Sociological Theories of Crime Causation

Sociological Theories

Compare and contrast your two selected theories.

The two sociological theories that will be examined are social disorganization and the social learning theory. The social disorganization theory is focused on how crime rates are directly tied to the environment where someone is living. While the social learning theory believes that people discover the world around them through modeling and observing the actions of others. (Akers, 2009)

The differences between the two are the social disorganization theory believes that the environment someone grows up in will have a direct effect on if they turn to criminal related activities. This is because of various attitudes about illegal behavior will create a sense of moral clarity or confusion about becoming involved. Whereas, the social disorganization theory believes that individuals are shaped by watching and learning about how others react to the world around them. This is when they will mirror this behavior in order to learn the most appropriate ways of interacting within society. (Akers, 2009)

Describe how your selected theories explain specific crimes.

The social disorganization theory feels that specific crimes will occur based upon the community someone lives and is brought up in. For instance, someone who grows up in a neighborhood with lots of gang related activities will see nothing wrong with young adults associating with them. Under the social learning theory, a person will be influenced based upon their peers, parents and teachers attitudes about crime. This means that if they do not see them becoming involved in this behavior. They will be discouraged from doing so by mirroring the actions of those around them. (Akers, 2009)

Explain the policy implications of these theories.

The policy implication of these theories is showing how a different approach needs to be taken when it comes to crime and punishment. This means that there must be a focus on intervening early in the lives of at risk individuals. At the same time, positive roles models must regularly interact with them to teach everybody the proper ways to successfully network in society. These approaches will requires shifting how officials will deal with issues such as: inner city crime, juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and other behaviors which are affecting young adults. (Akers, 2009)

Describe what programs could be created to address these crime causation theories.

Specific programs that could address the issue of crime causation require focusing on intervening with someone when they are most susceptible in their lives. This means that they must be able to take a longer term approach and reach out to these individuals when they are younger. For instance, one possible strategy is to create an after school or mentoring program. This is when at risk youth will be able to talk and associate with other individuals who went through the same challenges they did. The difference is, they can relate to them and offer everyone with insights about how they were able to overcome critical challenges. When this happens, there will be a transformation in how someone looks at their lives and their attitudes towards crime. (Akers, 2009)