Part A
One of the theories that significantly and concisely explain the origin and nature of crime and criminal behavior is the psychological approach. This theory is critical because it entails various models and paradigms, which range from early Freudian notions to later social and cognitive psychological models (Tuck & Riley, 2017) . This article will focus on psychological theory because it holds that criminal behavior is a direct consequence of one's personality. Apart from character being the major motivational elements which drive an individual's behavior, the theory also holds that normality is defined generally by social consensus, and that crime result from dysfunctional, abnormal or inappropriate mental processes within one's personality (Tuck & Riley, 2017) . To correct this, it is essential that other intervention measures be provided alongside incarceration. These could include therapeutic interventions.
One of the emerging perspectives when it comes to understanding the psychological theory of crime is biosocial criminology. This is the combination of social and behavioral science that describes mental illnesses, personality disorders, and disabilities as personality traits that are determined biologically reacting to social stimuli (Newsome & Cullen, 2017) . This approach backs the view that criminal behavior is a result of behavioral factors beyond the control of a person. This new perspective is also critical in pointing out how antisocial behavior plays a role in contributing to crime in society. Other potential contributions to crime include neuropsychology, genetics, and evolutionary psychology (Newsome & Cullen, 2017) . With the evolving nature of crime in the community, it is essential that the legal parameters consider a broader scope when it comes to understanding criminal behavior holistically, so that better and more effective approaches are taken to fight crime in the society.
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Some of the approaches to biosocial criminology include the environment which has a significant effect on genetic depression. Unfair situations enhance antisocial gene expression, which ultimately prevents the realization of genetic potential. When genes and settings do not operate in tandem, which is required to produce significant antisocial behavior, an individual quickly displays antisocial behavior (Newsome & Cullen, 2017) . Genetics, on the other hand, has a direct impact on crime when it comes to calculating the heritability coefficient, which describes the proportion of the variance that is due to actualized genetic effects for given traits in an environment at a specific time. As the article earlier observed, biosocial criminology is critical in understanding the various paradigms of the psychological theory which ultimately play a role in understanding the wholeness of criminal behavior, rather than merely pinning down crime to the social factors of crime.
When it comes to understanding violent crime, the answer given above on biosocial criminology will not change much since the degree of violence exhibited by an individual can be said to be directly proportional to their degree of antisocial activities. The more severe the psychological factors, be they genetic or neurophysiological, the more severe an individual's social, or in this case, antisocial behavior would be (Tuck & Riley, 2017). Hence the degree of their crimes, ranging from mild to violent crimes. However, when it comes to property crime, biosocial criminology would not apply effectively to understanding the nature of the crime. This is because in specific crimes, like property crime, there are more specific factors and behaviors that would push an individual to conduct property crime. In the same regard, the same answer would not apply to the same level for both adult and juvenile offenders. This is because adults are assumed to be more psychologically developed than children (Tuck & Riley, 2017). Even though some psychological diseases are persistent regardless of the age of an individual, an adult is perceived to be stronger emotionally and psychologically, and are more enhanced to process situations than children. Additionally, adults have probable causes of committing a crime than juveniles.
Part B
Having reviewed the psychological theory of criminal behavior, and more particularly having studied the biosocial criminology, there is no doubt that this article advocates for a few policy changes in the criminal justice system to effectively bar crime. Because the United States of America is a world leader in incarceration rates, it is evident that changes in sentencing law and policy have produced the country's high rate of incarceration and not actual changes in crime rates. One of the changes that need to be made is the sentencing reforms (Monahan & Skeem, 2016) . Several reforms have been enacted by state policymakers to reduce the number of citizens in state prisons, such as eliminating life without parole. This is a great way to go to decongest the state prisons and security facilities, but unless this policy change is coupled with the provision of better alternative rehabilitation centers, then the released offenders will most likely be given the room to go back into the society unchanged, thus continue to indulge in crime. It is crucial to consider the fact psychological theory implies the need to set up medical facilities in which these psychological disorders can be treated, this the reforms in sentencing should focus on sending such offenders to medical facilities like mental institutions to be closely monitored while under treatment.
Addressing the racial disparity that exists between people of different races is another critical policy reform. The theory under study points out to the fact that from a young age, the environment in which one grows has a direct bearing on developing their personality. In this regards, it is easier for individuals raised in environments with racial disparity to establish stereotype prejudice or hate, thus cultivating the ground for violent crimes (Hetey & Eberhardt, 2018) . This article holds that it is vital for measures to be taken on every level, including the proper creation of a uniform databank containing information on arrest and charges of peoples of different colors so that there is transparency in the society about the circumstances under which an individual is arrested or charged in a court of law (Hetey & Eberhardt, 2018) . This approach will go a long way in building confidence on the judicial system by all races in the country; thus, from a young age, children will be taught to respect the justice system, and treat each other equally, hence developing proper psychology towards crime.
The last policy that should be enacted in line to the theory and perspective discussed herein is raising the age for the young defendant. It is essential for the juveniles to be given more room to understand the whole concept of crime, to the extent that they are fully aware of what criminal behavior entails. Raising the legal age of trying youths from 17 to 18 years, like the state of Missouri has done, will be critical in creating more room for easy identification of children who could be suffering psychologically, that is, being psychologically incapacitated to make a sound judgment as it pertains to crime (Monahan & Skeem, 2016) . This is because children and young adults within this age bracket are more susceptible to the theory of psychology than adults. Hence, this policy change will ensure that no child is tried the wrong way in a court of law, as an adult who is entirely responsible for their actions. It is crucial to create a better and more effective platform in which a youth is tried, after thorough medical examinations to establish their correct state of mind while committing an offense, so that the necessary intervention measures are taken. This is opposed to the automatic charging, jailing, and imprisonment they may be forced to go through, even for the minor offenses.
References
Hetey, R. C., & Eberhardt, J. L. (2018). The numbers don’t speak for themselves: Racial disparities and the persistence of inequality in the criminal justice system. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 27 (3), 183-187.
Monahan, J., & Skeem, J. L. (2016). Risk assessment in criminal sentencing. Annual review of clinical psychology , 12 , 489-513.
Newsome, J., & Cullen, F. T. (2017). The risk-need-responsivity model revisited: Using biosocial criminology to enhance offender rehabilitation. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 44 (8), 1030-1049.
Tuck, M., & Riley, D. (2017). The theory of reasoned action: A decision theory of crime. In The reasoning criminal (pp. 156-169). Routledge.
