The field of criminology is filled with all types of deviants. Criminal offenders range from instinctive criminals to habitual criminals and single offenders. Of these three, the habitual criminal is sometimes referred to as a career criminal. This is especially when the criminal offender commits many crimes from an early age and persists in offending throughout their life (Paternoster, 2014). Although there is no single agreed-upon definition of the term career criminal, most people agree with the aforementioned definition. Research shows that among other things, the career criminal is a chronic, persistent, and habitual individual who continues to offend at every stage of their life. A good example of such a criminal is Frank Uhyarek, a 37-year-old man who was given a 52-year sentence for his final crime (4 News Now, 2013). The motivation behind this sentencing was that since he turned 18, he only spent five months where he was not either running from the law or behind bars (4 News Now, 2013). Frank is a career criminal that the state did not know how best to handle and decided that incarceration would be a good form of deterrence from his criminal behaviors.
I believe that to deal with career criminals such as Frank; the criminal justice system can opt for incarceration. Sentencing people to spend time in prison is often a chance to help rehabilitate them. However, career criminals who offend habitually might not be getting the rehabilitative benefits of imprisonment (Paternoster, 2014). They only get to spend more time with other criminals who influence them to further indulge in crime. Imprisoning such criminals must, therefore, be done with the intent to lock them up for a significant amount of time. If they are locked up for sixty years, their chances of committing crimes are greatly reduced since they will be released when they are old. However, one must also consider that these criminals might get their sentence reduced due to good behavior while in prison. It is, therefore, important to ensure that these criminals are offered psychiatric help to facilitate their understanding of why they have the need to commit crime and disregard the existing laws of the land (Paternoster, 2014). This might help them become law-abiding citizens once they are released on good behavior as they will have addressed the psychological and mental issues that predispose them to their life in crime.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The self-control-theory of crime was facilitated by the emergence of the social control theory. This theory seeks to explain the various causes of crime. The theory emphasizes the impact of social bonds in insulating individuals against criminal involvement. The theory stipulates that low self-control is the key reason why people indulge in criminality (Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2016). As such, the theory focusses on internalized control rather than social control as a means to deal with criminal behavior. According to this theory, career criminals cannot be rehabilitated. The theory explains that crime is a means of getting immediate gratification for those with low self-control (Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2016).
Proponents of the theory believe that the issue of low self-control does not change throughout an individual's life. They trace low self-control from early childhood and explain that once it is obtained in early childhood, it rarely changes, thus remaining the same throughout the life of the deviant (Paternoster, 2014). Proponents of this theory, however, acknowledge that the rates of offending decrease with time. This is because the individual begins to become older, and their chances of committing crime begin to decrease (Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2016). It, therefore, becomes evident why career criminals like Frank end up getting long sentences for their crimes. They are given the sentences to ensure that their opportunities for committing crimes are mitigated.
References
4 News Now. (2013). Career criminal sentenced to 52 years in prison. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yleSDbH-C_M&feature=youtu.be
Ontario Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services (2016). Social Control and Self-Control Theories. http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/professionals/oyap/roots/volume5/chapter12_social_control.aspx
Paternoster, R. (2014). Career criminals and criminological theory. Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 276-285.
