Criminology Research Essay

Explaining why someone might decide to commit a crime is crucial to the ongoing discussions about how to avoid and respond to crimes as they happen in the field of criminal justice. Over time, theories have been created to explain why some people commit crimes and to assist in the creation of laws that will lower crime rates. The sociological, physiological, and biological explanations for criminal behavior are founded on these ideas. The ideas include social disorganization theory, strain theory, and rational choice theory. Rational choice theories of criminology e argue that people in committing a crime make decisions and act in self-interest commit such acts after they weight the potential risks against the rewards. The theory suggests that an individual involves in crime after weighing the risks of getting caught and the punishments they are likely to get when they are caught (Downes, David, Paul, and Eugene, 141). This theory was developed from the classical and the neoclassical schools.

The theory can be used in explaining criminality as from the analysis of the causes of crime. It develops policies on prevention of future crime. It argues that to prevent crime, punishments on criminal activities should be increased as it will enhance the impacts of both the general deterrence and specific deterrent.

Pros

Rational choice theory in its examination of crime directly challenges individual’s motivation directly and suggest that certain individuals have criminal intentions according to their understanding and situations. The theory removes the emotions of an individual a potential factor that encourages crime (Downes, David, Paul, and Eugene, 141). The theory also removes the uncertainty motivation of passion and insanity as a contributor to criminal activities. The theory does not have to rely on the issues of abnormality and treats criminals as an individual who can make rational decisions.

Cons

The use of rational choice theory is selective, and it does not give the room for debate on its validity. The theory does not effectively explain how individuals acquire their personality towards committing a crime. It does not also explain the contribution of the prior experiences and the motivators to a crime that may be unique. The cultural and economic influences to committing crime are also not explained and the people that these crimes might target.

Social disorganization theory

According to social disorganization theory, the social and physical environment of individuals is responsible for the behavioral choices that these people make (Marsh, 78). The theory mainly focuses on the structures in an environment. In this aspect, neighborhoods that have poor social structures such as vacant and vandalized buildings, poor schools, high rates of unemployment and a mixture of residential and commercial property are likely to have high crime rates. The theory mainly studies places and environments as the main contributors to crime and not the people.

According to current debates on the rates of crime, some environment, and structural factors have been associated with high rates of crime. The use of social disorganization theory in these cases hence becomes important as it may be used by criminologist to determine the factors that encourage crime in some neighborhoods and develop the right strategies of reducing crime in the areas.

Pros

The theory explains criminality based on the environmental factors and recognizes that individual pathology is not related to the acts of crime. It recognizes that the conditions that an individual is exposed encourage criminality (Marsh, 105). The theory proves that an individual born in a neighborhood with the right structures but brought up in a region with poor structures is likely to involve in crime. The theory adds more to rational choice theory as it states that the choices that an individual make to involve in crime are influenced by their environment and the structures in these environments.

The theory in its arguments on the factors that encourage crime accounts for the spread of deviant values from one group in the society to the other. The spread according to the theory is due to the fact that the generations are exposed to similar environments over time. The theory also predicts the crime rates from one neighborhood based on the characteristics of the environments.

Cons

Social disorganization theory does not make the individual difference in neighborhoods and how these contribute to crime. The theory does not explain about the people in the neighborhoods that do not have high rates of crime. In the explanations of the theory, it does not account for the few individuals who commit highly uneven amounts of crime.

Strain theory

Strain theory in its explanation of criminality focuses on the desires of individuals and how they contribute to acts of crime. According to the theory, most people have aspirations that drive them but might lack the opportunities and abilities (Farrington, 180). When these people fail to achieve the expectations of the society due to lack of opportunities and abilities, they may attempt to achieve their success through crime. When an individual fails to achieve their expectations through approved and legal means, they resort to crime. Strain theory has been revised when it was felt by scholars that it does not effectively describe the factors that might have caused crime.

Strain theory can be used in explaining crime as it mainly considers the difference between individuals and how they contribute to rates of crime. Criminologist through the use of the theory can understand the strains in the community and develop the right strategies through which the strains can be reduced to reduce the rates of crimes in these areas.

Pros

Strain theory explains how deviant and normal individuals can arise when they share the similar goals. The theory also explains how individuals get used to social strain and how this strain leads to crime. The theory also explains why a social class in the society is likely to involve in crime when compared to the other classes (Farrington, 188). Adaptation is a major factor that leads to crime and through the theory, criminologists can understand how the difference in positions in the society may lead to different adaptations that in turn lead to crime.

Cons

One weakness in strain theory is explaining criminality is that it only focuses on the lower and the middle class explains little on the high class in the society. It explains that the whole lower class can resort to crime to achieve their goals or expectations in the society and that the high class has nothing to do with a crime. The theory also ignores the increased rates of crime in the society and why some neighborhoods would have high rats of crime. It mainly focuses on the materialism as the push for crime in a society and ignores the upper class. The theory in its explanation of crime takes an individualistic approach and ignores a crime that can be committed in groups. It also only gives utilitarian crime and ignores non-utilitarian crime.

The theory that best explains crime

From the three theories discussed above, social disorganization theory explains criminology better. In the current debates on criminology and the factors that contribute to criminality, the social environment of an individual is a major factor. The core of the theory is that the location of an individual matter when prediction on illegal activities is considered. In several types of research, it has been noted that the there at least three characteristics that are associated with areas with high crime rates; poverty, dilapidation and a high mix of culture. The theory argues that the delinquency that is focused on other studies is not caused at an individual level, but it is a result of a normal response that people give to abnormal situations.

There are little assumptions that are made in this theory when compared to the assumptions in the other two theories in explaining criminality. The theory also takes the aspects of strain and rational choice theory. It explains why the individual in these abnormal situations reaches the rational decisions to commit a crime. Social disorganization theory also explains that through the strain in these neighborhoods that individuals are less advantaged, they resort to criminal activities.

Works cited

Downes, David, Paul Rock, and Eugene McLaughlin. Understanding deviance: a guide to the sociology of crime and rule-breaking. Oxford University Press, 2016.

Farrington, David P., ed. Integrated developmental and life-course theories of offending. Routledge, 2017.

Marsh, Ian, ed. Theories of crime. Routledge, 2007.