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Factor affecting criminal behavior
Social factors that contribute to criminal behavior
Prominent theories of crime causation
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What elements of social structure do you see in this video? How could they lead to crime or criminal behavior? In the beginning of this video the man that is being interviewed talks about loving his gang members as if they were family and doing anything to help and support one another. This is an example of a social group among social structure. This can lead to crime by ways of theft, assault, and even murder just to satisfy the needs of your social group and to make the leaders of your group proud of your actions, thus receiving praise and a willingness to continue doing these actions.
Why target youth for gang membership? Children are very easy to influence, they want someone to look up to and be a leader for them. If a child is growing up in an unstable household where the parents are always out working and trying to make ends meet, they might get involved in gang activities since there 's no on at home to tell them the difference between right and wrong.
What other theoretical elements--from theories we have already covered or other social considerations could explain the attraction to or resistance to gangs? Are there patterns and trends that might have theoretical significance? I think money definitely has
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Social structure theory supports this idea by stating that crime results due to an individual 's location within the structure of a society. I don 't believe that this is strictly a criminal justice problem. I feel that educators, especially, have a big role in talking to kids and being a role model for them to look up to. Since kids spend most of their day at school, the teachers are going to leave a lasting impression on these kids. If a teacher seems to not care about one of their students, that student might act out in class and at
The kids became gang members for many reasons. Some needed to find what their place was in the world, and they needed to know who they were as human beings. Joining the gang gave them a feeling of being involved in something and made them feel better about themselves. They felt that as a gang member they received the attention, emotional support, and understanding that they couldn’t get from their actual family members at home.
Kershaun, Kody’s younger brother, joined while Kody was serving time in prison. Although he was not the one to initiate Kershaun, it could be suggested that Kody provided an image for his brother that appealed to him. Many juveniles join gangs because they see the rewards their older siblings are receiving, because they too are in gangs (Lilly et al., 2015). Other juveniles join because their friends have joined, to fit in, or because they need some type of security and stability. A gang provides both of those things, but only for members of their set. A gang is similar to a family, the original gangsters (OG’s) such as Kody could show new members the ways of the streets. There are traditions, rules, and expectancy for each gang. Those in their set should always have one another’s back. If a Blood shot and killed one of the Eight Tray Gangsters, several members of the Eight Tray Gangsters would find that Blood, or someone important to that Blood, and get retribution for their deceased member. This creates a distorted sense of security and stability. However, it also creates a new generation of delinquents. From the gang perspective, if their new recruits were correctly taught the criminal values of the gang, they will be able to defend the streets while other members of the gang are incarcerated. The youth living in this environment, or zone in transition were much more susceptible to join gangs and engage in criminal behavior. Criminal acts and deviance is considered a social norm in this area. Kody’s mother was dumbfounded by how her children got tied up in gangs. She questioned Kody once by saying, “I wonder if that’s how I lost you and Shaun to the streets. You guys have turned from my darling little ones into savage little animals and I just don’t know what to do no more, I really don’t (Shakur, 1993, p 332).” However, Kody knew it was not her fault or their absent
This documentary Lockdown: Gang vs. Family by Gail Mitchell (2007) was a good way to prove the sociological theories that were mentioned in this paper. After reading more about the theories, I applied them to my life and my peer’s lives and it could be a proven fact for everyone and not just criminals. It is just more applicable
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of the Roman Empire. There were speeches made by Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, which references groups of men who constantly fought and disrupted Roman politics (Curry, 2013). The history of street gangs in the United States begins with their emergence on the East Coast around 1783, as the American Revolution ended. Though many believe the best available evidence suggests that the more serious street gangs likely did not emerge until the early part of the nineteenth century (Sante, 1991). Although our country has had their share of feared gangs like in the 1980’s with the turf war between the Bloods and Crips, back in the 17th and 18th century the Mohocks of Georgian, England were one of the most feared gangs. What draws juveniles to the gang lifestyle? Many people will say that most gang members are children from impoverished communities, single family homes where there was no father present, or maybe there is a more psychological/sociological answer? By appearance and presence most gangs cause fear, crime, and disillusionment in the communities they occupy. Throughout history joining a gang has been perceived as a life without any reward, yet by joining this lifestyle many juveniles are able to gain the needed stability and security in their lives.
Two major sociological theories explain youth crime at the macro level. The first is Social Disorganization theory, created in 1969 by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay. The theory resulted from a study of juvenile delinquency in Chicago using information from 1900 to 1940, which attempts to answer the question of how aspects of the structure of a community contribute to social control. The study found that a community that is unable to achieve common values has a high rate of delinquency. Shaw and McKay looked at the physical appearance of the neighborhoods, the average income of the population, the ethnicity of the neighborhood, the percent of renters versus owners, and how fast the population of the area changed. These factors all contribute to neighborhood delinquency.
One possible explanation for criminal behavior within society is Travis Hirschi’s theory of social bonding. Instead of asking “who commits crime?” he believes we should be asking “who doesn’t commit crime?” In his theory, Hirschi explains that all people naturally break laws and, therefore, everyone is equally prone to do bad things.
From one of the five Hofstede’s dimensions, Individualism and Collectivism has a vast area for when it relates towards gangs. Collectivism in general has more strength than an individual within a certain gang. There are many ways you can show how gangs are collective rather than being individual for themselves. In many cases, gangs consider themselves to be a family or a group; each different gang have their own family and/or groups where many are represented with either controlling certain territories or what is widely known as symbols [2]. Most people in the society see gangs as a road to death; this is where groups are formed within gangs to stay together, each group share their own relationships between each other some even consider individuals to be brothers and sisters [2]. Being collective within a gang is a major area for the groups, whether there will be large sum of groups of small, each have different perspective of their surroundings but take them on in a equal manner which they choose to follow leading to creating a stronger bond overtime. Loyalty is a fundamental source for gangs; individuals are tested against each other whether they can take care of members of their own protecting one another from violence that gets u...
High crime rates are an ongoing issue through the United States, however the motivation and the cause of crime has yet to be entirely identified. Ronald Akers would say that criminality is a behavior that is learned based on what an individual sees and observes others doing. When an individual commits a crime, he or she is acting on impulse based on actions that they have seen others engage in. Initially during childhood, individuals learn actions and behavior by watching and listening to others, and out of impulse they mimic the behavior that is observed. Theorist Ronald Akers extended Sutherland’s differential association theory with a modern viewpoint known as the social learning theory. The social learning theory states that individuals commit crime through their association with or exposure to others. According to Akers, people learn how to be offenders based on their observations around them and their association with peers. Theorist Akers states that for one, “people can become involved in crime through imitation—that is by modeling criminal conduct. Second, and most significant, Akers contended that definition and imitation are most instrumental in determining initial forays into crime” (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball 2011:57). Although Akers’ theory has been linked to juvenile delinquency in the past, it has also been tested as a possible cause of crime overall. Individuals learn from observation that criminal behavior is justifiable in certain circumstances. In connection with juvenile delinquency and crime, peers and intimate groups have the most effect on individuals when associated with criminal behavior. One is more likely to mimic the behavior of someone who they have close ties with, whether the behavior is justifiable or...
Social Class Most of the gang members that have been reported come from the lower social economical class. When these kids are out in the streets they have nothing better to do so they begin to commit delinquent behavior. Since these economically challenged kids have no money to go anywhere, they tend to hang around their neighborhood. These kinds of groups encourage each other to commit criminal activity. They feel that if one does it, all of them can do it too.
Attitudes, meaning how we as people respond to a subject, values, what we perceive is right and wrong, and beliefs play a major role in what brings youngsters into gangs. How does one develop a "gang attitude" to begin with? To answer this we must look at the culture. The values we Americans tend to have, make the alternative life style very appealing, this in conjunction with the glorified gang life style portrayed through the lyrics of the "Gangsta" rap artists all influence the young impressionable mind. This may make the child feel a sense of power, identity, or family, reflecting on the child's attitude. Also one must look at the neighborhood. A child can turn a corner and buy cocaine, see a gang war being played out, etc. It is obvious that the child cannot help but be influenced by this.
Gangs originated in the mid 1800’s in the cardinal direction using it as a method to defend themselves against outsiders.The idea of gangs became populous, powerful, and a broad influence. But like all powers, they tend to corrupt and recognizes violence as a way of getting what they want faster than other methods.They turn violence into fun, profit, and control.Creating a situation that affects youth in today’s society.
There are a few theories of why gangs are formed most of the theories have to do with the lower class poorer neighborhood and date back to the 1950. One of the newer theories of why gangs form is the underclass theory by Jeffery Fagan he feels that gangs are formed because juveniles feel they are being excluded from the mainstream labor market jobs and have to look for other economic alternatives such as part time low paying jobs, temporary jobs, muggings, prostitution, welfare or to get involved in the sale of drugs to make a living. Selling drug for street gangs for big money is one of the first jobs that a new recruit can expect to do in a gang. In the larger city ghettos there is so much poverty and deprivation which leave juveniles no
There are various reasons behind young people joining street gangs. One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that “delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).” Social Disorganization contributes to residential instability and poverty, which affects interpersonal relationships within the community and opens opportunities for crimes to be committed.
Gang violence is a major problem in our society today. If nothing is done soon, gang violence could take place in our neighborhoods. MW Klein, a gang researcher, says that gangs are an aggregation of youths who perceive themselves as distinct, and that are viewed as distinct by the community. Klein also states that the gangs call forth a consistently negative image of themselves through their actions (Klein). To those involved in gangs however, gang membership provided a youth means of attempting to consolidate their gender identities (Douglas). Most of the early American street gangs have historically been ethnically based. Early gangs were mainly Irish, Polish, or Italian (Klein).
A gang can be defined as a group of people who unite to serve a common purpose and engage in violent or otherwise criminal behavior. (http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us) The types of crimes committed by gang members differ between gangs, but the crimes generally associated with gangs include vandalism, robbery, drug-trafficking, assault, arson, and murder. There are many reasons why teenagers may join gangs. The root causes of violent gang formation are poverty, stressed families, unemployment, under-employment, under-education, racism, and the breakdown of sociocultural institutions. (http://www.instanet.com) Many people join gangs for protection from violent people in other gangs. (http://www.public.iastate.edu) Other people join gangs for the sense of family that comes along with it. The youth gang satisfies a void - the child's desire to feel secure. It provides the child with a sense of identity, belonging, power, and protection. The gang provides a protective barrier against the outside world. (http://www.highways.com)