“The major results of this research are that sex of shoplifter and sex of subject had little effect on reporting levels, whereas appearance of shoplifter exerted a major independent effect on reporting levels” (Steffensmeier & Terry, 1973: 424). People react differently to shoplifting, but in this journal article most of the people that were reported as shoplifting were ones that were sort of dirty looking. These people that were not really shoplifting in real life had been made up to look like they walked in from the street and they were the ones that were most reported as shoplifting, the other people that were dressed nicely, but also shoplifting were not reported as much as the other people. Most of the people that had gotten interviewed
However, this does not happen with a lot of shoplifters, as they will continue to shoplift even after the intervention. Along with interventions there are assessments that shoplifters will have to go through to help them get the right course of treatment that will help them stop the urge to shoplift. There are many assessment categories that social workers will go through with apprehended shoplifters, one of the assessment categories is impulsiveness. “...The assessment that a shoplifter 's behavior was impulsive is usually incomplete because the professional was unable to identify the motivating factor” (Schwartz & Wood, 1991: 237). Usually if a shoplifter were to act on impulsiveness and take something, they will not have a rational reason as to why they did it. They will just say that they could have bought it, because they did have the money for it, but they just decided to steal it for some unknown reason. Shoplifters themselves do not even realize why they act on
Perhaps when these methods are experimentally evaluated a preferred treatment methodology will emerge” (Glasscock, Rapoff, & Christophersen, 1988: 274). This just means that even though there have been ways to intervene a shoplifter from shoplifting again, there is no way to completely stop them from shoplifting again. Hopefully there will be a method that will come about that will help shoplifters from shoplifting ever again, but a person can only hope that this will happen one day. The first main point that was presented was about apprehension. Apprehending a shoplifter might sound easier than it actually is, there are people that can get away with shoplifting for years before they get caught. When they finally do get apprehended, they believe that they have never done anything wrong, even if they have cost many stores thousands of dollars. The second main point that was presented was about reactions to shoplifters. There are some people that will be willing to give up a shoplifter at the drop of a hat, but then there are other people that do not want to get in that kind of mess and they never rat out a shoplifter. More people would rat out a shoplifter if they looked dirty than if they looked like a nicer dressed
In today’s society, many people commit crimes and illegal behavior is nothing new. Society knows that there are criminals and they have criminal intentions. The question today is not if people are going to commit crimes, it is finding the most effective method to help those criminals reenter society as productive citizens, and preventing new people from becoming criminals. Department of corrections around the nation have implemented a program that identifies the most effective method. The “what works” movement outlines four general principles that are implemented in the rehabilitation of criminals; and, these principles are risk principle, criminogenic need principle, treatment principle, and fidelity principle.
As some criminologists have debated, the methods and approaches to crime control have failed miserably. They are of the opinion that the criminal justice system fails in achieving its aims in rehabilitating criminal offenders. For example, a report made in the U.K claimed that 58 per cent of the prisoners released in 1997 were convicted of another crime (SEU, 2000). Some argue that it seems for the criminal justice system there is only one answer to crime control, a prison sentence. Nevertheless, some question how accurate this method is for some crimes in society. That is to say, that for certain crimes, taking the consumption of marijuana as an example, a prison sentence is not the solution, rehabilitating individuals should be the main priority and in certain cases if not the only
In recent years, there has been controversy over mass incarceration rates within the United States. In the past, the imprisonment of criminals was seen as the most efficient way to protect citizens. However, as time has gone on, crime rates have continued to increase exponentially. Because of this, many people have begun to propose alternatives that will effectively prevent criminals from merely repeating their illegal actions. Some contend that diversion programs, such as rehabilitation treatment for drug offenders, is a more practical solution than placing mentally unstable individuals into prison. By helping unsteady criminals regain their health, society would see an exceptional reduction in the amount of crimes committed. Although some
An experiment by Gerhard Blickle, and Alexander Schlegel attempted to recreate results of Collins and Schmidt’s study about psychological influences on white-collar crime. The experiment involved personality tests on 150 managers currently working in German corporations and 76 white-collar criminals. They compared the personality results of the criminals to the non-criminals, much like Collins and Schmidt’s experiment in the United States of America. Blickle and Schlegel found that white-collar crime offenders were more hedonistic (Blickle et al., 2006). Hedonistic individuals are those who engage in the pursuit of pleasure. According to the Rational Choice Theory, individuals commit crimes when they perceive the reward is greater than the punishment. For those who tend to pleasure seek, crime would seem the most rational choice. The crime’s reward is worth the possible punishment to these individuals. Blickle and Schlegal also found that narcissistic tendencies were more common in white-collar criminals (Blickle, et al., 2006). Narcissism is described as having overindulgent self interest and care for one’s appearance. These traits can add to the temptations of criminal activity. Caring for only oneself would allow illegally soliciting money from
Although the years since Smart’s study have seen much more interest in the study of female crime and deviance, many general theories in this area continue to neglect gender as a factor influencing criminality. This is despite the fact that official figures suggest that gender is perhaps the most significant single factor in whether an individual is convicted of crime. Any theories which fail to explain this relationship could therefore be seen as inadequate. OFFICIAL STATISTICS, CRIMINALITY AND GENDER Pollak – the ‘masked’ female offender – ‘chivalry’ thesis Writing in 1950, Otto pollak argued that official statistics on gender and crime were highly misleading.
Eysenck, H.J., & Gudjonsson, G.H. (1989). The causes and cures of criminality. Contemporary Psychology, 36, 575-577.
Life is bursting with temptation everywhere and based on peer pressure, if you can’t get something you want you rather find another way to get it. Individuals of the community rather act out of action without thinking about it first, which can lead them to the severe consequences of their actions. Then you later think what I did was wrong, I could have prohibited that by doing it differently. Afterward, you feel a great deal of emotions running through your mind; encumbrance, sorrow, and helplessness. These reactions cause you to overthink and make you feel compunction than you already feel. At first you feel calm and assumed you can get away with it, but unfortunately it landed you nowhere but deeper in the grave. Even in its effects in “Shoplifting”
Ronald V Clarke originally developed the idea of situational crime prevention in the 1980’s (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). This particular crime prevention theory addresses techniques that increase the effort required to commit the crime, increase the risks involved with committing the crime, reducing the reward gained by the offender after committing the crime, reducing the provocation between the offender and others and remove excuses (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). Majority of crime is believed to be committed because there are no high risks of being caught and the rewards outweigh the risks (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). Increasing the effort by controlling access to locations and target hardening can deflect many offenders, as more effort is needed to commit the crime (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005). Another main technique would be to increase the risks; this may be achieved by extending guardianship, creating natural surveillance or artificial surveillance such as CCTV (Brantingham & Brantingham 2005).
Shoplifting is a major problem in today. The temptation of not paying for something, just hiding it away and saving your own money is a large factor for some people. The culprit just thinks he's getting a product for free and doesn't know what he's actually doing to himself and the community. Shoplifting effects everyone, yourself and the everyone in the local neighborhood.In this essay I'm going to explain some of the circumstances of stealing from local stores, or any store. After I've been caught stealing I found out how wrong it is and how it is a disadvantage to everyone.
This prevention strategy is primarily aimed at reducing the opportunities for crime which arises from everyday life rather than simply responding to crime; relying on the police after the offence for e.g. using closed circuit television surveillance (CCTV) in surroundings that crime might occur with regards to preventing potential offending from causing an offence. For e.g. by placing a limit of access of such a person to shopping malls “only 3 school children are allowed per shopping”. This approach also aims to ‘remove the excuse’ that is eliminating anything that is eye-catching to criminals about accomplishing that specific crime. An illustration of this is the technique they use at the shoe outlet. At the Footlocker shop, there is only one shoe on the display counter, this makes stealing the shoe unpleasing and unproductive for thieve because it would not be logical to steal only one shoe regardless if...
These principles have common features that help reduce recidivism based on meta-findings and meta-analyses obtained from hundreds of studies. It’s imperative to point out the fact that the “what works” movement has registered massive success on the basis of assessment and rehabilitation of criminals in nearly every criminal justice system around the world, especially in the United States (Cullen & Gendreau, 2011). This paper is an analysis of the aforementioned principles of effective intervention, particularly their implications and the effectiveness of each principle.
Rapper Jay Z once proclaimed, “I'm a hustler baby. I just want you to know... it ain't where I been, but where I'm about to go.” Although he wasn't referring to criminals in the hit song, his words strike a chord in regards to the “Hustlers” discussed in, “Burglars on the Job.” There are a plethora of internal and external factors that motivate a person to commit crimes such as burglary, but through background factors alone we cannot say for certain why a crime was committed by a select person. It is vital to study and begin to understand why people commit crimes as well as how they view their behavior. History and statistics have shown that simply adjusting our justice system to neutralize these offenders has had little to no impact on crime in our nation. Professors Richard T. Wright and Scott Decker risked their lives to further an academic study that sheds light on the perspective of burglars and how they interpret what they do. Many theorists believe that criminals are utilitarian and carefully weigh the potential costs and rewards of their illegal actions (p4). These two gentlemen, however, postulated that there are multiple facets of criminals to discover and consider through intimate contact in the field. While Chambliss and Polsky were hesitant to work “In the wild,” Wright and Decker felt that this was the best way to collect accurate data. They preferred to observe burglars in their natural habitat rather than speak with already incarcerated offenders in criminal justice system surroundings. One of only a small handful of studies involving active burglars, the book describes the motivation, considerations, and choices that burglars make throughout each stage of crime. Follo...
“Compares one set of findings on one society with the same findings on another society” (Giddens 33). These questions are prominent to figure out the distinction between society and an individual. Crime is defined as any action that defies the laws established, or the deviance towards society that results in criminal behavior. Comparative researchers can look at the Theory of Broken Windows, and compare the society and see the difference, to gain a social insight. Philip Zimbardo created an experiment where two societies; the wealthy community and the poor community. In both communities the cars were vandalized because one unrepaired broken window is a sign that no one cares, so breaking more windows, and committing more serious crimes in a rational
The central claim of the approach is that if a crime occurs, the following three elements must be present; a person must be motivated to commit the offence; a vulnerable victim must be available; and insufficient protection to prevent the criminal offence. It also states that crime is normal and depending on the circumstances, crime will occur. The crimes that are considered to be crimes that are committed by regular people are: copyright infringement, related to peer-to-peer file sharing, employee theft and corporate crime. The routine activity theory is based on the assumption that crime can be committed by anyone given an opportunity and that victims are given choices on whether to be victims by mainly not placing themselves in situations where crime can be committed against them. Although this theory is controversial among criminologists who believe in the social causes of crime, a routine activity theory can help us understand crimes such as corporate crime, copyright infringement, etc. Crime occurs when offenders are at the same place as the target, without an effective guardian. If one or more of the controllers is present, however, the chances of crime are greatly reduced. The effectiveness of the people involved will depend, in part, on the tools they have available. Taking away or adding certain elements will alter the chances of
The interaction of people and their environment provide both opportunities for crimes to be committed and motivation for an individual to commit a crime (Schiller, Black, & Murphy 2010).