Not every offender is the same. Some may have similar tactics and motives but everyone comes from a different background and environment. A lot of people believe that many individuals offend for money or revenge. These are true to an extent. Many offenders do have other thoughts and situations in mind when committing offenses but retaliation seems to be a common factor in why they break the law.
There are different types of street criminals but many of them have anger problems alongside other issues. A lot of offenders do not know how to handle their anger in a positive way and end up causing harm to themselves and to others. Something that may have cost them hundreds even thousands of dollars can still be taunting them, therefore, they have all this anger bottled up and when something pushes them over the edge they break. Having this anger built up is unhealthy but also it makes the crime the commit even worse. Street criminals with these anger problems will
…show more content…
retaliate more viciously and harm someone more severely. Anger, alongside other problems is difficult to deal with but makes it worse for the street criminal that is looking for revenge. Retaliation is something that is common among these street criminals.
It is something that is a common motivator in why these offenders break the law. What criminals want the most is respect and their street credentials as well. Many of them act the way they do to get what they want. If someone disrespects them, then they are obligated to gain respect by threatening that person or acting out, such as assaulting them. When a person decides to rob a street criminal that is a form of disrespect. If they allow this behavior from that one person than the others in the community will not take them as serious therefore they will not be respected. Respect is to the upmost important to them when it comes to their street credits. It makes these street criminals feel as if they are the “king” or “queen” of the block. Disrespecting a street criminal or someone that is trying to get the respect from others will most likely end up in retaliation. Disrespect and having a “hardcore” street reputation invites
retaliation. The theory of Moral Disengagement by Albert Bandura also explains how retaliation plays an important role in inviting criminal behavior. Street criminals do not think like the normal individual. They have fatalistic attitudes and do not have a set routine in how they live their life. That is why Bandura explains how one has to “engage in self-regulation” (Topalli, 2017). This means that an individual has to consistently be involved in their own thought process. They cannot live their life without thinking before acting. When individuals do this they welcome a street criminal lifestyle. Bandura also states in his theory that moral justification is important in learning the way a street criminal thinks. Street criminals do know they are doing wrong when committing offenses but they try to make it right in their head. They believe by doing this they won’t get as in trouble with the law as they would normally would. When an individual attempts to make sense and make right of the law they broke, it makes it easier for them to retaliate. At the moment, they believe that whoever they are hurting or assaulting deserves what they are getting done because of past encounters. Moral justification is another way that street criminals believe that their offenses are not creating harm therefore it is acceptable for them to take matters into their own hand and retaliate.
to their future criminal behavior, they commit the crime because they have been associated by
The vicious cycle created by the code of streets that Elijah Anderson discusses is never ending. Anderson brings up many different factors in the cycle that keep it going, only inhancing crime. Every example the author brought up were actions used to gain respect in the streets. Kids are raised around the violence and are then encouraged by their parents to keep the cycle going. The kids are taught to defend themselves and always win the fight. They have to win fights, be violent and act tough to gain respect. Their accomplishments in violence hold their respect status in the streets. Learning to fight like this and continue the violence cycle then gives people on the streets low tolerance. They are easy to lash out. All of these examples
Negative emotions such as anger and frustration play a high factor in crime in general whether it is a street crime or a white collar crime. No theory can explain all crimes but strain theory can be used to explain white-collar crimes. First I summarized "Denying the Guilty Mind:Accounting for Involvement in White-Collar Crime" written by Micheal L. Benson. Then I used information from my criminology class to better define white collar crimes. Lastly, I defined Strain Theory and how it relates to white-collar crimes. Committing a crime is an escape for all criminals , unemployment causes some people to sell drugs and going into debt to live beyond your means to live the American dream will cause fraud, laundering and embezzlement. The simple yet complicated question is "Can eliminating negative emotions that causes so much stress be the end of all crime?"
I don't think it's right to break the law, no matter what the circumstances are. Breaking the laws is wrong, and people shouldn't think that it's an okay thing to do. If you don't agree with the law, you should try to get in contact with someone high up in the government and explain to them your stance on the issue, and why you believe it needs to be changed, or removed altogether. The laws are in place for a reason, and that is to protect us. American citizens need to start respecting the laws more, and respect those who enforce them.
When distinguishing between an occasional and professional criminal, what comes to mind is an embezzler and a booster. Embezzlers really do not consider themselves as thieves, on the contrary, they believe that they are just borrowing but with the intentions of not paying back. While committing the offense, this individual evaluates the risk of the crime and believes the punishment is worth jeopardizing their well-being. Whereas the booster is considered a professional criminal that steals for a profit. They conduct their illegal business as if it’s a commodity. Perhaps the person with the most potential danger such as the professional booster would resort to violence because the penalties out weight the offense. For instance, the booster could
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.
Shakur identified three stages of establishing respect on the street: 1) building a reputation through violence, 2) building name recognition in relation to a gang so the member’s name and his gang become synonymous, and 3) establishing an active work ethic, i.e., daily and routine participation in violence (as cited by Richardson)
Most everyone goes home after a long day of work and watches the news. Think, what is usually reported? The weather, local activities, headline news, or daily criminal activity. Shootings, stabbings, homicides, etc. are all discussed by media anchors these days. This causes most everyone in our society to become familiar with crimes that are considered street crimes.
Are criminals capable of having honor? Do criminals have their own code that they follow? But do criminals have a reason for their actions? In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, there are different social groups the greasers which are hoodlums and socs who are upper class. Even though the greasers are hoodlums they show honor by sticking together, they help each other, and they stand up for each other.
Do criminals still have the right to be respected or should people just disrespect and ignore them? In the book called The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, there is a gang called the Greasers. The greasers are also known as “hoodlums.” The Greasers live on the East side, they are poor, and they also break the law. They also steal, hold up gas stations, and they jump on children. The society might think that they break the law because that is just their hobby. Even though The Greasers are hoodlums, they are still considered as honorable people because they perk up for each other, they show concern for one another, and they gambled their lives for other people.
... commit the same crime and based on each of the individuals characters, or how remorseful they are after the fact, explains why one may be sentenced more harsh than the other, this is definitely why first offenders usually get what we call a slap on the wrist.
A controversial issue regarding the law has been whether it is ever right to disobey the law. Some people would argue that it is not always morally wrong to disobey the law. From this perspective, laws that are considered immoral or unfair hinder society through unnecessary restrictions. However, others argue that it is never right to disobey the law. Socrates, who maintains this view, discusses the issue of obeying laws in Crito by Plato, arguing that a citizen “[has] undertaken, in deed if not in word, to live [their] life as a citizen in obedience to us [the Laws]” (271). According to this view, obeying the law is a citizen’s duty, and a person who is not obedient to the law fails to fulfill his duty. In sum, the issue is whether disobedience of the law is moral or immoral.
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. The break down of neighborhood relation and social institutions create a higher likely hood that young people will affiliate with deviant peers and get involved in gangs. When there is lack of social controls within a neighborhood the opportunity to commit deviance increases and the exposure to deviant groups such as street gangs increase. Which causes an increase in the chances of young people joining street gangs. If social controls are strong remain strong within a neighborhood and/or community the chances of young people committing crime and joining gangs decreases.
What is street crime? According to McDonald and Balkin (1983) define street crime as “personal contact criminal victimization (p.419)”. As we read this article it argues from different viewpoint that street justice can be explained from different theoretical perspectives. There are three theoretical perspectives that examines the role of justice as a means of informal social control and as a reactionary process to dynamics of social strain and subcultural demands. This theoretical analysis is then applied to concepts of justice, including retributive, distributive, restorative, and procedural. The derived street justice paradigm incorporates these various forms of justice as they are linked with cultural imperatives associated with street culture and
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.