Crime and Deviance

Paper Summary:

The following paper discusses theories of criminal punishment, which are the framework for theories involving criminal deviance. The writer comments on "Chicago School's" focus on the social and environmental aspects of criminality (i.e., poverty, poor education, limited opportunities). The paper also evaluates another vital contribution of the Chicago School which are the theories relating to criminal behavior: differential association (i.e., crime as learned behavior), strain theory (i.e., blocks in opportunity structures), labeling theory (i.e., stigmatization creates further criminality), and techniques of neutralization (i.e., guilt minimization).

From the Paper:

"Various theories have been advanced to justify or explain the goals of criminal punishment, including deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, restoration, and retribution. Sometimes punishment advances more than one of these goals. However, a punishment may promote one goal and conflict with another.Supporters of deterrence believe that if punishment is imposed upon a person who has committed a crime, the pain inflicted will dissuade the offender (specific deterrence) and others (general deterrence) from either repeating the crime or from committing similar crimes. Incapacitation deprives offenders of the ability or opportunity to commit further crimes that harm society. Rehabilitation seeks to prevent future criminal behavior by providing offenders with the education and treatment necessary to eliminate criminal tendencies, as well as the skills to become productive members of society."

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• Research Paper # 25184 : "Crime and Deviance in New York and Charleston"
• Essay # 49547 : "Crime and Deviance"

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