Sociological Theories PDF

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In this essay I have mentioned the affects of sociological aspects of the criminal mind and the affects...

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Sociological Theories The sociological theories of crime are very diverse and a largely part of American's study of crime causation, specifically at the famous Chicago school of sociology who have determined that criminality is a product of society's impact on an individual. Society and the criminal aspect within that society are often seen as the clash of norms and values among various socialized groups. Although unlike genetics and physical and mental traits inherited by ancestors one has the choice in which environment he or she chooses to reside. In the 1920's and 1930's the Chicago school of sociology determined the link between physical location and crime, modern perspective calls it crime prevention through environmental design. Many of these applications are being integrated more and more in into everyday life. According to the Chicago school of sociology, crime in society can be reduced by the actual layout of physical facilities like houses, buildings and parking ramps and garages. The design and layouts in society are one idea in the defensible space theory, developed in the 1980's the defensible space theory considered how the impact of physical features on fear and victimization depends on other social and cultural features in the setting. An almost mirror image of the defensible space theory is called the broken windows theory, which states that physical deterioration and an increase in unprepared buildings leads to increased concerns for personal safety among area residents. The lack of repairs leads to increases in delinquency, vandalism and property crimes among local residents (Newman, 1996). Social Process Theory The social process theory approaches focus on the interaction between individuals and society by looking to institutional arrangements in the social world to explain crime. Most social process theories highlight the role of social learning and build on the premise that behavior, both "good" and "bad" are learned and suggest that "bad" behavior can be unlearned. In 1939 Edwin Sutherland published his research on criminology and found what is now known to be differential association which explains crime to be a natural consequence of the interaction with criminal lifestyles. Sutherland suggests that children raised in crime-prone environments were often isolated and unable to experience the values that would otherwise lead to conformity (Orcutt, 1987). Because the differential association theory is rather general it fails to explain why people have the associations they do and why some associations affect certain individuals more then other. Why, for example are most correctional officers unaffected by their constant association with offenders, while others take advantage of their positions to smuggle in contraband? For this theory to be completely tested would require that all the associations a person has ever had, be recorded and analyzed from the standpoint of the individual, which is clearly impossible (Conklin, 1989). Conflict Theories Conflict theories follow a similar definition of the conflict perspective which believes conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life and can never be fully resolved. The conflict point of view says that formal agencies of social control, such as law enforcement, coerce the unempowered or disenfranchised to comply with rules established by those in power.

The conflict perspective can be described in terms of these four basic elements: Society is composed of diverse social groups, and diversity is based on distinctions that people believe to be significant, such as gender, sexual orientation, and social class. Conflict among groups is unavoidable because of differing interests and differing values which make conflict inherent in social life. The fundamental nature of group conflict centers on the exercise of political power. Political power is the key to the accumulation of wealth and other forms of power. Laws are the tools of power and further the interest of those powerful enough to make them. Laws allow those in control to gain what they define as legitimate access to scarce resources and to deny access to the politically disenfranchised (Michlowski, 1977). In the 1960's and 1970's people became more aware of the political "death grip" and rule over society and began forming new ideas on the cause of criminality. Radical criminology was formed, and placed the blame of criminality and deviant behavior squarely on officially sanctioned cultural and economic arrangements. Radical criminology believes the distribution of wealth and power in society was held to be the primary cause of criminal behavior. Poverty and discrimination were seen to lead to frustration and pent-up hostilities which were expressed through murder, rape, theft, and other crimes. Radical criminology recognizes that the struggle to control resources is central to society and found that the law is a tool of the powerful. Radical criminology focused on capitalism and the evils capitalism was believed to entail and many of these ideas were based on writings and ideas of Karl Marx. According to Marx, the labors of the lower classes are always exploited by the "owners" of society. The poor were trained to believe that capitalism was in their best interest and the working class suffered under the consequences of a "false class consciousness" perpetuated by the powerful. Marx also believed that when the exploited realized their exploitations would they rebel and change society for the better (Chambliss, 1971). Emergent Perspectives With the basis of criminological theory explained in the previous seven theories, one can now look at the final, most recently developed theory categorized as emergent perspectives. In the developing field of criminology it is clear that women have been virtually invisible in criminological analysis and most criminality has been restricted to men only and many criminological studies assume women are like men, which is simply not true (Gibbons, 1994). Contemporary feminist thinking in criminology was been emphasized by writers like Kathleen Daly and Meda Chesney-Lind. These two writers emphasize the need for "gender aware" criminology and stress the usefulness of applying feminist thinking to criminological analysis. Feminist criminology suggests that theories of crime causation and prevention must include women and that more research on gender-related issues in the field is badly needed. Although many aspects of this theory are true according to the F.B.I's 2004 Uniform Crime Report, men are more likely to be arrested for serious offenses such as murder, rape, robbery, and burglary and that woman are more likely to be arrested for crimes such as property crimes, larceny, fraud, drug offenses, and embezzlement. Males Females Murder/non-negligent manslaughter 88.40% 11.60%

Rape 98.50% 1.50% Robbery 89.0% 11.00% Aggravated assault 79.30% 20.70% Burglary 85.70% 14.30% Larceny-Theft 61.70% 38.30% Motor vehicle theft 82.90% 17.10% Arson 83.50% 16.50% (FBI, UCR index, 2004) A vast majority of criminals and criminality can be classified by one or more of the criminological theories discussed in chapter one. As society and individual needs and wants change, so do the needs to understand them as the future of criminology will continue to grow. Chapter 3: Criminal behavior Criminal or Deviant? In order to better understand criminal and deviant behavior one must learn how these behaviors are defined. Although separated by a very thin line, criminal behavior and deviant behavior are two very different forms of human behavior. Crime is defined as conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction for which there is no legal justification (Schmellanger, 2007). Depending on which law is broken determines the person's punishment. However, deviant behavior, which is defined as a violation of social norms defining proper behavior under a certain set of circumstances, does not necessarily warrant punishment at all. Speeding is an

example of criminal behavior which is often "downplayed" by our society and thought of more as deviant then criminal. In many cases people get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of alcohol and in many social settings this behavior is expectable to certain groups, however, criminal and deviant....