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¶ … Crime
Three Perspectives on Crime
For decades sociologists have debated the causes of crime and criminal behavior and have created three sociological perspectives involving the cause of crime. Schmalleger identifies these three perspectives as Individual Responsibility Perspective, Social Problems Perspective, and Integrated Perspective. A discussion of current criminal activity can easily identify cases in which each of these perspectives can be applied.
The Individual Responsibility Perspective defines criminal behavior as the result of individual personal choices. According to Schmalleger, this perspective states that individuals are ultimately responsible for their own behavior and that some individuals choose to engage in criminal activity as opposed to following the law. HSBC is Europe's third largest bank and in 2013 it agreed to pay a $1.9 Billion fine "to resolve charges it enabled Latin American drug cartels to launder billions of dollars…." (Smythe, 2013) HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver and Chairman Douglas Flint were accused of failing to monitor wire transfers in excess of $650 Billion and close to $10 Billion in U.S. currency...
It could be argued that these gentlemen personally made the choice to engage in criminal behavior because they would be rewarded financially. In exchange for a deferred prosecution agreement, the bank agreed to pay the fines and enact specific reforms which will put the bank in accordance with the law.
The second perspective is the Social Problems Perspective and is defined by Schmalleger as criminal behavior as a result of social problems such as poverty, discrimination, substance abuse, inequality, etc.. In 2010 a troubled person named Todd Hannigan was convicted of trafficking narcotics and sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, it could be said that Mr. Hannigan's case could be the result of the Social Problems Perspective on crime. In Hannigan's case he had a number of minor prior convictions involving theft, robbery, and burglary and suffered from both social and psychological problems. While attempting to commit suicide by overdosing on Hydrocodone, Hannigan was arrested before he could ingest a lethal dose. Because he still had 31 remaining pills in his possession, he was charged with trafficking narcotics. Florida law then required…
References
Christie Smythe. (2013, July 3). HSBC Judge Approves $1.9B Drug-Money Laundering
Accord. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved from http://www.globalexchange.org/corporateHRviolators#HSBC
Miller v. Alabama, 2011. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2011/2011_10_9646
"Todd Hannigan." FAMM. Retrieved from http://famm.org/todd-hannigan/
Likewise, full-body tattoos are considered deviant behavior and people who are completely tattooed are ostracized from some elements of society, but that behavior has never been considered illegal. In contrast, most people do not consider jaywalking or speeding to be extremely deviant behavior. On the contrary, most people have probably engaged in these criminal behaviors and may even be habitual offenders, but one would be unlikely to label them
" Social reaction manifests the behavior of an individual, how he reacts with the situation and how he will behave with it. The first reaction is acceptable as long as it is light and tolerable but if you do harm to someone that is not acceptable it is a behavior that is unbearable and punishment should follow to the deviant individual. There are two deviance based on Becker that can be
Understanding why individuals or groups engage in deviant or criminal behavior helps better inform therapeutic interventions and public policy. No one theory of crime can explain all criminal behavior. However, each theory does offer the potential for better understanding individual criminal acts or patterns of criminal behavior that take place within specific cultural or historical contexts. Integrating multiple theories can be helpful, too, showing how biology, psychology, politics, culture, and
(2009). An Assessment of Scales Measuring Constructs in Tests of Criminological Theory Based on National Youth Survey Data. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 46(1), 73-105. Blatt, Sidney J., & Auerbach, John S. (2000). Psychoanalytic Models of the Mind and their Contributions to Personality Research. European Journal of Personality, Vol. 14, 429- Brannigan, Augustine. (1997). Self-Control, social control and evolutionary psychology: Towards an integrated perspective on crime. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 403-431. Heimer, Karen,
Crime Theories and Sociology Crime theories and sociological perspective Crime is an overt omission or action through which a person breaks the law, hence the action is punishable and the person may be convicted in the court of law for the said action. It is the subject of great debate in sociology and criminology that what constitutes crime. Since deviation from law has to be considered as crime, the nature and context
43) Foundation and Focus The foundation for the Classical Theory to crime focused less on the criminal and targeted more on securing a rational, fair system for controlling and putting punishments in order. Little concern was given to causes of criminal behaviors. Significant words/definitions related to this theory include: Classicism - The Enlightenment view of crime that stresses free will and rationality and the corresponding rationality of the justice system.... Free will