The next theory is social control theory is also known as social bond theory. Those who ascribe to this school of thought maintain that “all people have the potential to violate the law and that modern society presents many opportunities for illegal activity.” (Siegel, 2011 p.180). Social control theorists believe that there are two reasons that people don’t commit crimes. They either have self-control, or they are committed to conforming to the norms of society. People don’t want to have their reputations tarnished, to be poorly thought of, or to become outcasts of society. To these people what their family and friends think matter and this forms a social constraint that keeps people from committing crimes. These people are said to
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The adage birds of a feather flock together seems appropriate here. When people of like mind with similar values live in a neighborhood, they tend to attend the same schools and churches. As such, there is a sort of check and balance system. One person doesn’t want to be the odd man out, and commit behaviors outside the norm and be shunned by the rest of their group. Last, involvement in conventional activities such as sports, clubs and school leaves little time for illegal behavior. This last category seems pretty straight forward. When someone has a full plate of activities, with places to be and people depending on them, they tend to avoid activities that might cause them to shirk their responsibilities or disappoint teammates that are counting on them. All in all, social control theory maintains that people’s moral compass and desire to fit in and avoid being an outcast help to establish bonds to society that aids in keeping illegal activities at bay. For the most part, people want to be included, and when social bonds are broken, and children become outcasts, they begin looking for other outcasts with whom to belong. Thus they reestablish social bonds. However, the associations are now deviant rather than conforming to
The adage birds of a feather flock together seems appropriate here. When people of like mind with similar values live in a neighborhood, they tend to attend the same schools and churches. As such, there is a sort of check and balance system. One person doesn’t want to be the odd man out, and commit behaviors outside the norm and be shunned by the rest of their group. Last, involvement in conventional activities such as sports, clubs and school leaves little time for illegal behavior. This last category seems pretty straight forward. When someone has a full plate of activities, with places to be and people depending on them, they tend to avoid activities that might cause them to shirk their responsibilities or disappoint teammates that are counting on them. All in all, social control theory maintains that people’s moral compass and desire to fit in and avoid being an outcast help to establish bonds to society that aids in keeping illegal activities at bay. For the most part, people want to be included, and when social bonds are broken, and children become outcasts, they begin looking for other outcasts with whom to belong. Thus they reestablish social bonds. However, the associations are now deviant rather than conforming to