More handpicked essays just for you.
Theories of criminal behaviour
Crime and criminal behaviour essay on theories
Weaknesses and strengths of criminal behavior theories
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The social world has provided us with multiple perspectives when it comes to various topics. A theory is a system of ideas intended to explain something based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained. All three views of crime were created by theorists as an attempt to explain the causes of human behaviors. Each theory offers a variety of explanations for the multiple perspectives the world has.
The consensus view of crime supports the criminal justice system should work cooperatively to produce justice not competitively. This view states that society as a majority is in agreeance on which behaviors should be outlawed. Behaviors that are considered distasteful to all elements of society are what law defines as crimes.
The consensus is a shared agreement, which promotes the maximization of agreements, It exists on what is right and wrong, shared values, and beliefs. The conflict view of crime claims that crime is unavoidable in capitalist societies. Certain groups will be marginalized, eventually unequal. Members of these groups will become angry with the urge to retaliate; often turning to crime to retain what they feel will bring equality. Theorists within the area of conflict criminology believe that there is no consensual social contract amongst the state and its citizens. The conflict aspect of crime exhibits the struggle of power between groups in competition for limited resources. Interactionist view of crime is a theoretical perspective that pertains to social process such as conflict, cooperation, and identity formation through human interaction. It studies how humans interact in society. Interactionist feels as if an objective does not exist. People, their behaviors, and events are viewed and labeled by an individual evaluator, being deemed good or evil. They act based upon their interpretation of reality where they assign their own meanings to various things. In conclusion, the consensus, conflict and interactionist views of crime differ in a matter of what theorists believe is the cause behind certain crimes. The consensus view promotes the application of law amongst all citizens equally. While the conflict view feels that law is created to control the lower class of people whose inadequacies in social class may influence their actions. On the other hand, interactionists believe crime results from the desire to possess the most power. All three views promote similar qualities such as the way society influences people; however, the personal opinions are formed and supported under different conditions.
2. Did you easily find the National Criminal Justice Reference Service when you searched for NCJRS on the search tools?
The consensus model is based on the thought that people, as a society, will reach an agreed consensus in regard to appropriate criminal approach. “Those individuals whose actions deviate from the established norms and values are considered to pose a threat to the well-being of society as a whole and must be sanctioned (punished)” (p. 5).
The criminal justice system is made up of three main parts: law enforcement, the court system, and corrections. These three components are interconnected. You can’t have one without the other. The term “consensus model” describes this relationship. The consensus model supports the idea that all three groups should work together to achieve justice.
According to the video “The Criminal Justice System Myth v. Reality: Crime has been steadily increasing” during the late 1980's early 1990's the crime rates overall had gone up because of the increased number of juvenile crimes and homicide rates for youth. It’s these kinds of trends that caused population growth in prisons. Additionally juveniles being sent from juvenile courts to adult courts and changes in policies such as mandatory minimum laws that required time in prison for drugs and crimes related to homicide.
With matted hair and a battered body, the creature looked at the heartless man outside the cage. Through the dark shadows you could only see a pair of eyes, but those eyes said it all. The stream of tears being fought off, the glazed look of sheer suffering and despair screamed from the center of her soul, but no one cared. In this day in age I am ashamed to think that this is someone's reality, that this is an accurate description of a human being inside a Canadian women's prison . Exposing the truth behind these walls reveals a chauvinistic, corrupt process that serves no greater purpose. The most detrimental aspect of all is society's refusal to admit the seriousness of the situation and take responsibility for what has happened.
If given this prompt at the beginning of this semester I would have answered with a resounding yes, the criminal justice system is racist. The classes I have previously taken at LSU forced me to view the criminal justice system as a failed institution and Eric Holder’s interview in VICE - Fixing The System solidified that ideology. The system is man-made, created by people in power, and imposed on society, so of course there will be implicit biases. The issue is that these internally held implicit biases shaped the system, leading the racial and class disparities. VICE – Fixing The System addressed heavily the outcomes that we see in today’s society based on these implicit biases. Additionally, this documentary focuses on the ways that mainly
There are many definitions to theory. According to Akers (2009) “theories are tentative answers to the commonly asked questions about events and behavior” (Akers, (2009, p. 1). Theory is a set of interconnect statements that explain how two or more things are related in two casual fashions, based upon a confirmed hypotheses and established multiple times by disconnected groups of researchers.
Theories can help explain why a problem is occurring and where the most effective intervention should take place. Theories can be obtained from research and from facts. According to Michael Tropeano “a theory is a statement backed by evidence gathered through the scientific method intended to explain something. Theoretical approaches for social work are often used to explain human behavior and serve as starting points for practice models and treatments.”
Over the next 10 years the criminal Justice system could entirely change with the passing of a major law, epidemic, or failed service. Consequently, every since 9-11 our justice system has become much more open minded. Therefore, resulting in the strict enforcement of laws to protect its citizens. Nothing ever stays the same for too long. New developments related to science, technology, DNA analysis, and countless other tools and other factors are changing for the better in solving cases, prevention of crimes, and aiding in investigations. Where there is change there will be changes in the way we handle everyday processing. For example, booking a criminal, acquiring evidence, and interrogation. This also results in the field of criminal justice having no choice but to adapt to the slowly changing times or else be left behind.
Across the world, there are a great deal of people that are likely to become victims of offenses against themselves or their property. The criminal justice system is used to govern crimes and impose penalties on individuals that may violate laws. The criminal justice system is made up of different agencies that include: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Within this paper, I will discuss the roles of the prosecutor, the defense attorney, the criminal, and the victim and how victimization affects each role. Also, I will inform you about the goals of sentencing associated with each role. The goals of alternative sanctions will be discussed. I will also let u know what recommendations I have regarding victims’ rights.
The Consensus View of Crime describes that crimes are basically behaviors that are believed to be extremely distasteful or unacceptable, in many, if not all elements related to society. Substantive criminal law, which is the written code that defines crimes and their punishments, reflect mainstream society’s values, opinions beliefs (Siegel, p.12). As it relates to consensus view of crime, the term “consensus” is used because it suggests because there is a general understand amount society as a whole of what behaviors are deemed intolerable and therefore should be considered criminal acts. Criminal behaviors are the behaviors that violate the criminal law. Acts are not considered to be crimes unless those particular acts are considered to be illegal based on the criminal law. As mentioned in “Criminology” by Larry J. Siegel, criminal law can be defined by as a body of detailed and specific guidelines about...
Criminology theories are Conflict Theory which is based upon the view that the fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces operating within society. Critical Theory approaches to culture, and esp. to literature, that seeks to confront the social, historical, and ideological forces and structures that produce and constrain it. Labeling Theory is how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. Life Course Theory focuses on the stage of life that exposure to health promoting or harmful influences occurs and the duration of exposure to these influences. Positivist Theory concerns with positive facts and phenomena, and excluding speculation upon ultimate causes or origins.
The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.
Theory: A general statement about some parts of the world that fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related
The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.