Preview

Crime Social Structure

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1591 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Crime Social Structure
SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL PROCESS 2 Theories that explain crime by examining the structure of society are only one of three major sociological approaches to crime causation. The other two are social process theories and social conflict approaches. Although sociological perspectives on crime causation are diverse, most build upon the principles of, social groups, social institutions, the arrangements of society, group dynamics, subgroups relationships, the structure of society and its relative degree of organization or disorganization, and the statistical estimates of group characteristics that specific types of crime. Sociological theories is a group of perspectives that focus on the nature of the power relationships that exist between …show more content…
Poor people are more likely to commit crimes because they are unable to achieve monetary or social success in any other way. Social disorganization, strain, and cultural deviance theories are the three social structure theory schools of thought. Structural theories predict that negative aspects of societal structures, such as disorganizations within family, poverty or income inequality with the economic arrangements of society, and disadvantages brought about by lack of success for some in the educational process, produce criminal behavior. Social structure theories assert that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime. Economics and disenfranchisement are fundamental causes of crime. Environmental influences, socialization, and traditional and accepted patterns of behavior are all used by social structuralists to portray the criminal as a product of his or social …show more content…
Merton mode of adaptation is conformity signifies acceptance of goals that society holds as legitimate for everyone, innovation form arises when an emphasis on approved goal achievement combines with a lack of opportunity to participate fully in socially acceptable means to success, and ritualism describes the form of behavior that arises when members of society participate in socially desirable means but show little interest in goal achievement, retreatism is the behavior of those who reject both the socially approved and means. They become drop-outs, drug dealers, and homeless, and rebellion is a person who wants to replace social approved goals and means with some other

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    11. According to Merton, the ritualism mode of adaptation involves rejecting culturally defined goals but accepting socially approved means.…

    • 1095 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Crime occurs when society does not provide its members with equal opportunities in society. The individuals are not given equal opportunity in society will not have the same investment in their community as members of society that are afforded job and educational opportunities. When social functions are not equal the members of society are not recognized by society, he or she will develop their own unique subculture is more accepting of crime (Rock, 2012). This type of subculture appears in lower income and poverty…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Criminal Organizations are highly organized, more than ever before; they have taken a new approach to handle various situations and committing more complex crimes. In this paper we will be discussing how organize crime groups may be considered social institutions of the criminal world, and what empirical and speculative theories are relevant to organized crime and criminal behavior.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    General Strain Theory

    • 2128 Words
    • 9 Pages

    There are many criminological theories to explain why crime and criminals work the way they work. Five theories are fit into a majority of today’s crime cases are Anomie theory by Emile Durkheim, General strain theory by Robert Agnew, Social Disorganization theory by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, Social Bonding theory by Travis Hirschi, and the Containment theory by Walter Reckless. Anomie is when there is a clear lack of social norms and values. This is common among teens who grew up in a dysfunctional, abusive family. General strain theory is used an individual is strained and unable to cope with the strain so they commit their time to doing crimes. Social Disorganization theory shows why certain neighborhoods experience more crime rates…

    • 2128 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social structure theories view societal, financial, and social arrangements or structures as the primary cause of deviant and criminal behaviors (University of Phoenix, 2013). In other words, the primary cause of crime or deviant behavior can be traced to the less fortunate, or lower class of people. Social structure theories indicate that neighborhoods of lower class individuals suffer from immense strain, stress, frustration, and a kind of disorganized chaos that creates crime (Inchaustegui, n.d.). While this theory definitely has some truths regarding resources and some people’s experiences, certain strains…

    • 2073 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motives are believed to be the reason behind the action of people. Whether negative or positive, they are the cause of an individual’s action. Since motives help us better recognize why a person would do something, a lot of research has been committed to understanding the pattern of people or group of peoples motives. Knowledge of patterns is crucial to many aspects of human behavior but especially those relating to crime. Knowing a pattern helps one to predict, and hopefully help educate others on future crimes. The research of crime is so extensive that researchers have created not only theories but also various subculture theories of crime. Subculture theory of crime is a set of theories arguing that certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence. Subcultural theories of Cloward and Ohlin, Wolfgang and Feracuti, Elijah Anderson, and Walter Miller offer a great deal of insight on why different groups of people choose to engage in the crimes that they participate in.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Theories of Crime

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There are many theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior. Social theories indicate that interaction with other individuals and environment are factors that contribute to criminal behavior. Many argue that social factors alone cannot be the only cause to criminal behavior, but peer pressure and rationalization are powerful tools of behavior modification.…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The aim of this essay is to compare, contrast and evaluate two sociological theories of crime causation and two psychological theories of crime causation.…

    • 1985 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On Tuesday, December 4, 2012 in the early afternoon when a phone call came into the Mount Vernon Police saying a woman was hurt at a residence on Beekman Avenue, the police responded to the residence only to find New York City and Yonkers, NY police officers already at the scene. As it turns out the call was placed by Lucius Crawford, the tenant of the basement apartment at the Beekman Avenue building. And the New York City and Yonkers police were there coincidentally to question Mr. Crawford about the DNA evidence that linked him to the murder of 37 year old Nell West that took place in the Bronx on October 20, 1993. She had been stabbed multiple times in the head, face and torso as well as having her skull crushed by a blunt object. Mr. Crawford was also a suspect in the stabbing murder of Laronda Shealy of Yonkers on September 13, 1993. However, what the police encountered in that home opened up a whole investigation involving the murder/attempted murder and/or assault of up to a dozen women in New York and South Carolina over a period of almost forty years.…

    • 2918 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The question I chose to respond to is to explain the sociological theories of crime. I chose…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A social institution is defined as a complex, integrated set of social norms organized around the preservation of a basic societal value (Sociologyguide.com, 2011). A social institution is an organized system that exists to satisfy basic social needs. These institutions help connect individuals to a larger social group. In this paper I will discuss and explain how organized crime relates to social institutions. I will also explain which theories can be applied to organized crime and criminal behavior.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Criminal Justice

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theory Classical Main Points Theorists/Researchers Beccaria Crime occurs when the benefits outweigh the costs—when people pursue self-interest in the absence of effective punishments. Crime is a freewilled choice. See also deterrence, rational choice. Cric if reinforced. When criminal subcultures exist, then many individuals can learn to commit crime in one location and crime rates—including violence— may become very high. The gap between the American Dream’s goal of economic success and the opportunity to obtain this goal creates structural strain. Norms weaken and ‘anomie’ ensues, thus creating high crime rates. When otheant. When such an institutional imbalance exists—as in the United States—then crime rates are very high. Glueck & Glueck Mednick Caspi Moffitt Shaw & McKay Sampson Bursik & Grasmick…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, Social structure theories enlighten on how social economic structures can influence economic opportunities in our society, which then could also lay an impact on criminal tendency to a person. According to (author), strain theory, developed by Merton, states that there are certain things or circumstances that could increase the likelihood of a person to commit a crime, these are known as strains or stressor. These strains or stressors create a negative impact to the person’s emotions such as frustration and anger. These types of emotions influence the corrective actions and behaviors of an individual, thus committing a crime is an unavoidable result. Moreover, material success, such as cars,…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Biological theories of crime causation follow the principle that many behavioral tendencies, including aggression and criminality, are constitutionally or physiologically influenced. Most of the usual sociological suspect would have come from a broken or abusive home, is a part of a family below the poverty or has a parent who is convicted criminal. All of these examples support the biological theories and most of the time people living in those conditions are more susceptible to…

    • 1633 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Criminal Justice

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One theory would be classical theory, it suggests that crime is committed with individual will. For example; each individual has the will to say they are not going to rob that store or steal that truck. There is a theory that seconds guesses the classical theory and that is the social theory. The social process theory relates to crime being made because those individuals had failure in self direction. For example; if a boy grew up in a home where gang relations were present, that is a failure of self direction because it is leading him to commit the same acts of crime. These…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics