Analyzing Week One Journal

¶ … deterrence perceptions had their biggest influence on the participants that were criminally prone. I think the research arrived at these results because the risk of being caught entail punishments (social and legal) that might come along are some of the aspects that deter criminal-prone individuals from taking part in criminal behaviors. Individuals will always take into consideration the benefits and accruals that they might incur along with the risks of being caught in the course of the criminal act (Wright et al., 2004). The terms associated with crime and criminology employed in this article are deterrence theory and criminal propensity. Basically, deterrence theory can be elucidated as a key element of classical and rational choice theories. In particular, this theory asserts that there is the capacity of controlling crime by employing punishments that mix suitable extents of conviction, harshness, and swiftness. On the other hand, I can define criminal propensity to be a preference or an inclination of individual to undertake criminal activities (Wright et al., 2004).

2. One of the theories selected is strain theory. This theory can be employed to elucidate why the crime trends are at their prevailing rates. It is imperative to note that majority of people have identical aspirations and ambitions, which are to succeed, prosper and lead a good life. However, the problem is that not all have the similar capabilities or prospects. Therefore, the current rates of crime in the society are at such high rates. When people fail to attain the expectations of the society, such as having cars, fancy houses and good clothing or travelling, they resort to crime. More so, in the present day, several people work hard but still fail to achieve the level of success they aspire for, and therefore they opt to resort to criminal acts. This also encompasses the young people who choose to take short cuts to access material endowments through criminal acts such as robbery. The component of classical school of crime causation for this particular theory proposes that people are not compelled; rather, they undertake such tasks out of free will (Agnew, 2001).

The second theory is social disorganization theory. In accordance to this theory, the social and physical settings of individuals are fundamentally liable for the different behavioral choices selected by people. This theory can be employed to highlight why the crime trends in the present day are the way they are. For instance, there is so much homicide and murder in public areas such as the streets owing to the social setting. People choose to murder, and also steal from different stores and people's houses owing to the poor environment that they live in. In addition, owing to instances of racism and perspectives of racial (especially that of ethnicity and skin color: black) hostility, this theory can elucidate the recent killings of black people. This is due to the social setting of considering black people to be violent, irrespective of their actual dispositions or actions. The same criterion elucidates the crime that ensues between different gangs, for instance, in the city of Chicago (Papachristos and Kirk, 2006).

Explain how crime can be prevented as it relates to the beliefs of the classical school of criminology

The classical school of criminology encompasses a grouping of points-of-view regarding the restructuring of crime and the paramount approaches of punishment by a set of academics in addition to philosophers from Europe in the 18th Century (Wise Geek, 2016). In relation to the beliefs of the classical school of criminology, there are effective ways for the prevention of crime. In particular, this school asserts that there ought to be graded punishment for all offenders, in the sense that the more the criminals get punished, greater the influence on the minds of other persons considering on undertaking such behavior or committing such crimes. More so, the argument made from the classical school of criminology is that the most efficacious deterrent for criminal behavior ought to be punishment that is speedy, instead of court cases that are lengthy. (Schmalleger, 2006).

Assess the major components of the classical school of crime causation

The classical school of causation encompasses a number of key components. One of them is that human beings are essentially coherent, and majority of behaviors of human beings are social by free will, together with rational choice (Schmalleger, 2006). Another component is that punishment is an essential, at times employed to dissuade delinquents and to function as an illustration to other persons that might break the law. Another element is that the two determining factors of human behavior are pleasure and pain, and that main philosophies of right and wrong are intrinsic in the nature of matters that cannot be repudiated (Schmalleger, 2006). Lastly, crime vilifies the quality of the link that is existent between people and society and is as a result a dissolute kind of behavior (Schmalleger, 2006).

Discuss specific and general deterrence as it relates to the presence of punishment and the challenges to create deterrence in today's society

General deterrence is the principle that a group of individuals or community can be dissuaded or prevented from committing a crime subsequent to creating a perception of risks involved through punishments meted to an individual committing that particular crime (Nagin, 2013). In relation to the presence of punishment and difficulties in creating deterrence in the present day, there is the issue of being over-dependent on incarceration. For instance, a considerable proportion of the prison population comprises of non-violent drug criminals and recommendations have been made to reduce this proportion with better alternatives. For example, community-based programs are likely to improve deterrence compared to incarceration and also enhance the life consequences of the drug users (Nagin, 2013). On the other hand, specific deterrence is a form that is employed with a particular delinquent in mind. In this case, the conviction is that if a person is punished for committing a certain crime, there will be less likelihood of the person committing such crime in the future. Contemporarily, noncustodial authorizations such as probation, for instance, barely affect the probability of reducing the rate of repeating offenses, and are instead, known to be causal to an increase in criminal repetitions (Nagin, 2013).