Generally, the sociological theories of crime hold the view that it is the society that influences a person to be a criminal. The society according to these theories includes such places as school, family or even peer group. What makes them different is due to the fact that each of them pays interest to its own environmental feature that plays a major role in influencing an individual towards becoming a criminal. In addition to that the theories give an account as to why crimes occur in our society. They also attempt to explain the reason why the level of crime may differ from one region to another. Below are the sociological theories.
Social control theory
The social control theory is based on the premise of exploiting the processes of socialization as well as social learning so as to achieve social control and as a result reduce the tendency for individual engagement in criminal activities. This theory is different from the others in that it tries to have moral values instilled in individuals so as to control development of crime.one strength of this theory is that it proposes a way to control crime by concentrating on controlling an individual.one weakness of this theory is that it gives a wrong belief that threatening an individual with punishment will stop him or her from committing a crime. According to this theory, if offender are to be assessed, they are assessed individually even if say a crime was committed in a group. Through this way the theory proposes four ways to control socialization
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Direct control; under this type of control the theory suggests that individuals be threatened with punishment or those who have already engaged in crime be punished to act as example to the rest.
Indirect control; under indirect control, the theory proposes that an individual be well identified with those people he or she is in close relationship. Upon individuals learning this they are likely to fear from causing them pain.
Internal control; the theory explains that through conscience of the superego, an individual may decide to keep away from committing crime
Control through needs; the theory proposes that individual needs be met to reduce level of crime since this is the major drive.
Strain theory
The strain theory is based on basic premise that when the society puts pressure on individuals to achieve certain desired goals, then such individuals will do whatever that it will take including committing crimes so as to commit the crimes. One unique thing that separates this theory from others is that it attacks the society for pressurizing individuals to achieve goals when the means of achieving such goals are limited or simply not available. One weakness of this theory is that it concentrates on the lower class individuals of the society in their process of struggling to achieve the goals. One strength of this theory is that it helps in pointing out motivational pressure as negative, something that almost all the society perceive as being a positive thing. If an offender was to be assessed with reference to this theory, the background that contributed to the individual committing the crime is looked at.
Differential association theory
The Differential association theory is based on the premises that when an individual interacts with other individuals, they get to learn the techniques of crime and also that criminals learn more on crime from their inner circle friends. One distinguishing thing of this theory from others is that it explains how an individual gets to acquire knowledge on crime. The theory does not however concern itself with explaining why individuals will opt to commit a crime which is its major weakness. One strength of this theory is that it helps in pinpointing the sources of knowledge and skills behind crime committed. According to this theory, when an offender is being assessed, his inner circle should be considered.
Neutralization theory
The Neutralization theory is based on the premise of justification; in those individuals who intend to commit a crime or have already committed a crime give excuses to justify their act. Such excuses an individual would give is that it was due to circumstance that a crime was committed. One distinguishing feature of this theory from the rest is that it analyses a criminal’s way of thinking and his or her source of encouragement to commit a crime. One strength of the theory is that it points out error in thinking by those who commit crimes. One weakness of the theory is that it fails to explain when neutralization best fit, that is whether before or after crime. According to this theory, when an offender is being assessed, his or her justification for committing a crime is regarded as not important.
To conclude, considering the two philosophies, classical and positivist, I find positivist philosophy to be the one that attempt to explain criminal behavior in a clear manner. This is because it argues that criminal thoughts don’t just come out from nowhere but are simply imposed into the mind of an individual from external factor such as the environment (for example school and peers) in which an individual inhabits.
References
Curran, D. J., & Renzetti, C. M. (2001). Theories of crime . Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Dressler, J. (2002). Encyclopedia of crime & justice . New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
Marsh, I., & Melville, G. (2006). Theories of crime . London: Routledge.
Shoemaker, D. J. (2010). Theories of delinquency: An examination of explanations of delinquent behavior . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
