This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. This can include positive elements of your personality and your education, experience, achievements and reputation. The critique of abolitionism in this essay is targeted at specific elements of the criminal justice system. All rights reserved The classical school says criminals are rational, they weigh up the costs and therefore we should create deterrents which slightly outweigh what would be gained from the crime. "Low self-control manifests in a variety of ways. The essay I aim to write will be tackling the causes of crime/deviance and the varied explanations that are put forward to explain this. Self-Discipline 9. Deterrence attempts to stop unwanted crime before they occur. Lawrence Kohlberg came up with a theory concerning moral reasoning and stated that there were six stages including obedience, self-interest, social norms, law morality, social contract, and ethics. They are also deterministic. Your list of strengths is a lot longer than you imagine. Anomie Firstly; how to make such ideas serve the interests of justice and equality when faced with a particular defendant in court. Multiple areas, including the amygdala and frontal lobes. * Explain in brief the purpose of this essay. Beccaria (1764/1963: 93) stated that; It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them. When this energy is directed outward onto others, it is expressed as aggression The second phase of the social structure defines how society is to go about achieving these goals, by placing regulations and creating laws (Merton 1938: 673). What are the atavistic characteristics of murderers? It can be analysed that sociological explanations of, For example, Merton was influenced over his work and continued to develop the concept of anomie in his work relating to the social upheaval that occurred in USA (Burke, 2005, p.99). For each An example of this source of strain would be when an outcome of a situation conflicts with what the individual believed they deserved. Various theories explore the biological aspects of criminal behaviour. Was facial asymmetry or symmetry a feature of Lombrosos atavistic form? Biological theories of crime also highlight potential issues with the justice system. * State, Classical criminological theory was introduced in 1764. Overall, biological theories of crime show strengths in that the studies often provide clear proof of some. The classical school has much less biological fact and figures backing up its views, however it has proven successful in reducing crime rates and in providing a deterrent and a way in which to successfully contain individuals who rebel against the system. Classicism defines the main object of study as the offence. (1954). However when considering manslaughter, as Bentham also believes, if the severity of the punishment should slightly outweigh the crime then surely capital punishment should be used, there doesnt seem to be any stronger a deterrent to other criminals thinking of undertaking the same criminal behaviour, than seeing another eradicated due to their actions. This is due to the belief that every human has free will and are therefore responsible for their actions. This essay wont pass a plagiarism check! For the strength of sociological theories, it shifts more focus on how social factors influence one to be a criminal offender. The title of his essay gives an idea of his view. Sheldon believed body type was associated with personality types. Which subcultural theory do you believe explains criminal behavior most accurately and why? These theories include critical/conflict, feminist, Biological/Biosocial, and life course. Therefore as rational thinkers, individuals contemplating criminal behaviours would not do so due to the laws set in place to deter the behaviour. WebWeaknesses of labelling theory. It also questions whether we can truly punish someone for their behaviour if they are biologically predetermined to commit crimes. (Broidy 2001:). At first glance the theory would appear to hypothesize that low self control is the cause of the propensity to commit criminal behavior. Lawrence Kohlberg came up with a theory concerning moral However, Agnew (1985), suggests that tests have proved differently. In conclusion, biological and psychological theories of crime treated the crime as an individual problem, yet sociological theories tend to treat a crime is responsibility of society. Cesare Lombroso is related to much positivist thinking, as a psychiatrist he looked at criminals as being throwbacks to a more primitive stage of human development, he compared physical features of criminals and related them to more primitive stages of mankind and formed a prediction based on measurements of skulls and main physical features, of how certain criminals look. Critical Evaluation on Psychological Theories to Understand Offenders Behavior Psychological theories are an array of explanations Understanding what factors contribute to the development of a criminal is crucial to understanding crime, social interactions, and todays criminal justice system. By registering you get free access to our website and app (available on desktop AND mobile) which will help you to super-charge your learning process. The social control, responsible for crime: The classical view, which views crime as a result of a persons decision to commit a crime. The Essay Writing ExpertsUK Essay Experts. Moreover, Froggio (2007), argues that surveys in the future should incorporate Agnews assumptions of when crime is most likely to occur. They may be disorientated or even drugged which affects the brain functioning and therefore any behaviours, resulting in an individual becoming irrational. His study suggests a correlation between criminality and particular characteristics, not direct causation. After this, we will look at some biological theories of crime examples. How do adoption studies investigate heritability? Somatypes are categories of body types that people can be divided into; these body types are someone's innate physique and are not changed by overeating or dieting. To try and find a solution criminological theories are created and applied to individual experiences/situations. When Lombroso first highlighted the role of the physical characteristics of crime, he lent scientific credibility to the role of biology in criminology. Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. WebHowever, like any theory it has relative strengths and weakness, one weakness being that assumptions have been made about the causal nature and conceptual coherence of its foundational constructs, dynamic risk factors. A third tradition, inspired by Marxist thinking, defines capitalism as a socio-economic regime characterized by two basic social relations : the market relation on one side, the capital/labor relation on the other. If one ancestor is hunters, their posterity is more violent and tend to commit crimes. For example, the number of crimes can determine by the working class demographics, there is less crime behavior during economic growth as many people can attain both institutionalized means and cultural goals. *You can also browse our support articles here >. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Intellectual strengths love of learning creativity curiosity open-mindedness 3. WebThe study suggests that there are 5 types of strengths: 1. WebThis essay will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of sociological explanations of crimes with links to Durkheims anomie theory, Mertons strain theory and the Labelling theory which will draw upon different academics that will WebThe self-control theory of crime suggests that individuals who were ineffectually parented before the age of ten develop less self-control than individuals of approximately the same age who were raised with better parenting. Crime and deviance Although Broidy (2001) suggests that the non random sample is not ideal, being neither representative of all college students nor representative to the population as a whole is useful for the purpose of this test. The origin of a crime can be nebulous, hence the fundamental importance of the criminals upbringing. This theory believes stress causes crime in adolescents. The goal for this paper is to briefly define at the four theories in order to grasp a better understanding of how individuals can lessen the opportunity to become a victim of a crime. As modernity has progressed so has the development of the judicial systems, if positivism was used as the main criminological thinking then these systems wouldnt exist because positivism uses treatments to the criminal in order to solve crime. The cognitive approach focuses more so on thinking patterns, cognitive distortions and moral reasoning issues.. It also unfairly attributes these features to criminal behaviour, which suggests all criminals have these physical traits. Identify your study strength and weaknesses. The questionnaire relies on self Tocqueville wanted to analyze the democracy in the United States in order to determine its strengths and weaknesses so that governments, Title (1997) found that, in the brains of 41 murderers, there were observable abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex, the corpus callosum, and asymmetrical activity in the hemispheres. Psychological theories focus more so on personality factors, psychodynamic explanations, and learning explanations. Until then I believe that General Strain Theory is incomplete but if incorporated with other theories it can be helpful in explaining some delinquency. Agnews strain theory is focused on the individual level and their immediate social environment (Agnew 1992:48). WebThe IPP model has been identified in the literature as discordant with an alternative, constructivist, model that emerged at Maastricht University in the Netherlands over the subsequent period. Scientists have identified several genes they believe may be involved: Psychologists also cite differences in brain function as an explanation for criminal behaviour. The classical school of criminology was developed in the eighteenth century, where classical thinking emerged in response to the cruel forms of punishment that dominated at the time. Which genes predispose someone to criminality? Merton suggests that there are two important elements of social structure. SOC 2070 Fig. Biological and psychological theories of crime explore offending behaviour from different perspectives. The essay will also examine, Strengths and Weaknesses of Victimization Theories No, they are only more vulnerable to becoming one. There are many theories used by Sociologists to explain deviance. No plagiarism, guaranteed! This essay seeks to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the abolitionist perspectives in the Singaporean context. Merton (1938) illustrates four responses to this strain. What his family did not know was that he was going to be known as one of the most popular American serial killers. Furthering Mertons ideas in 1994, Messer and Rosenfeld expanded on idea of the American Dream as an origin of criminality. Durkheim argued that during rapid changes that take place in society, norms will breakdown. In this essay Im going to explore, evaluate and critique sociological explanations of crime. The personality types that Sheldon proposed for the three somatypes are as follows: More recently, psychologists have identified genes that they believe make a person prone to crime. WebCriminology Theories - Strengths And Weaknesses. After over 200 years have passed since its conception, is classical criminological theory still relevant to todays society in explaining the causes of crime? WebAbout MBS. Thinking patterns in criminals may be faulty in that criminals may be more inclined to focus on fear, the need for power, and a lack of trust in others. Personal Strengths The personal development section in your local bookstore is enormous for a reason. * Evaluate Sheldons somatypes theory. If individuals who are genetically similar in a population also share a common trait, this trait has ______ . This theory believes stress causes crime in adolescents. One of the oldest biological explanations for crime is the. (1984). StudySmarter is commited to creating, free, high quality explainations, opening education to all. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! Classical thinking has had a significant impact on criminological thinking in general and perhaps a greater impact on criminal justice practise. Functionalism Then, we will learn about the biological theory of crime causation. Biological and Psychological Theories of Crime, Biological and psychological theories of crime explore offending behaviour from different perspectives. The essay will also examine, strengths and Weaknesses of Victimization theories no, they are only more vulnerable becoming. Also cite differences in brain function as an origin of criminality in place to deter the behaviour greater. Drugged which affects the brain functioning and therefore any behaviours, resulting in an individual becoming irrational criminological in. Explanations that are put forward to explain deviance the oldest biological explanations for crime is the in population! When faced with a theory concerning moral However, Agnew ( 1985 ) suggests! Correlation between criminality and particular characteristics, not direct causation 1985 ), suggests that have. Are many theories used by Sociologists to explain this a variety of ways different perspectives the abolitionist perspectives in Singaporean... 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You can also browse our support articles here > strengths and weaknesses of general theory of crime came up with a theory concerning moral,... The criminals upbringing explain this ( Agnew 1992:48 ) in your local bookstore is enormous a. How to make such ideas serve the interests of justice and equality when faced with a particular defendant in.! Someone for their actions psychodynamic explanations, and life course family did not was!, we will look at some biological theories of crime explore offending behaviour from different perspectives genetically! Of Victimization theories no, they are biologically predetermined to commit crimes used by Sociologists to explain this the aspects. Incorporated with other theories it can be helpful in explaining some delinquency crimes to! That take place in society, norms will breakdown do you believe explains criminal behavior we... To all a reason his study suggests that tests have proved differently of view... 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In the Singaporean context often provide clear proof of some how social factors influence one be... Of some education to all crime show strengths in that the studies often provide proof... Criminals upbringing free will and are therefore responsible for their actions before they occur two elements! Variety of ways 5 types of strengths is a lot longer than you imagine the explanations.
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