Sociology of Crime and Punishment

Sociology of Crime and Punishment Figuring out why people commit crime has always been the underlying question in criminology. Over the years, a lot of sociologists have developed theories has to why people may commit crimes. Does society have anything to do with why someone commits a crime? Does having a mental diseases has any factor as to why people commit crime? Or could it just simply be because they wanted to? All of the questions run through a sociologists mind when trying to come to one concise answer. Unfortunately, there isnt just one answer to this question, rather there are multiple factors that weigh into why someone may commit a crime. Elijah Anderson, Robert Merton and Walter Reckless, have all developed theories from their own personal research as to why people commit crime. In this paper I will talk about their theory and whether I agree or disagree with their theory. In Elijah Anderson, Code of the Street theory, code referring to a set of informal rules that influences someones public behavior, he categorizes people who live in the street and the decent families, to formulate a sense of inner-city life. The decent families are hard working, has mainstream values and instill them into their children, unlike the street families that are dysfunctional, and seems to have no interest in the childs life. Decent families, seems to be more civil, whereas the street families are angry and are aggressive with their children. These are the children that often use the term come up hard when referring to their childhood. This then leads to the point that people who grew up in a street family home are more likely to commit crimes simply because their parents were not involved in their life. They are also usually the child that hang out on the streets and stay out late. Whereas with decent families, children are taught to stay out of trouble and has a curfew. Many of the children that grew up in street families, value respect and loyalty from others within the streets, and if they were to ever be tested they will retaliate with violence. Robert Mertons strain theory, believes that society place a big part in a person becoming deviant. His theory stated that society places a big emphasis on the American Dream and that we all have to attain it. This then places pressure on an individual in society to conform. Some people choose whether to work hard to achieve those goals or become deviant in order to achieve those goals. Merton felt as though equal opportunity within society to achieve the American Dream was nonexistent, so resolve those strains, people adapt, or in other words Modes of Adaptation. According to Merton there are five modes of adaptation, conformity, innovation, ritualism, and rebellion. Lastly, Walter Recklesss theory believed that there were forces that propel people to commit deviant activities. Such forces are pushes and pulls. Pushes would be psychological or social conditions and pulls are following fellow delinquents. These would be considered two types of containment, outer and inner. Inner refers to self control, a sense of right or wrong and moral or religious beliefs. Outer refers to influential individuals, such as teachers and families as well as authorities. This then leads to the point of, the more likely someone is to conform to societys norms, the less likely they are to participate in deviant behaviors. Out of these three theories, the two main theories that were interesting were Elijah Andersons code of the street theory andÂÂ   Robert Mertons strain theory. In Andersons theory, he mentions that there are two types of families, which I agree with, but what I disagree with is that I dont believe that just because someone grew up in a street family home that they are more likely to commit crimes. For instance, I have heard of stories where the parents are well grounded and are well involved in their childs life, but yet the child becomes a criminal. Other factors such as the child wanting to fit in with a specific crowd that they may consider cool, can have an influence on whether the child develop deviant behaviors to fit in within that group. And on the other hand, I have heard stories of children that grew up into a street family home and they chose a different path in life. They were motivated by their struggling situations, to work hard and pull themselves up by their boot straps, so that they can achieve greater things and become positive forces in society. Now Mertons theory, I seem to agree with completely. Societys emphasis on the American Dream and wealth, can become very strenuous on an individual. Especially because not all individuals can obtain it. People try so hard to conform to societys norms, that they sometimes dont rationalize that their way of conforming may be right or wrong, especially for the poor. This is why many of them resort to stealing and selling drugs. As like many other research, they can sometimes be biases. For example, both Merton and Anderson only looked at children or juvenile delinquents. Like I mentioned before, children are easily persuaded, they often do things to fit in. My question now is, if they were to take all other factors that children have to go through would their theory remain the same?

Law and Politics Essay

Murphy and selected internet and electronic readings Some journal articles will need to be accessed through the UVU Library Journal database. If the below links to internet sources do not work, you should first search Google for alternative links. If you are still unsuccessful, then contact Dr. Griffin. ? This schedule is only â€Å"tentative† and subject to change by verbal or written notification – stay tuned! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Jan 8, 10 Introduction Introduction to course & review of syllabus The Nature and Prominent Theories of Law (M) 3-12 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books, 2 vols. , pp. 39-62 Introduction, Section II, â€Å"Of The Nature of Laws in General,† pp. 39-47 (scroll down). http://oll. libertyfund. org/? option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show. php%3Ftitle=2140&chapter=198645&layout=html&Itemid=27 ? ? ? Charles Grove Haines, A Survey of the Development of Natural law Doctrines, 1930 Chapter 1 Ancient and Medieval Natural Law Theories, http://www. constitution. org/haines/haines_001. htm King, Martin Luther Jr. â€Å"Letter from the Birmingham Jail. † In Why We Can’t Wait, ed. Martin Luther King, Jr. , 1963. http://www. stanford. edu/group/King/liberation_curriculum/pdfs/letterfrombirmingham_wwcw. pdf Herbert Spiegelberg, Justice Presupposes Natural Law, pp. 343-348 http://www. jstor. org/sici? sici=0014-1704(193904)49%3A3%3C343%3AJPNL%3E2. 0. CO%3B2-6 Jan 15 Origins and Roles of Courts and Judges (M) 13-20, 22-46 Martin Shapiro, â€Å"The Logic of The Triad. † (UVU Canvas) John Underwood Lewis, Sir Edward Coke (1552-1564): His Theory of â€Å"Artificial Reason† as a Context for Modern Basic Legal Theory. (UVU Canvas) James Wilson, The Works of James Wilson, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court†¦ , Vol. 2, Chapter IV, â€Å"Of the Nature of Courts,† pp. 287-299. http://books. google. com/books? id=lIs0AAAAMAAJ;pg=PA1;dq=James+Wilson,+The+Works+of+James+Wilson,+volume+2;hl =en;ei=9bx1TIyKA4W6sQOEqL2hDQ;sa=X;oi=book_result;ct=result;resnum=2;ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage;q;f=fa lse

Investigating The Nature Of Obedience - 1678 Words

Investigating the Nature of Obedience Stanley Milgram managed to conduct the experiment that revealed the distinct features of the members of our society. He questioned how millions of ordinary people in Germany could obey the immoral commands of the Nazi government and provided the study exploring the mechanisms of human obedience to authorities. Though Milgram’s experiment has provoked a huge amount of criticism, the analysis of internal and external validity, ethical issues, and the contribution of the experiment to modern science reveals the significance of the findings of the study. The experiment was designed to find out to which extent ordinary people are willing to cause pain to other innocent members of the society when instructed to follow orders. Therefore, the main object of the study is defined as people’s obedience to the instructions given by people occupying superior positions in situations putting a threat to the well being of an innocent person. The results of the study show that most people obey the instructions even if they are related to hurting people. The main lesson depicted by the author based on the results of the study shows that â€Å"ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process† (Milgram 367). Milgram created the conditions that helped to reveal the motive and specifics of the behavior of the participants ofShow MoreRelatedInvestigating The Nature Of Obedience1683 Words   |  7 PagesInvestigating the Nature of Obedience: The Relevance of Milgram’s Experiment Stanley Milgram managed to conduct several experiments that reveal the distinct features of the members of our society. He questioned how millions of ordinary people in Germany could obey the immoral commands of the Nazi government and conducted the experiment exploring the mechanisms of human obedience to authorities. 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A Explanation Of The Problem Of Homelessness - 1959 Words

Explanation of the Variables Homelessness is a temporary problem that people fall into when they cannot afford to pay their rent or mortgage, or when their home becomes unsafe or unstable. Other factors, such as job loss, health and psychological disabilities can accelerate people’s slide into poverty, and for some, eventual homelessness. The lack of housing, access to healthcare, and supportive services, then act as others barriers that keep individuals from moving into a home. There are a variety of different factors that can affect someone and potentially cause them to become impoverished. These factors include: substance abuse (drugs or alcohol), mental illness, domestic violence, job loss, eviction, army, natural disaster, no medical insurance, death of family member, and health problems. We chose these factors because they are the leading causes of homelessness in both men and women. 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