The central questions towards which criminological theories are directed revolve around crime and the criminal justice system. While there are dynamics related to such theories, such as validity, relevance, and efficiency in defining crime, the major questions aim to unearth social, biological, economic, and even environmental constructs that influence individuals to engage in crime. While particular theories might be multi-faced and deal with different environmental aspects as they related to crime, a majority aim at shading light at the motivation behind crime and reinforcement of delinquent or criminal behavior.
Another primary question which is directed is criminological theories is whether the different approaches adopted to reduce crime are effective and their aim. While different models attempt to explain the causality and effects of crimes, they simultaneously inform the principles applied in the criminal justice system and hence, crime prevention. For example, in questioning the efficiency of mass incarceration as a crime prevention strategy, the tenets related to retribution theory can offer answers to major questions related to the purpose of imprisonment and the expected outcomes. At the same time, in another lens, the different theories define questions directed to them that are related to criminology related policies, their formulation and effectiveness. Other questions indirectly directed to the different models are crime prediction and the role of the environment and the society in influencing individuals to engage in crime.
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While theories' validity in explaining phenomena in criminology is often based on the extent to which particular theories are supported by research evidence, such prove does not always apply to all case scenarios. Criminological theories such as biological theories, cultural transmission theories, and psychological theories majorly focus on behavior and personal disposition to crime. This could be a biased outlook because the main question repeatedly directed to such theories is related to external forces that predispose an individual to crime. The theories are rigid in their approach to crime. The major focus should be on how instrumental the external environment is in influencing an individual. As such, these theories are weak because they do not focus on answering questions related to the changes in the economic, social, and political environment and the influence of such changes on crime. In essence, crime occurs because of an imbalance in the distribution of resources, a factor majorly influenced by the nature of inherent systems.
The biggest concern related to questions directed to criminological theories is their flexibility in providing plausible answers to questions about crime, deterrence related laws, the acceptability of the explanations inspired by the theories, and their usefulness over time. The world today marvels at disruptive technology in different sectors. The criminal justice is not exceptional. However, the most significant focus should be on how technology has influenced the emergence of dynamic forms of cybercrimes. A majority of theories are not dynamic or flexible enough to effectively explain the evolving nature of crime, an aspect that is witnessed as some aspects in the society considerably evolve. If two individuals closely related biologically are, for example, are put in different environments, one, for example, exposed to cybercrime and another is not technologically savvy and does not interact with the internet, it is almost certain that when the right environment is presented, one will engage in cybercrime while the other will not. Given the possibility, the biggest question is the adaptability of such theories in terms of having principles that exclusively explain criminal behavior. There is no particular theory that thoroughly explains the dynamics of crime and how it is dealt with. Due to this, there is a need for cross-collaboration in the formulation of theories so that the scope will not be wide but also for the theories to answer questions from an evolving environment and society.
