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Differential Association Theory Study

2477 Words10 Pages

Criminologists have sort to explain crime and deviance with a number of conventional theories. Three of these theories include Differential Association Theory, Strain theory and Social Bond Theory. Although these theories do a good job at explaining criminal behaviour within western civilizations their relevance to post-colonial territories in the Caribbean is being called into question. This essay seeks to explore the extent to which Differential Association Theory, Strain theory and Social Bond Theory provide an adequate explanation for crime and deviance in the Caribbean. Sutherland (1939) coined the term Differential Association. He believed that criminal behaviour was learnt through social interactions. Sutherland articulated a set of nine propositions related to the causes of crime. Differential Association Theory embodies an interactionalists approach to the understanding of crime that speaks to criminogenic subcultures within a society; the question is however, does this make it relevant to the Caribbean.

According to the Caribbean Human Development Report 2012, with the exception of Barbados and Suriname, homicide rates have increased substantially since the year 2000 across the Caribbean. Criminologists have attributed the rise in violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago to increased gang activity. Gangs are prevalent throughout the Caribbean and mainly comprised of young males between the ages of 15-29. (Caribbean Journal of Criminology) Gangs

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