Theories about the Causes of Crime - Coursework Example

Criminal Justice Introduction Criminal behavior of human being is started from the beginning of human history itself. Holy Bible says that Cain, the elder son of Adam, has killed his younger brother Abel out of some kind of jealousy. The crime history in the world has started from there onwards. Now crimes of different types, nature and dimensions are happening everyday everywhere at any time. Experts who function at different areas of the society like the sociologists, psychologists, theologists, and anthropologists have formulated their own theories in order to explain the causes of crime. This paper explains different perspectives of crime with respect to theories about the causes of crime, theory behind criminal law and effectiveness of criminal law. Theories about the causes of crime Sociologist’s theory Sociological theory of crime explores the elements of disparities in social structure of activities which may motivate criminal behavior. For convenience these Sociological theories can again classified into different groups based on the social structure, process, conflicts, and rational. The social structure theories can again classified into two major sub divisions; Social Disorganization Theory and the Strain Theory (Zarka) “The social disorganization theory focuses on urban conditions that affect crime rates. The theory holds that high unemployment, high school dropout rates, low income levels, and large numbers of single parent households contribute to crime” (Zarka) The society must be organized or well structured in order to function properly. Any imbalances in the social setup can create unhealthy incidents in the society. For example, unemployment is a major cause behind criminal activities. In most cases, those who have employment may not look for other options for survival. The family structure is another factor which determines the making of a criminal. In a single parent family, the children may not get adequate care and attention which force them to engage in criminal activities out of their displeasure towards the society. “The strain theory holds that crime is a conflict between peoples goals and the means they can use to legally obtain them.”(Zarka). In a changing world, the needs of the people are also changing. It is not possible for a person of the current decade to live like a person 3 or 4 decades before. Owing and using a Computer, televisions, mobile phones, or car is the basic need of the present individual whereas such things were not there even in the distant dreams of an ordinary individual three to four decades before. Thus the current generation has revised their goals and targets and in order to achieve that they need more money which is difficult to earn and they may adopt shortcuts like robbery and theft. Psychologist’s theory A person’s behavior is influenced by his heredity and environment. Actions performed by other people in the society always influence a person. For example, a person watching another person engages in a criminal activity and escapes without any punishment, may mimic the same action. Children develop their behavior and personalities taking energy from the role models they observe around them like teachers, parents, peers etc. If these role models have some kind of criminal histories or backgrounds, that may influence the children as well. “Freudian psychologists propose that a person can only lead a stable life if the id, ego and super-ego are well balanced” (What are the psychological causes of crime?) Id is the pleasure seeking energy inherited in all the human beings which is controlled by the superego which acts like the police force. If superego is weak, the id will take prominence and will engage in physical pleasure seeking activities without any fear of punishment. Theological theory As per theological theory all the human being has the tendency to do sins because of their genetic dependence to the first human Adam who performed the first sin in the world. Moreover, theology says that evil forces who are the creators of sins in the world are constantly persuade human beings to engage in sins or criminal activities and only the belief in God or Jesus Christ will help human to refrain from sins or criminal activities. In other words, theology attributes the cause of criminal activities to the evil forces. The theological version of crime can be summarized as follows Law was given by God to define sin and crime. Man commits crime because of his fallen nature. God ordains governments to deter and punish crime. God offers salvation.  Those who accept it are changed - no longer under obligation to their fallen nature (Blake) Anthropologist’s theory This theory is based on the links between the nature of a crime and the personality of the criminal. This theory is based on the heredity principle which states that heredity is one of the major factor in determining the character and behavior of a person. In other words anthropologists believe that the children of a criminal most probably engage in criminal activities. The term ‘born criminal’ is thus associated with the views of anthropologists. They believe that criminals are born; not made by the society or society has nothing to do with the criminal behavior of a person; it is inherited. Theory behind criminal law The theory behind criminal law is that punishment can reduce or prevent criminal activities. Criminal law answers the questions like; Should we punish criminals? Why should we punish criminals? Whom should we punish? How should we punish criminals? How much should we punish criminals? There is not much doubt about the answer of the first, second and third questions. We should punish the criminals in order to prevent the future crimes which answers these three questions. But the last two questions how and how much seems to be a highly debated one in the current world. Some people argue that criminals should be severely punished to avoid future crimes whereas some others argue that instead of severely punishing the criminals, they should be made available for the corrective actions. The death penalty like punishment is not at all accepted by the opponents of punishments since “the criminal law can create wrongs” (Theories of Criminal Law) Effectiveness of criminal law Despite of the severe punishments associated with crimes, the criminal behavior seems to be increasing in the current world. So in my opinion, punishments have not much influence on crimes. The society must change a lot in order to prevent criminal activities. For example, most of the terrorist activities are associated with religious fundamentalism. Punishments may not prevent these fundamentalists from refrain from their criminal behaviors since they believe that any punishments they suffer from this world to protect their religious beliefs will be rewarded by the God. So such crimes can be handled only with the help of social reforms rather than punishments. Criminal law will be effective only when it is backed up by the society. Society determines the success and failures of criminal laws. For example, the crimes are happened in the societies and if nobody dare to complain about it or ready to appear in the court as witnesses, they the criminal will be escaped and the effectiveness of the criminal law will be questioned. So the cooperation of the society is important to make the criminal law more effective. Conclusions Psychological, anthropological, sociological and theological reasons are attributed to the criminal behaviour of a person. There is no doubt that the criminals should be punished to prevent future crimes; but the amount of punishment and the nature of punishment are highly debatable. Along with punishments, sociological reforms also needed to reduce criminal activities. Works Cited 1. Blake, Allen. “The Theological Theory of Crime”. 01 October 2009. 2. “Theories of Criminal Law”. 2004. 01 October 2009. 3. “What are the psychological causes of crime?”. 01 October 2009. 4. Zarka, Heather. 2007. “Sociological Theories of Crime”. 01 October 2009. Read More