Explain the Strengths and Weaknesses of One or More Criminological Theories for Explaining Crime in Contemporary Britain free essay sample

A biological theory of crime proposes that physical attributes can lead an individual to criminal activities. In his publication L’Uomo Deliquente 1876, Cesare Lombroso studied the appearance and physical characteristics of Italian convicted criminals. He believed he had found evidence that a criminal brain was different from a non-criminal. He claimed that this was clearly displayed in the shape of the criminal’s face, and concluded that the criminals displayed signs of atavism (primitive features inherited from earlier stage of human development [Newburn, 2007:122-3]. Lombroso’s findings signalled the beginning of criminal profiling, as this inspired investigators to analyse a crime scene to declare exactly what kind of person the police should be looking for. Some of his recordings were that murderers had bloodshot eyes and curly hair, while sex offenders had thick lips and protruding ears [Kirby et al, 2000:586 ]. From a social point of view, this theory would imply that those born-criminal are easy to identify and can be locked up before committing a crime. These findings have also been deemed absurd and discredited because of the following reasons; his sample was unrepresentative as he did not use non-criminal control groups to establish whether atavistic features he identified were confined to the criminal population; the physical characteristics he identified may simply reflect the fact that the inmates were drawn from the poorest section of Italian society. Therefore such factors as their height or stunted growth may be as a result of poverty rather than being symbols of criminality; the theory overlooks the bright and handsome criminals [preservearticles. om what-are-the-biological-theories-of-crime]. This type of theorising neglects the idea that there is a grey area of criminality people who commit crimes but are not caught and therefore not imprisoned. Police recorded crime shows 6,468,000 cases in the United Kingdom in 2002/03. However, police recorded crime statistics are limited and do not represent the total volume of crime , because of the amount of crime that never comes to the police’s attention, referred to as ‘the dark figure’ of unrecorded crime. Langley, Pilkington and Richardson [2007:10] cite Simmons amp; Dodd who states that over 30% of offences reported to the police in 2003/03 were not recorded. Charles Goring, an English psychiatrist and philosopher, tested Lombrosos theory of â€Å"born criminal† and criticised it on the basis of his own study in which he measured the characteristics of 3,000 English convicts and a large number of non-criminals in 1913. Goring claimed that he found no evidence to support Lombroso’ theory but he was criticised for being violently prejudiced against Lombroso [Newburn, 2007:126]. However, Sheldon’s (1942) theory of somatypes (body shape) sided with Lombroso, maintaining that law-violating behaviours are determined by a person’s physical form. Sheldon distinguished between 3 main types of body build; ectomorphs meaning those who were thin and fragile and restrained; endomorph (fat) who were relaxed and sociable; then mesomorph (who were muscular). Sheldon’s principle claim was that the mesomorphs are more associated with criminal activity than the other two [Newburn, 2007:127]. As a disadvantage however, in contemporary Britain this theory has been watered down by the fact that prisoners are most likely to develop more body muscle from the rigours of hard labour while in prison. Added to this is the labelling effect; that the more muscular one is, the more likely they invite police suspicion of delinquency [Kirby et al, 2000:586]. Another biological theory bases its facts on the chromosomes that determine a person’s sex, XX in women and XY in men. Some theorists have speculated that men who have XYY chromosomes might be more aggressive and are therefore more likely to commit more crime because of the extra Y. It has been established that XYY men face a noticeably increased risk of developmental delay and learning difficulties. Their numbers are low in the general population but high in the prison population as a result of this condition. As such, it is stated that there is a small association between learning difficulties and criminal behaviour [sociology. about. com]. British geneticist Patricia Jacobs carried out a study of 197 men in a high-security mental hospital in Scotland. The study, published in the British journal Nature in 1965, showed that 3. 5 % of the men studied had the XYY genotype, 20 times higher than the normal occurrence of the defect and also had less than average intelligence. The conclusion is that XYY males are more prone criminal behaviour [compass. port. ac. uk]. The initial advantage presented by these studies is that other countries and England began allowing maternity hospitals to test for XYY genotypes in babies. A study carried out by Stanley Walzer and Park Gerald tracked the development of XYY boys, keeping a watch for aggression or mental disorder. However almost all of the research studies focused on inmates in mental hospitals and revealed more about mental illness than criminality. There are also thousands of normal and inoffensive individuals in the general population who have an extra Y chromosome [library. thinkquest. org]. Sociologists look to society for an explanation of crime and deviance rather than the biological or psychological makeup of the individual. Three major theories fall under sociology and they are; social bond theory, social learning theory and the strain theory. [Langley, Pilkington, Richardson, 2007: 34]. Travis Hirschi developed the social bond theory. In his book causes of delinquency (1969), he recorded four elements of social bonds; attachment to society, commitment to society, involvement and belief that society rules must be changed. Hirchi’s approach suggests that the weaker the bond, the greater the chances of crime being committed. With attachment, an individual who is more attached to others is less likely to become delinquent. Under commitment, an individual has invested resources and time, and fears law breaking behaviour will be detrimental to his investment. The involvement notion asserts that participation in conventional non-deviant activities keeps someone away from criminal activity. Belief entails that a person is more likely to conform to conform to social norms when he believes in them [Giddens, 2006: p. 805] The strength of this theory arises from a self-report survey of 4,000 and an analysis of school records. Pupils with strong parental attachment reported fewer delinquent acts than those with less attachment to parents. This provided support to the theory that there is more offending in cultural circles where individuals are attached to delinquent peers. However, boredom was linked to delinquency and evidence was found that high level of crime was also attributed to boys who were in work. Also, according to study of the south London town of Croydon by Terence Morris in 1957, his research indicated that the housing of high numbers of ‘problem families’ on particular estates by local councils can result in a concentration of offenders [Langley, Pilkington, Richardson, 2007: 70]. The key advantage is that however, in order to limit the opportunities for crime to occur, social control agencies employ what is known as target hardening, for example, using car steering locks, closed circuit television (CCTV) systems in city centres and public spaces. These techniques when combined with zero tolerance police help the control theorists’ argument that rather than changing the criminal, the best policy is to take practical measures to combat criminal activity [Giddens, 2006: 807]. The disadvantage is that once an area or individuals become labelled as bad, then the levels of crime in that area will increase as individuals or groups may then start acting in the way they have been labelled [historylearningsite. co. uk]. The social learning theory was developed by Albert Bandura (1996) who is famous for the Bobo doll experiment. He suggested that social learning occurs when individuals observe and imitate others’ behaviour. He identified four learning stages; attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. In the experiment Bandura had children witness a model aggressively attacking a plastic clown. The results were that 88% of the children imitated the aggressive behaviour. He also concluded that individuals that live in high crime rates areas are more likely to act violently than those who dwell in low-crime areas. [criminology. fsu. edu/crimetheory/bandura]. However critics argued that in the Bobo doll experiment, children were manipulated into responding to the aggressive movie. Many critics believed the experiment was immoral because the children were trained to be aggressive. Feshbach and R. D. Singer conducted a study that contradicted Bandura’s findings. The study showed that the violence on television allowed the viewer to relate to characters involved in the violent act. In doing so, the viewer was able to release all aggressive thoughts and feelings through relation. This leaves them less aggressive than they would have been without watching the violent television. This theory is called the Catharsis effect, where viewing violence on television leads to a decrease in aggression [criminology. fsu. edu/crimetheory/bandura]. The strain theory was developed by Robert Merton which states that people engage in deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals. The deviance is the result of a strain between the goals of society, for example the American dream, and an individual’s legitimate means of achieving them. The strain produces frustration which creates a pressure to deviate, what Merton calls anomie [Haralambos and Holborn, 2008: 323]. He outlined five ways in which people would respond in the face of failure to achieve success; conformity- this would be the response of the majority, law-abiding citizens who try to achieve success by conventional, non-criminal means; innovation- Individuals would resort to crime to gain wealth. Merton believed that those in the lower social bracket usually choose this route as a way to be financially successful because their educational qualifications and their jobs provide little opportunity. As a result they succumb to pressure and turn to crime; ritualism- people in dead end jobs and have no success; rebellion- people who form a â€Å"special† group and think theirs is the correct one and have deviant approaches, for example Karl Max and Martin Luther King; retreatism- habitual drug addicts and alcoholics who are simply not bothered at all [Haralambos and Holborn, 2008: 324-5]. The 2011 summer riots in England seem to support innovation. 36. 6% of youth survey thought boredom among young people was a cause; with a fifth (20. 4%) saying there was concern about their futures and jealousy of other peoples money and possessions. [news. sky. com, 2012] The advantages of this theory are that it explains how the strain is most strongly felt by those at the bottom of the class structure. It also offers an explanation for a working class crime. It has provided developments for other sociological theories as it has been adapted to explain white collar crime. The disadvantage of the Merton theory is that it can only account for utilitarian crime (crime), ignoring gang violence, rape and graffiti [Langley, Pilkington, Richardson, 2007: 28-9] Howard Becker (1963) said that the labelling theory asserts that people act in terms of meanings and definitions of interaction situations. To illustrate his argument, he asserted that in a low- income neighbourhood, a brawl involving young people may be defined by the police as delinquents, while in a wealthy neighbourhood it may be defined as youthful high spirits. These acts are the same but assigned different meanings. Becker also points out that because society creates rules, because if a nurse gives a patient a drug under doctor’s orders, it is perfectly proper. It is when done in a way that is not publicly defined as proper that it becomes deviant† [Kirby et al, 2000:604-5]. Labelling also causes the labelled group or individuals to see themselves in terms of the label. Jock Young (1971)’s study of hippie marijuana users in Notting Hill revealed police targeted hippies because they were dirty, lazy drug users. The police action united the marijuana users and made them feel different. As a result they retreated into small subcultures and drug taking became a symbol of their difference [Haralambos and Holborn, 2008: 335-6]. The advantages of the labelling theory are that it draws attention to the importance of labelling and social reaction, which can generate deviant behaviour. This shows certain types of people are singled out for labelling. It also shows definitions of agents of social control i. e. ‘typical delinquent. [Giddens, 2006: 802]. The disadvantages are that the theory fails to explain why certain types of people are selected as likely deviants rather than others. In Britain there has been renewed emphasis on the public shaming of offenders in order to deter others, for example the naming of paedophiles in newspapers. It is suggested this labelling can actually increase offending by those determined to punish suspected offenders. In in the year 2000 one such unfortunate victim of such attacks in South Wales was actually a paediatrician rather than a paedophile [Haralambos and Holborn, 2008: 335-6]. In conclusion, I have detected that biological approaches focus on physical features and sociological theories offer social explanations for social systems and structures which direct behaviour, while the labelling theory asserts that people act in terms of meanings and definitions of interaction situations. However, the theories are often relatively silent on the large amount of white collar crime and corporate crimes. As a result, the law enforcement agencies do not feel compelled into policing this area with the amount of resources and attention it deserves. Bibliography Books Barter, J. Hope, T. Kidd, W. Kirby, M. Koubel, F. Kirton, A. Madry, N. Manning, P. amp; Triggs, K. (2000) Sociology in Perspective. Heinemann. Giddens, A. (2006) Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press. Haralambos, M. Holborn, M. (2007) Sociology Themes and Perspectives. 7th edn. Hammersmith, London: Collins. Langley, P. Pilkington, A. amp; Richardson, J (2007) Sociology in Focus A2 Level. Causeway Press. Newburn, T. (2007) Criminology. Devon: William Publishing Website Anon. (2011) Biological Theories of Crime [ Online]. Available at: http://www. preservearticles. com/2012050131523/what-are-the-biological-theories-of-crime. html. [Accessed on 20 April 2013]. Genetic Screaning [Online]. Available at: http://library. thinkquest. org/17109/screening. htm. [Accessed on 9 May 2013]. Skynews (2012) Riots to comes back [Online]. Available at: http://news. sky. com/story/968285/summer-riots-could-be-repeated-survey-warns [ Accessed on 8 May 2013] Birmingham Mail (2011) Car crime hotspots revealed [online]. Available at: