General Theory of Crime and Delinquency
In the article Why Criminals Offend: A General Theory of Crime and Delinquency by Robert Agnew the author explains many factors play a role in whether or not an individual will commit a crime. All of these factors are based solely on personal experiences through an individual's life time and a buildup of these factors will increase the chances for crime to be committed. Factors such as negative school experiences/ limited education, peer delinquency, irritability/ low self-control, poor parenting practices to name a few. Each factor is selected from the many aspects of where an individual's life can become influenced; social, environmental, and family life.
Agnew also points out another factor which contributes to criminal behaviour but which does not fit into the life domains; the factor of prior crime. I feel this factor is not analyzed enough in theories except for the labeling theory which explains that by attaching a stigma to an individual's life their deviant behaviour will only escalate. We focus on the steps which lead to crime but not the after affects of having already committed the crime. Agnew believes that although having engaged in crime the probability of future engagement foes increase, it does not always lead to further crime explaining that there are two factors which effect prior crimes; 1. how others react and 2. the characteristics of the individual (Agnew 2011, Pg 608). Each reaction to the crime will lead to a different outcome, for example if the offender gets away with the crime that fear of being caught slowly diminishes giving them confidence to continue with their delinquent behaviour. This theory stresses the importance of the individual's characteristics an...
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...individual's criminal behaviour, assuming each city has the same strain for each individual. According to this theory there would be no difference between an individual's strain in Toronto compared to an individual who lives in Brantford. The General Theory of Crime also ignores the moral notion of good and bad or right and wrong. Working off of last class's discussion we spoke of what stops us from committing murders and most of us answered living with our conscience would be so hard after committing such an act, but that is not an analyzed in this article.
In conclusion, The General Theory stresses the impact that life domains have on each individual and are the predicting factors for criminal and delinquent behaviour. Taking aspects from many different criminological theories the General Theory integrates each outlook and simplifies it into the life domains.
Criminology is a study, which is constantly changing due to the fact that it is based on the political, economic and spiritual concerns of our society. Many theories come to light and then fade away as the societal climate changes. Agnew’s General Strain theory is one the many theories that have been pushed aside; however, it has been remodeled by recent developments in criminology. The general strain theory has defined three major types of strain that may link to the causation of crime. In light of the fact that there are several factors that can motivate a person to commit crime, opportunity is key in the midst of all. Crime Opportunity is another important theory to consider since it exhausts various perspectives in order to determine what provokes people to engage in crime. This meaning, it is impossible for anyone to engage in criminal activity when the odds are unfavorable and there are high risks. While both theories share similarities, Robert Agnew’s general strain theory appears to focus more on the reason behind criminal activity while crime opportunity theory emphasizes on situations of crime.
What makes one person more likely to commit crime than another? Many people have worked throughout the years to try and answer this question in an attempt to really get to the root cause of crime so that things can be done to better prevent it. One major school of thought centering around this question is based on trait theory. This theory focuses on the hypothesis that some people have certain personality traits or genetic predispositions that make them more likely to commit crime than someone without these factors. Other things that may come into play regarding trait theory and predisposition to crime are the individual's parents and the environment they were raised in.
Criminals are not born; they are created or molded into individuals who participate in criminal behaviors. There are several factors that influence deviance beginning with social structures, generational values and attitudes and social bonding. The concepts of all five theories briefly clarify why criminals partake in deviant activities; however, I believe three learning theories - Social Disorganization, Differential Association and Hirschi’s Social Bonding - best explain how social structures and interactions correlate with the cultivation of criminals.
Winslow, R. W., & Zhang, S. (2008). Contemporary Theories of Crime. Criminology: a global perspective (). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
People are uniquely different and because of this reason, they do have different behaviors. Crime is one kind of behavior that an individual can engage in. They are punishable by the law and may be prosecuted by the state (Helfgott, 2008). There are different theories existing that try to explain the actions of criminals. They deeply explain what causes an individual to commit a criminal activity. This paper discusses some examples of the biological theories, social theories and psychological theories of crime.
Lilly, J. Robert, Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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.
Magnusson (1988) and Brofenbrenner (1979) state that social environment in which a person is embedded is essential in the study of their behavior. The theoretical framework of developmental and life course theories of crime allow for the addition of the dynamic element of time and places an emphasis on the longitudinal processes of how the interaction between the individual and his or her social environments constrain and influence behavior.
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.
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)
Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment.
... 86). Hence why I believe that criminal behaviour is influenced by mixture of a persons social background, life chances and pathology
They also explore the myths about the connection between genetic factors and criminal behavior. The first myth they looked at was “Identifying the Role of Genetics in Criminal Behavior Implies That There Is a “Crime Gene.”” This myth is dismissed because of the unlikelihood that that a single gene is responsible for criminal behavior. The second myth they look at is “Attributing Crime to Genetic Factors is Deterministic.” This myth is also easily dismissed because of the fact that just because someone has a predisposition to a certain behavior doesn’t mean that the person will take on that behavior.
Different schools of thought propose varying theoretical models of criminality. It is agreeable that criminal behaviour is deep rooted in societies and screams for attention. Biological, Social ecological and psychological model theories are key to helping researchers gain deeper comprehension of criminal behaviour and ways to avert them before they become a menace to society. All these theories put forward a multitude of factors on the outlooks on crime. All these theories have valid relevancy to continuous research on criminal behaviour.
I now know that criminology prefer to highlight the correlations between crimes’ social climates and criminals’ psychological states of mind. While some argues that criminal behavior is a result of individuals’ association with criminal peers, other claims that crime is a reflection of an individual’s genetic disadvantages. I have come to learn that there are no universally agreed formulas on decoding crimes and criminal behaviors. What we have, however, is a manual full of academic opinions and subjective views that have emerged alongside of the development of criminology. At the same time, the volume of conflicting perspectives that I have stumble upon in studying criminology reminded me again that the success of our current assessment models has yet to be determined. Thus, the study of criminology is an appropriate practice that will further prepare me to conduct meaningful research on legal studies and to provide accurate and in-depth findings in the near