Criminology and Crime against property - Essay Example

Specifically, a crime is something that a person does or omits against the law and is punishable after he has been convicted. Crime includes the offenses of the criminal code for a property or a person, drug, and also motor vehicle offenses. Crime against a particular person includes threat or force against someone else, for instance, violently or deliberately hurting another person, threatening or attempting to harm someone else, murder, sexual assault, murder, kidnapping,  robbery, and traffic accidents that lead to death. 

An example is taking property or being tricky with someone to get something illegally, frequently termed as fraud. Other types of crimes that do not fall within the categories mentioned earlier include drug offenses, motor vehicle offenses, betting and gaming, arson, and possession of weapons. Additionally, some crimes can neither be rated as violent nor involve damaging property. Running the stop sign is taken to be an offense because it places the public in danger although no property or anyone is injured(DeKeseredy, Ellis, Alvi & Ellis, 2005).

The main causes of crime can be rated as social and economic causes. The social causes of crime include family and crime, an absence of social control, defective education, cinema, and also religion. The financial sources of crime include poverty, unemployment, industrialization, and urbanization. The main consequences of crime include economic punishment and penalty, jail term, and also home arrest.

Criminal behaviors consist of those acts that break the law such as theft and murder while Deviant behavior consists of actions that differ from the values and norms of a wider society. Those with deviant behaviors dress and act differently from the values and standards of society. An example of a deviant lot is Goths. The majority of deviant behaviors are legal and some lead to criminal activity. Those who exhibit deviant behaviors share their values and norms that form a unique subculture. The media typically adversely labels this group. Atypical amplifications happen when the media concentrates on the harmful effects of standards on the deviant group.

An example is a recent focus on young people who wear hoods; they are frequently associated with engaging in crime and causing trouble. The portrayal of the media against particular groups creates panic within society. Due to the overlap between deviance and crime, some researchers regard the difference between deviance and criminology as counterproductive and false. This has led to calls for a merger on the subject issue. Deviant behavior is viewed to be a more inclusive concept than crime (DeKeseredy, Ellis, Alvi & Ellis, 2005).

Various perspectives on crime include the labeling perspective, the Marxist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the sub-culture perspective that explain deviance and crime. The main feature of all the functionalist perspectives is that they believe that crime is well analyzed by seeing society as one and people should not dwell on individuals. The structure of society well explains the crime causes. They believe that crime is important to society and therefore, people need it. The labeling perspectives believe that crime existence brings the whole society together since people come together to stop the issue of crime.

The subculture theorist explains deviance and crime based on the subculture of various social groups. The theory believes that deviance happens due to people conforming to the norms and values of their social group. According to the Marxist perspective, the laws and regulations are codified mechanisms whereby the ruler class keeps other classes in check. He also believed that the passed laws reflected the unequal access to law, whereby if a person has money to hire a lawyer can dictate whether one is guilty or not guilty. Read More