For
example: If both your parents are criminals, your chances are higher to become a criminal. The adoption examples are...show more content...
It's known that when a person has any type of mental illness including but not limited to drug abuse, depression, schizophrenia are more likely to
engage in criminal or violent behaviors (Review of the Roots, 2015).
The most debatable topic within this is the Nature vs Nurture debate. What really makes a person a criminal is it in his Nature or is it due to his
Nurture. Some theorist believe that a low IQ can cause a person to become a criminal or even violent, while others argue that is not the case. Nature
believes that IQ is genetically given to you while Nurture theories believe it's something that is learned from social interaction (Review of the Roots,
2015).
For a criminal to be a criminal he or she will have to have seen that behavior from parents, family members, friends etc. Without any of those things a
person will have a low chance of becoming a criminal less alone a violent offender. For year's theorist have tried to understand why a person does what
they do, but without looking at the whole picture that answer ay never fully be

The Theories And Theories Of Criminology
Introduction
Criminology has emerged as a science in the recent years, and various theories and perspectives have been developed by the social scientists and
criminologists in this regard. With the development of sociology as a new subject of study and defining the sociology by the August Comte in 1822,
the way was paved for the development of criminology, as the new branch of study. This Branch deals with the study of crime and it gradually
developed as academic discipline in Britain in 1950s. Cesare Lombroso became the founder of criminology which also founded the positivist movement
in the criminology, thus giving this field a more scientific and modern approach (Anon., 2014). The main features of the positivist approach include the
...show more content...
Causes of crime
The positivism in the criminology is a combination of logic and scientism which are related to epistemological phenomenon linked with the
scientific progress. The causes of the crime in the positivist criminology can be related to biological, psychological and social reasons as proposed
by the Lombroso, Feud, and Durkheim. As per biological theory, proposed by the Lombroso as a profound proponent who based his theory of the
cause of crime on phrenology, states that the criminal character is defined by the shape of the skull of the individual. Lombroso based the causes of
crime on physical features and called them as "born criminals " or "Atavistic man" (Lombroso C, 2006)
The social positivism emphasizes the social factors as cause of crime and the basic theory followed in this regard is Chicago school of thought which
focuses on human ecology as the main cause of the crime and is considered to be a driving factor for the criminal behavior. It considers the criminals as
product of their society and proposes that the environment, urbanization, and social environment in which the criminal lives determines his attributes
and criminal behavior (Cullen, 2010). Therefore, the Chicago school of criminology emphasizes that the criminals are not born they are made by the
society and the environment in which they

Popular Criminology Theory
The phrase popular criminology is derived from academic criminology and popular culture. Academic criminology is based on data, research and
observations on why people commit crime while popular culture is based on movies and cultural imagination. Popular culture shapes how people
understand the causes and consequences of crime. Some violent movies exaggerate crime to an extreme and give viewers altered versions of criminal
acts while other movies will give a background on the criminal by using criminology theories. I will talk about how the movie Shottas does both, while
social learning theory describes why characters commit crimes and their different criminal behaviors. Criminological theories, like social learning
theory, are demonstrated

Strengths Of Criminology
Criminology is the study of crime and behavior. Criminologists study the biological, psychological and social backgrounds of people that commit
crimes. There are quite a few criminal behavior theories that attempt to explain criminals and their criminal behavior. Rational Choice, Psychological,
Social, Biological, Learning, and Critical are of these theories. "Major advances in the fields of biology, genetics, neuroscience, and psychiatry have
shown that many human behaviors are impacted by factors other than social influences. Still the field of Criminology has not incorporated these
biological influences into any mainstream criminological theories, leaving a large divide between theories holding entirely sociological and biological
explanations of...show more content...
Their behavior is influenced by their social environment. Strengths for this theory are better success
with earlier interventions. Weakness for this theory is the inconsideration of genetics.
Biological theory suggests that crime is based on the differences in one's brain. Genetics and mental illness also play a factor. Strengths for this theory
are that it is scientific, it can be conducted repeatedly and tested for reliability. Weakness for this theory is the focus on nature, that suggests that
behavior is caused by genetics.
The Learning theory suggests that crime can be observed and learned by participation. A strength is that because it was learned, it can be unlearned. A
weakness of this theory is that it focuses a lot on nurture, it suggests that "Based on the concepts of the theory it would be possible to reform them,
however it would involve extensive treatment and operant conditioning to reform such engrained beliefs" (Ryan, Vanderlick, & Matthews, 2007)
The Critical theory suggests that crime is committed because of personal choice and societal constraints. A strength of this theory is that . A weakness
is that

Criminology And The Social Theory Essay
The ideology 'rendezvous discipline' refers to the study being multidisciplinary, in which many fields and outlooks are used. This mean the study of
criminology is micro in nature because behaviour can be analysed in depth form different angles of approach. According to Sellin, criminology can
include the realms of politics (such as left and right realist approaches to criminal behaviour and prevention strategies), psychology (such as biological
and social theories for the onset of criminal activity), law (such as drug laws and government strategies to overcome street crimes) and sociology (such
as the deviance amplification model). The collaboration between various disciplines and experts within the field means the complexity of crime is
valued highly. Jock Young, 'In Praise of Dangerous Thoughts: a Review' explains howcriminology aids the ability to look at criminal behaviour in a
micro sense as 'an intricate understanding of crime initiates thorough conceptualisation of people and wider society in relation to crime.'
Due to the nature of criminology as a study, there comes a problem with defining what crime itself is. The 'father of criminology' Lombroso was
recognised as having a stream of thought known as 'The Lombrosian Project'. This method of approach highlighted the need to examine characteristics
of 'criminals' and 'non–criminals' with a view to being able to distinguish the groups, thereby developing an understanding of the causes of crime.
Coleman and Norris

A Common Theory Of Criminology Essay
A common theory in criminology and in sociology suggests that class and race are vital roles regional crime rates. Previous research indicates that the
distribution of class and race within certain residential areas has a key role in the outcome of certain violent acts. In his study, Income Inequality, Race,
and Place: Does the Distribution of Race and Class within Neighborhoods Affect Crime Rates, John R. Hipp states "Specifically, studies have tested
how the distribution of economic resources across neighbor–hoods, as measured by income or poverty, affects neighborhood crime rates or the how the
distribution of racial/ethnic minority members across neighborhoods, as measured by the percent nonwhite, and so on, affects neighborhood crime
rates (Hipp 2007). While one may traditionally assume that minorities neighborhoods yield a more intensive crime rate, this is not necessarily true.
According to a New York Amsterdam News article, Poverty, not race, tied to high crime in urban communities, "The violent crime rate in highly
disadvantaged Black areas was 22 per 1,000 residents, not much different from the 20 per 1,000 rate in similar white communities" (Unknown 1997).
While there is a slight influx of criminal activity form American majorities to American minorities, the question of why this is so must be asked. The
New York Amsterdam News article helps to provide an explanation for the fluctuation. As far back as the 1980's, researchers have repetitively return to
idea and

Sociological Theories Of Criminology
Criminology in the beginning was ruled as the classical school of thought and was looked at as crime being a product of rational choice that can be
controlled with some form of deterrence method. Since then it has been expanded on with new developed ideas of why crime is committed, including
theories that say that biological, psychological and sociological issues are the causes for crime.
Biological theories say that crime is caused by genetic or physical defects, with treatment being effective only with the reduction of aggression. Earlier
ideas were phrenology, atavism, criminal behavior in families, and somatotypes, then progressing with later theories of biosocial arousal, behavior
genetics, and autonomic nervous system to name a few. The causes can range from diet, physical or neurological defects, or just born bad. There have
been cases were individuals have been known to receive blows to the head causing them to have some form of head trauma that has been linked to
criminal behavior.
Psychological theories are that development during formative years of personality defects are the reason crime is committed. It is therefore believed
that crime is caused by an imbalance of the ID, superego, and ego. The claim is that crime is because of a lack of proper development during early
years of life.
Sociological Theories says that a persons place in society determines if they will commit a crime. Blaming factors for their criminal behavior such as
lack of equal

Criminological Perspectives
Every day I enter the gates of a prison, sign out my keys, walk to my office and start my day. The first thing I do is log on to my computer, check my
work email and then start inputting the details of last night's new arrivals into our database. I stop pause and then wonder how, why, what makes a
person commit a crime. Many crimes are committed throughout the world. There are several factors that instinctively contribute to one's misconduct
which can be explained by criminological theories. There are many core arguments of the criminological perspectives. These theories may help us to
understand the problem. In this essay I will describe the criminological perspectives of Trait (biological/psychological), Social (structure/process), and
Classical/Choice (deterrence) while addressing each of their core arguments; I will support an argument for which of the two sentencing models
(determinate or indeterminate) is most likely to be effective at addressing crime from each of the three perspectives; and I will discuss...show more
content...
This theory also implies that the skills to commit crime are influenced by the people they associate with (Akers, 2012). The social process theory is
based on the controls that society places on individuals through various institutions such as schools, workplaces, churches, and families are the
causation for crime (Siegel & Welsh, 2014). This theory basically states that the reason people commit a crime is because of their environment.
Crime is committed because of need and not due to a birth defect. This is much like a recent story I read on Facebook, where a teenage home intruder
was shot and killed. His family instead of admitting that the teenager was wrong blamed the hard working person who shot him for the teen's mistake.
This is a great example social

Classical Theory of Criminology Essay
Criminology is the study of why individuals engage or commit crimes and the reasons as to why they behave in certain ways in different situations
(Hagan, 2010). Through understanding the reasons or why an individual commits a crime, one can come up with ways to prevent and control crime or
rehabilitate criminals. There exist a large number of criminology theories, some link crime to an individual or person; they believe a person weighs the
cons and pros and makes a conscious decision on whether to commit or not commit a felony. Others see the society as having a duty to make sure that
its members do not engage in criminal acts by providing a secure and safe living place. Some claim that some people have hidden or dormant
characteristics...show more content...
According to this theory, the rational remedy for preventing crimes would be establishing harsher punishments or sentences for committing crimes.
Cesare Beccaria is considered to be the classical theory founder. His concept even in today's world continues to play a significant role in many
countries legal systems, however, this approach happens to be more flexible in the modern world.
Cesare Beccaria theory emerged as a result of a reaction against the barbaric system of justice, punishment and law present before 1789. It mainly
emphasized on human rationality and free will (Beccaria, 1986). The classical criminology theory was not concerned in studying and understanding
criminals, but concentrated on legal processing and law making. According to the theory, crime was believed to be an activity engaged or committed
out of free will and that criminals weighed their actions consequences. Punishment is established or developed in order to prevent individuals from
engaging in criminal acts and it should be greater than the benefits of criminal acts (Akers & Sellers, 2012). The classical theory stressed on the legal
crime definition rather than emphasizing on what defined or determined criminal behavior. It is essential to understand the background in

Criminology Theories and Capital Crimes
Criminology Theories and Capital Crimes:
As part of the distinct aspects of criminal justice policy, the different criminology theories have significant impacts on the criminal justice system. The
different theories of crime are used to explain criminal justice policy and the criminal justice system. These theories were developed by different
people in attempts to explain criminal justice. In addition, criminological theories assist is shaping the society's reaction to offense in relation to
preventing criminal behavior and reaction to it after it takes place. One of the major reasons for the development of these theories by criminologists is
to explain why crimes occur through observing criminal behavior. Since the beginning of the 20th Century, the theories ofcrime have become
increasingly multidisciplinary since they span across different fields of study. This trend is attributed to attempts by independent criminologists to
understand crime itself instead of examining it as general psychological or sociological theory (Lynch, n.d.).
Classical, Routine Activity, and Rational Choice Theories:
The classical theory of crime was introduced by legal authorities in Europe who believed that criminal behavior or crime itself was a product of
supernatural forces. This school of thought basically revolves around evolving from a capital punishment perspective to more humane means of
punishing criminals. Therefore, decisions to break the law in classical criminology are evaluated

I do believe that criminological theory play a big role in shaping the policies in criminal justice. All of these theories give a great inside on why many
individuals choose to commit crimes and why they like to stay in that world, giving policymakers the tools necessary so they can tailor more effective
policies that will target crime in every way possible.
Every one of these theories from Delbert Elliot to Mark Colvin being the mot resent in 2000, they all try to make a case on why criminal behaviors
exist, and how it should be interpreted so we can understand how each behavior can be handled; however, one thing that i notice is that none of these
theories can basically explain the different type of crimes and why the vary from person to

Criminological Theories Of Crime

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Criminological Theories Of Crime