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Biological explanation of crime
Biological explanation of crime
Theories of causation in crime
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Recommended: Biological explanation of crime
There are many ways to define crime or criminal behaviour ‘Crime is some action or omission that causes harm in a situation that the person or group responsible ‘ought’ to be held accountable and punished, irrespective of what the law books of a State say’ (Hale et al. n.d)
And criminal behaviour …
There are many explanation and understanding of what crime and criminal behaviour is although some theorists argue with these definitions of crime and criminal behaviour. The different theorist’s perspectives will be addressed through four models of crime and criminal behaviour; the rational actor model, (Classical school of criminology and criminal justice perspectives (Burke, 2012, pg.29), predestined actor model from a positive standpoint which
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The decision to do so is based on the effort and reward rather than the likelihood of severe punishment and other costs of crime (Burke, 2012, pg.32). Thus, the career decision is the outcome of the involvement of the criminal behaviour; it is a way of making a living by choice using many ranges of options in order to do this. This perspective argues that there is no need for using other ways of explaining crime and criminal behaviour such as the predestined model which includes biological, psychological and sociological positivists view to explain crime and criminal behaviour. (Burke, 2012, pg.32)
Clarke and Cornish state that ‘the outcome of the offenders choices or decisions, however hasty or ill-considered these might be’ (Burke, 2012).
This view on crime suggests that the offenders will not always obtain all the facts needed for an ultimate decision and using the knowledge and personal reasoning (Burke, 2012) they do have the capacity to decide. Crime is simply a rational action performed by fairly ordinary people in response to particular pressure, opportunities and situational inducements (Burke, 2012, pg.33). However, Clarke (1987).
Routine activities theories propose that the crime takes place when there are a number of motivated persons present (Burke, 2012, pg.33). A target or victim became available and an absence of capable invariably informal, guardians, to deter the
Crimes are deliberate acts, with the intent of benefiting the offender. 2. Benefiting unsuccessfully in choosing the best decisions because of the risks and uncertainty involved. 3. Decision making significantly varies with the nature of the crime. 4. Involvement decisions are quite different from the commission (event decision) of a specific act. 5. Involvement decisions are divided into three stages: first time involvement (initiation), continued involvement (habituation) and ceasing to offend (desistance), 6. Event decisions include a sequence of choices made at each stage of the criminal act, involvement model, background factors and situational life styles, initiation (of becoming involved in a crime), habituation (deciding to continue with crime), distance (deciding to stop criminal behavior) and event model – criminal even
Situational Action Theory (SAT) was developed by Wikström and Treiber (2009) as a means to determine why people commit immoral acts. The SAT model is a theory based out of criminology and suggests that people will be more likely to make moral decisions based on the “active fields” in which they live, operate, and are given opportunity to take action (Wikström, Ceccato, Hardie, & Treiber, 2010, p. 55). Wikström and Treiber (2009) postulates that all crime and violent crime are moral actions which are influenced by four key areas; the person, the setting, the situation and action taken as a result of their moral decision thus “all acts of violence can be explained within the general framework of a theory of moral action” (p. 76). SAT takes a generalized approach to explaining why people do or do not break moral rules, including both
Based upon the evidence provided on the six elements of a good theory, the Routine Activities Theory is a sound theory. These elements provide that the theory is scientific. The theory has brought together its three elements to help determine why crime occurs. Through research by multiple detached researchers, its hypotheses have been confirmed through tests and empirical evidence.
Winslow, R. W., & Zhang, S. (2008). Contemporary Theories of Crime. Criminology: a global perspective (). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Although we have a general definitions of crime, some criminologists argue that crimes is better placed within the concept of social harm, Stuart Henry and Mark Lanier (1998) as quoted in Muncie, Talbot and Walters (2010). pp 16-17 were leading authors who done just that. Criminologists such as “Tifft, 1995 an...
Introduction: Criminology is a scientific approach to the study of crime and why it occurs. Criminologists examine this both on the individual and on the societal level. Meaning, why do individuals commit crime, and how society reacts to those crimes. As we look at the root causes of crime, we begin to notice certain aspects of people’s lives that causes them to offend - like a poor social standing, or perhaps an individual’s peer group who may allow or even support negative influences. We can also try to understand why some individuals choose NOT to offend and live pro-social lives despite negative external influences. These concepts and ideas are known as crime theories. There are many and they are wide-ranging.
According to McCarthy's theory of RCT from 2002 people use the same thoughts and ideas when choosing to commit a crime that they use when choosing to do non-criminal activities.(Paternoster, Pogarsky, 2009, p. 107) According to this idea people choose to offend or not to offend based on their own preferences they weigh in risk factors, costs, and benefits always thinking about what happens if they get caught, if they do not get caught and if they decide ultimately to commit or not commit the crime. (Paternoster, Pogarsky, 2009, p.107) Criminals using the RCT would check out the types of crime available to them in their area then decide if the crime is worth the time. If robbing a bank and they know a possible murder is involved they may deter themselves away from the crime for fear of ...
There are different principles that makeup the crime control model. For example, guilt implied, legal controls minimal, system designed to aid police, and Crime fighting is key. However one fundamental principle that has been noted is that ‘the repression of criminal conduct is by far the most important function to be performed by the criminal processes’. (Packer, 1998, p. 4). This is very important, because it gives individuals a sense of safety. Without this claim the public trust within the criminal justice process would be very little. The general belief of the public is that those that are seen as a threat to society, as well as those that fails to conform to society norms and values should be separated from the rest of society, from individuals who choose to participate fully in society. Consequently, the crime control model pro...
Crime exists everywhere. It is exists in our country, in the big cities, the small towns, schools, and even in homes. Crime is defined as “any action that is a violation of law”. These violations may be pending, but in order to at least lower the crime rate, an understanding of why the crimes are committed must first be sought. There are many theories that are able to explain crimes, but three very important ones are rational choice theory, social disorganization theory and strain theory.
The routine activities theory is a logically consistent theory. Cohen and Felson defined the concepts they used, and the proposals they hoped to convey. Their proposal was as they defined that for a crime to occur you needed three elements (motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of a capable guardian), and that when those three elements come together to form routine activities. (Akers, 35). Each element is defined by Cohen and Felson and if one of the elements is not there then a crime will not occur. Although the logical consistency is generally great, the definition of motivated offender is too broad. However, it is not clear about who the motivated offender is. It could be a person who is already inclined to commit a crime or someone who is at the right place at the right time and given the opportunity.
When criminals think that the benefit of committing the crime will outweigh the cost if they get caught, they make a choice to commit the crime. There are two varieties of rational choice theory. One, situational choice theory, which is an extension of rational choice theory and two, routine activities theory or RAT, which states that the daily routine or patterns in ones’ activities make it much easier for an individual to become a victim of crime. The theory is, crime is more likely to happen when a criminal and their victim come together in the absence of authority (Schmalleger). A situation made easier to come by when the criminal knows the victim’s daily routines or patterns.
It According to their theory, the criminal act and the criminal offender are separate concepts. The criminal act is perceived as opportunity; illegal activities that people engage in when they perceive them to be advantageous. Crimes are committed when they promise rewards with minimum threat of pain or punishment. Crimes that provide easy, short-term gratification are often committed. The number of offenders may remain the same, while crime rates fluctuate due to the amount of opportunity (Siegel 1998). Criminal offenders are people that are predisposed to committing crimes. This does not mean that they have no choice in the matter, it only means that their self-control level is lower than average. When a person has limited self-control, they tend to be more impulsive and shortsighted. This ties back in with crimes that are committed that provide easy, short-term gratification. These people do not necessarily have a tendency to commit crimes, they just do not look at long-term consequences and they tend to be reckless and self-centered (Longshore 1998, pp.
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.
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.
Crime is a human conduct that violates the laws of a state or the ferdral government. There are different ways people view criminal behavours either thourgh the view of the social problem prespective which blames the society and the social responsibility which blames the person who commited the crime. Through thses two prespective we get the idea of therories. A thoerey