Term Paper on "Theories of Crime Causation"
Term Paper 4 pages (1196 words) Sources: 1+
[EXCERPT] . . . .
CrimeKirkpatrick (2005) in the New York Times writes about the passage of a law to address the issue of gang activity to increase "federal efforts to fight street gangs and imposing new mandatory minimum sentences for gang-related crimes" (para. 1) the reason for the law is first that gang activity in America's cities has reached such high proportions, with a great deal of violence involved, and often centering on drug activities. In addition, there is the perception that the cities have not been able to do as much as is needed to address the problem and face a growing threat from heavily armed gangs.
The law will of several establish minimum penalties to replace the mandatory sentencing guidelines struck down last year by the Supreme Court. The law also offers a new definition of a the legislation revises the legal definition of a "criminal street gang" as consisting of at least five (in the old law) to at least three (in the new) people who have committed at least two crimes together, at least one of those a violent crime. The law further imposes minimum sentences beginning at 10 years in jail for any violent crime.
The law was not passed without opposition, for the Democrats noted first that the imposition of mandatory sentences fall most heavily on Blacks and Hispanics, and they also noted that street violence and murder are already illegal. It is also not clear from this article what role the federal authorities will have in prosecuting street gangs in most cities. The law may allow federal authorities to instigate prosecutions against the gang as a whole rather than to investigate individual crimes, which would be left to city and state authoriti
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Social Process Theory is applicable to the development and activities of gangs of this sort, with the specific dimension of deviance being identified as a causal element. Social process theory considers the actions of both formal and informal social institutions and tries to account for socialization within family and peer groups, the educational process, and the justice system. According to Schoeman (2002), social process theory includes three sub-theories of learning, control, and development:
These theories explore crime and delinquency from a perspective whereby the cause of criminal behavior is searched for within a person's life course development. Attention is also given to everyday interaction with the environment and society (Schoeman, 2002, p. 130).
Deviance is an expression of a degree of stigmatization of a sub-population by the majority population. The sub-population is separated on the basis of some difference, a difference that is emphasized by the majority population in identifying the deviant population. The sub-population learns from this ongoing process and reacts accordingly, seeking a sense of community in its own group, perhaps as a challenge to the majority population that has started the process. One of the interesting aspects of the sociology of deviance, as Erikson (1966) notes, is that the deviant behavior can itself contribute to a sense of belonging and a sense of community among a certain population in two ways -- it can create a bond between those who exhibit the deviant behavior, and it creates a strong bond among those who oppose that behavior:
The deviant act, then, creates a sense of mutuality among the people of a community by supplying a focus for group feeling. Like a war, a flood, or some other emergency, deviance makes people more alert to the interests they share in common and draws attention to those values which constitute the "collective conscience" of the community (Erikson, 1966, p. 4).
Deviance is… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Theories of Crime Causation" Assignment:
“For this project, find an article in any national or local newspaper that describes any type of crime, e.g., narcotic sales, white-collar crime (fraud, insider trading), or cyber-crime (identity theft, network intrusion), and explain the underlying reasons for that crime by considering any of the theories of crime causation.
Write a 4-5 page paper addressing the following:
Describe the crime reported in the article.
Choose a theory from within one of the major theoretical perspectives (classical, social organization, social process, or trait), which explains the criminal behavior.
Identifying and defining the theory will be the most important element of your paper. To support your conclusions, you must incorporate at least one of the theories of crime causation presented in Lessons 1-4. Note: This is a research paper that will demonstrate your ability to incorporate information beyond the scope of the course textbook. Consequently, you should read articles from trusted sources such as the National Institute of Justice, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, to name only a few.
Paper Format
This project requires one topic paper at least four full pages in length, not including the Title Page, double-spaced at a font size no greater than 12, preferably Times New Roman. Papers must contain the title, your name, the course title and number, and the date, placed in the center of a title page. Example:
Theoretical Explanations of Bank Robbery
John Doe
Introduction to Criminal Justice CJ246-11
December 07, 2004
How to Reference "Theories of Crime Causation" Term Paper in a Bibliography
“Theories of Crime Causation.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2005, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/crime-kirkpatrick-2005/791541. Accessed 3 Jul 2024.
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