Various Concepts of Criminology - Report Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Introduction to Criminology Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Criminology Criminology is the field of study that looks at various aspects of crimes including the nature, causes and control of crimes in both the society and in an individual. Criminology has drawn upon many theorists and sociologists and there are several theories explaining the various concepts of criminology. One of the theories looked at in this essay is the traditional strain theory that suggests that social structures that exist in the society may have an influence on the crime behaviour of individuals (Carrabine 2008). Traditional strain theory Initial works on this theory were started by Emile Durkheim and then advanced by other sociologists such as Merton, Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin. According to this theory, social structures and cultural forces may encourage individuals to engage in criminal behaviour. Strain may either be structural or individual. Structural refers to the processes at the societal level that regulates an individual’s perception of his or her own needs. Individual indicates the hustles and pains that an individual experiences as he finds ways of satisfying his or her own needs (Agnew 1992). Strain theories mostly adapt the Durkheim’s concept of anomie. This concept is also presented in his book of suicide where he studied the connection between suicide and individual characteristics and the society. He describes that suicide is caused by a condition of malaise in individuals that is characterized by absence of values and association of feelings of purposelessness. Durkheim’s strain theory associates deviance behaviours in the society with the extremes of the dimensions of social bond. He explains three kinds of suicide, altruistic suicide which is the death for the sake of goodness in a group, egoistic suicide which is death to remove oneself due to lack bondage with other people, and anomic suicide which is death due to confusion between self interest and norms in the society. Generally, all the three deaths are due to societal dimensions that place an individual in a position that is difficult to exist in. These extremes are also the conditions in the social structure that result to crime. According to him, crime is associated with the fundamental circumstances of all social life and acts as a function of the social life. He also views crime as a product of norms. A community that is able to determine what is wrong should also have a definition of what is right and should be inherent in built within the concept of the wrong. Flexibility in the society can be achieved by permitting both positive and negative deviation. Without any deviation, the community is stagnant. He further states that crime acts as an avenue for changes in the society and enhancing flexibility (Durkheim 1997). Durkheim also explains the idea of social solidarity in relation to crimes in the society. Three is mechanical solidarity which is characterized by collective conscience and organic solidarity where there is increased division of labour, which becomes abnormal and results in differences in social classes and status. In this society, people become less homogeneous and the traditional means of social control are no longer effective in controlling social behaviour. People become lonely, they lose identity and reach a state of normlessness. This creates an atmosphere that promotes crimes and other anti social behaviour. The other strain theory following Durkheim’s was by Merton. According to Merton, the norms in the society should define individual’s goals and means of achieving those goals. However, due to the social structure, the means offered by the society for obtaining those goals may not be viable to all. Those people therefore turn to unacceptable means to achieve them. These are the means which are defined as crimes (Merton 1938). The aspect of culture cultural forces in individual behaviour was explained by Cohem. According to Cohem, strain is not structural, but interpersonal, founded on the level of group interaction. His argument states that subcultures are formed out of frustrations that are experienced by members of a certain class whose most of the members are from the poor urban residents. The frustrations faced by members of this group result in malice and opposition to the community’s dominant culture. This class in the social structure lives under its own culture and the life is characterised by painful and undesirable experiences. The position of a family in such a structure will therefore determine the troubles that a child will face in the future. The child will also face frustrations and may adapt the life of delinquency. That sub culture will therefore keep yielding delinquent children and crime will be a major characteristic in their culture. Relating the work of Durkheim and Merton was the theory of delinquent gangs by Cloward and Ohlin. According to the two theorists, delinquent subcultures are dominant in the lower-class areas. There is a difference on how criminal and conventional values are integrated in the lower class areas. In some areas, conventional and non conventional values are integrated by close link to the legal and illegal businesses that are carried out in the community. The form that is taken by any behaviour depends on the extent to which criminality is tolerated in the community. The class is linked to a high level of injustice due to failure of attain status by the convectional means. The community becomes disorganized and they promote violence in their sub cultures (Akers 2000). How contemporary structural and cultural conditions in the “consumer society” might challenge traditional strain theory The consumer society is characterized by changes in social structure and cultural conditions. The contemporary society believes in social and political structures that are set taking into consideration the aspects of individual and group behaviour. The social institution is supposed to offer resources that enable people to meet their needs and achieve their goals. According to the traditional strain theory, crime results when the social structure does not provide means for fulfilling people’s goals. But in the consumer society, the social justice looks at ensuring that social structures and social institutions act to satisfy people’s needs. The consumer society believes that to solve the problems that result due to disorganized social structure, the main step is to strengthen the community and the civil society. A strong civil society encourages good governance that can promote peace among different cultures. It can also promote public participation and a culture of caring community. When people get involved in matters that will build the community, they are not likely to engage in destructive behaviours and community segregation. A joint community is socially organized and leaves no room for crimes and other vices. The reforms that have taken place in the consumer society have further strengthened the community and the civil society. They have encouraged public participation and have created institutions of governance that not only makes and enacts policies, but also fosters citizenship. These are the characteristics of the consumer society that is based on contemporary structural and cultural conditions that challenges the traditional strain theory. Ways of reducing crimes and how they can be achieved According to the theories explaining the causes of crimes as social structures and cultural forces, the crimes can also be reduced by means that focus on the two aspects. These include strengthening the social structures and the political institutions. Strong social structures ensure that there is social equality and this discourages social segregation. When the social structure is accommodating every person, there is no formation of subcultures, some of which promote crimes. This can be achieved by reforming the malfunctioning social structures, which can be done through peaceful political mobilization and nonviolent protests. There have been several social and political movements that have changed the existing unbalanced social and political structures. These movements achieved this by changing power balance between social groups and this resulted to increased political involvement the right systems of justice. For example, legal rights struggle in the United States resulted in formation of legal procedures and institutions that deal with discrimination in employment and other social amenities (Lederach 1997). Economic structures and the oppressive power relationships among social groups can also be reformed through labour management struggles. For example, the American New Deal changed the imbalance in economic power that existed between the dominant and the subordinate social groups. It is therefore important for groups to organize themselves into social movements that can confront the structural problems that are dominant in the society and that result to social ills. These movements may address issues such as the rights for children, women, cultural independence and other different issues resulting from structural organization. These movements are examples of nonviolent protest that may result in social structural change and the adoption of democracy in all matters. Conclusion Social structures that exist in the society have greatly contributed to increase in crime rate in the society. This is due to differences in social class that leads some group of members of a certain society to form their own social class where they can find acceptance. This society ultimately turns to crime. The culture in the society also becomes unbearable to some people and they therefore form their own sub culture that has no norms. However, reforms in the social structure that promotes acceptance of all groups of people can help reduce the crime rate. This is because it will result to a society that is comfortable to all members and where every member of the community will find a place. Changes in economic structure will also help reduce crime rate since it will lower frustrations that are experienced due to economic hardships. Bibliography Lederach, J., 1997, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, United States Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C. Agnew, R., 1992, Foundation for a General Strain Theory, Criminology, 30(1), 47-87. Merton, R., 1938, Social Structure and Anomie, American Sociological Review, 3: 672-82. Durkheim, E., 1997, Suicide, Free Press, New York. Akers, R., 2000, Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application, Roxbury, Los Angeles. Carrabine, E., et al., 2008, Criminology: A Sociological Introduction, Taylor & Francis, New York. Read More