General Theory of Crime - Essay Example

According to their theory, criminals do not have much control over themselves their behaviors, and their lust. They state that when a criminal’s desire to gain pleasure and satisfaction precedes their interests that are long-term in nature, they end up committing criminal acts. This means that criminal activities take place because criminals have little control over themselves. Individuals have low control over themselves because they have been brought up in a poor manner and their attachment to their parents is quite weak which elevates the chances of them getting into a criminal act. Hirshi and Gottfredson even state that individuals who have low control over themselves even indulge in actions that may not be considered criminal but are quite harmful, these actions include alcohol and drug abuse, road accidents, and pregnancies that are not wanted.

The basis of the general theory of crime is the elements of love, affection, involvement, and belief. Individuals having low self-control are those who are not committed to the norms and cultural values of their societies and they end up committing criminal acts as they give preference to satisfaction over the norms and cultural values of their society.
2. The theory of Left Realism came into existence during the 1970s and was created in response to the importance given to deviant behaviors conducted by those who are considered elite of society (Adler, 2010, p.205). Left Realism states that people within the lower class experience day-to-day criminal activities conducted against them and they mainly experience street-related crimes (Vito, 2006, p.232). According to Left realists, street crimes are caused because individuals who are committers of these crimes are deprived of social and political participation.

Another emerging perspective of criminology is peacemaking criminology; this ideology of criminology promotes fairness, nonviolent living,g and impartiality among the components of society (Adler, 2010, p.206). 

The punishments used by the United States for criminals do not deter crime but rather encourage criminal activities. Those who are in favor of this ideology believe that punishments such as the death penalty and imprisonment should be replaced with conflict-solving methods to decrease the crime rate.

The theory of radical feminism resorts to figuring out the reasons why females indulge in criminal-like activities (Adler, 2010, p.203). They believe that society gives preference to men over women where men are considered as elite and the privileged ones. They are of the view that society experiences patriarchy because of differences in the biology of men and women and they even state that the earlier structure of society was designed in such a way that men were considered elite over women.

Read More