Sociological Perspective:
1) Social Structure Theories ( Social and Economic Forces), ( Lower-class phenomenon)
1.1) Social Disorganization Theory:
Persons Socio-economic environment
Chicago Sociologists Cliffed Shaw and Henry McKay. In 1920s… Disorganized, transnational Urban Environment>>> Crime Rate.
5 concentric Circles
1) Poverty
2) Social Disorganization: Lack of formal and informal crime control
3) Breakdown of Traditional values : Development of law breaking gangs and groups, Deviant values replace conventional values and norms
4) Criminal Areas : Crime prone,stable pockets of crime develop.
5) Cultural Transmmision: The adults pass norms to younger generation creating a stable sub-culture..
6) Criminal careers: Most youth get out of Delinquency and raise family, but some remain in life if crime.
1.2) Social Strain Theory (Robert Merton):
Anomie by Emile Durkhem
Robert Merton applied Anomie concept in US, drawing parallels between cultural goals and structural means..
Jock Young draws on Merton’s anomie/strain theory in his recent book, The
Exclusive Society (1999), locating crime in relation to both structural and cultural
processes. Structurally speaking, Young argues that the dismantling of the welfare
state, alongside increasing disparities between the rich and the poor, have served to
further exclude disadvantaged groups. This has occurred alongside high levels of
cultural inclusion. Contemporary consumer capitalism places greater emphasis on
conspicuous consumption and material success, intensifying feelings of deprivation
experienced by the less successful.
1.3) Subcultural Theory: STATUS FRUSTATION ( ALBERT COHEN 1955),
Linked to anomie and strain are concepts of status frustration and differential
opportunity, which North American subcultural theorists used to explain the
delinquent activities of disadvantaged groups in the 1950s and 60s…
Cohen
argued that lower-class youths could not aspire to middle-class cultural goals
and so, frustrated, they rejected them to create their own subcultural system of
values. In school, for example, they gain status and respect by meeting the
expectations of peers not teachers, engaging in delinquent activities such as
smoking, truanting, and acting up in class.
Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960) built on these ideas, pointing to the
differential opportunity structures available to lower-class young people in
different neighbourhoods: a) criminal (making a living from crime), b) conflict
(territorial violence and gang fighting) and C) retreatist (drugs and alcohol)..
2) Social Process Theories:
2.1) Differential Association Theory: People become law violator when they associate themselves with groups, individuals and events that produce an excess of definitions favorable toward criminality that produce illegal behavior.
Criminal Behavior is learned: Not an inherent characteristic. Can be learned in the same manner as anyother skill or behavior like writing, reading or painting
Learning is a by-product of interaction: People actively participate while interacting with others, learning not necessarily entails living in a criminal environment.
Learning occurs in intimate groups: people’s contacts with their most intimate social companions (family, friends, peers) have a strongest influence on their Deviant behavior and attitude development.Criminal techniques are learned: Some children may meet and associate with criminal mentors who teach them how to be successful criminals. Gain the greatest benefits from criminal activities. They learn the proper way to pick a lock, shoplift, and obtain and use narcotics.
Perception of legal codes influence motives and drives: Various aspects of legal codes as being favorable or unfavorable, Subject to cultural norms and variations depending upon different Socities.
Differential Association may vary in frequency, duration, priority and intensity:
Edward Sutherland, people commit crime by a process of differential learning.. Just like other learning process..
2.2) Differential Re-enforcement theory
2.3) Neutralization Theory
3)Social Control Theory:
Focus not on the cause of crime but on why people obey laws.
Maintain that all people have potential to violate the law.
Focus: Why do people obey rules and law?
Proponent: TRAVIS HIRSCHI( US sociologist)
Elements of Social Bond:
Attachment:
Belief:
Commitment:
Involvement:
{} Attachment: How strong or weak is an individual’s relationship with
others? Do these others expect certain kinds of behaviour (such as
obeying the law) from this individual? The stronger the attachment and
the stronger the expectations, the more likely it is that the individual will
conform.
Commitment: The more an individual commits his/herself to a particular
lifestyle (for example, being married, being a parent, having a job), the
more he/she has to lose if he/she becomes involved in crime (and so
deviate from the lifestyle).
Involvement: This component comes down to time – the more time the
individual spends engaging in law abiding behaviour, the less time
he/she has to engage in law breaking behaviour.
Belief: this relates to upbringing. If an individual has been brought up to
be law abiding, they are less likely to become involved in crime.
4)Right Realism( Rational Choice Theory): This branch of criminology sees individuals as rational actors: individuals are
capable of making their own choices, which includes choosing to commit
crime.
Right realism emerged in the USA and the UK around the 1980s, in response
to rising crime rates and a perceived failure of sociological approaches to
adequately address the real causes of crime. Prominent right realists such as
James Q. Wilson (1975) and Charles Murray (1990) come from political
background..
Rational choice theory emerged from this school of thought, by Cornish and Clarke (1986).Theory in Practice: this theory lends itself to the range of policy initiatives known
as situational crime prevention, sometimes referred to as designing out crime. This is
the umbrella term for a range of strategies that are used to reduce the opportunities
to commit crime.
Examples of this strategy include:
Increasing formal surveillance measures
such as CCTV and alarms, and the
Neighbourhood Watch scheme
Increasing natural surveillance such as
improving street lighting
Concealing or removing ‘targets’ e.g. ‘high
value’ goods such as mobile phones, cash
and jewelery..Left Realism: Left realism is a branch of critical criminology.
that developed in the UK and the USA in the 1980s. It suggests that crime
disproportionately affects the lives of the poor and disadvantaged. Key
proponents include Lea and Young (1984) and Elliot Currie (1985).
One of the key concepts of left realism is relative deprivation.
Associated with ANOMIE and Sub cu. Marginalization and Sub-cult