In the world today crime is a growing enterprise. But the start of this enterprise is unknown. Not only do we not know of its origin, we also do not know why people join into the enterprise. Why are so many people eluded to crime and the criminal life style? Was it just because someone saw an opportunity to harm another and they wanted to, so they decided to take? Is it based on biological or social upbringing? Or is it a lack of self-control one experiences when under pressure? Many theories over the past years have attempted to explain the reasons behind why individuals enter into a life of crime. Research has been done on these theories as well to see how they work when applied to real life. I am going to take three of the
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The theories I have chosen are each from different periods of time in the study of criminological theories, one from the classical school era, a theory from the positive school era, and one from the contemporary school era. The theories chosen are Lawreance Cohen and Marcus Felson’s routine activities theory, bio-social expectations, and the theory of self-control by Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi. The first theory to be discussed is Cohen and Felson’s Routine Activities Theory. This theory suggests that crime occurs because three elements are present in time and space. The first element necessary is: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian. …show more content…
“While an extensive literature base supports RAT, prior studies have neglected to examine the impact of offender motivation, target suitability, and guardianship on diverse outcomes of violent crimes. The current study extends prior research grounded in RAT by exploring the role of indicators of the central elements highlighted by the theory in understanding the likelihood that an offender will be arrested.” (Drawve, Grant, Shaun Thomas, and Jeffery Walker). The study examined the motivated offender by looking at different gangs’ emphasis on criminal activity versus an individual with no gang relation chance of being arrested. The study emphasized took a look at the lack of a capable guardian through taking a look at whom they would hang out with, when, and the amount of involvement the gang members had in criminal activity. Drawve, Grant, Shaun Thomas, and Jeffery Walker, do not place as much emphasis on the suitable target, simple because they are trying to take a different approach to examining Routine Activities Theory, but did state that ideal victims would be based on age and being out at an unsuitable hour. The study found that the hypothesized higher risk for children under the age of 15 and adults above the age of 55 were correct, because these
The theories I have chosen are each from different periods of time in the study of criminological theories, one from the classical school era, a theory from the positive school era, and one from the contemporary school era. The theories chosen are Lawreance Cohen and Marcus Felson’s routine activities theory, bio-social expectations, and the theory of self-control by Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi. The first theory to be discussed is Cohen and Felson’s Routine Activities Theory. This theory suggests that crime occurs because three elements are present in time and space. The first element necessary is: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian. …show more content…
“While an extensive literature base supports RAT, prior studies have neglected to examine the impact of offender motivation, target suitability, and guardianship on diverse outcomes of violent crimes. The current study extends prior research grounded in RAT by exploring the role of indicators of the central elements highlighted by the theory in understanding the likelihood that an offender will be arrested.” (Drawve, Grant, Shaun Thomas, and Jeffery Walker). The study examined the motivated offender by looking at different gangs’ emphasis on criminal activity versus an individual with no gang relation chance of being arrested. The study emphasized took a look at the lack of a capable guardian through taking a look at whom they would hang out with, when, and the amount of involvement the gang members had in criminal activity. Drawve, Grant, Shaun Thomas, and Jeffery Walker, do not place as much emphasis on the suitable target, simple because they are trying to take a different approach to examining Routine Activities Theory, but did state that ideal victims would be based on age and being out at an unsuitable hour. The study found that the hypothesized higher risk for children under the age of 15 and adults above the age of 55 were correct, because these