More handpicked essays just for you.
Major theories of criminal behaviour
Criminal behavior theories essay
Relevance of theory of criminal behaviour
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Major theories of criminal behaviour
Theories of Criminal Behavior
Michael R. Stephan Carrasco
Instructor: Dr. Suman Kakar
CCJ4014
8 October 2017
Florida International University
Theories of criminal behavior (case analysis)
Based on the facts provided, the type of a crime that was committed by Frensen is a white-collar crime. These types of crimes are often committed by individuals of very high social status who carry out their crimes within the context of their occupation. They include insider trading, stealing, tax evasion and other violations of income tax laws. In this case the crime was nonviolent and involved financial wrongdoing which is considered to be a white collar crime. To be specific, Erik Frensen committed the crime of tax evasion given that he failed to file his income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for a period of 9 years.
…show more content…
The elements of a crime that must be proven by the prosecution include the criminal act, a criminal intent and lastly the incident of the two elements (Crawford & Evans, 2017). In most cases, the term conduct is used to depict a criminal act as well as the element of intention. In this case, the prosecutor Schimkat is under an obligation to prove that Erik Frensen indeed purposed or rather intended to commit the crime of failing to file income tax returns and at the same time he intended to execute the said
Nature versus nurture has been argued in attempt to understand how criminals behave. The theory of what influences psychopath and serial killers’ violent and destructive pathways has not been agreed on till this day. Criminals such as psychopaths and serial killers have been researched for the past two decades. Scientists have found that genetics is a determining factor of who becomes a serial killer. It is important to understand the determinants involved within a serial killer, because if these social and environmental causes are discovered, they can be altered and controlled to reduce crime (Lykken, 1993). With more studies, we would therefore prevent mass murders and could assist in significant reductions of crime within society.
Nature and nurture are no longer a debate; we see the two working together in concert to produce a genuine expression of the individual. The personalities and habits humans acquire in their lives is as much a biological evolution as it is a social or cultural acclimatization. While some people still have the argument that it is nature or it is nurture many people have come to the realization that is has to be both. Both nature and nurture developed who we are and what we become. So the question would remain which one influences us more on if we become a criminal. In that it is meant people that live outside the acceptable social norms of that society that may involve punishment or rehabilitation. The impression that people become criminals due to their inheritable factor has not been a popular idea amongst criminologist and has incited anger amongst a lot of them. There have been amazing findings in the fields of genetics that have encouraged a biological evaluation in other social sciences. This has also steered to the appearance of a criminology sub-field called Biocriminology.
The TV show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, often addresses criminal deviance such as rape and murder. In the episode, “Scorched Earth,” an African immigrant maid becomes a rape victim of a rich, Italian prime minister named Distascio (Wolf). This episode highlights how status can affect perception of certain deviant behaviors. Additionally, it addresses contemporary America’s values toward types of deviant acts, and sanctions that go along with them.
White collar crime is a term created by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 that refers to crimes committed by people of higher social status, companies, and the government according to the book “White-Collar Crime in a Nutshell” by Ellen Podgor and Jerold Israel. White collar crimes are usually non-violent crimes committed in order to have a financial-gain (Podgor and Israel 3). A very well known white collar crime that has even been taught in many history classes is the Watergate scandal. This is a white collar crime that was committed by government authorities. Watergate was a crime that shocked the nation.
White-collar crime is the financially motivated illegal acts that are committed by the middle and upper class through their legitimate business or government activities. This form of crime was first coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” (Linden, 2016). Crime has often been associated with the lower class due to economic reasons. However, Sutherland stressed that the Criminal Justice System needed to acknowledge illegal business activity as crime due to the repercussions they caused and the damage they can cause to society (Linden, 2016). Crime was prevalently thought to only be
White-collar crime is defined as committed by public officials or businesspeople, defined as non-violent, and usually revolve around financial crimes. These crimes can cause companies to be destroyed, cost investors thousands of dollars, and even wipe a family’s entire life-savings. Insider trading, Ponzi schemes, and embezzlement are just a few types of white-collar crimes. In 1939, Edwin H. Sutherland, described white-collar crime as any violation of the law by a person of high status in their work-place. Sutherland also noted the white-collar criminals are less likely to be prosecuted than other offenders. The concept of white-collar crimes has been changed over recent decades. Blue-collar crimes are people who do not work in prestigious work-places; these are white-collar crimes, and work mundane jobs, like maintenance. This changed how people see white-collar crime, as it no longer only relates to people of high status. To help the concept of work-related crime, occupational...
While the study of criminal justice and the formation of criminal justice theories are largely molded by several other disciplines such as psychology and sociology (Wellford, 2007), the study of criminal justice has grown and it is time for it to stand alone as its own scientific discipline. Crime theories are developed through studying individuals and assessing as well as their environment and other social aspects. These theories are then used to help form policies in order to deter the individual or group from committing further crimes. Criminal justice theories are not only used for crime but there are also theories which aid criminal justice personnel in the application of the practices that they use. The criminal justice policies are implemented
In order to coherently understand the meaning of white collar crime, Friedrichs (2010) states that it must be approached in stages. The first stage is polemical, and is related to the definition. The second and third stages are typological and operational. As previously mentioned, white collar crime has been quite heavily debated, and currently there is no definition that is generally accepted by criminologists. Some argue that the term white collar crime should be abandoned altogether, and another issue is where it is appropriate to draw the line between legal practices and illegal practices (Hayes & Prenzler, 2012; Dobovšek & Slak, 2015). Throughout time, the scope of white collar crime has broadened to include many other typologies of white collar crime, due to the fact that technology has and continues to advance. The most common types of white collar crime include occupational crime, corporate crime, state crime, financial
White collar crime can be a very complicated topic because of how fairly new it is. Edwin H. Sutherland helped coin the term white collar crime in December 1939, during his presidential address “The White Collar Criminal” (Friedrichs, 2010). Although white collar crimes had been happening throughout most of history, they didn’t get as much attention until more recently. Since white collar crime is still so new, all definitions have been under a lot of scrutiny. The definition that is currently most acknowledged comes from a group of criminologists that got together in a group, to come up with a definition for white collar crime and that would be accepted by the majority. This group defines white collar crimes as:
His main contention being that the very permissive attitudes within society allow for this type of crime to continue to flourish without consequence; but, research has shown that Americans do in fact condemn white collar crime. There has been a lot issues with the true definition of what white collar crime is. The most common white-collar crimes include fraud, bribery, Ponzi schemes, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft and forgery insider trading, labor racketeering, embezzlement. Although Sutherland defined it first, the FBI defines it with a more narrow approach: "those illegal acts which are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and which are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence" (1989, 3). The crimes committed which fall under the title of white collar crime are entirely dependent upon the identity of the offender; their occupation, their environment, and their opportunities are significant factors in relation to their
The Usefulness of Sociological Theories in Explaining Crime and the Control of Crime This paper seeks to explore the usefulness of Sociological Theories in explaining crime and whether in doing so there arises implications for probation practice. I shall begin by providing a brief explanation for the historical development of criminological thinking, starting with Classicism and moving onto Positivism both which lay the foundations for the development of sociological theories in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Analysis of the literature has highlighted the vast array of theories to which my attention will be paid. However, due to the limitations of this piece of work and in order to provide an in-depth account of the usefulness of particular theories I have chosen to focus on two; Labelling Theory and Subcultural Theory. I will provide a thorough account of how they attempt to explain crime and how offenders are propelled into crime and the usefulness of such theories.
Trait theory views criminality as a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits. It is based on a mix between biological factors and environmental factors. Certain traits alone cannot determine criminality. We are born with certain traits and these traits along with certain environmental factors can cause criminality (Siegel, 2013). According to (Siegel, 2013), the study of sociobiology sparked interest in biological or genetic makeup as an explanation for crime and delinquency. The thought is that biological or genetic makeup controls human behavior, and if this is true, then it should also be responsible for determining whether a person chooses crime or conventional behavior. This theory is referred to as trait theory (Siegel, 2013). According to Siegel (2013), due to the fact that offenders are different, one cannot pinpoint causality to crime to just a single biological or psychological attribute. Trait theorist looks at personal traits like intelligence, personality, and chemical and genetic makeup; and environmental factors, such as family life, educational attainment, economic factors, and neighborhood conditions (Siegel, 2013). There are the Biosocial Trait theories an...
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)
Ettore, B. (1994). Crime and punishment: A hard look at white-collar crime. (cover story). Management Review, 83(5), 10.
Abnormal behavior can occur for a number of different reasons and there can be a sole reason as to why it is occurring. As for criminal behavior, this involves a compound issue. When understanding criminal behavior, we must acknowledge that there is not just one thing that causes the behavior, but rather several things that can contribute. Criminal behavior is very multidimensional and several factors contribute to the behaviors.