Social Class and Criminal Behaviour - Assignment Example

SOCIAL AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR Q Critically discuss how social and /or social exclusion can contribute to someone embarking on a criminal career. Answer: Crime is a social phenomenon and exists in each and every culture of the world from the most primitive human tribes and clans to the modern contemporary society. With the increase in population of the world at large, the tribes and communities grew widely and developed into society. The crime rate also got its place along with the growth of civilization with an upward trend and increase. As man is the product of society and all his needs and desires are fulfilled by living in and interacting with other individuals of a social set up, so all man’s behaviour is learnt one from different members of his environment. It is environment that contains lion’s share in the development of man’s personality and behaviour. Theorists are of the view that social injustices and inequalities prevailing in a community motivate the persons deviate from the existing rules, regulations and authorities. A state that fails to offer equal opportunities of growth and developments to its individuals surely undergoes upward crime rate. The situation of negative competition and conflict start creating and the haves-not rise to the occasion to get their share from society. On not getting successful enough to obtain which they require, the persons deviate from the laws and social norms and commit crimes of different types. Discrimination in different social classes plays very pivotal role in respect of promoting criminal behaviour at community and state levels. The expansion of social discrimination between haves and haves-not creates social exclusion of the deprived strata and conflict arises out of this divergence between different classes where some social strata undergoes feelings of alienation and observes its exclusion from the boundaries of social set up. This social exclusion may be on the basis of class, caste, community, clan, culture, region, religion, age-group, status or gender. Marxist and Feminist perspectives are also the outcome of social exclusion, which raised their sonorous voice for the cause of the suppressed. Social inequality and injustices give way to criminal behaviour in a social net work. “Community disorganization”, according to Vedder, Koenig & Clark, “has been found to be related to several social problems, including crime and delinquency.” (1973:37). Marxism is also based on conflict theory articulated by Karl Marx, and it states that conflict between different social classes in a society leads towards alienation and criminal behaviour. The social researches reveal the very fact regarding involvement of gypsies in criminal activities. As they live far away from social institutions, there are bight chances of their indulgence in criminal activities that is the by-product of biased behaviour of the members of society. In the same way, injustices exercised on some specific gender or age group also causes criminal behaviour. It has often been observed crimes are usually conducted in order to obtain which man has been kept away from or had been deprived of in his adolescence or early youth. These deprivations and unfulfilled desires assume the form of delinquency and man adopts every possible way to achieve them all. The social norms and morality are the identification of the individuals of a nation. The price of toleration, George argues, of serious deviance from a society’s constitutive morality is the loss of a distinctive form of interpersonal integration in community understood as something worthwhile for its own sake. (1993: 65). Dorothy Allison, famous feminist writer, was an illegitimate child of an unwed mother, experienced social exclusion during her childhood when she was up brought by single parent and lived in a very poor and almost intolerable atmosphere where her step-father raped her for six consecutive years from the very small age of five only. The feelings of hatred for her step-father turned into hatred for man-folk and she became flag-bearer for the feminist cause and fought for the cause of woman homosexuals. Her reaction against exclusion of women from the mainstream turned out to support a movement for the cause of lesbians in the USA. She could not forget the time when she was molested, battered and abused continuously and got so annoyed with the male gender that the feelings of liking and love for the individuals of the same sex created in her mind and heart at her teen age, the time she was entering her adolescence. Thus, social exclusion gave birth to perversion and deviant behaviour. Q 2: Victims of crime can be marginalized as a direct result of gender, age, ethnicity and social class. Critically discuss this statement, focusing on one of the categories and the concept of Victimology. Answer: Crime obtains universality and its rate grew along with the growth of human societies. Furthermore, crime rate is at its highest in culturally diversified societies, where many races, religions and ethnic groups reside. It is therefore all the cosmopolitan cities of the globe including London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Moscow, Karachi and Beijing etc face the highest crime rate. As criminal behaviour contains universality in its concept, it is not limited to one social class or age group only. Though there is no hard and fast rule for the victimization of specific crime on specific group, yet there are some types of pestering which can be attributed to particular group or class. The nature of crimes varies from one age group to the other. Also, there is diversity in respect of gender while enduring criminal behaviour. For instance, crimes like sexual assaults, rape and abduction are inflicted upon women and children, and males are often victim of robbery and murder. In the same way, older people are usually victim of theft, embezzlement, robbery, misrepresentation and white collar crimes. “Although individuals may be abused”, McDonald and A. Collins view, “at virtually any life stage – childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age or old age – the nature and consequences of abuse may differ depending on an individual’s situation. Older adults’ experiences of abuse, for example, may be related to their living arrangement (they may be living alone, with family members or others, or in an institution). Their experiences may also be linked to their level of reliance on others, including family members or other care providers, for assistance and support in daily living.” (Quoted in Abuse of Older Adults: the Department of Justice Canada). The crimes in contemporary age are mostly declared as the product of social injustices all over the world. The offenders are stated to be the neglected group of society, who take revenge from other members due to their injustices in past. Many third world countries undergo ethnic rivalries that come out as the infamous mar on the very face of social norms, mores and equalities. Taking the example of black population of America, it comes to know that the black population had been brought to Europe by the European invaders from Africa, and the adventurous European invaders made them their slaves and inflicted all types of curses on them. The literature produced by the Black authors, including novels, fiction, stories and poems etc by Toni Morrison, Margaret Drabble and many others reflect their sorrow and grievances their forefathers had to face by the European exploiters in the age of colonization. If the second and third generation is unable to forget the bitter taste of racial discrimination, imagine how much revengeful could be a real victim of any crime exercised on him by the powerful community or majority people. Similarly, the warring ethnic groups in the Middle east and other parts of the world have been victim of criminal assaults, and they are in conflict with other members of community just to quench their thirst of revenge. It is therefore victims of crime can be marginalized as a direct result of gender, age, ethnicity and social class. Theorists analysed criminal behaviour and articulated their assumptions to estimate the real causes of deviation and criminal behaviour. Emile Durkheim views crime, states Coser (1977:141), as normal in terms of its occurrence, and even as having positive social functions in terms of its consequences. In his words: “Where crime exists, collective sentiments are sufficiently flexible to take on a new form, and crime sometimes helps to determine the form they will take. How many times, indeed, it is only an anticipation of future morality--a step toward what will be.” Taking homosexuality, for example, it is a serious sin under the moral values and social norms. The sodomy, pederasty and buggery had been viewed as crimes against the law of the state since ever and there was serious punishment suggested for this worst type of immorality. Immorality invites disruption and disturbances in the society. Zaidi (2003) in his thesis under the title “Biological, Psychological and Sociological Causes of Deviant Behaviour” has proved on the basis of data gathered from prison houses and by interviewing other perverts that many of the offenders had been exploited by the members of society. Though they failed to destroy the ambitions of the offenders, yet they applied the same methods on weak proportion of community to show their strength. In the same way, the world famous 9/11 incident also looks a revenge attack made by an ethnic group most probably the Japanese or others to destroy another ethnic group and religion. Crimes being committed in the Middle East, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the globe also indicate ethnocentrism behind it all. The suicidal attacks and bombings serve as rejoinder to the malpractices and atrocities committed by the Americans in Abu Ghuraib Prison, Gwantanamo Bay and other parts of the world. The movements are being run in the name of religion, age and gender. The Feminists demand equality on the basis of sex and condemn sexual prejudice. A bandit queen named Phoolan Devi in India was raped and molested by the upper class feudal lords. On being unable to seek justice, she lifted arms and killed nearly 30 people. She became a sign of bravery and no one blamed her of becoming offender and aggressor. It is therefore collective behaviour is seriously responsible for maintaining law and order situation in a society. Social injustices and inequalities always give way to criminal assaults and delinquent behaviour. If a society does not apply moral ethics in it, its masses are sure to go to the path of destruction and collective turmoil, and it has become hard nut to crack to combat offenders and offences that are the product of religious, racial and sexual discrimination. Read More

In the same way, older people are usually victim of theft, embezzlement, robbery, misrepresentation and white collar crimes. “Although individuals may be abused”, McDonald and A. Collins view, “at virtually any life stage – childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age or old age – the nature and consequences of abuse may differ depending on an individual’s situation. Older adults’ experiences of abuse, for example, may be related to their living arrangement (they may be living alone, with family members or others, or in an institution).

Their experiences may also be linked to their level of reliance on others, including family members or other care providers, for assistance and support in daily living.” (Quoted in Abuse of Older Adults: the Department of Justice Canada). The crimes in contemporary age are mostly declared as the product of social injustices all over the world. The offenders are stated to be the neglected group of society, who take revenge from other members due to their injustices in past. Many third world countries undergo ethnic rivalries that come out as the infamous mar on the very face of social norms, mores and equalities.

Taking the example of black population of America, it comes to know that the black population had been brought to Europe by the European invaders from Africa, and the adventurous European invaders made them their slaves and inflicted all types of curses on them. The literature produced by the Black authors, including novels, fiction, stories and poems etc by Toni Morrison, Margaret Drabble and many others reflect their sorrow and grievances their forefathers had to face by the European exploiters in the age of colonization.

If the second and third generation is unable to forget the bitter taste of racial discrimination, imagine how much revengeful could be a real victim of any crime exercised on him by the powerful community or majority people. Similarly, the warring ethnic groups in the Middle east and other parts of the world have been victim of criminal assaults, and they are in conflict with other members of community just to quench their thirst of revenge. It is therefore victims of crime can be marginalized as a direct result of gender, age, ethnicity and social class.

Theorists analysed criminal behaviour and articulated their assumptions to estimate the real causes of deviation and criminal behaviour. Emile Durkheim views crime, states Coser (1977:141), as normal in terms of its occurrence, and even as having positive social functions in terms of its consequences. In his words: “Where crime exists, collective sentiments are sufficiently flexible to take on a new form, and crime sometimes helps to determine the form they will take. How many times, indeed, it is only an anticipation of future morality--a step toward what will be.

” Taking homosexuality, for example, it is a serious sin under the moral values and social norms. The sodomy, pederasty and buggery had been viewed as crimes against the law of the state since ever and there was serious punishment suggested for this worst type of immorality. Immorality invites disruption and disturbances in the society. Zaidi (2003) in his thesis under the title “Biological, Psychological and Sociological Causes of Deviant Behaviour” has proved on the basis of data gathered from prison houses and by interviewing other perverts that many of the offenders had been exploited by the members of society.

Though they failed to destroy the ambitions of the offenders, yet they applied the same methods on weak proportion of community to show their strength. In the same way, the world famous 9/11 incident also looks a revenge attack made by an ethnic group most probably the Japanese or others to destroy another ethnic group and religion. Crimes being committed in the Middle East, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the globe also indicate ethnocentrism behind it all. The suicidal attacks and bombings serve as rejoinder to the malpractices and atrocities committed by the Americans in Abu Ghuraib Prison, Gwantanamo Bay and other parts of the world.

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