Hirschi Social Bonding Theory

Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory links the beginning of criminal behavior to ties that bind people to society which have been weakened. Hirschi assumes that all individuals have the potential for committing crime, but most do not for fear of damaging close relationships. Those who have strong bonds are less likely to commit crime, while those with weak social bonds are more prone to criminal activity. Hirschi believes that the social bonds a person has with their society consists of four different categories. The first category is attachment, which consists of different social institutions in which an individual should maintain ties. These social institutions are schools, parents, and peers. Attachment to parents is seen as the most important …show more content…
The shooting occurred on August 28, 2017. A 16-year old boy, Nathaniel Jouett, shot two employees and injured four at the Clovis-Carver Public Library in New Mexico. The victims were identified as 61-year-old Wanda Walters, 48-year-old Kristina Carter (both of whom were killed during the shooting), 30-year-old Jessica Thron, 53-year-old Howard Jones, 20-year-old Alexis Molina and 10-year-old Noah Molina (all of whom were injured during the shooting). After the shooting, Jouette was arrested inside the library without resistance. Jouett further expressed that he hd been planning this for a while; he was planning on shooting up the school and then killing …show more content…
His mother and father got divorced while he was younger. In 2009, his father remarried and his mother remarried as well. This is a lot of chaos in a young child’s life and can lead to detachment. It was noted that Jouett’s childhood had been at times abusive. An abusive relationship between Jouett and his parents led to destruction of the most important social tie, which could be one of the reasons why Jouett did what he did. Another important thing to observe is the fact that Jouett has struggled with a meth addiction since he was 13-years-old. It was also reported that more recently he had been involved in drugs, primarily weed. This could fall under the third category Hirschi identifies as moral beliefs. He may not have had admiration for the legal code, leading to weak beliefs, making Jouett more prone to committing criminal acts. Following this, it was learned that the Friday before the shooting, Jouett had been suspended from school for a fight that took place at a pep rally. This could symbolize another weak social bond, one that is attachment to peers. He has also been suspended a lot, which could mean a lack of commitment to conventional values. This shows that Jouett showed a lack of attachment, commitment, beliefs, and involvement, which led him to a higher chance of committing a criminal