Self-Control: The Primary Cause Of Crime

The main contribution of the theory, though, is the realization of the possible relationship between criminal behavior or inclinations towards it and flaw in the childhood’s relationships or experience that are related or not to the parents (Sammons, n.d.) The behavioral theory, on the other hand, first explained by Gabriel Tarde, is being utilized in a way that focuses on the behavior modeling and social learning (Psychological theories of crime, n.d.). A major common characteristic of criminals is that they are more likely to be insane, exhibit poor social behavior and be unintelligent. The behavioral theory defines that individuals learn from each other and eventually imitate one another. In particular, relevant to the criminology field is the social learning theory (Psychological theories of crime, n.d.) One of the scientists in that area, Albert Bandura claims that individuals are not born to act violently, but rather they learn that behavior later in life, through family interaction, environmental experiences, and mass

He also continued to engage in criminal acts even while on parole. These are clear indications of poor self-control. Another aspect of this theory is the effect child rearing can have on self-control. Gottfredson and Hirschi believed that there was a strong correlation between parental control and self-control. They also identified a link between the self-control of the parent and the subsequent self-control of the child (Cullen, 2014).

In structural choice theory, "physical proximity to motivated offenders, exposure to high-risk environments, target attractiveness, and the absence of guardianship as necessary conditions for predatory crime" (Miethe & Meier, 1990, pp. 244-245). While in social disorganization theory, crime occurs in certain locations based “on the effectiveness of informal mechanisms by which residents themselves achieve public order” (Sampson et al. 1997: 918). Social disorganization focuses on how lack of informal social controls in a neighborhood or community can lead to increases in crime rates, while structural choice focuses on how the structure of the area (proximity to motivated offender and exposure to risk) along with victimization variables (lack of guardianship and target attractiveness) come together for crime to occur in certain

For instance, “policymakers typically emphasize the instrumental purposes of their policies” (Best 220). According to Best in Social Problems, “they claim that the policy is intended to make a difference, to correct or improve a particular troubling condition in society”. Policies can also serve symbolic purposes because the policies embody values to help promote the structure of society (Best 220). Overall, these policies affect the way criminals associated with these crimes are prosecuted in the United States by providing explanation for prosecution. For example, with the War on Drugs, “many policymakers insist that legalizing drugs is unthinkable” (Best 221).

Crime cuts across many disciplines such as sociology, psychology and criminology. Each of these disciplines try to explain why crime is committed and how people are compelled to commit crime, a good example is sociology. Sociology attributes crime due to poor socialization in society, while psychology attributes crime mainly due to biological and Pathological criminogenic behaviors. Many scholars have tried to define crime and each has given many reasons why crime is committed. Scholars such Cesare Lombroso attribute

Merton. The theory states that society puts pressure on individuals to achieve socially accepted goals (such as the American dream) though they lack the means, this leads to strain which may lead the individuals to commit crimes. Two major concerns in strain theory are the sources of the strain, stress or how people adapt to the strain. Positivism are theories of social and structure are strain theories. We see that this theory is also a macro level theory.

Resultantly the explanation and reasons as to why criminals commit crime becomes necessary. It can be better explained by having a close look at individual criminals and their environment, culture, economic background or their social culture (Croall, 6). Additionally, crime is also related to the effects of rapid social and economic change (Durkheim qtd. in Croall). Due to the reason that individual decisions are made in a social context, crime becomes an issue due to the social, economic and cultural reasons rather than being just an individual choice or inheritance from parents.

After revising the theory he come up into General strain theory of crime and builds its foundation in 1992. General strain theory argues that frustrations and anger leads someone to deviance and may result into committing a crime (Agnew, 1992). GST defines strains as negative life events and conditions which are commonly disliked by the people who experience it or negative experiences of a person in a given group (Agnew, 1992; 2001; 2006). Strain is often classified in two distinct types, the Objective Strain and the Subjective Strain. Objective

Sugeny Genao Writing Assignment 3 SOCI 321 February 18, 2018 Why are some successful? Why do some commit crimes? Society has general laws, offenders who break those laws are known as being deviants. Society views robbery, assault, and murder, as deviant acts. Cultural Deviance Theory is a, “branch of social structure theory that sees strain and social disorganization together resulting in a unique lower-class culture that conflicts with conventional social norms” (Siegel, 2018, P. 581).

The organizing concept of this study is the self-control theory or the general theory of crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). The theory posits that lack of self-control in an individual can greatly affect one’s criminal behavior. Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) contended that self-control is nurtured during the childhood of an individual, where child-rearing played a vital role in developing the child’s self-control. Accordingly, low self-control manifests itself in the “absence of nurturance, discipline, or training.” They further argued that absence of development of self-control can result to low level of self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Other studies have found that low levels of self-control are correlated with criminal

Juvenile detention centers are purposeful ways to assist delinquent juveniles to become law abiding proactive members of society while promoting the safety of society and themselves. Yet, the way most institutions, in particular Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (CCJTDC) treat juveniles in their center has violated their essential right to be treated as humans, cast them as oppressive beings, and does not adequately facilitate their re-transition into society. While I agree that there should be a degree of penalty for breaking laws, there is a clear line between punishment that is just and that which is unjust. Punishment for the sake of realigning an individual’s behavior to comply with social order is just, however punishment

According to Bandura 's social learning theory, people are not born with the ability to act violently, however, it is learned through the "process of behavior modeling and observation" through several outlets such as family interactions or mass media. There 's a strong correlation between an early childhood aggression and an adolescent aggression. Osibin could possibly have been exposed to violence as a child and have a strained relationship with her mother growing up. Alicia Osibin may have suffered from poor role models which "produces imitation and instigation of socially undesirable behaviors," such as violent acts. Furthermore, the psychodynamic theory proposed that "criminals are frustrated and aggravated" due to negative events in their childhood which affect the individual 's unconscious.

The federal government’s “War on Crime” by the Johnson administration in the 60s made way for tougher law enforcement and surveillance (Hinton, 2015). However, with this came the separation of children and adults in the criminal justice system; then the separation of juvenile delinquents from status offenders. As mentioned, status offenders are different from juvenile delinquents because they had broken rules which apply to only children. Meanwhile, juvenile delinquents are youths under the age of 18, who committed offenses that would be punishable to adults as well. By the late 1960s, there became a growing concern that juveniles involved in the court-based status-offense system, were not getting their best interests met (Shubik & Kendall, 2007).