Free Essay

The Root Cause of Crime Today in Society

In:

Submitted By rozfine
Words 528
Pages 3
JUS 301 Criminology Final Writing Assignment Rosilyn Smith 06/03/13

Writing assignment Final
In this writing assignment learners are to take a position on what you believe is the root cause of crime today in society. We know there can be numerous causes; however you as the learner must decide, based on theories we covered in class, which theory in your opinion best describes the root causes of crime in society. So, ensure your paper addresses the following:
What you believe is the root cause of crime in America and why?
Select a theory the correlates to the cause of crime
Argue why the theory you selected is the most applicable theory
Discuss why critics would not accept your theory and what theory they might suggest is the root cause of crime in America.

I believe the root cause of crime in society today is hard determinism and soft determinism. Hard determinism is the belief that crime results from forces beyond the control of the individual. Soft determinism is the belief that human behavior is the result of choices and decisions made within a context of situational constraints and opportunities. Soft determinism is because most criminals are a product of their environment. The criminal groups are the ones up around a lot of crime and illegal acts. The criminal grows up into that type of environment and accept the criminal way of life. Either the people turn to being a career criminal to survive financially or a gang related criminal to feel loved and like they belong to something. Then society that the criminal is in, they have lots of opportunity to commit crimes that are very tempting. Also the have situational constraints that put the criminal in a position to where they feel like they have to commit a crime to survive. It is like this because young children are exposed to the environment of crime and they accept it and mimic what they see. Then the teenager does not develop enough social and business skills to function properly in society. So the adult is grown and all the person knows to do for cash is criminal acts ( robbing, stealing, and identity theft). So the person is forced into the hard determinism mind set and it becomes beyond the individuals control. Situational choice theory correlates to my causes of the root cause of crime in society today. I think this is the best theory to support the root cause of crime in society because crime is all about choices. People decide on their own to commit a crime or not and most are conscious enough to know what they are doing and if it is right or wrong. People might argue or not except my theory because they might feel like some people cant help themselves and may be mentally ill or forced to commit crime. Because my theory focuses on the person’s free will, a critic could emphasize people that are schizophrenic and hear voices that tell them to do things. There are many different opinion and approaches to look at the reason for crime, but I think situational choice theory fit the best.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Crime

...Nowadays, many people are worried about crimes increasing. Some people think that the government should use strong measures and serious punishments to prevent people who commit crime. Those people believe that in taking these precautions, crime can be stopped. However, in my opinion there is no way to prevent crimes. I do not believe that if we use stronger force and more serious measures that we will solve the cause. If we do this, we will only solve the effect. So, I think that if we want to reduce and prevent crimes from happening, we should do so by looking into what exactly is causing the crimes. We then can find precautions that we can take and perhaps over time these problems that seem so detrimental today, will soon subside over time. Crime is not something that can be stopped. Today, it has almost become part of a norm to break a law. Whether that be something as simple as speeding or littering, to even the most extreme; theft or murder. Common deviance such as these have now become a part of todays everyday living. There is no way to stop crime completely, however there are some ways that society can help prevent crime. First and foremost, it is undeniable that most people commit negative activities due to dire need of money to sustain their everyday lives. Todays lifestyle is expensive and not every one can afford necessities. Examples of offenses include being thieves, robbing, killing for money or out of aggression, etc. If only there was provided a proper job...

Words: 1087 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Criminal Justice System

...The Criminal Justice System in Modern Day Society According to Schmalleger (2015) the American experience with crime during the last half century has been especially influential in shaping the criminal justice system of today. Crime is defined as “conduct in violation of the criminal laws of the state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse,” (Schmalleger, 2015). Therefore, what constitutes a crime is regulated by local, state and federal laws. Moreover, what is deemed a crime in one state may not be a crime in another state; this is because each unit of government is charged with defining what is classified as a crime within that particular jurisdiction. Likewise, each governmental agency is responsible for the detection and subsequent prosecution of crimes that are committed. Society determines which acts are criminal by using two models known respectively as the consensus model and the conflict model. Schmalleger (2015) suggest that the consensus model is based on majority of the people within a society sharing the same values and beliefs. This group of people determined what is considered right and what is considered wrong. If a member of the groups acts in opposition of the agreed upon norms, and the act threatens the safety of well being of the group, the act is considered illegal and therefore is subject to reprimand. The conflict model seems to suggest that criminal acts are...

Words: 894 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Diversification of the Bahamian Economy

...Factors affecting the increasing crime rate in the Bahamas When most tourists think of the Bahamas the picture of clean green pristine care free island paradise comes to mind as advertised and promoted around the world.   Many of the tourists do not see the other side of the picture as shown on the brochure. The people of the Bahamas who live in the country everyday have to endure the other side of the brochure which is the increasing crime rate in the Bahamas. The people of the these islands are known as some of the most peaceful and fun love people in the world this can even be traced back to the peace Lucayan Indians who once inhabited these islands a few centuries ago. Slowly over time the Bahamas had become plagued with crime and violence so much as it played a role in our history as in the days of the pirate and bootleggers.   Crime eventually became a part of the Bahamian society until the former governor of the Bahamas Woodes Rodgers exiled all of the pirates and those who remain integrated themselves in to society.   Crime never was really totally dispelled form the Bahamas but it was under control but in recent years there has been a major increase in the crime rate in the Bahamas. Some factors which may be affecting this increase in the crime rate are dysfunctional household environment, a poor educational background and a negative cultural influence on the Bahamian society. A dysfunctional household may be one of the leading factors which may result in the leading...

Words: 2173 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

The New Jim Crow Analysis

...he brings up is where are all the true black fathers in today’s society? He then answers they are in the prison system. A prison system that has been filled up with people of color. Schmalleger presents us in his text book “Criminology” with the Social Structure Theories providing us with a better understanding. These theories suggest “negative aspects of social structures such as disorganization within the family, poverty or income inequality within the economic arraignments of society, and disadvantages...

Words: 451 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Secret Life Of Bees Analysis

...On Socialist Worker, the author Alex Taylor mentions that Marxist writer CLR James points out about the beginning of the racism and he says, “The conception of dividing people by race begins with the slave trade . . . that the only justification by which humanity could face it was to divide people into races and decide that the Africans were an inferior race." (Taylor). Taylor also mentions that people never thought racism as something powerful enough to pressure someone before an occurrence of capitalism. Dr. Dass - Brailsford states the cause of racism; “People become racist due to an environment that they grow up, [and] that’s how a belief gets constructed, [which means we] develop attitudes and stereotypes from socialization. (qtd in Gregoire). Therefore, everything that surrounding us such as family, neighbor, and friends is reflecting and also creating our thoughts. Another possible cause is the media. Mass media includes mainly TV, newspaper, social network service and it has a huge power to dominate people. Due to the fact that most of the young generation uses social network service, media are also part of our life. According Professor Stephen Balkaran at Yale University, “media perpetuate racial stereotypes by linking young African-American males as gangsters or drug dealers . . . [and also] the media have focused on the negative...

Words: 1860 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Feminist

...In the traditional study of crime, women have generally been perceived as disregarded and discriminated in the criminal justice system. Various stereotypes and assumptions about females in the criminal justice system, saw feminist perspectives challenge the theories, concepts and assumptions of those involved in the study of crime (Bryant, 2014). This essay begins by firstly providing a brief description and its origins, how feminist theories causes crime, how its theory defines crime, the multiple feminist perspectives within feminism and how feminist criminology attempts to combat crime. It will then discuss the relevance and how feminist theory influences the criminal justice system, such as women’s role as professionals, as well as women as offenders and victims (Schram & Tibbetts 2013, p. 285). Finally, this essay will examine the applicability to Australian society by exploring if the suggested causes of crime apply to Australian society. It will lastly draw on the criticisms of feminist criminology and how the different types of feminist perspectives lessons the relevance of this theory in Australian society. Outlining the theory Feminist criminology first developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s which was closely associated with the emergence of the Second Wave of Feminism (White, Haines & Asquith 2012, p. 143). The Second Wave of Feminism saw the advent of many issues such as social, political and material inequalities (White, Haines & Asquith 2012, p. 143). Because men...

Words: 2292 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Safety of Woman

...or for that matter any where, she has stood at par with what a man could do. Yet, she still fights for equality. No matter what, the old thoughts and upbringing culture still lay cluttered in the minds of men that women should not be above men, but below them. It is sad to understand that women are the better halves of the society, yet they are the ones who face the maximum tortures in many ways in their lives. Time has changed, yet attitude towards women have never been changed. To understand better, one has to get to the root cause of the problem. It has all started ages ago, where men are thought to be gods and powerful and women to be just like slaves for household works. Even today, leave alone villages where people are uneducated, the educated society or who claims to be in the high class society, opts for abortions of girl child! The only reason that they state is “It is expensive to bring up a girl child.” How ridiculous? The system has to be changed right from the roots. When a girl child is born, the first thought is, the parent has to make dowry to get her married off. Aren’t men and their families ashamed to ask for dowries even today? Do they survive on the money from the girl’s...

Words: 734 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

I Am Joaquin

...final statement, It did manage to capture my attention nevertheless .where he specifies “won the struggle of cultural survival” it causes me to wonder, will my generation and the fore coming generation obtain the will power to retain their cultural roots? I am in question because too many Chicanos in our present day are very minimally knowledgeable about their roots and many even have difficulties speaking their native language. My counter argument in regards to, choosing between a paradox of maintaining our culture alive, to loosing it to American society is uncohesive, therefore it becomes a matter of personal choice in my personal opinion to whether preserve their cultural background and prosper simultaneously, or to substitute one for the other. Another line in which caught my attention was when Gonzales explained how he became a victim of killing and being killed. “The chattering machine guns are death to all of me:/ Yaqui /Tarahumara /Chamala /Zapotec /Mestizo /Español./The victor, /The vanquished. /I have killed /And been killed.” In this line Gonzales is metaphorically stating that we are all the same, just human beans that are killing one another thinking we are different because of our nationalities, skin tone etcetera. Which in context this statement still today is truth, with all the segregation and racism which still exists today we are hurting one another. In conclusion to the assignment, the final line of interest was found near the end of the...

Words: 418 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Corrections

... Instructor: Janice Bella Submitted on: 1 June 2015 In this paper, I will review the origins of the Corrections and how it helps us today with those who choose to commit crimes. I will also cover the basis of how Constitutional given rights are upheld within the prison system itself, and how the public is involved with the goings on within the prisons. According to the article Why State Prisons by W. David Ball, state prisons in 2012 held approximately 1.3 million people which is almost twice the amount of people in county jails and more than five times the federal prison populations. This number is only estimated to go up as the years go on if left unchecked. Also according to the article, California passed policy to reform their prison and jail population problems, their state prisons now only accept violent offenders and sexual predators rather than all types of felons, with the remaining criminal elements serving their time in local jails. The state prisons began to be overpopulated due to the government taking on more and more prisoners to use as labor (road crews, ditch digging, etc;) and granted the government a flow of surplus cash as a result. That helped the economies then but is irrelevant in todays’ life, as the belief that the professional and rehabilitative power has dwindled into near oblivion. With that said, there are many who wonder whether state prisons are needed anymore, or are they...

Words: 2083 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Criminal Justice

...The question of what causes people to exhibit criminal behavior is a question that continues to puzzle and intrigue scholars of criminology even after centuries of study. Many theories of crime exist. A couple of these concepts are the Classical, whose supporters insist that humans freely choose to commit crimes, and those which maintain that biological, psychological, and social characteristics influence criminal behavior. All philosophies attempt to explain the causation of criminal behavior, in different ways. Classical Theory The classical school of crime causation came about in the eighteenth century as a result of the Enlightenment and emphasized free will and reasonable punishments. Classical thinkers from this time period strongly believed that in order for punishment to be effective, it must outweigh the pleasure that may be derived from crime. There are certain basic assumptions associated with the Classical school. Among them are the individual action of free will, and most human behavior comes from the process of rational thought coupled with the ability to act freely. Another one of these assumptions were that punishment defined as a necessary evil required to deter law violators from repeating their crime as well as to present an example to potential criminals. Cesare Beccaria ( 1738-1794) was one of the first classical thinkers i noted in my studies. His publication of “Essays on crime and punishment” was an immediate success in it’s release in 1764, and...

Words: 2171 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

1960's Crime Rates

...Crime was on the Rise In the 1960’s, the world was changing at a rapid rate. The 60’s provided many challenges for America in many ways. With the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X, America seemed to be slowly destroying itself. With many Americans fighting for their rights, countless types of crime were committed during this time. Several great leaders in America were killed, but several bad Mafia leaders were taken down as well. Crime rates in America during the 60’s increased tremendously with assassinations, civil rights riots, and Mafia murders happening around every corner. Over the past 40 years, America has changed in many ways. Back in the 1960’s technology, politics, civil rights,...

Words: 1197 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Violence

...aggregations such as rape and murder against a person, group or community (Richard 1992). Violence is more rampant among young adults posing great to the society; it ranges from schools and colleges, homesteads or domestic grounds to public environment such as urban centers. Many questions have arisen as to why the youth are the most likely to get involved in violent crimes, according to statistics postulated by the government. The answerer to this question in as much as it may complex as it is elusive gives an insight of the actual fact about the cause of the escalating crimes of violence among the youth and possible remedies. Young adults have become violent in the recent years particularly in U.S.; also it has become a norm in many other nations including Africa where actual violence has been experienced leading to unimaginable losses to the natives and the whole country at large. Therefore, there is need to first of all study and understand factors that involve in development of human behavior before considering the root causes which will possibly help in preventing violence (Michael 1998). Causes of violence Media and Exposure In modern day society, children and young adults are the one at the highest risk for experiencing violent crimes. Technological developments and achievement has changed the face of the society in that, it is evident many people have efficient accessibility to the media and thus tend to spend much time on it. Some of these media content that...

Words: 1248 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Help the Poor

...Why do we have to help the poor? Where the poverty rate in the world and in America is growing continuously and dangerous? Helping the poor is the duty of every member of society and governments. Several reasons for poverty are education, health, racism and others. Helping the poor should not just by providing them with money, food, clothes and housing. We should look for and solve the main causes of poverty. I am with helping the poor for several reasons, but not the usual ways, because helping the poor by just providing for their needs keep the problem of poverty continuous and increase the percentage of the poor. Also the problem of poverty causes other problems, such as an increased percentage of crimes, decreased percentage of safety, and decreased the economy, and failures to address the problem of poverty exacerbate the problem and create other problems. Those who are opposed to helping the poor or solve the problem of poverty may not realize that this problem may be reflected on them in the future for other problems. If we do not help the poor, crime rates will go up, and this affects the economy, which means an increase in the poverty rate. Education is closely related to the problem of poverty. For the illiterate person or someone who has a little education it is difficult for them to find any kind of job to fulfill the needs of themselves and their family. I do not mean education as just learning in the school, but also education and training for professions and trades...

Words: 1847 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Why a Criminal?

...Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, case, and control of criminal  behaviour in both the individual and society. Criminology has been studied for many  years and it has become a major topic in our society. I believe criminals are not born  criminals. It’s our own choice to commit a crime. Also, criminal behaviour comes from  our living environments. Lastly if anyone is a criminal they were raised to be a criminal.          It is our own choice to commit a crime. Just like it is our own choice to study for an  upcoming test in school. In the classical early history of criminology, a guy named  Jeremy Bentham believed in utilitarianism which is the view that people’s behaviour is  motivated by the pursuit to seek pleasure and avoid pain. It is about what a person  wants.  The consensus theory is a sociological early history theory which states that  people know the difference between right and wrong, some individuals choose to do  wrong. We all have a brain and we all know how to use it. Lastly, the rational choice and  deterrence theory plays an important part of a criminal. Some people suggest that  criminals calculate the costs and the benefits of criminal activity and if the benefit  outweighs the cost, the criminal is willing to take the risk of getting caught. These  theories prove that a criminal can think before they do. Everybody has a choice in life.          Criminal behaviour also comes from growing up in poverty. Some people have less  ...

Words: 700 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Creon's Pride In Sophocles Antigone

...Having pride can prove beneficial in the occasion that it boosts a person’s self confidence, but often times people become way too self indulged leading to excessive pride. Sophocles perfectly describes how one’s own pride can lead to misery. Through the portrayal of Creon in Antigone he is able to demonstrate how pride and agrrogance tear his life apart. The underlying cause of all the misery Creon put himself and others through was his vanity, ignorance, and ego. Sophocles description of Creon is still relevant society today because people are very ignorant, stubborn, and do not realize that their attitude has ruined them until it is too late for them to fix. Creon’s ignorance is connected to his pride. If he were not as ignorant, he would...

Words: 575 - Pages: 3