Integrated Theories of Criminal Justice Abstract Two theorist and theories that have been recognized by many involved in the criminal justice field are Ross L. Matsueda's Theory of Differential Social Control, and, Charles R. Tittle's Control Balance Theory. Matsueda's theory, (1) identifies a broader range of individual-level mechanisms of social control, (2) specifying group and organizational processes for controlling delinquency, (3) conceptualizing classical criminological theories as special cases of a general interactionist framework, and (4) testing the interactionist model empirically against specific hypotheses drawn from competing theories. Tittle's theory believes deviance results from the convergence of four variables: (1) the predisposition toward deviant motivation; (2) the situational stimulation of that motivation, which is called provocation; (3) the opportunity to commit deviance, which is most important in explaining specific kinds of deviance rather that deviance in general, since the opportunity for some kind of deviance is almost always present; and (4) the likelihood that a particular deviant act will activate restraining responses by others, which is called constraint. A central sociological problem concerns the process by which deviant or criminal behavior is controlled by the larger society. Although most would agree that social interaction is an important locus of control of crime and delinquency, criminological theory has not stressed the interactional mechanisms of social control. Instead, recent developments in criminological theory and research have focused on developing macrotheories of Marxist class categories and delinquency (Colvin and Pauley 1983; Hagan 1989), microtheories of stable i... ... middle of paper ... ...iller, David L. 1982. "Introduction." Pp. 1-26 in The Individual and the Social Self: Unpublished Work of George Herbert Mead, edited by D. L. Miller. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago. Pearson, Frank S. and Neil Alan Weiner. 1985. "Toward an Integration of Criminological Theories." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 76:116-50. Sampson, Robert J. and John H. Laub. 1990. "Crime and Deviance Over the Life Course: The Salience of Adult Social Bonds." American Sociological Review 55:609- 27. Short, James F., Jr., and Fred L. Strodtbeck. 1965. Group Process and Gang Delinquency. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago. Thornberry, Terrence. 1987. "Toward an Interactonal Theory of Delinquency." Criminology 25:863-91. Tittle, Charles R. 1995. "Control Balance: Toward a General Theory of Deviance." Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc.
Church, W. T., Wharton, T., & Taylor, J. K. (2008). An examination of differential association and social control theory: Family systems and delinquency. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 7(1), 3-15.
Wiatrowski, M.D., Griswold, D.B., & Roberts, M.K. (1981). Social control theory and delinquency. American Sociological Review, 46(5), 525-541.
McCaghy, C.H., Capron, T., Jamieson, J.D., Carey, S. (2008). Deviant Behaviour: Crime, Conflict, and Interest Groups. United States: Pearson Education Inc.
Krohn, M., & Massey, J. (1980). Social control and delinquent behavior: an examination of the elements of the social bond. The Socialogical Quarterly, 21(4), 529-544.
The power-control theory was developed by John Hagan and his colleagues in the Structural Criminology. It brings together conflict-oriented theory of social control of family relationships to present a power-control of gender and delinquency. He argues that power relationships in society are reflected in the family. He believes that establishing authority and dominance are carried over into the home of family. Males and females experience different roles, expectations, values. The first thing is that delinquency reflects activities that are pleasurable, and fun. Power-control theory predicts the more patriarchal family structure, and bridges the gender gap in delinquent behavior.
Some of the explanations of delinquency insinuates that education, politics, social factors, family issues among others are the main causes of delinquency (Rutter, 2013).Just as these were some of the factors in “There Are No Children Here”. In addition, criminal investigators formulated several theories which explain causes of delinquency. Among them are social factors which are explained through several theories which include Social Reaction Theory also referred to as Labeling theory and Power control
The positivist view of deviance places emphasis on individual's behavior being manipulated by outside forces (Goode, 2007, p. 23). Individual's are unable to contend with these outside forces which are beyond their control. Criminals and other deviants are created through biological defects which were responsible for their behavior, as it was something inherently organic and passed on through birth. The self-control theory of crime was developed by Travis Hirshi and Michael Gottfredson, two famous criminologists. Self-control theory, also known as the General Theory of crime, portrays deviance as stemming from the criminal's lack of ...
Drawing from tenets of Marxist theory, critical criminology believe that crime results from the mode of production by capitalist and the economic structures they have created. Social classes have been divided into two: those whose income is secured by property ownership; and those whose income is secured by their labor. The resultant class structure influences the opportunities of an individual to succeed in life and his propensity to engage in crime. Although it encompasses the macro-economic factors that are rarely included in micro-economic analysis of crime, it does not substitute those macro factors, like unemployment, to micro factors, like being jobless. However, it combines the macro and micro factors in analyzing how micro factors of crime are integrated into the macro structures.
Throughout the history of law enforcement within the United States, theories has been explored and implemented as polices in addressing deviant behaviors produced by humans. Models such as Crime Control through the Conflict perceptive suggest the human nature is persuaded by social opportunities and considered a fundamental aspect of social life (Schmalleger, 2009, p. 347). However, social disorders must be addressed in a cordial and civil procedural fairness; thus, individual rights guaranteed by policies such as Due Process ensure that individuals under allegations are treated equally and just. Although crime and deviant behaviors exist within our communities, policies are intended to reduce such disorders by following cohesive criminal justice frameworks with the intentions of protecting individuals accused of crimes. Crime Contro...
Wright, B. R. E., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., & Silva, P. A. (1999). Low self-control, social bonds, and crime: social causation, social selection, or both?. Criminology, 37(3), 479.
An integrated theory is a combination of 2 or 3 theories that offers many explanations on why crime is occurring, compared to a traditional criminal theory that just focus on one type of aspect (Lilly et al.2010). The purpose of integrated theories is to help explain many aspects into what causes criminal behavior and why one becomes delinquent. From this an argument arises can integrated theories be used to explain all criminal behavior. Integrated theories are successful in explaining certain aspects of crime on what causes one to become deviant; however one theory alone cannot explain why an individual engages in crime. This paper will examine three integrated theories and look in-depth how these theories can explain different aspects on why criminal behavior occurs and the weakness of each theory. The three integrated theories that will be discussed in this paper are Cloward and Ohlin Differential Opportunity theory, Robert Agnew General Strain theory, and lastly Travis Hirschi’s Social Bond theory.
According to Lilly, Cullen and Ball (2011), the wisdom of theoretical integration lies in whether these efforts allow us to explain the causes of crime more adequately, although these criteria must be applied to whether integration achieves not only short-term gains in explanatory power but also long-term growth in theoretical knowledge.
The relationship between social class and delinquency is gauged by examining studies based on arrest data and self-reported data. Early studies based on arrest data found that lower-class communities have much higher arrest rates than higher-class communities. On the basis of these studies criminologists concluded that social class was strongly associated with delinquency. Early self-report studies of delinquency found little or no relationship between social class and delinquency. The self-report studies accounted for the findings from the arrest data by citing its biased nature. It was claimed that offenses committed by lower class juveniles were more likely to come to the attention of the police and thus were more likely to result in an arrest (Hagan et al., 1985). Studies such as Chambliss’ “Saints versus the Roughnecks” accounts for the reason why lower class juveniles are perceived to be more delinquent than their higher class peers, citing reasons such as decreased visibil...
In order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the criminal behavior theories, the word theory needs to be defined. “A theory is an explanation. It tells why or how things are related to each other. A theory of crime explains why or how a certain thing or certain things are related to criminal behavior.” (Bohn and Vogel)
Agnew, R. (1985). Social Control Theory and Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test. Criminology Volume 23 , 47-59.