The Causes of Crime

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at free will, biological, psychobiological, psychological, sociological, social psychological, social conflict and phenomenological theories of crime. The paper then shows how criminal law and procedure varies tremendously in different cultures, as well as within specific cultures when viewed over the long term. The paper relates that criminal law serves three different functions and then goes on to discuss the effectiveness of penal law in society. The paper then shows how criminal law essentially ignores the root causes of the conduct it is intended to redress. The paper points out, however, that the responsibility of addressing the myriad social factors and societal inequities that contribute to the actual causes underlying criminal conduct are addressable through other avenues, such as political efforts and social reform.

Outline:
Causes of Crime - Categories of Theories
Criminal Law in Theory and Practice
The Effectiveness of Penal Law in Society

From the Paper:

"Unwanted conduct of individuals and societal attempts to control behavior that is dangerous to others or to society as a whole obviously predates recorded history (Schmalleger, 2001). In the modern era (and the period most recently predating it), sociologists have suggested many general categories of explanations for the cause of unwanted behavior classified as crime, including: free will, biological, psychobiological, psychological, sociological, social psychological, social conflict, phenomenological, as well as other emergent theories conceived much more recently (Schmalleger, 2001; Henslin, 2002; Macionis, 2002)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Friedman, L.M. (2005) A History of American Law. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Gerrig, R., Zimbardo, P. (2005) Psychology and Life 17th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon
• Henslin, J.M. (2002) Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Pearson.
• Macionis, J.J. (2002) Sociology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall
• Schmalleger, F. (1997) Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

More papers on The Causes of Crime:

• Cause and Effect Essay # 72071 : "Causes of Crime"
• Analytical Essay # 141720 : "Messner and Blau's Theory of Crime"
• Comparison Essay # 136939 : "Causes of Drug Dealing"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: