Analysis of Criminology Theories
Abstract
Criminology strives to explain how crime is committed. Major theories have been developed to answer this question. Control theory, social bonding theory and self-control theory all focus on what keeps an individual from delinquency instead. Social control suggests external (religion, social structure etc.) and internal (superego, morals) barriers to crime. Social bonds theory focuses on external barriers, claiming adolescents who are committed to peers and traditional activities, are less likely to commit a crime. Self-control theory criticizes such approach, making a point of crime being an instant gratification linking withstanding from it to self-control. None of the theories gathered enough evidence to dominate the other ones.
Analysis of Criminology Theories
The main purpose of criminology as a science is to make predicting crime possible in order to reduce it or prevent it from happening completely. Therefore, the most basic research question in criminology is related to the causes of crime. Decades of research and analysis of criminal behavior produced no conclusive evidence which could result in consensus. Instead, several most prominent theories, which often contradict each other, have been developed. Particularly important are the following three: control theory, social bonding theory and self-control theory.
Control theory suggests to avoid thinking what causes crime and determine instead what keeps individuals from deviant behavior (Reckless, 1973). It suggests that two types of buffers, inner and outer ones, suppress our tendencies to deviate. Outer stimuli are the societal effects on individuals, such as religion, role of the structure in society, sternness and/or inevitability of crime, existence of alternative means to achieve the desired ends etc. (Reckless, 1973). Internal barriers may be moral and ethical codes, developed super ego, desire to keep a favorable image of self (Reckless, 1973). Following this logic, if some of the internal barriers are missing, or if societal containment systems are weaker, more deviant behavior can emerge as a result.
The social bonding theory, developed by Travis Hirschi, has likewise become important in explaining the delinquency. Hirschi also focused on the causes that prevent individuals (in particular youth) from delinquent acts, the answer for him being the social bonds (Özbay and Özcan, 2006). Explained more trivially, the more a teenager is attached to parents, teachers and peers, the less likely he/she is to engage in wrongful behavior (Özbay and Özcan, 2006). Additional preventative factors would be devoting a lot of time to other activities, commitment to traditional actions (going to university, advancing a career) as well as a belief in moral values of the society (Özbay and Özcan, 2006). The theory sounds sensible, but it could potentially be interpreted as individuals completely lacking independent behavior and are being ridden exclusively by others to commit a crime or remain law-abiding.
Over the years of further research, however, Hirschi deviated from the bonding theory he himself served to promote. In collaboration with his colleague Gottfredson, Hirschi developed a so-called “general theory of crime” (Pratt and Cullen 2000). …
